Saravanan's Blog

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Jan 30, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/koraikuppam-fishermen-want-houses-near-sea/358200.html CHENNAI: More than 130 families of fishermen, living in Tsunami-battered houses in Koraikuppam, a coastal hamlet near Pulicat in Ponneri Taluk limits, have appealed to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to construct new houses for them on nearby high ground. Though an non-government organisation had constructed about 100 houses for these families post-tsunami, they remain unoccupied for over four years, as they are located far away from the shoreline and are hence unsuitable for carrying out their traditional fishing activities. “ When the authorities were finalising an area amidst agricultural lands for the new houses , we objected to the location as fishermen cannot live in interior land as it is natural for us to live by the sea ,” Raji Chettiyar, village head of the fishing hamlet, told Express. However, the...

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Jan 28, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/no-more-bickering-during-corp-meets-mayor/357586.html CHENNAI: Taking strong exception to the repeated brawls breaking out inside the Corporation during council meetings between DMK and AIADMK members, Mayor S Duraisamy ordered the ruling party members to adhere to the decorum of the House or face eviction. Reprimanding a group of AIADMK members, who began a verbal duel with the opposition DMK members, Duraisamy said, “When a Mayor calls for normalcy inside the House, all the members, even if they are from the ruling party, have to obey it. If you (AIADMK members) denounce the order, I will not hesitate to order eviction to bring order to the Council.”  The issue was triggered by the Open Space Reservation (OSR) violations by the DMK head office, Anna Arivalayam. Irked with the attitude shown by a group of AIADMK councillors, Duraisamy further added, “ Actions su...

Published in The New Indian Express on Jan 28, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/cm-nod-sought-for-action-against-ex-mayor/357708.html CHENNAI: The AIADMK-led Chennai Corporation council on Friday sought the nod of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to initiate legal action against former Mayor M Subramanian for allegedly misusing his post . Announcing the decision to the House during the monthly Council meet, Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy, who was responding to a query raised by a AIADMK councillor G Kandhan (Ward-172), said, “Former Mayor Subramanian, with vested interests, widened the Riverview Road that runs along the Adyar River in Kotturpuram, to promote a real estate firm owned by a relative of a former DMK transport minister K N Nehru.” As promised in last month’s Council meet, Duraisamy submitted a report on the irregularities committed by the then mayor Subramanian to benefit the former chief minister M Karunanidhi and former minister Nehru. While submitting the repo...

Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/kodungaiyur-garbage-issue-mayor-promises-action/357695.html CHENNAI: Highlighting the problem faced by residents of north Chennai because of garbage dumping at Kodungaiyur yard, Perambur MLA A Soundararajan on Friday appealed to Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy to redress the issue immediately. Addressing councillors during the monthly Council meet here at Ripon Building, Soundararajan said, “People living in and around Kodungaiyur are suffocating due to the stench emanating from the yard where there is indiscriminate dumping of garbage. An immediate solution would help them .” While promising a permanent solution to the issue within a year, Duraisamy said that the dumping activities at Kodungaiyur were on even before the arrival of residential areas near it. However, Soundararajan immediately intervened and asserted that facts have to be recorded correctly in the House and the fact is that the dumping activities (at Kodungaiyur) had began in 1982...

Source:  http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/chennai-corporation-to-push-to-retrieve-dmk-land/357692.html CHENNAI: Terming the Chennai Corporation’s latest move as a ‘final act’ to retrieve open space reservation (OSR) land from the DMK headquarters — Anna Arivalayam — Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy on Friday urged t he State to pass a notification to reclaim the land that was illegally encroached by the DMK for decades . While replying to a question by AIADMK’s 117th Ward Councillor P Arumugam, Duraisamy informed the Council that the DMK Trust, which maintains the land, has not issued any gift deed for the 1,893 sqm OSR land to CMDA yet. Irked over the AIADMK councillors raking up the issue again, DMK’s floor leader Subash Chandra Bose objected to the discussion and asked the Mayor to focus on public welfare issues that required the Council’s immediate attention. After Bose’s observation, a heated exchange ensued between AIADMK and DMK members. Condemning the unfriendly gesture o...

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on January 26, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/lankan-refugees-knock-cm%E2%80%99s-door/357077.html CHENNAI: Seeking Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s intervention for their immediate release, 29 Sri Lankan Tamil inmates now lodged in Chengalpet Special Detention Camp have began their indefinite hunger strike pressing their demand  to allow them to live with their family members in normal refugee camps. According to information trickling out of the camp, 29 inmates have began their indefinite fast since Tuesday morning demanding the government to allow them to live with their families in other refugee camps. It is learnt that the fast was an outcome of government’s repeated betrayals on their promise to shift inmates from the special detention camp in Chengalpet to other normal camps. Those on fast include Krishnalingam, Vikramasingam, Selvam, Sudhakaran, Jagan and Kannan, who were detained at the special...

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on January 25, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/%E2%80%98Pullout-of-US-troops-will-pose-threat-to-Asia/356750.html CHENNAI: Sounding a warning for the entire Asian region of expected increase in the activities of terrorist groups, Major General NS Jamwal, Chief of Staff, HQ ATNKK Area, on Tuesday said that t he US force pullout from Afghanistan will not be in the interest of the region. Addressing the students of the Defence and Strategic Studies Department, University of Madras, during a seminar on “Conflict and Migration in South Asia,” here, Maj Gen Jamwal said, “ As the US has planned to move out its forces from Afghanistan and even started the process, I do not know how it is going to unfold. But the way things are there as we see it, it’s not going to be in the interest of the region.” He was referring to the activities of different terrorist groups out of Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas, which would likely recor...

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on January 25, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/Ripon-building-will-stand-tall-by-year-end/356694.html CHENNAI: Although restoration works at the historic Ripon Building, fondly known as White House, has missed its revised deadline, it is progressing in full swing. According to official sources, the restoration of Ripon Building is progressing well and would be completed by the end of 2012. Standing majestically on the Poonamallee High Road as a seat of the Chennai Corporation for decades, the architectural splendour was built by Loganatha Mudaliar between 1909 and 1913. Earl of Minto, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, laid the foundation on December 12, 1909. A mix of Gothic, Ionic, Neo-classical and Corinthian architectural styles, Ripon Building is 252-feet long and 126-feet wide. Its tower is 132-foot tall and features a clock which is eight feet in diameter. In October 2009, the then Mayo...

PIC SOURCE: http://www.microchipfordogs.info/ By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Jan 24, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/soon-pet-dogs-to-have-microchip-tags/356343.html CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Veterinary Sciences and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) is set to launch a project to implant microchips in all pet dogs visiting its Madras Veterinary College campus for treatment from April 1. Speaking to Express on the sidelines of a free vaccination camp for animals at the MVC on Monday, Dr S Prathaban, director of clinics in TANUVAS said, “ Clinical trials on pet dogs have already been completed and installation of microchips (through injection) would begin from April 1.” “ Installation of microchips would help the varsity to digitise the medical records of the canines and it would also provide valuable data of pets and different diseases, ” Prathaban said. According to university sources, data like age of the dog, its vaccination histor...

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Jan 24, 2012: Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/%E2%80%98emrip-will-be-ready-by-june-next%E2%80%99/356344.html CHENNAI: Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan on Monday assured the media that the Rs 600 crore Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP) would be completed by June 2013, which was originally scheduled to be completed by Dec 2012. Speaking to reporters after reviewing the progress of the two connectivity projects — Elevated Expressway from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal and Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project — aimed at improving the evacuation of road-bound cargo to and from Chennai Port, along with the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways C P Joshi at the port’s headquarters here, Vasan said, “ While the EMRIP would be completed by June next year, the elevated expressway project is progressing well.” Reacting to a question about the diminishing future of the Chennai Port in the face of repeated delays,...

Source:  http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/article2823154.ece THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 22:  A ‘break' of the ageing dam at tremor-prone Mullaperiyar would send out flood waters rising up to 9.4 metres just below the reservoir, 12.41 metres a little further down at Vallakkadavu and 8.5 metres at Idukki. According to the first part of a report commissioned by the State Government, experts at IIT-Roorkee have said that as much as half of the century-old structure would give way within 12 minutes of the dam-break. FLOOD SITUATION The ensuing flood situation would send the water levels rising to a height of 886 metres above sea level (asl) 50 metres downstream in the Periyar river; 854 metres asl at Vallakkadavu, the nearest human settlement; and 767.26 asl metres at the Idukki dam. If the dam-break were to occur at the maximum water level of 136 ft at Mullaperiyar, it will cause the water level at the much larger Idukki reservoir situated 36 km aw...

Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/coast-guard-shows-off-skills-at-sea/356007.html CHENNAI: In a colourful exercise, the Coast Guard (CG) personnel demonstrated their skills in search and rescue and coastal security operations in the sea, off the Chennai’s coastline, as part of the 35th founding day celebrations of the coastal security force on Sunday.  In consonance with its tag line ‘We Protect’, personnel onboard CG ships Sagar, Sarang, Vishwast, Vajra, Sarojini Naidu and Interceptor Boats C-151, C-146 and Hovercraft-151, 183 along with Chetak helicopters demonstrated their capabilities in anti-piracy and poaching activities as well as saving lives. Scenes of swiftly rescuing a survivor on high seas from a helicopter and dropping a life raft were fascinatingly recreated. Chasing and apprehending pirates and precise target firing by dornier maritime surveillance aircraft were gripping. Firing from heavy machine guns on Sarang, fleet manoeuvres and fire fighting tec...

By G Saravanan Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on Jan 22, 2012: Source:http://expressbuzz.com/biography/thiruvotriyur-high-road-widening-work-begins/355721.html CHENNAI: Finally, works for widening Thiruvotriyur High Road, one of the two-decades-old demands of the local residents, gained momentum on Saturday after the authorities began pulling down structures that obstructed the widening process. Despite five bhumipoojas in the last five years and the then local MLA K P P Samy’s one-year ‘deadline’ to residents on completing the project (in 2009), the widening of the road connecting Chennai city with the northern suburbs has been at  snail’s pace. When the project was first planned in 2006, the highways department proposed to convert the entire five-km stretch (from Toll Gate to Ernavur bridge) as a 66 ft four-lane road with median, box culverts, side-drains and seepage pipes at an estimated cost of Rs 11.50 crore. When the AIADMK won the seat in ...

"வரலாற்றுத் துரோகங்கள் மூலம் தமிழீழ மண்ணில் மீண்டும் ஒரு போர்க்களத்தை உருவாக்காதீர்கள்!" Source: http://www.pathivu.com/news/19775/57//d,article_full.aspx சிறிலங்கா அரச தரப்புடன் சுமார் ஒரு வருட காலம் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு நடாத்திவந்த மூடுமந்திரப் பேச்சுவார்த்தையின் இலக்கு தற்போது புரிய ஆரம்பித்துள்ளது.  தரவே மாட்டேன் என்ற அடம்பிடித்தலுடன் மகிந்த ராஜதானிகளது இறுக்கத்தைக் கலைத்து, அவற்றைப் பெற்றுவிட்டோம் என்ற இறுமாப்புடன் தமிழீழத்திற்கு மாற்றீடாக மாகாணசபையை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளும் திட்டத்துடன் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு நகர்வதாகவே புலப்படுகின்றது. அதாவது, கடந்த மூப்பது வருடங்களுக்கும் மேலாகத் தமிழ் மக்களால் முற்றாக நிராகரிக்கப்பட்ட பரிபூரண சிங்கள மேலாதிக்கம் கொண்ட மாகாணசபையினை ஏற்றுக்கொள்வதனூடாக தமிழீழ மக்களது தமிழீழ இலட்சியத்தையும், அதற்கான விடுதலைப் புலிகளது அர்ப்பணிப்புக்களையும், உயிர்த் தியாகங்களையும் அதனுள் புதைத்துவிடும் வகையிலான தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பின் எல்லைக் கோடுகள் வெளியே தெரிய ஆரம்பித்துள்ளன.  தற்போது, தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு தெரிவித்துவரும் கருத்த...

Source:  http://www.northkoreatech.org/2012/01/17/ap-opens-pyongyang-bureau/ The Associated Press has opened a news bureau in Pyongyang making it the first western news agency to have a reporter and photographer based in the North Korean capital. The bureau represents a coup for the AP over the competition, but its close cooperation with the state-run Korean Central News Agency, necessitated to realize the deal, brings with it questions over editorial independence. AP President Tom Curley and KCNA President Kim Pyong Ho officially opened the bureau in Pyongyang on Monday. It came six months after the two met in New York and signed a basic agreement towards the office. The bureau will be housed inside KCNA’s headquarters and will be permanently staffed by two North Koreans: reporter Pak Won Il and photographer Kim Kwang Hyon. AP didn’t provide details of the background of the two and declined to say if they were on the payroll of AP or KCNA. Regardless of their employment stat...

Source: http://lightofandamans.blogspot.com/2012/01/cover-story-jarawa-dance-video-army.html By Zubair Ahmed The Jarawa dance video, which created hue and cry in the international and national media and forced the Government of India and Andaman and Nicobar Administration to order a probe, was actually shot by a group of army personnel. In an independent investigation by LOA, it has come to the fore that police and ground staff of Andaman Aadim Janjathi Vikas Samithi (AAJVS) were not aware as the video was shot after the last convoy left  Middle   Strait . Contrary to the statements released to the media by the Administration, the video was shot three years back on  6th  November 2008 , in which two vehicles - a truck and a gypsy belonging to army were involved.   In a release, S B Deol, DGP had said that the video was 10 years old and there were no cop in the video. He had also pointed out that a man with camouflaged uniform was visible in the media....