Pune puts whistle for Dhoni

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VOL. XXXIV NO. 9
H CHENNAI H
Arnold or Vikram?
Rajini holds crucial
talks with Shankar
FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R
TUESDAY 15.12.2015 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS WEDNESDAY 16.12.2015 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82
AIADMK MPs, MLAs
donate one month
salary for flood relief
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa today
reassured the people that she would
stand by with them at all times and
that there was no
need for concern.
Calling herself a
‘dear sister’ of the
people, the AIADMK supremo said
that her thoughts
constantly revolved
around them. ‘I will
be with you at any
time; don’t worry,’ she said in a party
statement.
Jayalalithaa, who thanked all those
who were involved in the flood-relief
activities with ‘selfless’ dedication, said
AIADMK MLAs and MPs will contribute their one month’s salary towards
flood relief activities. The AIADMK
has 150 MLAs in the 234-member
Tamilnadu Assembly and 49 MPs in
both Houses of Parliament.
Jayalalithaa described the recent
deluge which claimed over 300 lives
and left a trail of destruction as ‘rarest
of the rare’ and also thanked all those
who involved themselves in floodrelief activities. She said that her
government was expeditiously carrying out flood-relief activities.
Simbu on the run
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Protests continued for the second
day in front of actor Simbu’s residence
at T Nagar in the city and other parts of
the State demanding his arrest following the derogatory ‘Beep Song’ which
was leaked online few days ago. This
morning, members of AIDWA-DIFY
assembled before his residence at
Masilamani Street, which
was under tight police
protection.
They demanded that
the actor be taken into
police custody during
the demonstration.
There were around 150 protestors,
along with students of Madras University, and some of them burned
his pictures.
Enraged by the lyrics of the leaked
song which demean women, the
demonstrators said that they will
organise many more protests until
the actor is arrested. Meanwhile,
whereabouts of the actor, who was
served summons by the Coimbatore
police (to appear on 19 December),
reamin untraceable.
However, some reports said, Simbu
who is allegedly absconding from the
city, is in Hyderabad. Singer-composer Anirudh, against whom too
there is much flak from the women
community, is still in Toronto
Simbu, who has in the past run into
many such controversial audio and
photo leaks, so far, has only issued
a non-apologetic response on social
media to the latest leak of his vulgar
song, despite many persons and organistaions filing complaints against him with
Coimbatore and Chennai Police.
Meanwhile, Simbu’s father and actor T Rajhendherr, in his complaint
letter to the Commissioner of Police,
stated that his son Simbu had nothing to do with the song.
Pune puts whistle for Dhoni
q Ashwin, Rahane to join MSD q Rajkot snaps up ‘Namma CSK boys’ Raina, Jadeja
Mumbai, Dec 15:
India’s limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today emerged as the
top draw in the IPL draft with the Sanjeev Goenka-owned new franchise
Pune opting to pick him first for the
stipulated price of Rs 12.5 crore here.
Dhoni’s India teammate Suresh
Raina was the first preference for
the other new team Rajkot, which is
owned by Intex Mobiles. He will also
get an identical Rs 12.5 crore by virtue
of being the first player selected by
the franchise.
‘Excited to play for the beautiful
vibrant city - Rajkot in @IPL. Looking
forward to have new teammates and
support from the people of Gujarat,’
Raina tweeted after the draft.
In-form Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane was the second choice for Pune,
while Rajkot opted for Ravindra Jadeja
in the same position. Both players will
be entitled to a purse of Rs 9.5 crore
per year.
The draft process was necessitated
following the suspension of Chennai
Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals
M S Dhoni and Suresh Raina, the
faces of the now suspended CSK,
will turn out for Pune and Rajkot
respectively in IPL’s 2016 and 2017
editions.
from the IPL for two years in the
wake of the 2013 spot-fixing and
betting scandal. The suspension
was ordered by the Supreme Courtappointed Justice (retd) R M Lodha
committee, which was formed to
decide the quantum of punishment
following the investigations.
Who got whom
What they said
Team Pune: Mahendra Singh
Dhoni (Rs 12.5 crore), Ajinkya
Rahane (Rs 9.5 crore), R Ashwin
(Rs 7.5 crore), Steve Smith (Rs 5.5
crore), Faf du Plessis (Rs 4 crore).
Team Rajkot: Suresh Raina (Rs
12.5 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs
9.5 crore), Brendon McCullum (Rs
7.5 crore), James Faulkner (Rs 5.5
crore), Dwayne Bravo (Rs 4 crore).
Suresh Raina (@ImRaina): ‘Excited to play for the beautiful vibrant
city- Rajkot in @IPL. Looking forward to have new teammates and
support from the people of Gujarat’
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin
was picked by Pune as their third
choice and will get a purse of Rs 7.5
crore. New Zealand captain Brendon
McCullum was Rajkot’s choice.
In the fourth spot, both the teams
opted Australians with Steve Smith
going to Pune and James Faulkner
going to Rajkot.
Pune opted for South African batsman Faf du Plessis as their fifth and final player, while West Indian Dwayne
Bravo was Rajkot’s pick. Both players
will get Rs 4 crore.
Ravindra Jadeja
The draft pool only included players
from Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the two teams which
have been barred from participation.
The players not picked will now go to
the general IPL auction scheduled for
6 February.
The next edition of the Twenty20
league will be held from 9 April to
29 May.
Meanwhile, the Rajkot franchise
owner Keshav Bansal was quoted as
saying, ‘We will be announcing captain
soon for our team.’
As per the regulations, a combined
amount of Rs. 39 crore will be reduced
from each new team’s auction purse
of Rs. 66.15 crore. A value of Rs. 12.5
crore, Rs. 9.5 crore, Rs. 7.5 crore, Rs.
5.5 crore and Rs. 4 crore, respectively,
will be deducted for each of the five
players snatched by the teams.
Govt’s gift to class 10, 12 Kolapakkam is now
students in flood-hit areas qKolam-pakkam
Two weeks after rains, floods
q New guide to help them clear public exams
N V SRINIVASA
Chennai, Dec 15:
As parents and students are in a
dilemma on how to prepare for the
board exams coming this March after
many lost their educational materials in the Chennai floods, the State
government has released a ‘Minimum
Learning Material’ (MLM) which would
contain important questions for the
examinations.
According to School Education
Secretary D Sabitha, the MLM is
to be distributed for both class 10
& 12 students from government
and government-aided schools this
week. ‘This will help them score
more marks. The book has important questions and their answers
FULLY LOADED
The guide will have
l Important questions
l Answers
l All subjects covered
from all subjects,’ she said.
The MLM is expected to help students prepare for the board exams
as schools in Chennai, Kanchipuram
and Tiruvallur district remained
closed for over a month and are
behind on syllabus due to the floods.
Principal, Government Adi Dravidar
Higher Secondary School, Moulivakkam, Muthu Kannan said, ‘This
is a good move, but students should
prepare for other questions as well to
score high marks.’ ‘As the school has
remained closed for over a month we
are behind on syllabus, the government has asked heads of schools to
decide on whether extra classes must
be conducted on Saturday,’ he said.
7500 schools in three districts have
opened their doors to students and
the education department in association with the health and family welfare
department is organising health
camps in 40 schools everyday using
20 mobile health vans.
The department has already organised camps in 132 centres in flood
affected districts which includes 54
in Chennai to give school certificates
to those who lost them.
yet to recede in some areas
FOR FREE FLOW
Along with rains, robbers too strike
q In some areas, burglars pose as relief workers
NAOMI N
Chennai, Dec 15:
The incessant rains which resulted in flooding in the city did
not dampen the nimble fingers, as various cases of thefts and
break-ins were being reported.
The police say that they were prepared for such situations and averted many crimes with adequate patrolling.
‘Anticipating that robbers would make the most of such
situations, additional patrolling were carried out. In areas
like MGR Nagar, which has only three patrolling teams, an
additional of ten were added from a different zone. Most
of the apartments were locked as the residents moved out
due to floods. Only a car was reportedly missing, which
was later found to have been washed away’, police said.
From 2 December, normal life was thrown out of gear for
the city, the police were involved in both maintaining law and
order as well as rescue operations. The police records that
few arrests were made for robbing from locked houses, like
that of, Venugopal for stealing Rs 22,000 in Royapuram on
6 December. The next day, Ranjith Kumar, a mason from
Pallipalayam in Perambalaur was taken into custody for
stealing a gas cylinder from house in MGR Nagar.
On 8 December, police records that scrap dealer Durai Pandi,
who runs his business in Aynavaram was arrested for allegedly
attempting to rob a two-wheeler parked at Kodambakkam.
He was caught by the patrol police and taken into custody.
However, city police say that with the magnitude of the
disaster and the large number of people re-located from
their houses, the crime rates are not alarming.
Areas like K K Nagar, which is a residential locality, did
not report a single case of theft, says Inspector Chandru.
Reports also surface that in few sub-urban areas, robbers posed as rescue volunteers are decamped with
valuables from houses.
As CBI ‘raids his office’, Kejriwal gets intolerant
q Dubs Modi a ‘coward’ and ‘psychopath’ q Ignores crucial facts
New Delhi, Dec 15:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today claimed the CBI has
raided his offi ce in central Delhi
and launched a no holds barred
attack on Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, saying he was resorting to
‘cowardice’.
The Chief Minister, who is involved
in a prolonged tussle with the Centre, accused the Modi government
of resorting to vendetta politics and
Going all out
ll eyes were on the IPL Draft with franchises from
Pune and Rajkot replacing the suspended Chennai
Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for the 2016 and
2017 editions and on Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni.
The flamboyant Jharkand stumper was bagged by
Pune while his erstwhile CSK counterpart Suresh
Raina was picked by the Rajkot franchise. Meanwhile,
the lanky Ravichandran Ashwin, the top spinner in the
world currently, also went Pune’s way as did Ajinkya
Rahane, Faf du Plessis and Steven Smith.
Rajkot picked local star Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon
McCullum and James Faulkner apart from Raina.
Meanwhile, the CBI today raided the office of Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that led him to unleash a
vitriolic attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling
him a ‘coward and psychopath’ and intensifying the faceoff between ruling AAP and Centre. The Chief Minister,
who broke the news of raids on Twitter, accused the
Modi government of resorting to vendetta politics and
came down heavily on the CBI for the raids. With Parliament paralysed due to disruption by Congress, BJP
today attacked it saying it was using the National Herald
case to ‘harm’ national interest and holding the country’s
development ‘hostage’ to its ‘selfish’ political goal.
The BJP Parliamentary Party voiced concern over the
way the main opposition party was creating ‘obstruction’ in
the path of development and said it would be ‘suicidal’ for it.
OFFICIAL VERSION
In the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley explained that
the CBI raids had nothing to do with Kejriwal’s office. The CBI has
also maintained that the office of the principal secretary was raided,
and not that of the chief minister. ‘There is evidence which suggests
involvement of the official in corruption,’ the CBI maintains. The CBI
also said it found Rs 2.4 lakh from the house of Kejriwal’s secretary.
came down heavily on the agency for
the raids at Players Building.
Kejriwal has conveniently been ignoring the fact that he had welcomed
the abrogation of the ‘single directive
system’, which made it mandatory for
the CBI to seek prior approval of the
government before investigating any
official at the level of joint secretary
and above
‘CBI raids my office,’ Kejriwal tweeted. ‘When Modi cudn’t handle me politically, he resorts to this cowardice.
Modi is a coward and psychopath,’ he
said in another tweet expressing his
anguish over the raids.
Work is on to remove water stagnation at a flooded area at
Manapakkam.
Photo: K VIJAY ANAND
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
As the city slowly grapples to
normalcy, certain pockets continue
to remain flooded. Some parts of
Manapakkam and Kolapakkam,
which were among the worsthit areas during the floods, still
remain knee deep in water even
two weeks after the rain subsided.
Earth movers are being used to
create a channel from inner areas
of Manappakkam such as Subhashree Nagar, Arumugam Nagar
to the drain at Manapakkam- Mugalivakkam Main Road.
Residents have alleged that the
flooding is due to a bridge across
the Adyar River which has aggravated the situation. Shamuganathan S, a resident, says, ‘a
pedestrian bridge across the Adyar
behind the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA), Manapakkam is the
reason for the continuing inundation.’ Residents say that the bridge
had obstructed the river flow by 50
per cent and this led to a spill-over
of water into neighbouring areas.
The bridge has nearly vanished
after the water receded in the Ad-
yar River with most of it washed
away. The broken bridge across
the river in Manapakkam under
Chennai Corporation ward no. 157
is said to have been constructed by
OTA authorities.
Housing colonies such as L&T
Colony, RGL Colony- phase I and
IAS and IPS officers’ colony that
are near Adyar river bank, along
the Manapakkam-Mugalivakkam
Road, still remain flooded.
Muthukumar S , a member of River
View Colony Residents Welfare
Association said: ‘water had risen
to six feet in some pockets, which
also houses civil servants, during
the floods. This water has remained
stagnant for two weeks now.’
Meanwhile, a team of Water
Resources Department officials inspected the site. ‘We will check if a
no-objection certificate was issued
for the causeway. If not, action will
be initiated for not adhering to the
norms after issuing a notice,’ said
an official.
The official added that the water
would recede in the next couple
of days are efforts being taken to
flush out the water.
City
2 TUESDAY
15 DECEMBER 2015
Centre
CHENNAI
From Selaiyur to
Mahabalipuram
via Mudichur
When students took
the initiative
I
A long trip to reach victims
t was one time when almost every youngster in the neighbourhood chipped in to lend a helping hand, Daniel Susendhar of Ranga Colony, Rajakilpakkam, was one of the volunteers who
travelled the length and breadth of the city and its suburbs to extend support.
Talking about why he got involved in the relief activity Suseendhar said,
‘We wanted to help the people who were affected by the rains in Mudichur and hence prepared
food to be supplied to them. Initially only five of my family members were involved in preparing the
food. But after the Tuesday rains we felt that we had do more and I spent all the cash with me to
make more food.’
‘A family friend of mine agreed to give me place for cooking. Once my friends saw my Facebook
post about helping people, they chipped in with contributions and soon our count increased from
five to 50. While these 50 members were physically involved in the field activities, a few other
friends and my brother’s friends helped financially. ‘
He said the relief works of the team begun from Mudichur as it was the most affected area in
Tambaram then travelled to Velacheri, Medavakkam, Siruseri, OMR and Mahabalipuram.
Susendhar felt that this week was the one that has given him a different perception of life and said,’
People forgot everything during the crisis all they were desperate was for food, the first two days
they did not even need clothing as they were starving. I still remember how the people drank the
packed milk even without boiling it. They were craving for food. Only after this need was over people even started to feel
the cold and asked for
Adithya Venkatesh, Ajith K A, Guru Kalyan and Mugil Vanjinath lead the relief work.
clothes and blankets.’
With the help of his
he pathetic plight of many peo- of us started collecting money from the ‘The best part of our experichurch,
Suseendhar
ple around the city after the re- residents of East Abhiramapuram. To ence was distributing
had provided shelter
cent floods induced even school our surprise, we ended up with 30,000 the supplies to the
for some thirty families
children to take up rehabilitation work within 5 hours. This gave us the mo- flood victims. With
that lost their homes
tivation to do something much bigger the help of our parin small ways they could afford to.
Salute
near the RajakilpaFour boys from Mylapore Adithya than just distributing biscuit packets. ents we distributed
kkam lake.
to
Venkatesh, Ajith K A, Guru Kalyan We resumed the collection on the half of the supplies in
Suseendhar said that
Velachery
and
Pallikaranai.
our
and Mugil Vanjinath students of class second day with more volunteers in
his team will continue
This
turned
out
to
be
a
learning
X from P S Senior Secondary School the same area. At the end of our colHEROES
volunteering. He said,
and Chettinad Vidyashram collected lections we had a total sum of Rs fifty process for us as we were able
‘We
have stopped
to
discover
our
social
capability.
money from residents in the area eight thousand along with twelve bags
making food and are
We
wish
to
send
the
remaining
and distributed a few things to flood of clothes’, explained Mugil .
now looking at providresources to Cuddalore, as it is apvictims. Though we weren’t affected Initially the group purchased 500 bising rehabilitation mateparently more affected then Chennai’,
much by the Chennai floods, we re- cuit packets and distributed it in North said Mugil.
rials like stoves, blanalized sitting at home and tweeting Madras. But soon they realised that
kets and provisions.
‘Ultimately we feel that the rains have
the demands were much larger. So
wouldn’t change the situation.
We can use all the help
proved beneficial in one way. It has
So we started collecting funds initially they bought 200 bedsheets, 50 plastic washed away the social borders and
and assure you that
for distributing 100 biscuit packets. mats and 500 boxes of daily necessi- instilled social consciousness in each
all the materials we
We couldn’t gather more volunteers ties such as soaps, mosquito coils, in- one of us’, said the boys.
receive will reach the
Susendhar giving relief materials to people at Mudichur.
but this did not deter us and the four fant food and medicines.
right person.’
- NT Bureau
- NT Bureau
T
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CHENNAI
TUESDAY
15 DECEMBER 2015
3
Are rain-hit students
LINES OF CONTROL
MENTALLY PREPARED?
q Psychologist stresses on counselling for children
‘Expelled’ Natraj
back in AIADMK
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday cancelled the order dismissing former
DGP R Natraj from the party’s
primary membership.
In a statement issued by the AIADMK headquarters, she said that
the announcement dismissing R
Natraj from south Chennai AIADMK
stands cancelled and announced
that the former IPS offi cer would
continue as party primary member.
A 1975 batch IPS officer, Nataraj
became city Police Commissioner
in 2003. He had also served Tamilnadu Public Services Commission
as its Chairman.
A private television channel’s goof
up in using the picture of R Natraj
resulted in his expulsion. The channel expressed its regret.
Senior MDMK
leaders join DMK
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Partymen holding top post leaving
from the Vaiko-led Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(MDMK) continued on Monday,
with more senior leaders joining
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK).
MDMK’s S Joel and N Thillaiselvam, District Secretaries of
Thootukudi and Kanyakumari, respectively, joined DMK in the presence of its president M Karunanidhi.
Tirunelveli Urban Secretary of
MDMK, S Perumal, was among
the scores of party leaders and
workers who joined DMK, a party
release said.
In Dravidian politics, the post of
District Secretary is considered key
in the orgsanisational set up.
Earlier, senior leaders of MDMK,
including former party Treasurer R
Masilamani, Womens Wing Leader
Kumari Vijayakumar, District Secretaries of Kancheepuram and
Salem, Palavakkam Somu and
Thamraikannan, had walked out
of the MDMK.
The senior functionaries had expressed reservation over Vaiko’s
style of functioning, besides opposing his decision to continue with
the newly-formed four-party bloc,
Peoples Welfare Front (PWF), for
next year’s election.
M BALASUBRAMANI
Chennai, Dec 15:
While students have returned to
their classes after the long holiday following the unprecedented rain in the
city, utmost care is taken to ensure
that the students are mentally prepared to continue with their education.
Sources say that counsellors will
visit each school to help the students
come out of the trauma created by the
rain and floods as also losing their
study material.
Schools, on their part, are also
looking into the issue and words of
hope and inspiration were given to
students during the assembly prayers
in many schools.
Considering the distressing circumstances, the headmistress of a school
in East Tambaram spoke to each one
of the students of classes 10 and 12.
She sought their opinion on conducting revision exams. As the students
were ready to face the exams, the
school is going ahead with its plans.
As only 10-15 students had lost their
reading material, the headmistress is
in the process of arranging it for them,
she said, as also supplying uniforms
for those who are left without them.
These small gestures are bound to
reassure the students to a certain
extent.
But there are schools that are still
working on a plan of action. A teacher
from Ahobila Mutt, West Mambalam,
said students have been asked to
attend school and the plan of action
for special classes and exams will be
decided in due course.
From the point of view of clinical psychologist R Manoj there is an urgent
need to counsel the school students
at the earliest.
He says that irrespective of the class,
every student should be comforted
and his/her problem be addressed
immediately.
Pointing out the different types of
counselling that would be needed,
Manoj said, ‘There are three major
areas the counselling should focus
on - the grief due to losing books and
uniforms; anxiety of the kids who were
affected directly by the rain and floods;
and fear of facing exams shortly.
Worried parents
Bindhu from Bharathidasan Colony, who is a mother of two kids, says she
is worried as her children scream in their sleep. That is how much the floods
have affected them, she pointed out.
‘I was not able to send my kids to school as they were wearing the same
dress for more than three days. With their uniforms lost I have to wash their
clothes daily so that they can wear it the next day,’ says the concerned mother.
Swarna Senthil from MGR Nagar was a happy mother as she thinks the
opening of the schools will be a change of scene for her children. ‘We lost
everything at home, including the children’s books and ID. So, I was happy
that they were back in school and their mind would be off the recent devastation that we faced.’
Manoj says that even though it may
be easy for others to tell the kids that
things will be fine, it is the kids who
will feel the real heat of the situation.
Warning against not handling the
students correctly, he said, coming
to terms with the trauma will be the
biggest task for these kids as they will
Confident lad
Madhan, a class 5 student of a
private school in Ramapuram, is
confident that he will secure the
same 2nd or 3rd rank that he scores.
I have just lost my uniform and
books to the floods. But I remember
what my teachers have taught me
and have to just revise the lessons.
The only thing I am worried about
is the way my classroom stinks, he
said earnestly.
have to overcome their experience
and concentrate on their education.
It is up to the teachers and their
parents to handle their wards carefully as the teachers will also be
stressed: they need to complete the
18 teams to control
mosquito menace
Dr Batra’s Clinics
to provide free
medicines
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
In the wake of Chennai floods, Dr
Batra’s Clinics will provide free preventive dosages for mental trauma
and diarrhoea from 10 am to 9 pm
across all its clinics in city.
According to a press release,
diarrhoea is the most common
water borne disease and becomes
serious if timely medical intervention is not available. Fearing an
outbreak of diseases, Dr Batra’s
Clinics across the city will be open
for citizens and will provide free
preventive treatment which will
include dosages for mental trauma
and diarrhoea. This preventive
treatment is a precautionary measure undertaken by Dr Batra’s,
however patients need to visit a
doctor or consider medical advice
in case any symptoms occur, the
release said.
Dr Batra’s Clinics in Chennai is
located at Alwarpet, Anna Nagar,
Ashok Nagar, Chromepet, Porur,
Purasaiwalkam, T Nagar, Tambaram and Velachery.
Applications
invited for
special schools
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Commissionerate for the Welfare
of the Differently Abled has invited
applications in the prescribed format
for the vacant post of Secondary
Grade Teachers / BT Assistants /
Deputy Warden in the Government
Special Schools for the Differently
Abled under the control of the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled.
Considering the recent torrential
rains in Tamilnadu, the last date
for submission of applications in
registered post is extended till 21December. The filled in applications
should reach the Commissionerate
for Welfare of the Differently Abled
Office on or before 21 December by
registered post only.
Application format can be downloaded from websites: www.tn.gov.
in &www.scd.tn.gov.in.
portions after losing so many working
days and, at the same time, ensure
good results.
Stressing on the importance of
having a professional counselling
group, the psychologist advised not
to try to advise the kids in the name
of counselling. This can only cause
more problems. Only a professional
will be able to find the real problem
of the kid and propose the solution.
Suggesting on the number of sessions that the children might need, he
said there should be at least three to
four sessions of counselling - and the
first session should be within a span
of a week after the schools re-open.
If one-on-one counselling is not possible, he advises group sessions for
an hour, of which the students who
need more attention can be identified
and extra care given to them.
If improper or no counselling in
given, it can lead to complications
like ‘post-traumatic disorder’. This
will surface only after a certain period
of time as kids might start to have
nightmares and may even go into
depression, Manoj warned.
Lions Club International District 324-A1 distributed relief materials
worth Rs 5 lakh to around 1000 flood-affected persons at TMG College
of Arts & Science, Mudichur, recently. T M Gunaraja, First Vice District
Governor and Lions members are present.
LIC’s Zonal Manager - South Zone T Sitharthan inaugurating the
construction of a second floor at Voluntary Health Services blood
bank, Taramani in Chennai yesterday. LIC sanctioned an amount of
Rs 25 lakh for the same from the Golden Jubilee Fund.
Hindustan varsity
forms rescue team
q Reaches out to rain affected villages at suburban area
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
A team from Hindustan University
set out on a war footing to rescue the
families affected by the heavy rain in
the inundated localities at OMR, Kelambakkam, Padur, Chemmenchery,
Tiruporur and adjoining 34 villages.
According to a press release, the
staff and students of Hindustan
University instantly formed a rescue
team Hindustan University Rescue
Team 4 Chennai (HUReC4Chennai)
to reach out to people who were in
dire need of help in villages surrounding the outskirts of Chennai, along
OMR and ECR
Braving the slush, potholes and
neck deep water, the team reached
the marooned villages and distributed food, clothes and essential materials such as candles, milk tetrapacks, baby food, diapers, sanitary
napkins, clothes, bedsheets, mats,
medicines and water bottles. The
HUReC4Chennai team distributing
medicines to rain affected
villagers on city outskirts.
team comprising NSS, NCC, Sports
students and staff has been extend-
ing help to the people right from the
first bout of rain.
Sensing the magnitude of the
crisis, voluntary help was extended
from alumni too. Arun Nair (ECE,
Batch 2009), presently working for
Tech Mahindra, Bangalore joined
the HUReC team on 4 December.
The alumni team brought 1 lakh
chapattis and dosa batter for the
victims and joined the HUReC4
Chennai team in distribution of relief materials. Hindustan University
hostel kitchens were flooded with
activities as food was prepared on
a daily basis.
HUReC4Chennai team packed
and distributed food to the people
of all the adjoining villages. Several
doctors from Puducherry and Chennai were involved in the HUReC4Chennai medical camps at various
villages so as to safeguard them
from any epidemic that may erupt
after the devastating floods.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Eighteen teams headed by pest
control experts have been set up to
go across the city for vector-control
measures.
According to a press release, the
teams are making door-to-door visits,
clearing potential mosquito-breeding
sources such as old tyres and old
utensils filled with water and also
spraying insecticide and fog the
area. The larvicide temephos has
also been sprayed in containers in
homes where water has been stored.
Also, the teams distribute pamphlets
to residents on how to prevent the
breeding of mosquitoes in and
around homes.
Measles vaccination camps and the
distribution of bleaching powder and
chlorine tablets are also continuing,
the release said.
Separate exams
for AU students
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
As per the direction of Madras
High Court, the examinations for
Anna University affiliated colleges
other than the colleges situated in
four flood affected districts, Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and
Cuddalore will be conducted as
per the schedule given by Controller of Examination from 15
December onwards.
For the students and 148 colleges of flood affected district, all the
semester exams are postponed.
Separate examinations will be
conducted for these students of
four flood affected districts from 28
December onwards, the university
said in its website on Monday.
Revised timetable will be announced in Anna University website.
The Madras High Court on Monday directed Anna University to
immediately publish on its website,
details of exams rescheduled to
28 December and inform the High
Court about it on Tuesday.
The first bench, comprising Chief
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and
Justice T S Sivagnanam, stated
this when Government Pleader
S T S Murthy, counsel for Anna
University,informed it that the exams in Chennai, Kancheepuram,
Cuddalore and Tiruvallur had been
postponed in view of the heavy
rains and floods. The court was
hearing a petition by a trust ‘Abdul
Kalam Vision, seeking to quash
the revised timetable.
The University informed the
Court that it is postponing the
first semester exams for first year
engineering courses to 28 December in view of the heavy rains
and floods.
The GP further submitted that
the postponement would be applicable to colleges located in these
four districts. When the petition by
Abdul Kalam Vision came up earlier in the day, the bench directed
the GP to get the instructions and
submit it.
He did so and furnished details
of postponement in the evening,
after which the bench directed
him to publish all details in the site
and furnish details to the Court on
Tuesday.
Blend
4 TUESDAY
15 DECEMBER 2015
WHAT NEWS TODAY PRINTS IS NEWS THAT COUNTS
For common good
O
ne hundred and ninety six countries gathered in Paris deliberated
for twelve days to produce an agreement which is not fully binding
on any one of them and yet reflects their collective commitment that
without concerted action the world could be headed for a huge climaterelated calamity. In the end, all agreed that ideally they should all exert
their energies and resources to try and keep the increase in global
temperature below 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial era.
The developed world would not bind itself to financially compensate
the developing world for having contributed immensely to the global
warming in the first place but it made voluntary commitments, both
financial and emission-related, which duly found expression in the final
agreement.
Importantly, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities
found favour with the signatories. As Prime Minister Modi said, the
outcome of the Paris meet produced no winners or losers but ‘climate
justice has won and we are all working towards a greener future.’ Criticism
that the agreement is weak is valid. But given the diverse interests,
vastly varying stages of development and financial and ecological
situations of each country, only a broad-based agreement enshrining
common principles and voluntary commitments could be possible. But
the spirit behind the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, 1992, signed by 195 countries finds full reflection in the Paris
Agreement. With Palestine joining the Paris convention, a total of 196
countries acknowledged the need to prevent global warming to protect
the planet from environment-related catastrophes.
For the common man it ought to be enough to know that the freak
phenomenon of cloudbursts, heavy rains, landslides, etc., as witnessed
in India and other countries in recent times, is mainly due to nature’s
furies against willful environmental changes induced by global warming.
Emission of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels like coal and
petroleum products is directly linked to global warming. Sea levels are
rising, threatening low-lying countries.
It was to take on board the concerns of these countries that the Paris
conference scaled down the goal from the earlier two degrees to 1.5
degrees below the pre-industrial levels. In short, by the turn of the
century the world should produce only as much greenhouse gases as can
be absorbed by forests, seas and soil, and no more. It is an ambitious
goal. Developing countries wanted to be compensated for scaling down
reliance on fossil fuels and for switching to renewable sources of energy
such as sun, wind and water, but what they got was a non-binding promise
to raise $100 billion annually by 2020.
The Indian Government has hugely scaled up the target for solar
power, a commitment which won it plaudits at the Paris conference.
The government has voluntarily set climate goals which reflect its
commitment to protect the people from catastrophic climate events such
as flash floods. In other words, self-reliance in the war against global
warming is the best prescription to make the planet safe for humankind.
The Paris Agreement, non-binding largely, does reflect that collective
will of the world.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Advance planning, decontrol & decentralization and higher compensation for
land have helped increase the pace of
laying transmission lines
The seeds of good & evil exist in
everyone’s hearts. Whichever you
choose to nurture & give attention to, is
the one that will grow.
Mufti Ismail Menk
@muftimenk
Cyber-attacks on Apple
devices on rise: Symantec
NEW DELHI:
Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting Apple devices like iPhone and
iPad as these products gain popularity among consumers across the
globe, including India, says a report
by security solutions firm Symantec.
Besides, 2016 could see
more attacks on the iOS platform that has been perceived to
be 'free from malware' in the past, it
added. 'Apple devices have experienced a surge in popularity in recent
years. According to IDC, the company now accounts for 13.5 percent
of global smartphone shipments and
7.5 percent of global PC shipments.
This increase in usage has not
gone unnoticed by attackers. A rising number of threat actors have
begun developing specific malware
designed to infect devices running
OS X or iOS,' Symantec Director Solutions Product Management
(Asia Pacific and Japan) Tarun
Kaura told PTI.
He added that although the number
of threats targeting Apple operating
systems remains quite low when
compared to the company’s main
competitors like Windows and Android.
VOICE MAIL
CHENNAI
An insurance policy
for the planet
Ban hails Paris pact
Wants to begin climate change action 'today'
UNITED NATIONS:
Terming the Paris climate change
deal as 'a health insurance policy
for the planet', UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said it is for
the first time that every nation in the
world has pledged to curb emissions address climate change.
'The countries of the world have
made a historic choice,' Ban told
reporters here yesterday on his return from the COP21 conference in
Paris, as he called on governments
to put their pledges into action.
'The Paris Agreement is a victory
for people, for the common good,
and for multilateralism. It is a health
2015, warmest
year on record
WASHINGTON:
When a devastating heat wave
hit India this year, it killed more
than 2,500 people and melted the
pavement of New Delhi’s streets.
In California, where an ordinary
year sees mountain snow pile
1.83 meters deep or more supplying much drinking water surveyors had nothing to measure in
some spots but bare grass.
By the time 2015 is over, it is
certain to go down as the warmest year on record. But if the heat
was unsettling, it also set the
tone for many of the headlines
that defined the year, even when
they ranged far beyond matters
of extreme weather or changing
climate.
From searing tragedies to blistering campaign rhetoric to boiling crises, the top news of 2015
insurance policy for the planet,'
Ban said. Describing the climate
agreement as the most significant
action in years to uphold the UN
Charter mandate to 'save succeeding generations', Ban said nations
have unanimously decided to work
as one to rise to the defining challenge of current times.
'For the first time, every country in
the world has pledged to curb emissions, strengthen resilience and act
internationally and domestically to
address climate change,' he said.
The 195 Parties to the UN Frame-
In a landmark deal, 195 Parties
to the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change have pledged
to curb emissions,
strengthen resilience
and take common
climate action
work Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) on Saturday
adopted the Paris Agreement after
two weeks of intensive negotiations
made for one of the hottest years
in recent memory, literally and
figuratively.
In a year that visited carnage
upon worshippers who opened
their church to a stranger in Charleston, South Carolina, and fans
who gathered on a Friday night
for a rock concert in the center
of Paris, the news left the public
with little refuge.
Headlines spotlighting bloody
clashes for control of Syria and
the angry debate over whether to
take in those fleeing the violence,
radiated heat, but often not much
light.
Instead, many of the year’s biggest news stories fueled a narrative of intensifying conflict. It began just days into the new year,
when two brothers who called
themselves members of al-Qaida
forced their way in to the offices
of Paris humor magazine Charlie
Hebdo and a nearby Jewish market, gunning down 17.
Ban Ki-moon
Obama reaches out to leaders
WASHINGTON:
In the aftermath of the historic Paris climate deal, US President Barack
Obama has reached out to world leaders and thanked them for their
valuable contributions in working towards making
the planet
safe.
As per the White House, Obama has
so far reached out to the leaders of
France, Brazil, China besides UN
Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon.
He is expected to contact more
leaders.
Obama telephoned French President Francois Hollande to thank and
congratulate him and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for their leadership
in achieving a historic climate agreement
in
Paris on 12 December, the White House said yesterday.
In a separate phone call, Obama thanked Brazilian President Dilma
Rousseff and congratulate her and Environment Minister Izabella for
their leadership in achieving a historic climate agreement.
Obama also thanked Ban for his leadership in achieving the historic
climate agreement. The two underscored their commitment to work together to implement the deal. The President and Secretary-General
also discussed the deteriorating situation in Burundi and the urgent
need to begin internationally-mediated dialogue, the White House said.
at the summit.
The accord covers all crucial areas identified as essential for a
landmark conclusion: mitigation
- reducing emissions fast enough
to achieve the temperature goal;
a transparency system and global
stock-take - accounting for climate
action; adaptation and support - including finance, for nations to build
clean, resilient futures.
Ban said it embodies a successful new approach to global cooperation on climate change, with
countries acknowledging that their
national interest is best served by
acting for the common good by
transforming the global economy
to low-emission, climate-resilient
growth.
'It marks a decisive turning point in
the global quest for a safer, more
sustainable and prosperous future,'
he stressed.
'It will save lives, improve human well-being and promote more
peaceful, stable societies.'
He highlighted the agreement as
one of his top priorities since the
day he became UN Secretary-Gen-
Typhoon hits Philippines
Millions without power, three dead, over 8 lakh evacuated
Legazpi:
Typhoon Melor carved through
the central Philippines on Tuesday bringing heavy rain and strong
winds that left millions without power
and at least three people dead, officials said.
One person died of hypothermia
while two others drowned in floods
in the poor fishing town of Catarman in Northern Samar province in
the Visayas region south of Manila,
municipal disaster officer Jonathan
Baldo told DZMM radio.
The storm toppled trees and cut
electricity to at least seven provinces, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
(NDRRMC) said.
People who fled from their coastal
homes spent a sleepless night in
evacuation centres, sprawled on
classroom tables and chairs as flying debris swirled around outside.
Melor whipped the vast Bicol peninsula, with a population of 5.4 million
people, overnight before slamming
into the Romblon islands on Tuesday morning.
Gusts had weakened somewhat
by Tuesday morning but were still
recorded at 170 kilometres (106
miles) per hour from 185 kilometres per hour on Monday. The storm
was expected to weaken further as
it heads to Mindoro island and out
into the South China Sea later Tuesday, state weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the
typhoon-prone Bicol region, where
720,000 people were evacuated as
early as the weekend.
'What we are asking for is the early
restoration of electricity,' he said,
adding the entire province of 1.2 million people was without power.
Authorities were assessing Melor's
damage while bracing for another
typhoon brewing east of Mindanao,
the country's main southern island,
said NDRRMC spokeswoman Mina
Marasigan.
eral. 'For nine years, I have spoken
repeatedly with nearly every world
leader about how the growing human imprint on the planet threatens
our lives, our economies, our security and our survival.
I have mobilised business and
engaged civil society. I have never
lost faith that the international community could rise to the climate
challenge.
Now I count on Governments, and
all sectors of society, to turn these
commitments into urgent, decisive
action,' he added.
Saudi Arabia forms
Islamic counter
terrorism coalition
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia said that 34 nations
have agreed to form a new 'Islamic
military alliance' to fight terrorism
with a joint operations center based
in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.
The announcement published by
the state-run Saudi Press Agency
said the alliance will be Saudi-led
and is being established because
terrorism 'should be fought by all
means and collaboration should be
made to eliminate it.'
The new counterterrorism coalition includes nations with large and
established armies such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt as well as
war-torn countries with embattled
militaries such as Libya and Yemen.
African nations that have suffered
terrorist attacks such as Mali, Chad,
Somalia and Nigeria are also members.
NOT SO ROSY
Action, reaction
Sir,
We are on one hand contended that despite having been tolerant over
the fury of nature, Chennaiites could limp back to normalcy on account
of the people old and young sans age, caste barriers and many unsung heroes, shopkeepers giving huge discounts for relief materials
and autos running for free, It is disheartening on the other hand that
even when some functionaries are interfering with the supply of aid, no
party has taken control over the situation to prevent such unacceptable
practices. The State should come up with concrete disaster management plans and have conducive measures to meet disasters, backed
by the centre.
MAYA VASUDEVAN,
RA Puram
ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO :
The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road,
Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
or e-mail to : [email protected] /
[email protected]
C
L ICK
PIC
Syrians trying to extinguish fire that was caused by Syrian government aerial bombardment on the Damascus suburb of Douma, Syria. In the
other photograph, a protester throws stones amid tear gas used by the government forces to disperse them during a protest in Srinagar, India.
Enterprise
CHENNAI
Domestic factors,
govt action key to
capital flows: Moody’s
New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI):
Moody’s Investors Service today
said domestic factors and government policies will largely decide the
course of capital flows in the country
and the future economic growth, even
as the impending US Fed rate hike
may dampen investor sentiment.
‘The answer lies in the extent to
which the government policies can
animate domestic sources of growth
and maintain financial stability. Domestic factors will be the key determinants of the broad direction of capital
flows into and out of these countries
in 2016 – in particular whether their
respective policies appear likely to
revive growth,’ it said.
‘Although markets may have largely
discounted US monetary tightening
and slower growth in China,... India
may still see investor demand weaken whenever unfavourable data are
released or even when anticipated
global events, such as a rate hike
by the US Federal Reserve, occur,”
the agency said in a report. Moody’s
said the India’s depreciating currency illustrated the impact of weaker
global growth and tighter financing
conditions.
The US Federal Reserve is likely
to hike rates in the week. The rating
agency said it has maintained positive outlook through a period of external challenges because authorities in India are making progress in
addressing long-term constraints
on their respective credit profiles.’In
India, the focus is on greater control
over inflation and improving the
operating environment for private
investment,’ it said.
Chennai on top of
India’s realty map
Reliance to offer
70 mbps speed
New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI):
Download speed on 4G network
of Reliance Jio during its beta-test
phase peaked at 70 megabit per
second but remained in 15-30 mbps
range on most occasions, as per field
trial report by brokerage firm Credit
Suisse. The report said download
speed of Reliance Jio 4G service
was impressive but ‘it is still an
empty network’. It also found urban
coverage of RJio network at par with
incumbents but remarked rural coverage as ‘poor’.
‘We experienced peak download
speed of 70 Mbps during our trials,
and on most occasions in the 15-30
Mbps range, even on the
move,’ a
report
by Credit
Suisse
Research Analysts Sunil Tirumalai and Chunky
Shah said.
At 70 mbps download speed, a
bollywood movie size video can be
downloaded in about half a minute
while at 15-30 mbps the same can be
downloaded in about three minutes.
The report compared commercially
launched 4G service of telecom major
Airtel and beta network of Reliance
Jio and found ‘Airtel 4G giving 10-20
Mbps, often slower than Jio, and 3G
network speeds of sub 2Mbps (peak
7 Mbps).’
Analysts found urban coverage of
RJio network at par with incumbents
but remarked rural coverage as
‘poor’. During trials analysts experienced call drop-free RJio network
in Mumbai but lost signal 3-4 times
when they entered on village roads.
Analysts said that they experienced
seamless phone call experience
between RJio and network of other
telecom operators.
5
SOUTHERN EXPRESS
Survey says Pallikaranai new hotspot
South & west parts dominate property spectrum
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
A latest survey has said increasing job opportunities, relatively
affordable prices and various infrastructure upgrades has once
again put Chennai on top of India’s realty map in 2015.
‘South and west parts of the city continued to dominate the
LUXURY LINE
Areas in OMR and Thiruporur saw launches mainly in the
luxury category. The average price varied from Rs 5,000 to Rs
5,500 per sq. ft. In other localities of these top 10
markets, the prices started from Rs 2,000 and went up to Rs
4,500 per sq. ft.
property spectrum with major activities in both apartments and
plots category. As for the rental market trends, newer areas have
emerged outside the city limits,’ said the Chennai Real Estate
Report - 2015 by Commonfloor.com
According to the report, while the prominent micro markets in
central zone of the city include Egmore, T Nagar, Mylapore, Anna
Salai, Nungambakkam, Mambalam and Triplicane, among others, the north zone comprises Ennore, George Town, Kolathur,
Madhavaram, Perambur, Purasawalkam, Red Hills and
Vyasarpadi, among others. Adyar, Tambaram, East Coast Road,
GST Road, Medavakkam, OMR, Sholinganallur and Velacheri
come under south zone, while Kilpauk, Anna Nagar, Poonamallee,
Koyambedu, Oragadam,
Porur, Sriperumbudur, VilMARKET SHARE
livakkam and other areas
All top 10 markets together
nearby fall under west zone. comprised of 82 per cent of
Listing out various an- the total share in this category
nouncements by the State while the top markets in south
and the Central govern- Chennai consisted of nearly 50
ments, directions passed per cent of the
total supply for villas and row
by the judiciary and plans
revealed by realty players, houses in 2015.
the survey said about 90
per cent of the new apartment supply was skewed towards South
Chennai, followed by West Chennai.
‘Builders preferred to launch more projects in areas that were
either IT hubs or in proximity to IT/ITeS hubs, it said, adding:
‘OMR, Perumbakkam and Perungudi retained their spots from
PLOT WITH A TWIST
The top 10 markets for plots and layouts are evenly skewed
towards west and south Chennai. Tiruvallur, Oragadam and
Chengalpattu are the outer areas of the city while
other western markets are in close proximity to the city centre.
2014 for top 10 markets for apartment launches, which can be
attributed to the presence of IT/ITeS in the said areas.’
Along the OMR belt, Navalur and Siruseri were two regions that
Mahindra to acquire
Italian design firm
Mumbai, Dec 15 (PTI):
Mahindra group today announced
it will acquire Italian automotive and
industrial design firm Pininfarina for
an overall outgo of over 50 million
Euros (nearly Rs 370 crore) after
months of negotiations.
The acquisition is being carried
out through a special
purpose vehicle (SPV)
and two group firms
Tech Mahindra and
Mahindra & Mahindra
(M&M) will own 60 per
cent and 40 per cent, respectively, in
the Turin-based firm.
‘As part of the agreement, Tech Mahindra and M&M will purchase 76.06
per cent of Pininfarina shares from
the current controlling shareholders
Pincar srL at a price of Euro 1.1 per
share,’ Mahindra & Mahindra said in
a BSE filing.
The company said the cost of acquiring 76.06 per cent in Pininfarina
TUESDAY
15 DECEMBER 2015
by the SPV will be Euro 25.3 million,
which would be funded by Tech Mahindra and M&M in the ratio of 60:40.
This will be followed by an open
offer for the remaining 23.94 per
cent stake of Pininfarina at the same
purchase price paid for the shares
held by Pincar, it added.
‘The SPV will also
infuse an amount of
Euro 20 million into
Pininfarina by way
of a rights issue,” the
company said, adding
the fund infusion into the design and
styling major will be executed before
the end of 2016.
Commenting on the acquisition,
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand
Mahindra said: “Pininfarina will add
enormous value to Tech Mahindra’s
portfolio of engineering services. But
just as important is the fact that the
legendary high-end design credentials of Pininfarina will significantly
enhance the design capabilities of
the entire Mahindra group.’
Given the increasing design sensibilities of today’s consumers,
product design will greatly influence
customer choice and experience
and hence the group’s success,
he added.
Pininfarina Spa, Chairman Paolo Pininfarina said joining hands
with Mahindra Group will not only
strengthen Pininfarina’s Italian identity but will open more doors.
‘Tech Mahindra’ global presence
and global delivery model will allow
us to compete for a larger pie of the
business,’ he added.
Tech Mahindra CEO and MD CP
Gurnani said adding Pininfarina’s legendary design skills to the company’s
integrated engineering solutions
enables a strong entry into automotive styling, design and development
and reinforces body engineering
capabilities.
Enter the dragon
Chinese companies keen to invest
in infra projects in India
Mumbai, Dec 15 (PTI):
Chinese firms are looking to invest
in India’s infrastructure projects, a
senior government official said here.
‘More Chinese firms are looking
to invest in India’s infrastructure
projects. Our target for bilateral
trade between India and China is
USD 100 billion in near future as
compared to the present USD 70
billion,’ China’s Deputy Counsel
General in Mumbai, Yan Huang,
told reporters after inaugurating
the twin China trade show here.
Addressing the CEOs of leading
companies and Indian trade delegations at the three-day ‘China Home
Life India 2015 and China
Machinex India 2015’
trade show, Yan Huang
said, both India and China should increase the
bilateral trade as India
is poised for a big leap
in the global economy.
In spite of the recent
depreciation of Yuan and
fluctuation in Indian currency, both the nations are confident
of keeping up the upward pattern in
the bilateral exchange during 2016,
he said.
The Modi-led government’s ‘Make
in India’ initiative and Smart City
projects will provide big opportunity
to Chinese companies, who are
strong in infrastructure development, Huang said.
China-based construction equipment manufacturer, Sany Group,
has recently announced plans to
invest USD 3 billion in developing
renewable energy assets in India.
Several Chinese companies al-
A representation of new projects coming up in south
Chennai.
witnessed significant activity in terms of new apartment launches.
Pallikarnai emerged as the new hotspot in 2015 due to its easy
accessibility to the IT corridors of Velacheri, Medavakkam and
Sholinganallur, the study said.
These ten localities combined constitute about 76 per cent of
the market share for new apartment launches in 2015.
As per CommonFloor Real Insights, Chennai witnessed just
about 52 per cent apartment supply in 2015 as against 69 per cent
in 2014 because of the increasing demand for plots in the city.
Most top markets for villas and row houses are located towards
the peripheries of the city owing to ample land availability. As
expected, six of these top 10 areas are in south Chennai.
Bengaluru is
San Francisco’s
sister
Care for cars
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India today said it is taking aggressive
efforts in order to reach out to 300 Fiat cars that have been affected
in the Chennai floods.
According to a press note here, FCA will extend free road side assistance to get the cars to its workshops to extend quicker repair.
FCA is also mobilising additional dealer manpower from nearby states
to expedite the repairs so that customers get the car at the earliest
FCA will share the costs on the genuine parts replaced in the flood
affected cars post the insurance support.
Meanwhile, Mahindra Two Wheelers today stated that it had organised service camps for Mahindra’s customers who have been
affected by the Chennai floods and who own either motorcycles or
scooters.
‘MTWL is making all possible efforts to provide assistance to the
hundreds of customers who have suffered damage to their Mahindra
two wheelers,’ it said in a release.
Sterling Generators
expands network
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Sterling Generators, One of the largest manufacturers of DG sets in
Asia, has announced its plans to expand its sales network across India,
including Tamilnadu.
According to a press note, currently Sterling Generators has more than
six dealers across Tamilnadu and plans to spread out to more cities increasing its dealer network to 15 by 2016.
‘Looking at the increasing demand of DG Sets in the tier 2 and 3 cities,
Sterling Generators has embarked on building a strong dealership network
offering the complete range of Sterling DG sets from 10 kva up to 3000
kva in these cities,’ it said.
ready have a huge presence in the
Indian infrastructure, construction,
electronics and solar power market.
Huang also called for more direct
flights between China and India and
easing of rules for obtaining visa to
increase the business activities. The
Tata Motors
to hike vehicle
prices
recent reduction in the interest rate
cut announced by the Chinese government and slowdown seen in the
global economy will
definitely help Indian
importers, Meorient
Exhibition Ltd, Shanghai CEO Binu Pillai
said.
‘I expect a total business of Rs 16,000
crore through these
displays against Rs
8,000 crore seen in
2014,’ Pillai said.
These manufacturers and traders
have come from Ningbo, Shanghai
and Wenzhou provinces of China. It
has been ably supported by Chinese
government.
The trade show is witnessing
around 750 big Chinese companies
showcasing high-end plant and
machineries used in packaging,
50 companies are displaying machine tools, 150 companies food
processing equipments and 200
companies have displayed textiles
and garments products, furniture
and kitchen appliances.
New Delhi, Dec 15:
Tata Motors has said it
will hike price of its entire
passenger vehicle model
range by up to Rs 20,000
from January.
‘Due to the impact of
various macro-economic
factors, Tata Motors has
decided to increase the
prices of its passenger
vehicles, with the maximum increase being upto
Rs 20,000 on some models,’ Tata Motors said in a
statement. The company
sells various models from
entry level Nano GenX to
multi purpose vehicle Aria,
priced between Rs 1.99
lakh and Rs 15.51 lakh (all
ex-showroom Delhi).
Already various car makers including Maruti Suzuki
India, Hyundai Motor India,
Toyota, General Motors
India and German luxury
car makers Mercedes Benz
and BMW have announced
a hike in prices of their vehicles across models from
January to offset rising
input costs.
Experts say carmakers usually come up with such yearend announcements which
help them clear inventories
left after the heavy festival
discounts on vehicles.
I, SAMPATH SATHISH
KUMAR, Son of Mr.Sampath
and Mrs. Vanjulavalli,
residing at 2/391,
Lakshmi Nagar 6th Street,
Vandalur, Chennai-48,
shall henceforth be known
as SATHISH KUMAR
SAMPATH.
SAMPATH SATHISH
KUMAR
Bengaluru, Dec 15 (PTI):
A Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed
between the cities of San Francisco and Bengaluru today for cooperation in the field of technological
interventions in arts, culture and
museums, as a part of the sister
initiatives between the two cities.
As per the LoI signed under the
aegis of Invest Karnataka 2016,
interactive art and technology installations from San Francisco would
soon be seen in the city, the state
government said in a release.It said
the interactive art installations are
aimed at sparking imagination and
public interaction.
The LoI was signed by San
Francisco Mayor Edwin M Lee
and Karnataka’s Commissioner
for Industrial Development Gaurav
Gupta.
The Government said participatory
and interactive art and technology
installations will be constructed at
public places near Cubbon Park and
Vidhana Soudha metro stations as
well as San Francisco’s Civic Center
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
station.
Cleaning and sprucing up of
the public spaces will be done by
art colleges and organisations in
Bengaluru and San Francisco, he
added. The partnership project is
expected to be completed within
18 months.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Ordinary Original Side
Jurisdiction)
O.P.No. 436 of 2015
In the matter of Guardian
and Wards Act 1890 and
In the matter of Aditi
Subhalaxmi Minor
Gautami Tadimalla
No.4/172, Eldams Road,
Teynampet, Chennai-600 018.
...Petitioner
-VsMr. Sandip Bhatia
S/o. Shayam Bhatia
Chosiv Apartment, No.16, Raja Street,
T.Nagar, Chennai-600 017.
... Respondent
All persons claiming to have any interest
in the welfare of minor Aditi Subhalaxmi
in appointing her natural guardian and
mother Gautami Tadimalla as her
Guardian are hereby cited to come and
see the proceedings before the Master
sitting in the Original Side of High Court
of Judicature at Madras on 12.01.2016
at 10.30 am and file their objections if
they think fit before the appointment of
the petitioner as guardian to minor Aditi
Subhalaxmi. Dated at Chennai on this
15th day of December 2015.
Asst. Registrar
Original Side-I
High Court, Madras.
Mr. M. Muthappan
Advocate
No.127, Addl. Law Chambers,
High Court Buildings,
Chennai-600 104.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Testamentary and Intestate Jurisdiction)
O.P.No. 361 of 2014
In the Matter of the Indian
Succession Act XXXIX of 1925
and
In the matter of Estate of
M. Shanmugham (Decd).
1. Tmt. S. MANIMEKALAI,
W/o Late.S. SIVARAMAN,
2. Tmt.S. UMA MAHESWARI AND
3 . Selvi.S. JAYANTHI
Daughters of Late S. SIVARAMAN,
All residing at 17/9, First Floor,
Korukkupet, Chennai - 600 021.
...Petitioners
All persons claiming to have any
interest in the estate of the above named
M. Shanmugham who had resided at
No.17/9 First Street, Thiruvalluvar
Nagar, Korukkupet, Chennai - 600 021
and died on 12.04.1992 are hereby
cited to come and see the proceedings
before the Learned Master sitting in
the Original Side of High Court of
Judicature at Madras on 21.12.2015 at
of Administration.
Dated at Chennai this the 7th day of
December 2015.
(S.Gurumurthy)
The Asst. Registrar-I,
Original Side,
High Court,
Chennai - 600 104.
M/s.A.S. Narasimhan
N. Ravichandran
I. Murugan
Advocates
No.17 Law Chambers,
High Court, Chennai - 600 104.
6
TUESDAY
15 DECEMBER 2015
Sports
CHENNAI
Kiwis rest Boult
for Lanka ODIs
Newcomer Nicholls earns call-up as injury worries mount
Dipika, Joshna sort
out differences
New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI):
India’s leading squash players
Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa,
who couldn’t see eye to eye after
an acrimonious quarterfinal in the
Incheon Asian Games, have buried
the hatchet to be friends again ahead
of a busy upcoming season.
The fiercely fought last eight clash,
which Dipika won to secure India’s
first women’s singles medal at the
Asian Games, had jeopardised the
longtime friendship between the
country’s top female players.
They stopped talking after the
heated on court exchange in Incheon
and all of this took place a month after
Dipika and Joshna made history by
winning the India’s first ever gold at
the Commonwealth Games.
‘It is back to normal between us. We
have known each other way too long
to not sort out our differences. And we
also live in the same city (Chennai). Be-
Pietersen lets rip at
Qantas ‘muppets’
Sydney, Dec 15 (AFP):
England exile Kevin Pietersen has
let rip at Australian carrier Qantas,
calling them ‘muppets’ after he was
refused entry to an airline lounge for
wearing flip
flops.
The star
batsman
was fuming
after the incident as he
travelled to
Australia to
play for the
Kevin Pietersen
Melbourne
Stars in the Big Bash League after
his Dolphins side lost in the final of
South Africa’s Twenty20 competition
on Saturday.
‘I suggest you tell Platinum, First
Class fliers that they not allowed in
your lounges with flip flops before
they fly, @Qantas! Muppets!,’ he
tweeted to his 2.88 million followers.
‘And BTW, @Qantas! Thongs (flip
flops) are an institution in this great
country! GET A GRIP! Tired, jet
lagged & just wanted to chill! #Muppets.’
Qantas tightened dress code rules
for entry to lounges earlier this year
saying a survey of business travellers
overwhelmingly supported the move.
‘@KP24. It must have been disappointing Kevin. Changes from earlier
this year. Hope to welcome you back
again soon,’ Qantas tweeted in response.
sides that, both of us realise the importance of playing together and get more
medals for India,’ revealed Joshna, who
has now overtaken Dipika to be India’s
highest-ranked player at 13.
It can only be good for Indian
squash that the leading ladies of
the game are back to sharing rooms
while fighting a ‘lonely’ battle on the
professional tour besides advising
each other on the game in whichever
part of the world they are in.
Dipika, who is five years younger
to her 29-year-old teammate, too
has moved on from the intense
Incheon incident. ‘It was a tough
match and we both were playing for
a medal. What happened post that
should not have happened but we
have decided to move on looking at
the bigger picture. We are the only
two from our country playing at the
highest-level and that is why have
to stick together,’ Dipika told PTI.
NZ squad for first three ODIs:
Brendon McCullum (c), Doug
Bracewell, Martin Guptill, Matt
Henry (first two ODIs), Mitchell
McClenaghan, Adam Milne,
Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi,
Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Ross
Taylor, Kane Williamson, George
Worker.
Trent Boult has been rested for the first three ODIs against Sri Lanka.
rather than later.’
It is Nicholls’ first call-up to the New
Zealand squad. He averages 44.07
after 34 List A matches, with eight fifties
and a big hundred - 178 against Wellington in January. In fact, his 50-over
career peaked in the 2014-15 season
when he became the second-highest
scorer in the Ford Trophy with 454 runs
in eight matches at an average of 75.66
and a strike-rate of 105.82.
Nicholls has been a middle-order
batsman for most of his domestic
career and might get his New Zealand
cap sooner rather than later considering allrounders Corey Anderson,
James Neesham and Grant Elliott are
still recovering from injuries.
Anderson has been playing in
the Georgie Pie Super Smash for
Northern Knights despite his bad
back preventing him from bowling.
‘We are starting to increase his loads
and he is likely to be considered for
T20 cricket as a batsman, but we are
hopeful that towards the back end of
season he can play a role with the
ball,’ Hesson said. ‘We are taking a
cautious approach with his return to
bowling crease. So far he’s ticking the
initial boxes.’
Elliott had broken his hand recently,
but stands a chance to make the team
for the final two ODIs, according to
Hesson. Neesham is still ‘a long way
off from bowling,’ after hurting his
back during the Brisbane Test against
Australia.
‘Elliott’s cast is off and he batted a
couple of times in the nets. He will
likely return for (Wellington) Firebirds
in Ford Trophy on 27 December and
if he proves his fitness, we hope he
can come into consideration for the
latter part of the series.’
New Zealand have a newish spin
attack as well with left-arm allrounder
Mitchell Santner and legspinner Ish
Sodhi the only two frontline options
picked. Nathan McCullum, who had
announced he would retire from international cricket at the end of the
season, was not picked for the ODIs.
‘Nathan’s unlikely to be considered
for one-day cricket with his body,’
Hesson said ‘We see T20 about
where his limit is. He’s had a lot of
back issues but we have a number
of promising spinners, looking to
tournaments ahead, Mitch Santner
and Ish Sodhi are going to need some
opportunities.’
Sri Lanka have won only one ODI
series since the start of 2015 - their
last one against West Indies - and
that run began with a defeat in New
Zealand in January. Hesson is hopeful of a repeat.
‘India needs to do a
lot to match China’
Open academies in every State to unearth
talent: Prakash Padukone
‘Players come from all over the
Mumbai, Dec 15 (PTI):
India needs to set up a bad- country, but there’s no academy in
minton academy in every state the north barring the one in Lucknow.
to hone the amount of talent the The government is also spending on
country has and bridge the huge foreign coaches.
‘If each State cannot have
gap that exists currently with
an academy, SAI (Sports
powerhouse China, feels
Authority of India)
shuttle legend Prakash
should have one in
Padukone.
each of the six zones
India, currently, has
including north-east.
two renowned acadBut the key is to find
emies - the twothe right personnel
decade-old Prakash
to manage them.
Padukone Academy
There are good SAI
in Bengaluru and the
coaches. The need
P Gopichand Academy
is to identify them and
in Hyderabad run by the
Prakash Padukone
give support and recnational coach, plus an
ognition. That’s the key,’
academy in Lucknow, acsaid the 1978 Commonwealth
cording to the 1980 All-England
Games champion.
men’s singles champion.
Prakash said that these zonal acad‘But we need more. We need 30
academies in the long run in order to emies can act as feeder lines to his
compete with China. That’s the sort academy, the academy of national
of talent we have. Each state should coach Gopichand and the one in
have one academy, run by dedicated Lucknow which can be treated as
and properly qualified coaches who national academies.
‘SAI has centres. Some are doing
are prepared to put in the hard work,’
the 60-year-old told PTI in an inter- well and some are not. Once they
produce results it’s important to give
view here.
Tomic sets sights
on top 10 spot
Bernard Tomic
Dubai, Dec 15:
Australian star Bernard Tomic
has set his sights on cracking the
ATP’s top 10 as he seeks more
consistency in 2016.
Tomic enjoyed a successful
year on court in 2015, moving into
the men’s top 20 for the first time in
his career.The 23-year-old ended
the season ranked a career-high
18th, boasting a 40-27 win-loss
record and having defended his
Claro Open crown in July.
But Tomic, who reached the
fourth round of the Australian
Open, is eyeing a place alongside
Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray,
Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka
Wellington, Dec 15:
In an effort to manage workloads, New
Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult has been
rested for the first three matches of the
five-ODI series against Sri Lanka starting
on Boxing Day. Tim Southee will also
have a couple of matches off, before
joining the squad for the Nelson ODI on
New Year’s Eve.
Neither player was part of New Zealand’s tours to Zimbabwe and South
Africa earlier in the year: Boult was
injured and Southee was rested. But
they have played four back-to-back
Tests since the start of November.
‘He will have played five Tests in a
row (including the next one in Hamilton),’ coach Mike Hesson said of
Boult. “It’s a long season and we need
some fresh legs steaming in come
the first ODI at Hagley.’ Matt Henry
comes into the squad for Southee in
the first two matches, and he will have
Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne
and Doug Bracewell for company in
the fast-bowling department.
The only new face among the 13
players picked was Henry Nicholls
and Hesson was effusive in his praise
of the 24-year-old batsman. ‘Henry
has earned his spot through consistent performances over the last 12
months. Through the A campaign
he was exceptional, certainly an
outstanding player in all forms of the
game. He’s a player we see has class
and a player who we want to expose
to the international scene sooner
and Rafael Nadal inside the top
10, though he knows he must go
beyond winning ATP 250 events.
‘I think I played very well
throughout the whole year. I kept
up the consistency which was really important,’ Tomic told a news
conference.‘Now for 2016, I have
to start strong and really play
well in the Australian summer
and after remain consistent like
I was in 2015.
‘I’d really love to get into the top
10. On paper it doesn’t look so far
away - six, seven or eight spots but it is very difficult.‘So I need to
start winning bigger titles to move
into the top 10.’
Abhinav, Mohammed
fashion TN’s win
Hyderabad, Dec 15 (PTI):
Seamer M Mohammed grabbed a
five-for while opener Abhinav Mukund
hit 85 as Tamilnadu beat Services by
seven wickets in a group A match of the
Vijay Hazare Trophy, here yesterday.
Batting first, Services managed only
192 for 8 in 50 overs with former KKR
player Yashpal Singh top scoring with
56. Seamer Mohammed provided his
team with crucial breakthroughs as
his 5 for 50 was complemented well
by his skipper Ravichandran Ashwin
(2 for 23).
In reply, Tamil Nadu scored the runs
in 39.4 overs with Mukund and Baba
Aparajith (66 no) adding 138 runs
for the second wicket. Both played
cautiously as Mukund took 110 balls
hitting seven boundaries and Aparajith faced 91 deliveries for his three
boundaries.
The duo ran well between the wickets
and by the time, Mukund was bowled,
Tamilnadu needed only 42 runs. R
Sathish (16) and Vijay Shankar (16 no)
hit a few runs as Aparajith anchored the
team to victory.
Brief scores: Services 192 for 8
(Yashpal Singh 56, M Mohammed
5 for 50, Ravi Ashwin 2 for 23) lost
to Tamilnadu 193 for 3 in 39.4 overs
(Abhinav Mukund 85, Baba Aparajith
66). Points: TN 4; Services 0.
recognition. From there (the zonal
or State academies) we can pick up
talent to be further trained at Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Lucknow
which are like national academies.
That’s the right way (to go about),’
he said.
Prakash said there was a number
of talented juniors now in the country,
especially in the boys, who can rise to
the world level in the near future with
proper grooming.
‘There are a lot of juniors, especially
among boys, with a lot of potential to
do well at the world level in, may be
5-8 years. Siril Verma is doing well
and reached the final in World Juniors
(in Lima, Peru, in November).
‘Then there are Lakshya Sen and
Chirag Sen. There are also others
from Hyderabad or Bangalore. They
have a fairly good potential. There
are a few girls too. Ruthvika (Shivani
Gudde) is one who has the height,
but needs to work hard.’
He welcomed the revival of the
badminton league in its new avatar
- Premier Badminton League - and
hoped it’s held regularly and at a
specific period during the year.
Former Indian cricket captain K Srikkanth, former Indian hockey
captain V Baskaran, India Cements vice-chairman N Srinivasan and
others at a condolence meeting for M A M Ramaswamy in Chennai.
Tributes pour
in for MAM
Biography of industrialist-racing
baron released
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Speakers at a condolence meeting held here recently paid triubutes to
industrialist and racing baron M A M Ramaswamy, who passed away on
2 December.
A press note said the meeting, held at Rani Seethai Hall, was attended
by over 500 persons. Among those who hailed the services rendered by
the former Member of the Parliament and Pro-Chancellor of Annamalai
University were former judge Duraisamy Raju, India Cements vice-chairman
N Srinivasan, former Indian cricketer K Srikkanth, former Indian hockey
captain V Bhaskaran and Madras Race Club president R Ramakrishnan.
Speaking on the occasion, Ramaswamy’s foster son and managing
director of Chettinad Group, MAMR Muthiah said, ‘All the progress I have
achieved so far is because of my father, MAM Ramaswamy’s blessings.
He was a great guide, lovable grandfather, an ardent sport enthusiast, an
immense fan of arts, whether music or literature, generous humanitarian
and certainly the greatest businessman of his time.’
A biography of Dr MAM Ramaswamy - ‘Dr MAMR - Oru Sagaptham’ was
released on the occasion.
Leicester back on top
after Chelsea slip-up
Leicester’s Danny Simpson battles for the ball with Chelsea’s Pedro
in the EPL game on Monday.
London, Dec 15:
Sublime goals from Jamie Vardy
and Riyad Mahrez sent Leicester
City back to the Premier League
summit after a deserved 2-1 win
on Monday over lacklustre Chelsea
whose march to the title last season
seems a distant memory.
The prolific Vardy, whose record
run of 11 consecutive Premier
League goals came to an end at
Swansea City last weekend, beat
goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a
crisp volley from playmaker Mahrez’s
delightful cross after 34 minutes.
Algeria international Mahrez
curled in a stunning second from the
edge of the area three minutes into
the second half to put Leicester, continuing a remarkable turnaround after
escaping relegation last season, on
35 points, two clear of Arsenal.
Substitute Loic Remy gave the
visitors hope with a close-range
headed goal 13 minutes from time
to set up a tense finish but the hosts
held out to leave Chelsea mired
in 16th place on 15 points from 16
games -- one point above the relegation zone.
‘We played against the champions but we want to make a fantastic
match for our fans because they
believe, they are dreaming,’ said
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri,
savouring victory against his former
side.
‘It is good if they (the fans) continue to dream but for us it was important to make a great performance
with a fantastic spirit. Also tactically,
I am very satisfied. We concentrated
for 95 minutes against the champions. That is not easy.’
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho
agreed. ‘They deserved to win because they were better than us during a longer period of time,’ he said.
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
TUESDAY
15 DECEMBER 2015
7
BJP MPs gesture
to rain-hit Chennai
q Decide to contribute Rs 10,000 each for flood relief
GRT Jewellers (India) Pvt Ltd directors G R Ananthapadmanabhan
and G R Radhakrishnan handed over a cheque for Rs one crore to
the Chief Minister’s relief fund to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the
Secretariat in Chennai today.
Corporates, jewellers
donate Rs 12.31 cr
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Contributions continued to pour
in for the Chief Minister’s Relief
Fund for rain victims of Chennai
and neighbouring districts. A total of
Rs 12.31 crore was today handed
over to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
at the Secretariat here, taking the
overall tally to over Rs 111 crore.
The managing director of Chettinad Cements M A M R Muthiah
(Ayyappan) gave Rs three crore
towards flood relief, this being the
highest donation of the day.
Karur Vysya Bank managing director K Venkataraman donated Rs 2
crore on behalf of the bank and another Rs 1 crore that was collected
from the bank employees who gave
up a day’s salary.
While Lakshmi Machine Works,
Coimbatore, managing director,
Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, gave
Rs 2 crore, Coimbatore-based
P S Govindasamy Naidu and Sons
managing trustee L Gopalakrishnan
donated Rs 1 crore.
Managing director of Shakthi
Masala Pvt Ltd, P C Duraisamy,
and director D Shanthi, parted
with Rs 1 crore, while GRT Jewellers (India) Pvt Ltd directors G
R Ananthapadmanabhan and G
R Radhakrishnan contributed Rs
1 crore.
Nissan India’s operations president Guillaume Sicard handed
over Rs 1 crore.
Managing director of NAC Jewellers, Anantha Padmanabhan, gave
Rs 25 lakh to the fund.
Tamilnadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) general
secretary C Babu presenting a petition to BJP State unit president Tamilisai
Soundararajan seeking financial assistance from the Centre for flood affected
industries. TANSTIA vice president C K Mohan is also present.
New Delhi, Dec 15:
BJP members in the Parliament have
decided to contribute Rs 10,000 each
for Chennai flood relief. The party has
282 members in Lok Sabha and 48 in
Rajya Sabha.
The BJP’s Parliamentary party meeting was held today to discuss a series
of issues, where the members decided
to contribute money for Chennai floods.
With Parliament virtually paralysed
due to disruption by Congress, the
BJP attacked it saying it was using
the National Herald case to ‘harm’ national interest and holding the country’s
development ‘hostage’ to its ‘selfish’
political goal.
The BJP Parliamentary Party voiced
concern over the way the main opposition party was creating ‘obstruction’ in
the path of development and said it
would be ‘suicidal’ for it.
Briefing the media after the meeting,
Minister of State for Parliamentary Af-
Cloudy weather for
Chennai; rain likely
in southern districts
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15
Chennai will continue to enjoy fair
weather even as some southern districts may
receive showers
in the
next 24 hours
due to the
presence
of an
upper air
cyclonic circulation in the bay
over Comorin area
a n d and adjoining Sri Lanka.
According to the Met office here,
yesterday’s upper air cyclonic circulation over Maldives area and
neighbourhood lay over Lakshadweep area and neighbourhood.
Another upper air cyclonic circulation lies over Comorin area and
adjoining Lanka which extends upto
1.5 Kilometers above sea level and
could bring rains to the southern
districts.
The weathermen said the sky conditions in Chennai would be partly
cloudy. The maximum and minimum
temperature is around 31 and 23 degree Celsius respectively. Isolated
rainfall can be expected over parts
of Tamilnadu and Puducherry.
Officials at Regional Meterological
Centre said light rains may occur
over parts of Chennai.
HC seeks TN reply
on Nalini plea
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Madras High Court today asked the
Tamilnadu government to reply to
Nalini’s plea seeking release from the
life sentence she was undergoing in
former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s
assassination case.
Earlier, Nalini fi led a petition in
the High Court stating that she
was arrested in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination case and handed over
death sentence by the Poonamallee special court. But, in 2000, the
Tamilnadu government reduced the
sentence to life imprisonment. For
the past 25 years, she has been
logded in Vellore prison.
She highlighted the fact that in the
years 2001 and 2006, the Tamilnadu government pardoned more
2,200 prisoners and released them.
Though many prisoners serving life
sentence were released, she was
left out.
Quoting a government order
dated 1994, which made way for
the release of prisoners serving
BJP MPs offer roses to
protesting Cong MPs
New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI):
In a sarcastic move, some BJP MPs
today offered roses to their Congress
rivals in the Lok Sabha who were
protesting inside the Well over alleged
atrocities against Dalit youths in Punjab.
When Speaker Sumitra Mahajan
rejected notices for adjournment of the
Question Hour including one on the
Punjab Dalit issue, Congress members
trooped into the Well raising slogans
against the Prime Minister and the
SAD-BJP government in Punjab over
the alleged chopping off of limbs of two
dalit youth at a farmhouse in Abohar.
As Congress members shouted slogans like ‘PM sharam karo’ (PM shame,
shame) and ‘dismiss Punjab government’, six BJP members entered the
Well and offered roses to the agitating
Congress MPs.
Soon some senior BJP members
pulled their party colleagues out of the
Well. A few roses were seen lying on
the table of the Lok Sabha secretariat
officials inside the Well.
As soon as the House met for
the day, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan
said she had disallowed notices of
adjournment motions on different
issues and the issues can be raised
later. Congress leader in Lok Sabha
Mallikarjun Khare said the Dalit issue
is important and his party should be
allowed to raise it.
When questions were asked on farmers’ plight and insect attack on cotton
crop, the Speaker ‘there is a question on farmers, but they (Congress
members) have nothing to do with
the farmers.’ Her reference was to the
Congress members who were carrying
out vociferous protest inside the Well.
As she continued with the Question
Hour, Congress members started clapping and raising slogans to drown the
voices of members asking questions
and ministers replying to them.
jail term for more than 20 years, on
humanitarian grounds, she sent a
petition seeking release from prison
on 22 February 2014. But no action
was taken.
When the case came up before
judge M M Sundaresh for hearing
today, advocate M Radhakrishnan
argued the case on behalf of Nalini.
The judge accepted the argument
and sent notice to the Tamilnadu
government and asked the Chief
Secretary to file a reply within two
weeks.
fairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said BJP
has issued a whip, asking its members
in both the Houses to be present for the
remainder of the Winter session during
which the government hopes to push
through a host of Bills even as prospect
for it appears dim.
Like last year, the government and
party will also celebrate former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth
day on 25 December as ‘Good Governance Day’ during which a host of events
will be held, he said.
The Parliamentary party was told
that a number of programmes aimed
at empowering youth, including skill
development projects in every Lok
Sabha constituency, will be launched
on 12 January, the birth anniversary of
spiritual guru Vivekananda.
Banks and public sector units will
pitch in and the aim behind it will be to
give a boost to job growth, Naqvi said.
‘The parliamentary party expressed
In points
Says Congress is harming national interest
l Issues whip to party MPs to be
present in Parliament
l To celebrate 15 December as
‘Good Governance Day’
l Skill development projects to
be launched in evey Lok Sabha
Constituency on 12 January
l
its concern over the negative politics
of Congress and its attempt to obstruct
the country’s development. It is doing so for its own narrow and selfish
political interest and it can be suicidal
for Congress’.
‘The National Herald case is being
used to harm national interest. Congress should see to it that the case
does not overshadow national interest,’
Naqvi said.
Asked about CBI’s raid at Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office for
which he has blamed Modi, Naqvi said
it had become a ‘fashion’ to blame the
prime minister for everything.
‘It’s Modi-phobia. If somebody has
pain in stomach, he will claim that he
has got the disease from PMO,’ he said
At the meeting, a booklet titled ‘National Herald case: family greed and
national blackmail’ was also distributed
among the BJP MPs.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told MPs that the government
will continue to hold talks with opposition
parties for the passage of bills, including
GST. BJP accused Congress of indulging in ‘fake fights’ over ‘manufactured issues and lies’ to obstruct the functioning
of Parliament.
On Vajpayee’s birthday, party leaders
were asked to hold blood camps, distribute warm clothes in Dalit areas and carry
out other welfare activities, Naqvi said.
‘Need to protect
natural resources’
National Energy Conservation Week begins at NLC
NT Bureau
Neyveli, Dec 15:
Every individual should act as
a trustee of natural resources to
manage earth’s resources in a wise,
judicial manner and to conserve them
for the future generation, said Neyveli
Lignite Corporation (NLC) Chairman
and Managing Director Sarat Kumar
Acharya.
Inaugurating National Energy
Conservation Week-2015 at Neyveli
here on Monday, he said energy
conservation is the only way which
helps in replacing the non-renewable resources of energy with the
renewable energy.
He said fossil fuels, crude oil, coal
and natural gas generate sufficient
energy for the use in daily life but
increasing the demands of it day by
day creates the fear of dipping or
diminishing the natural resources.
Speaking on the occasion, Petroleum Conservation Research Association Additional Director Janaki
Ram lauded the efforts taken by
NLC in protecting the environment
and its mother like care for the so-
NLC Chairman and Managing Director Sarat Kumar Acharya flagging off
a rally organised in commemoration of the National Energy Conservation
Week, by the students of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Neyveli yesterday.
ciety. He insisted on how increasing
power demand in India has lead to
considerable fossil fuel burning.
He informed implementing end use
energy effi ciency may save upto
25,000 MW of energy.
Janaki Ram also released pamphlets on energy conservation
and fl agged off a procession of
school children to create awareness among public about the need
of energy conservation.
National Energy Conservation
Day is celebrated every year across
India on 14 December. NLC is celebrating the Energy Conservation
Week 2015 by arranging activities
like rallies by school children, seminars and interactive sessions within
the industry as well as educational
institutions and employees to create
awareness towards efficient use of
energy and its conservation.
NLC functional Directors S Boopathy, Subir Das and V Thangapandian participated.
Two Sabarimala
pilgrims killed in
road mishap
Odisha MLA suspended
Kozhikode, Dec 15 (PTI):
Two Sabarimala pilgrims were
killed and
four others
injured
w h e n
their van
rammed
into a road
side
tree after hitting a
lorry at Vellimukku in
Malappuram district in the wee
hours today, police said.
The deceased, identified as
Sathish Kumar (49), Anup (29),
were part of the six member team
of pilgrims returning from the temple,
police said.
The injured have been admitted to
Kozhikode Medical College hospital,
they said.
Bhubaneswar, Dec 15:
A day after a local channel caught
him on camera while watching porn
video indside the Assembly building,
Odisha Congress MLA Nabakishore
Das was today suspended by the
Speaker.
Though Das had admitted he accessed Internet in his mobile phone
inside the house, he denied watching any obscene video and clarified
that the page appeared suddenly
while surfing the net.
‘I have never seen such video clips.
While I was trying to open a web
page in my mobile, the video clip
on YouTube inadvertently opened,’
Das clarified.
‘I have done nothing wrong. It is
q For watching porn video inside Assembly
a conspiracy against me to tarnish
my image,’ Das said, adding that he
was ready to face a probe.
However, the ruling Biju Janata
Dal demanded a probe and action
against the leader.
Alleging that the Congress member was watching an obscene
video clip during question hour,
BJD member Pramila Mallick said
she will urge the speaker to order
an investigation into the matter and
take action against the legislator.
‘It is very shameful that the MLA
was watching obscene clips in the
august house. Tomorrow (Tuesday),
we will urge the Speaker to take
strong action against the legislator,’
said Mallick.
Chennaiyin looks to pack off ATK
Confident Materazzi & Co bank on Mendoza, Jeje
NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 15:
Having broken the jinx against
Atletico de Kolkata with a 3-0 win in
the first leg, the Marco Materazziled Chennaiyin FC will look to end
the reign of their rivals when they
meet in the semifinal second leg in
Kolkata tomorrow.
The first leg saw Chennaiyin FC
netting three goals past the defending champions at Shree Shiv
Chhatrapati Stadium in Pune. The
second leg takes place at the Salt
Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The visitors will face a tough challenge as
ATK looks to bounce back from their
first leg misery. ATK have to score
at least four goals against to book a
place in the finals.
However, the Kolkata defence
will have a hard time containing
Chennaiyin FC will rely on Stiven Mendoza, Jeje and Bruno Pellessari
to seal a final berth.
Chennaiyin Stiven Mendoza and
talk of the season, as he stepped
Jeje Lalpekhlua, who are in blis- up while his Brazilian counterpart
tering form.
Elano has faltered. A one-match
suspension saw Elano watch the
Bruno Pelessari has been the
fi rst leg from the sidelines. The
23-year-old Pelassari was instrumental in Chennai’s win by scoring
from a spot kick. Though Elano is
slated to return for the second leg,
coach Marco Materazzi refused
to confirm whether the youngster
would have to give way for the
veteran.
ATK coach Anthony Habas will
look to take advantage of the home
ground as he looks to build the attack through Ian Hume, the second
highest scorer in the league, the
Australian has been in fine scoring
form. The worry of Atletico is their
defence which is not been solid
this season.
The second leg of the semi final
looks to be a entertaining affair in
Kolkata.
(MATCH STARTS AT 7 P.M)
8 TUESDAY
15 DECEMBER 2015
, CHENNAI
Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17
A
RA GA,
S GA
Queen among all
Bringing Thiruvaiyaru
to Chennai
As the month of Margazhi is set
to unfold soon, the music fraternity
has geared up for the season. On
Monday, musicians gathered in
the city to express their solidarity
in spreading the joy of music with
Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyaru, a series
of music programmes from 18 to
25 December conducted by Lakshman Sruthi.
Speaking to reporters, vocalist
Nithyashree Mahadevan said, ‘this
programme is a rejuvenating process where old music is rekindled
and given a refreshment with traditional touch. It is the time when
music showers unite with rains and
present a beautiful picture.’
For singer Mahathi who has been
taking part in the event every year,
active participation in music is the
way of entertainment for flood victims. Singer Harini also endorsed
the idea that music is the medicine
to control the anxiety of traumatised
people.
As part of the flood relief measures, the event will also have a tent
put up to collect funds for the victims. Dancer Shobana announced
about her contribution of Rs one
Bharat Kalachar
YGP Auditorium,
T Nagar
Sikkil Gurucharan
(vocal), 6 pm
Sri Thyaga Brahma
Gana Sabha
Vani Mahal, T Nagar
Sahana Prasanna,
1 pm
Shruti Shankar
Kumar, 2.15 pm
Bharathi Ramsubban,
4 pm
Vijay Siva, 6 pm
EUPHONIC EVENING
Sri Parthasarathy
Swami Sabha
Vidya Bharathi
Mandapam,
Mylapore
Lec-dem by Neyveli
Santhanagoipalan,
8.30 am
Musicians at a press meet to announce Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyaru in
the city Monday.
lakh. Audience attending the renditions will be offered free bus services
to routes such as Ennore and Avadi
from 7.30 pm onwards.
Paying tributes to former President
APJ Abdul Kalam, a wax statue of
him is to be erected at Kamarajar
arangam, the event’s venue.
Actor-dancer Prabhudeva will inaugurate the event. Others present
in the occassion were Lakshman
of Lakshman Sruthi, singer Shoba
Chandrasekhar, musician Rajesh
Vaidhya, singers Hari Charan and
Aruna Sairam.
— NT Bureau
S
Shah Rukh Khan and Dilip Kumar
wife Saira Bano. In a career spanning
over six decades, Kumar starred in
films like Andaz, Aan, Devdas and the
historical Mughal-e-Azam.
Called as the ‘tragedy king of Bollywood’, he also did films like Kranti,
Shakti, Karma and Saudagar. His last
film was Qila in 1998.
— PTI
Sharanya Sriram,
12.30 pm
M a h a d e v a n
Shankaranarayanan,
2 pm
Maharajapuram
Ramachandran, 4 pm
Kadri Gopalnath
Vocalist T V Sankaranarayanan presenting a concert at the 115th year
December music festival of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha in Chennai
Sunday.
Photo: A R JAYAKUMAR
(saxophone), 6 pm
A
s soon as the floods hit Chennai and surrounding areas, film personalities jumped into action to provide relief. Now, going a step further, they
are coming forward to adopt areas affected by water.
Actor Suriya has adopting three severely devastated villages of Thiruvallur district.
‘Agaram foundation has decided to adopt the villages of Nelvai,
Kalachur and Keragambakkam
in Thiruvallur district. They are
home to IruIa families who have been badly affected by the floods.
The residents have no identity cards and are not eligible to receive
any official aid. The children don’t go to school and they are malnourished’, said Suriya in his statement.
Director Mani Ratnam has announced that he will be adopting
Surya Nagar, a locality in Chennai’s flood-hit Kotturpuram through
his Naam Foundation, which he runs along with his wife Suhasini.
The ace director mentioned that he has decided to adopt the place to
lend a helping hand to government which is providing relief measures
to all the flood-affected people in the city.
— NT Buerau
lose on the heels of reports that Hollywood
actor Arnold might not be part of Enthiran
2, Rajinikanth today returned to Chennai from
Thiruvananthapuram, apparently to hold crucial talks with director Shankar.
If reports are to be believed, since Arnold
was quoting a huge amount as remuneration,
he might be replaced by Vikram.
According to sources, the Hollywood actor
has apparently demanded a whopping $20
million (around Rs 120 crore) for the role.
Weta Workshop, the team that designed
different looks for Vikram in Shankar’s movie
I, will handle Rajini’s look in Enthiran 2. The
much-appreciated Srinivas Mohan, who was
the VFX supervisor for Baahubali, will be the
VFX specialist for the project.
Rajinikanth is currently busy with the shooting of his upcoming gangster film Kabali in
Malaysia. As per reports, the work on Enthiran
2 will commence in January next year.
Sources said Amy Jackson will be playing
the role of a robot, and she is paired opposite
Chitti.
— NT Bureau
Dilip Kumar is pillar of
our film industry: SRK
K Gayathri, 10 am
Suriya, Mani Ratnam
adopt flood-hit areas
Arnold or Vikram?
Rajini holds
crucial talks
with Shankar
C
hah Rukh Khan has always idolised
veteran actor Dilip Kumar and considers him a pillar of strength for the film
industry .
The 50-year-old Happy New Year actor said even tags like ‘icon’ are small
for Kumar and him getting the honour
of Padma Vibhushan calls for a big
celebration.
‘Dilip sahab is more deserving than anybody else. Even words like ‘icon’ are very
less for him. He is the forefather, the pillar
of the film industry... Amongst the last few
pillars left. I think what he has received is
huge,’ Shah Rukh told reporters.
‘No matter how many awards he gets,
it will be less for him because of his art,
beauty, Saira ji’s support. He is one of
the greatest human beings apart from
being the actor. I know them personally
so I can say that. It’s a moment of big
celebration.’ he added.
The thespian was presented the
Padma Vibhushan by Union Home
minister Ranjnath Singh at his residence
in suburban Bandra here.
The 93-year-old legend was presented a medal, a certificate and a shawl
by Singh, in the presence of the actor’s
Kalyani is is the queen of the raaga family. In the Hindustani system,
this is known by the name Yaman.
There are many kritis in this raga. Thyagaraja’s Ethavunara, Vasudevayani, Nidhichala, Dikshitar’s Kamalamba Navavarana Kamalambam
Bhajare, and Shyama Sastri’s Talli Ninnu Nera definitely merit mention.
Kalyani meaning auspicious is a major versatile and one of the
grand ragas. The famous five grand ragas of our music are Sankarabharanam, Thodi, Kalyani, Kamboji and Bhairavi. This raga which
renders a very pleasing effect is suitable for singing at all times and
encapsulates emotions or rasas namely, Bhakthi,and Shringara and
Vatsalya. This raga is handled as amain raga in concert with elaborate
Alapana, and Manodharma Swaras.
Some of the film songs in Kalyani are Sinthanai Sei
Maname(Ambikapathy), Mannavan Vandanadi (Thiruvarutchelvar),
Mugathil Mugam Parkalam (Thangapadhumai), Maduraiyil Paranda
(Poova Thalaiya), Janani Janani (Thai Mookambikai), Ammavendrazhaikkada (Mannan) and Kalaivaniyae (Sindhu Bhairavi).
TOMORROW
IN SABHAS
‘My stories
are based on
my dreams’
Mark Wahlberg
to return for
Transformers 5
Actor Mark Wahlberg is all set to reprise his role as Cade Yeager for the
fifth installment of Transformers. The
44-year-old Ted actor confirmed the
news himself, reported Aceshowbiz.
On being asked if he would return
as the leading character for the next
Transformers movie, Wahlberg firmly
confirmed it by saying ‘yes’. Iron Man
scribes Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
and Ken Nolan have been roped in
to pen the script for the sequel to Age
of Extinction. The film is believed to
take place on both earth and in space,
as Optimus Prime hunts down the
Quintessons.
— PTI
Ruskin Bond
F
or author Ruskin Bond, stories are essentially
inspired from his dreams that he jotted down and
kept a record of. One of his most popular short stories,
The Night Train at Deoli, was in fact a reproduction of a
dream, said the 81-year-old author who delivered this
year’s Penguin Annual Lecture here this evening.
‘Most of my early stories are based on my dreams that I
used to record in my notebook. All the love stories were
dreams,’ he said.
Bond, who has had a vibrant literary career spanning
over 65 years with several novels, short stories, essays
and also some poetry to his credit, used the occasion
to speak about ‘The Joy of Writing’.
‘Yes, I enjoy being an author and writing stories, probably because that is what I have been doing the best,
besides playing football. Except that at 81, I can still write
but football...,’ he quipped.
Bond, who admits to being a prolific reader all his life,
emphasised that it was very important for a writer or
those who aspire to be one to read voraciously.
‘It is very important that you be a good reader, because
you learn so much from books and also because you
emulate your favourite writers,’ he said.
On one occasion when he ran out of reading material
at his solitary cottage in Mussoorie, Bond said, he had
picked up an Oxford Dictionary and he was surprised
how he ended up reading ‘page after page, learning
new words’.
— PTI
Justin Bieber, Kourtney Kardashian
‘inseparable’ on date night
A
Justin Bieber
mid rumours of them casually dating, pop
sensation Justin Bieber and reality TV star
Kourtney Kardashian were ‘inseparable’ on an
intimate night they spend in West Hollywood.
The 21-year-old ‘What Do You Mean’ hitmaker
and the eldest Kardashian sister were spending
some quality time together at one of the popular
joints, reported People magazine.
‘He and Kourtney were nearly inseparable smok-
ing on the patio together and were super touchy
feely,’ a source said. They went to Blind Dragon
afterwards. Kourtney left around 12:45 am and
Justin left around 1:30 am,’ the source added
Bieber has palled around with the Kardashian
family in the past.
During summers he posted a photo of himself
horsing around in a pool with Disick and Kardashian’s son Mason.
— PTI
Kourtney Kardashian
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