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Showing posts from May, 2011

CHENNAI CORPORATION: Impressive performance again by Metro schools

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By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 28, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/impressive-performance-again-by-metro-schools/278515.html CHENNAI: Continuing the tradition of rewriting records year after year, the Chennai School students have secured a pass percentage of 86.3 in the SSLC state board examination results, (Class X) bettering their last year’s percentage of 85.3. Besides, a Chennai school student who was the topper in the civic body-run schools with 493 marks, missed the State first rank (496 marks) by a small margin of three marks. Speaking to reporters at Ripon Building after congratulating the toppers of Chennai schools, Mayor M Subramanian said, “Our schools are bettering their public examination results year after year and this year, it has been improved by one more per cent.” I ncidentally, the pass percentage secured by the Chennai schools was higher than the overall pass percentage of the State (85.3) this year . Whil...

LTTE denies KP’s allegation on Jaya’s life

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 28, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/ltte-denies-kp%E2%80%99s-allegation-on-jaya%E2%80%99s-life/278584.html CHENNAI: A statement purportedly originating from the defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has rubbished jailed ex-LTTE leader K Padmanathan's recent claim that the Tamil Tigers had once planned to assassinate Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. "KP's claim in a television interview that LTTE had once planned to assassinate Jayalalithaa was far from the truth and we perceive the act as a ploy to create fissures among Tamils," the statement said on Friday. According to the fourpage statement signed by A Anbarasan, said to be from the LTTE's media wing, and published in their official online mouthpiece www.viduthalaipulikal.net, Sri Lankan Sinhalese government, which has been under tremendous international pressure after the release of the UN panel report ...

CHENNAI: Relief for seafood lovers as fishing ban ends

By G Saravanan Published in The Indian Express, Chennai on May 27, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/relief-for-seafood-lovers-as-fishing-ban-ends/278239.html CHENNAI: With the 45-day fishing ban along the State’s coast for mechanised trawlers coming to an end on Sunday, deep sea fishing is set to resume from Monday onwards. Seafood lovers can expect the price of different kinds of fish sold in the city to tumble within a week. Owners of mechanised trawlers used the ban period to repair and refurbish their boats and nets for the next season. “ Owners spend about Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 on each of their boats for carrying out general repairs such as adding a new coat of paint at the bottom, setting right the sizes of holes in different types of nets to be used in deep seas and changing defunct timbers on board the boats ,” said S A Mahesh, president of All Indian Traditional Fishermen Association from Kanyakumari. According to Fisheries department sources, distribution...

CHENNAI Port workers smell a golden scam

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By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 26, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/port-workers-smell-a-golden-scam/277886.html CHENNAI: Employees of the Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) smell something fishy and it’s definitely not the sea. The historic port celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2007 in a grand manner, but has now denied information sought under an RTI on how much it spent on those celebrations — including the number of gold coins it purchased that year to be given as mementos to its employees . R Santhanam, general secretary of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh-affiliated Port and Dock Labour Union at the Chennai Port, had filed an RTI two months ago, specifically asking the number of 5gm gold coins purchased and the total amount spent on the anniversary celebrations. But port authorities discounted the query saying, “ Details sought under the plea are not readily available with us. ” This has led employees to believe there may have been an...

THIRUVOTRIYUR: New drainage line work begins at this kuppam

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Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 26, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/new-drainage-line-work-begins-at-this-kuppam/277801.html CHENNAI: Heeding to the locals’ demand for months, Thiruvotriyur Municipality has finally begun installing a new drainage pipeline along Thiruchinang Kuppam to drain out stagnant sewage. Commissioner of the municipality, S Kalaiselvan told City Express that at an estimated cost of Rs 16 lakhs, the new pipeline would be installed for about two kilometers, and the work would be completed within a month. It may be noted that City Express had highlighted the sorry state of the area and continuing sewage overflow at Thiruchinang Kuppam on May 11. The to-be laid pipeline would remove stagnant sewage from the colony to the civic body’s pumping station and sewage treatment plant located near Apparswamy Koil Street, Kalaiselvan said. In a ceremony held at the colony on Tuesday, the newly elected AIADMK MLA for Thiruvotriyur const...

CHENNAI: Authorities clear encroachment on St Mary’s Road

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 25, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/authorities-clear-encroachment-on-st-mary%E2%80%99s-road/277646.html CHENNAI: A six-year battle has finally come to an end for an RTI activist R Natarajan on Tuesday, when the authorities, finally, began clearing the encroachment off St Mary’s Road at R A Puram. After several last-minute cancellation of drives, Revenue Department officials with the help of the Corporation have started pulling down structures constructed on a government land on St Mary’s Road on Tuesday. According to official sources, the Corporation would use the reclaimed area for road widening. Residents of R A Puram were also happy as the reclaimed spot would be used for road widening, one of their prominent demands with the local authorities for years.  “It’s a victory for the RTI Act and its a hard-hitting order on errant government officials who used their own tactics to delay the drive ...

CHENNAI: Corporation indirect election postponed

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By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 25, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/corporation-indirect-election-poseponed/277516.html CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation will have to function without the chairmen for the zonal committees of Zone 9 and 10 and the chairman for the Standing Committee for Town Planning for the last five months of its current term. The indirect election to the posts, which was slated for May 31, has been postponed. Though, it would affect the day-to-day functioning of the civic body, Corporation sources told City Express that the notification for the election that was issued on May 20 after due permission was got from the State Election Commission. However, the Commissioner cancelled the previous notification after he received another letter from the Commission asking him to postpone the elections. The reason for the postponement was attributed to the final stages of the incumbent Corporation Council, which would be d...

CHENNAI: Washermenpet needs a computerised counter

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 24, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/washermenpet-needs-a-computerised-counter/277175.html CHENNAI: For the benefit of lakhs people living in and around Washermenpet, Korrukupet and Tondiarpet, t he local residents have demanded that the Southern Railway authorities set up a computerised Railway Reservation Counter at the Washermenpet railway station . Though the demand for such a facility with the railway authorities have been made several times in the past five years, nothing has fructified yet, the residents complained. “There are several government hospitals, including Stanley Medical College Hospital and the RSRM Hospital, and several government offices and institutions in the area. But, we have to go to either the Chennai Central Railway Station or Egmore Station to book tickets for long distance journeys,” rued Abdul Haleem, a social activist and a resident of Pensioners’ Lane in the locality....

A unique goal

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By G Saravanan Published in The New Sunday Express, Chennai on May 22, 2011: Source:http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/a-unique-goal/275995.html pics by P Anand Kumar About 11 years ago, when a group of youths from a shantytown called Vyasarpadi in North Chennai formed a society to nurture good habits among slum children through sports, little did they realise that the society would become successful beyond their imagination, in a few years’ time. Local resident N Umapathy, himself a club footballer, was anguished at the growing number of youngsters in his slum turning to bad habits . And came the idea by which he formed Slum Children Sports Talent Education Development Society (SCSTEDS) in 2000. “Our plan was to divert the attention of slum children from bad things. To attract their attention, we used football, which was proved a right choice later,” says Umapathy . Over the years, the society, which meets its expenditure through donations a...

Canada-bound books seized in Lanka

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on May 22, 2011: Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/canada-bound-books-seized-in-lanka/276676.html CHENNAI: Irked over the unlawful detention of a cargo of Tamil books headed for Canada via container by Sri Lankan authorities at Colombo Port, Chennai-based Manitham International, which published and exported the books, has appealed to the Chief Minister to take action to release it. About 1,400 books (on Tamil massacres in Lanka) in 45 cartons were transported in early May from Chennai through MV Hansa Stavanger, a ship to Toronto. When the container carrying the books was unloaded at Colombo Port on May 11 for transshipment to Canada, the Lankan government confiscated the container claiming the books were LTTE propaganda material. Ridiculing the Lankan stand, executive director of Manitham Agni Subramaniam s aid, “ Confiscating transit cargo is illegal. If they have a proble...

CHENNAI: Will the Corporation Council meet as scheduled?

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By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on May 21, 2011: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/will-the-corporation-council-meet-as-scheduled/276328.html CHENNAI: As the Kalaignar Karunanidhi-led government has been voted out of power in the recent state Assembly elections, the future of the DMK-led Chennai Corporation Council now hangs in balance. More importantly, now questions have been raised whether the monthly Council meeting of the historic civic body, which has been scheduled for May 31, would be held as scheduled. Besides, the DMK-majority council now has an ‘ethical dilemma’ over the congratulatory resolution to be adopted in the meeting for the new government, which has been formed by their arch rival — AIADMK. It’s a customary practice of the local bodies in the state to go on record by adopting a congratulatory resolution for the new government to show their allegiance towards them. According to sources, soon after the model code of conduct wa...

இப்படியும் வாழ்கிறார் ஒரு எம்.எல்.ஏ.!

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Source: www.dinamani.com சென்னை, மே 19: சென்னை பழவந்தாங்கல் என்ஜிஒ காலனியில் உள்ள அந்த வீட்டைப் பார்ப்பவர்கள் யாரும் அது ஒரு எம்.எல்.ஏ.வின் வீடு என்றால் நம்பமாட்டார்கள். ஒரு மொட்டை மாடியில் ஆஸ்பெஸ்டாஸ் கூரை வேயப்பட்ட வீடு அது. அந்த வீட்டில்தான் மதுரவாயல் தொகுதியில் வெற்றிபெற்ற மார்க்சிஸ்ட் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி வேட்பாளர் க.பீம்ராவ் வசிக்கிறார் . வீட்டிலும் அத்தியாவசியப் பொருள்களைத் தவிர ஆடம்பரப் பொருள்கள் எதுவும் இல்லை. விலை உயர்ந்த பொருள்களாக இரண்டைக் குறிப்பிடலாம். ஒன்று ஒரு பித்தளை தவலை. இரண்டாவது திமுக அரசாங்கத்தால் கொடுக்கப்பட்ட இலவசக் கலர் டிவி. (அந்த டிவியும் பீம்ராவ் மனைவி பிடிவாதமாக வாங்கி வைத்ததாம்.) இந்த எளிமையான வீட்டில் இருந்துதான் க.பீம்ராவ் கட்சி ரீதியாக சிறப்பாகப் பணியாற்றி வந்துள்ளதுடன், இப்போது தேர்தலிலும் சாதனை படைத்துள்ளார். தாழ்த்தப்பட்டவர்களுக்காக ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட தொகுதியில் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட வேட்பாளர்கள் போட்டியிடுவதே தமிழகத்தில் பெரும் போராட்டம். பாப்பாரப்பட்டி, கீரிப்பட்டி பஞ்சாயத்து வார்டுகள் இதற்குச் சரியான உதாரணம். இந்நிலையில்தான் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட சமுதாயத்தைச் ச...

மே 18 முடிவல்ல! மற்றொரு போராட்டத்தின் தொடக்கம்!

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Source: http://www.puthinamnews.com/?p=23379 மே 18 தமிழீழ மக்களது குருதி படிந்த நாள். நான்காவது தமிழீழப் போர் முடிவுக்கு வந்த நாள். வரலாற்றில் மறக்க முடியாத வலிகளைச் சுமந்த நாள். மே 18 தமிழீழ மக்களின் மனதில் ஏற்படுத்திய வலி காலத்தால் துடைக்க முடியாத ஒன்று. எங்களது மக்கள்  குண்டு போட்டும் செல் அடித்தும் கொத்துக் கொத்தாகக் கொல்லப்பட்டார்கள். ஆண், பெண், குழந்தைகள் என எல்லோருமே கொல்லப்பட்டார்கள். பதுங்கு குழிகளில் பதுங்கியிருந்த மக்களை சிங்கள இராணுவம் புல்டோசர் கொண்டு மண்ணால் மூடியது. இறந்த குழந்தைகள், கர்ப்பிணிப் பெண்களின் உடல்கள் எங்கும் சிதறுண்டு கிடந்தன. அதனை நாய், நரிகள் சாப்பிட்டன. முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் முழுவதுமே பிணவாடை வீசியது. சரண் அடைந்தவர்களில் நூற்றுக்கணக்கானவர்கள் சித்திரவதை செய்யப்படட பின்னர் சுட்டுக் கொல்லப்பட்டார்கள். முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் மருத்துவமனைகள் பீரங்கி கொண்டு தாக்கப்பட்டன. மருத்துவமனைகள் தாக்குதலுக்கான இலக்குகளே என்று பாதுகாப்பு அமைச்சின் செயலர் கோத்தபாய இராசபக்சே கொக்கரித்தார். மக்களுக்குப் போதிய உணவு, மருந்து வழங்கப்படவில்லை. ஐ.நா. அதிகாரிகளும் செஞ்சிலுவை ஊழியர்கள...