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[] | 2016-08-29T10:51:10 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The Supreme Court on Monday took note of a plea of the father of the Bulandshahr gang rape victim that the trial in the case be shifted out of Uttar Pradesh, and issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh go | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fsc-takes-note-of-azam-khans-remark-on-bulandshahr-gang-rape%2Farticle9045527.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02990/29IN_THJVN_AZAM_2990862c.jpg | en | null | SC takes note of Azam Khan’s remark on Bulandshahr gang rape | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Minister had said the brutal incident was only a "political consipiracy".
The Supreme Court on Monday took note of a plea of the father of the Bulandshahr gang rape victim that the trial in the case be shifted out of Uttar Pradesh, and issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and Minister Azam Khan in the matter.
A bench, comprising justices Dipak Misra and C. Nagappan, also took note of the controversial statement of Mr.Khan that the incident was a “political conspiracy”, as the plea sought the registration of an FIR against him.
The court appointed jurist and senior lawyer F.S. Nariman as amicus curiae in the matter, which will now be taken up after three weeks.
The court framed several constitutional questions, including whether a person, holding public office, can give a statement that may create “distrust” in the minds of the victims about a fair probe in the case and whether such a statement can be a part of freedom of speech and expression.
The man, whose wife was also gang-raped along with his daughter last month on a highway, on August 13 moved the apex court seeking the transfer of the case to Delhi “in the interest of justice“.
The brutal incident happened on the night of July 29 when a group of highway robbers stopped the car of the Noida-based family and sexually assaulted the woman and her daughter after dragging them out of the vehicle.
The Allahabad High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the incident besides deciding to monitor the investigation.
In the plea filed in the apex court through lawyer Kislay Pandey, the petitioner said the probe should be conducted by “some other competent agency”.
The plea said Mr. Khan's statement “substantially outrages” the “modesty” of the victims and their family. It sought “appropriate damages” for the victims besides a direction that the State and others, including the DGP, be stopped from infringing on the fundamental right to life of the victims. “Direct the respondents [State Home Secretary, Mr. Khan, DGP and SSP of Bulandshahr) to pay the appropriate damages to the petitioner as per law,” it said.
The plea alleged that the police did not come for help despite the victims making several distress calls on the helpline number.
“The victim dialled ‘100’ number after the incident to seek help from police but it did not help at all,” it said. It sought “direct registration of an FIR against erring police officials for disobeying directions of law in the present case.”
The plea said, “Azam Khan called a press conference and publicly insulted petitioner by terming the entire incident a political conspiracy only and nothing else and thereby caused various acts and deeds being substantially outrageous to the modesty of the petitioner.”
It said that six members of the family were travelling from Noida to Shahjahanpur on National Highway 91 when they were waylaid, assaulted and robbed.
The offenders, who were hiding behind the bushes, emerged and took the family at gunpoint and forced the father of the victim to take the vehicle off the road, it said.
The mother and daughter were raped barely 100 meters away from the police post, it said, adding that the offenders snatched cash to the tune of Rs. 36,000 and some jewellery from the victims. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-takes-note-of-azam-khans-remark-on-bulandshahr-gang-rape/article9045527.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/82e30051319ec8b5a02321d610b1d0de4400c8867f3c38212188113090d1f3e3.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T14:51:09 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday effected the first major reshuffle in her three-month old Cabinet by dropping Dairy Development Minister S.P. Shunmuganathan from the Council of Minis | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fjayalalithaa-reshuffles-cabinet-dairy-minister-dropped%2Farticle9046427.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02430/JAYALALITHAA_2430978c.jpg | en | null | Jayalalithaa reshuffles Cabinet, Dairy Minister dropped | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday effected the first major reshuffle in her three-month old Cabinet by dropping Dairy Development Minister S.P. Shunmuganathan from the Council of Ministers. Less than a fortnight ago, Mr. Shunmuganathan was removed as the party’s Thoothukudi district unit secretary.
According to a Raj Bhavan press release, Ms. Jayalalithaa had recommended the inclusion of Avadi MLA ‘Ma Foi’ K. Pandiarajan as Minister for School Education and Sports and Youth Welfare. He will handle the School Education, Archaeology, Youth Welfare and Sports Development portfolios.
P. Benjamin, who was hitherto School Education Minister, will now handle the portfolios of Rural Industries, Cottage Industries and Small Industries.
Rural Industries Minister K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji has been appointed as the new Minister for Milk and Dairy Development.
Mr. Pandiarajan will be sworn in on Tuesday evening. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/jayalalithaa-reshuffles-cabinet-dairy-minister-dropped/article9046427.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/696fc38fc6c5776e474ae70cfb42e54a4ec5c929a2e50c8f736110a1ef67c72f.json |
[
"Sudhir Srinivasan"
] | 2016-08-26T14:50:31 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | It was quite hard to suppress a grin as the names of sponsors flashed before the screening of Mechanic: Resurrection. Viva Fitness, Barbarian Power Gym… For those in the theatre who hadn’t seen the o | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ffeatures%2Fcinema%2Fcinema-reviews%2Fmechanic-resurrection-review-a-standard-statham-affair%2Farticle9036580.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/Mechanic_2987489c.jpg | en | null | Mechanic: Resurrection review – A standard Statham affair | null | null | www.thehindu.com | It was quite hard to suppress a grin as the names of sponsors flashed before the screening of Mechanic: Resurrection. Viva Fitness, Barbarian Power Gym… For those in the theatre who hadn’t seen the original that released in 2011, this was enough indication that they were in for a standard Statham affair. As if on cue, the opening scene has Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) involved in a rooftop skirmish. I quite enjoyed how these films use the environment to make action look believable. A barbecue is used to burn an enemy’s face, a Taser is used to generate fire… you get the idea. Shortly, he makes the gym companies happy when he, armed with a surfboard, walks bare-chested along the shore of a Thai beach.
In this sequel, Arthur is forced back into the killing game by a damsel in distress, Gina Thornton (Jessica Alba). Crain (Sam Hazeldine), a former associate of Arthur, is her tormentor-in-chief. Arthur, whose descent into romance with Gina is beaten for speed only by the fall of his enemies, has no choice apparently, but to do Crain’s bidding: Stage the killings of three powerful people from across the globe. Somewhere around this time, as the villain strutted about as if in complete control of the situation, I remembered a line from The Dark Knight: “Your client, one of the most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp, and your plan is to blackmail him?”
But Crain doesn’t care. He wants his targets dead, and on one level, so do we, considering how much morbid fun such assassination exercises usually are. Arthur, like in a video game, gets a series of kills that are progressively difficult, and which lead to the final boss round. This gaming flavour is further strengthened by Arthur’s narration before each assassination. “The target is jailed in the Penang prison that is surrounded by a shark-infested sea.” Or “the target is a penthouse billionaire who lives in a fortress in the sky.”
Genre: Action Director: Dennis Gansel Cast: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones Storyline: Arthur Bishop must assassinate three powerful men to get back the woman he loves Bottomline: Some good ol’ Statham action to go along with your popcorn
Such tasks on screen, much like in games like Grand Theft Auto, generate an adrenaline rush, providing the enjoyment arising from experiencing a heightened sense of stress in a safe, controlled environment. In fact, when one of Arthur’s victims plummets down from the top of a skyscraper, the audience burst into laughter. Apparently, it’s almost funny how nobody stands a chance against Statham.
The 99-minute long film is almost entirely about these three tasks, and whether or not he accomplishes them. While the first task is a tad too easy to feel any real tension, the second’s quite enjoyable, and also served the purpose of warning me against ever stepping into a rooftop infinity pool.
Even Hollywood films aren’t impervious to the charms of a love track, and so, we have Gina and Arthur falling in love before you can say Jack Robinson. It’s utterly unconvincing, and the scene in Thailand that has her laughing with Arthur seems like even they are aware of how bogus their relationship is. Director Dennis Gansel goes a step further in trying to prove the depth of their romance. He has the villain tell Gina that the watch Arthur’s gifted her is most precious to him, and that it means that he will do anything for her. The manipulative, vindictive baddie suddenly turns into a messenger of love. It’d be annoying if it weren’t funny.
Mechanic: Resurrection is a quintessential popcorn film. You can regularly look down into your bag of popcorn to carefully pick out the good pieces, and look up at the screen without missing much. Arthur’s likely shooting down somebody or perhaps using his vernier calipers to measure distances.
In a more serious film, the astounding lack of depth, detail and nuance would have been more vexing, but this is a Statham action film, a genre unto itself. We are mere mortals watching Arthur, oblivious to space and time, fly from country to country to put powerful people out of their miseries. In a sense, Arthur, the mechanic, is like the very embodiment of space and time.
You can survive it for a while, but you’ll never outlive it. Towards the end, the villain finally wakes up to the folly of picking The Mechanic as his adversary (remember The Dark Knight line?), but I wasn’t at all sure why Arthur needed to wait so long to rescue Gina. Then, I looked down and understood. The omniscient Arthur was just giving us time to finish the popcorn. | http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/mechanic-resurrection-review-a-standard-statham-affair/article9036580.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/d55169702360b18c5a268e5803a24553a151a6567e0a1835e65c50b3b38844bf.json |
[
"Mohamed Imranullah S."
] | 2016-08-29T04:55:29 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Anyone visiting the Madras High Court website looking for essential information, such as profile of a sitting judge, is sure to be disappointed. For the chances of finding the required information wou | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Finfo-on-hc-website-incomplete-outdated%2Farticle9043140.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Info on HC website incomplete, outdated | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Anyone visiting the Madras High Court website looking for essential information, such as profile of a sitting judge, is sure to be disappointed. For the chances of finding the required information would be less than 50 per cent since the website provides the profile of only 15 out of 38 judges. No information is available with respect to the other 23 judges.
On September 30, 2009, the Full Court (a gathering of all judges) passed a resolution for voluntary disclosure of their assets. Then, it was also decided to host such disclosure on the High Court website. Some of the judges who got elevated subsequently too had disclosed their assets. However, as on date, the assets of only 25 judges had been hosted.
The last time the information on judges’ assets got updated on the website was when Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul declared his assets after assuming office in July 2014.
Similarly, the list of former Chief Justices had not been updated on the website, as it misses out Justice R.K. Agrawal, who served as Chief Justice from October 14, 2013 till his elevation to the Supreme Court in February 2014. The list on the website ends with M.Y. Eqbal, whose two-year tenure as Chief Justice of the High Court ended on December 21, 2012.
Further, the website, which claims to have been updated last on August 10, continues to retain the name of Justice P. Kalaiyarasan as the Registrar-General of the court in the information related to duties and responsibilities of court officials, though he got elevated as a judge on April 7 itself.
It also contains a compendium of speeches delivered by former Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam, at the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy, with the term 'New' flickering next to the link.
Lawyers contend that such restricted information in public domain agitates against Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, which makes it mandatory that every public authority disclose “suo motu” as much information as possible at regular intervals through various means of communication. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/info-on-hc-website-incomplete-outdated/article9043140.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/35190e09648e3b30f00e480151a0f8055ac44a737bdb6fd3a8be0df126d7fc77.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T22:50:27 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Three elephants died tonight after being hit by a train in South-Eastern Railway’s Bankura-Howrah section in West Bengal.
Divisional Forest Officer, Panchet, Ayan Ghosh told PTI two elephant calve | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fother-states%2Fthree-jumbos-run-over-by-train%2Farticle9037574.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Three jumbos run over by train | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Three elephants died tonight after being hit by a train in South-Eastern Railway’s Bankura-Howrah section in West Bengal.
Divisional Forest Officer, Panchet, Ayan Ghosh told PTI two elephant calves and their mother were knocked down by the Kharagpur-Adra Passenger at around 7:30 p.m.
The train moved on but the jumbos’ mutilated carcasses spread across the tracks between Bisnupur in Bankura and Piyardoba in West Midnapore for over two hours disrupting train movement in the section, the DFO said.
The carcasses were removed from the tracks by the forest and rail personnel with the help of locals after which train movement was fully restored, he said.
The pachyderm family was crossing the track, skirted by dense forest on both sides, when the mishap occured, he said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/three-jumbos-run-over-by-train/article9037574.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/4e81901404e343c9e4340a3f775ce0fe37f1cd98339a697c1256cacc0db23460.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:51:33 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Tamil Nadu Advocate-General A. L. Somyaji has resigned. He tendered his resignation with immediate effect on Friday. Shortly after Mr. Somayaji's resignation, the government appointed senior advoc | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Ftamil-nadu-advocategeneral-somyaji-resigns%2Farticle9036075.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/SOMAAYAJI_2987291c.jpg | en | null | Tamil Nadu Advocate-General Somyaji resigns | null | null | www.thehindu.com | A.L. Somyaji, who resigned as Advocate-General of Tamil Nadu on Friday. File photo
Shortly after Mr. Somayaji's resignation, the government appointed senior advocate R. Muthukumaraswamy in his place.
Tamil Nadu Advocate-General A. L. Somyaji has resigned. He tendered his resignation with immediate effect on Friday.
Shortly after Mr. Somayaji's resignation, the government appointed senior advocate R. Muthukumaraswamy as the Advocate-General of Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Somyaji was appointed to the post on March 7, 2013. He has over 35 years of experience at the Bar, and was designated as a senior counsel by the Madras High Court in 1994. He had served as an Additional Advocate General of the State Government between 2001 and 2006. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/tamil-nadu-advocategeneral-somyaji-resigns/article9036075.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/e4104a2e0c7b26af911676f3dbcaaf451bb21d81877d074f29aeb1504d5f4835.json |
[
"Mohammad Ali"
] | 2016-08-27T20:51:57 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The residents of Dadri, whose complaint led to a case of cow slaughter against the family and brother of Mohammad Akhlaq, will appeal against the stay on their arrest by the Allahabad High Court. The | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fother-states%2Fdadri-resident-to-appeal-hc-ruling%2Farticle9040863.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Dadri resident to appeal HC ruling | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Akhlaq was lynched by his neighbours in Bishahra village in Dadri last September over rumours of having eaten beef.
The residents of Dadri, whose complaint led to a case of cow slaughter against the family and brother of Mohammad Akhlaq, will appeal against the stay on their arrest by the Allahabad High Court. The court had on Friday granted immunity from arrest to Akhlaq’s family in the alleged cow slaughter case “till the conclusion of the investigation in the case”.
Akhlaq was lynched by his neighbours in Bishahra village in Dadri last September over rumours of having eaten beef.
Surajpal, the main complainant in the cow slaughter case, told The Hindu that he would approach the apex court against the High Court’s relief to Akhlaq’s family. He said, “I completely respect the honourable court’s order but it would be unfair that while innocents have been put behind the bar in the Akhlaq lynching case, the main culprit in the cow slaughter case, which is reflected in public anger, remain free.”
“The petitioner shall not be arrested till the conclusion of investigation under the Code of Criminal Procedure,” the Bench of Justices Ramesh Sinha and Prabhat Chandra Tripathi had said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/dadri-resident-to-appeal-hc-ruling/article9040863.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/135def762f709bb71664bcaecd39dda9f172e0a7b94af3ced9cbf17c17bcc56c.json |
[
"Rahul Verma"
] | 2016-08-26T20:50:11 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | It was a Sunday, and dinner was on my mind. We were going to the Habitat Centre for a music concert in the evening and thought we would dine out. The idea was to eat something good, but not go too far | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ffeatures%2Fmetroplus%2Fhealthy-street-food%2Farticle9036912.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/27DMC_RAHUL1_2987572c.jpg | en | null | Healthy street food! | null | null | www.thehindu.com | RAHUL VERMA skipped a soulful music concert to relish South East Asian street food at Ping’s Cafe Orient
It was a Sunday, and dinner was on my mind. We were going to the Habitat Centre for a music concert in the evening and thought we would dine out. The idea was to eat something good, but not go too far for the meal. That was when I thought of Ping’s Café Orient in Lodhi Colony.
I had heard about it from a foodie friend whose opinion I value. She was the one who had told me about The Bistro in Defence Colony. We’d had some excellent meals there and I was sorry to hear some weeks ago that the place had changed hands. So, anyway, when this friend told me about Ping’s, I thought that this was a restaurant that I needed to visit.
Ping’s is where Ploof used to be, if you remember that restaurant which served excellent seafood once upon a time. This is in the Lodhi Colony market — next to Mittal Tea and Lodhi Sports. The address is 13, Main Market, and the phone number is 011-33105456. It’s best to go there after booking a table.
We landed up there early for there wasn’t even standing space at the concert. The restaurant cheerfully done up — was empty, but the servers and the young lady at the reception were most welcoming. I had a glass of chilled beer, and absent-mindedly ate up an entire bowl of crackers dipped in a black bean sauce while I looked at the menu.
What I found most interesting was the fact that it served South East Asian street food. “It’s tasty yet healthy street food,” said Chef Pratyush Rai, whom I buttonholed when I saw him pass by our table.
The region is known for its most enjoyable street food. In fact, in many parts of South East Asia, people would rather eat out than cook at home. My lasting regret during a trip to Singapore was that I couldn’t eat street food there. I was on the jury of a food guide and my job was to eat only in high-end restaurants. But I made up for that during a trip to Thailand, where almost every meal consisted of food bought on the streets.
I found some of the old familiar dishes on the menu of Ping’s. There was street food from Chatuchak and Sukhumvit in Bangkok, Borobodur in Indonesia, Angkor in Cambodia, Gwangjang Market in South Korea and so on. We decided to have a plate of Krabbi’s garlic pepper prawns, Ebisu’s Ramen noodles with roast pork, snow peas, black mushroom and water spinach and Penang chicken curry with rice. All three dishes were for Rs. 545, before taxes. A meal for two at Ping’s, I reckon, comes for Rs. 2000 post taxes.
It was an Excellent meal, and I hope you’ve noticed the capital E. The prawns, with the complementary flavours of pepper and garlic, were just right. But what I really enjoyed was the roast pork noodle dish. It was deliciously soupy, the pork had been roasted well and the vegetables were nice and crunchy. The soup was so good that I drank it up after we had finished all the goodies in it.
Likewise, the Penang chicken curry was superb. The flavours, I thought, were just right — the coconut milk added to the sweetness of the curry, flavoured with kaffir lime, galangal, shrimp paste and tempered with peanuts. We had this with steamed rice, though you can opt for sticky rice, brown rice or red rice. The menu has all kinds of dishes prepared with chicken, lamb, tenderloin, fish and pork. And there are various kinds of options for vegetarians.
My foodie friend, once again, was bang on — the food at Ping’s is superb. I am glad we were there early, for I don’t think we would have got a table if we had gone after the music concert. Just for once, I was happy to have missed my friend, Madan Gopal Singh’s golden voice and Chaar Yaar’s soulful music. | http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/healthy-street-food/article9036912.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/872ef01f5db70187068bf4b5907c6b1f1583f3be1375792f8ed4353861df3abd.json |
[
"D.J. Walter Scott"
] | 2016-08-29T08:53:53 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Six months after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa laid the foundation stone for the 1,600 MW Uppur supercritical thermal power plant and handed over the Rs. 5,580-crore contract order to it, Bharat Heavy E | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fland-acquisition-issues-hit-uppur-thermal-plant%2Farticle9044703.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Land acquisition issues hit Uppur thermal plant | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Owners of patta lands have gone to court against the move
Six months after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa laid the foundation stone for the 1,600 MW Uppur supercritical thermal power plant and handed over the Rs. 5,580-crore contract order to it, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) has been unable to make much headway, apparently because of official apathy.
After receiving the order, BHEL began establishing boiler, turbine and generators, but the work has come to a standstill as there is delay on the part of the government in issuing notification under Section 3 (1) of the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act for taking over 767.83 acres of patta lands. Sources told The Hindu that the District Collector here, after issuing a notification under Section 3 (2) of the Act in November 2015 and hearing objections from landowners, passed an order overruling their objections in January and paving the way for takeover of the land.
However, the government was yet to issue the notification under Section 3 (1) of the Act and publish it in the gazette for taking over the land. Energy, Revenue and Finance departments had cleared the files and they had been pending with the Chief Minister’s Office for nearly three months, they said.
Although the BHEL had taken possession of 229.59 acres of poromboke land, it could not proceed as patta lands came in-between in the boiler, turbine, and generator package work, the sources said. Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation deposited Rs. 5.22 crore with the government for awarding compensation to landowners and awaited the government notification.
Meanwhile, a section of patta landowners had moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, challenging takeover of their lands and obtained an order restoring status quo in November 2015. However, the Energy and Revenue secretaries, cited as respondents, were yet to file counter in the case. A second batch of landowners had obtained similar orders. As this section cited TANGEDCO, Collector and Ministry of Environment and Forest as respondents, the power utility had taken the initiative to file the counter. It had sent the draft and after it was vetted by Energy Department, the counter was likely to be filed before the Madurai Bench next week, the sources added. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/land-acquisition-issues-hit-uppur-thermal-plant/article9044703.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/cb693bcd29ffccb2c1a039f0be8ef03bf86bbfd93ecbc43e9827f765821b9c15.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-31T06:57:10 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | The Agriculture Department has begun a campaign against harmful pesticides, which were either banned or regulated, in the district. The State-wide programme will conclude on September 7. Inspectors at | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fkozhikode%2Fcampaign-against-harmful-pesticides%2Farticle9051163.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Campaign against harmful pesticides | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Stern action will be taken against those storing banned pesticides
The Agriculture Department has begun a campaign against harmful pesticides, which were either banned or regulated, in the district. The State-wide programme will conclude on September 7.
Inspectors attached to the department would be tasked to carry out checks at marketing and distribution centres of pesticides. Stern action would be taken against those storing banned pesticides or keeping in their possession any pesticides without licence. Provisions of the Insecticides Act would be initiated against them. The Act aims at regulating the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of pesticides with a view to preventing risk to human beings or animals.
Measures would be adopted to check the smuggling of pesticides from other districts and neighbouring States. A district-level vigilance committee has been constituted for the purpose. Besides, a State-level vigilance squad would carry out surprise checks in the district as well.
Officials said that complaints had risen against the overuse of pesticides in hilly regions and plantations in the district. Harmful pesticides were being imported by people in this business from other places. The Agriculture Department with the support of the district administration would act against them, they said.
As a rule, manufactures and distributors of pesticides should not directly sell pesticides to farmers and agriculture societies. Without the consent of the department, pesticides companies should not conduct any demonstration and farming experiments at agriculture lands, the officials said.
The objective of the campaign is to reduce the use of pesticides and thereby encourage farmers to adopt organic farming. This could be achieved with the support of the farmers, the public and voluntary agencies, they said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/campaign-against-harmful-pesticides/article9051163.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/67cbee39a325382be468b2232f8a688dc2b8efe22583d8dc17eca18fa8b30f65.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T08:51:49 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, who guided Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu to Olympic medals in the successive Games, says he was lucky that he wasn’t good in studies and it was a flunked IIT e | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Fother-sports%2Fi-was-lucky-i-wasnt-good-in-studies-says-chief-badminton-coach-pullela-gopichand%2Farticle9055036.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02993/GOPICHAND_2993356c.jpg | en | null | I was lucky I wasn’t good in studies, says Chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Gopichand said though he was treated badly by some people he was also thankful to the good souls who have always been there to support him.
Chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, who guided Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu to Olympic medals in the successive Games, says he was lucky that he wasn’t good in studies and it was a flunked IIT exam that paved his way to be a successful sportsperson.
“My brother and I both played sports. He was fantastic in sports and now I feel that I was lucky I wasn’t good in studies,” Gopichand said while discussing how sports requires commitment from both parents and sacrifices and sometimes luck also plays a part.
“He was a state champion. He wrote his IIT exam and passed. He went to IIT and stopped playing. I wrote the engineering exam and failed and I continued in sports and this is where I stand now. I think you have to be focused and even lucky sometimes,” the 42-year-old said.
Gopichand went on to become only the second Indian to win the All England title in 2001 and soon after he retired and decided to open his own academy.
The journey to set up the academy was not an easy one as he faced many rejections when he went to ask for help from different quarters to arrange the finance.
Talking about one such incident, Gopichand said: “I remember having gone to a cetain PSU few years back. I was made to wait for three continuous days outside the room when they promised me support for badminton but after waiting from 9 in the morning to 5:30 in the evening after three days a certain officer at a high position came up to me and said that badminton doesn’t have the eyeballs to be a world sport.
“That was the last day I had gone ahead and asked anybody for sponsorship. The same night I went back home and thanks to my parents and wife, we mortgaged our house and that is how the academy came up,” Gopichand said in a felicitation ceremony by IIFCL on Tuesday.
In the last 12 years since setting up his academy in Hyderabad, Gopichand produced two Olympic medallist and he said he never thought his dream to see India win an Olympic medal in badminton would come true so soon.
“I started the academy in 2004 with 25 young kids. Sindhu was one of my youngest kid at about eight years and P Kashyap was the oldest at 15. When I started coaching I had this dream that India would win an Olympic medal someday. I didn’t know that we could so soon in 2012 win our first medal,” he said.
“I think maybe I should retire now because my goals were all finished and done with,” he said on a lighter note.
Gopichand said though he was treated badly by some people he was also thankful to the good souls who have always been there to support him.
“We have people in the ministry who have been ridiculous in their way of treating us but we also have some great souls who have supported us,” he said.
“I hadn’t applied for the Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Puraskar and the Padma Bhushan but few supportive officials felt that I should still be given the award. So its those kind of officials and people who move the sport forward.
“God has been very kind in my lifetime, whenever I have had problems He has sent somebody for help,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sindhu’s father P.V. Ramana said that people who earlier used to criticise them for letting their daughter take Sports as a career are the ones to appreciate her achievements and their sacrifices now.
“When Sindhu used to leave for training sometimes at 4’o clock and sometimes at 5’o clock and afterwards when we used to go for walks so many people used to say that why are you bearing so much but the same people now say that we are so proud of your daughter”, Ramana told PTI.
“Unless and until we don’t sacrifice or put in some hard work we don’t get the fruit which Sindhu has done and she has got the fruits of it,” he added.
On being asked about his sacrifices, Ramana said: “As parents its our duty and moreover we being sports persons we know what is the importance of sports in the lives of sportsmen and how hard one has to work to come up to this level so we gave in our best to help our daughter achieve all that she deserves.
“Parents instead of pressurising their kids should come forward to support them in whichever field they want and then surely the child will also try to repay it back through the hard work and my daughter has done that to me,” he concluded. | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/i-was-lucky-i-wasnt-good-in-studies-says-chief-badminton-coach-pullela-gopichand/article9055036.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/77e36d6d6a1448edb190527c58568b837a93b60159afe535b3c4f67ad59dc6c9.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T10:51:06 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The High Court of Karnataka on Friday wondered how the State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) did not bother to apprise the court of its problems of lack of staff and infrastructure, even when the c | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fbangalore%2Fhc-poser-to-spca%2Farticle9038437.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | HC poser to State Police Complaints Authority | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The High Court of Karnataka on Friday wondered how the State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) did not bother to apprise the court of its problems of lack of staff and infrastructure, even when the court has been monitoring its functioning for the last several months.
Justice A.N. Venugopala Gowda was referring to a newspaper report in which SPCA chairperson M.P. Chinnappa had referred to shortage of investigating officers.
Meanwhile, the court directed the State to submit by September 19 details on where the police complaints authorities are housed in each district and the infrastructure with necessary staff provided to them.
The court also expressed displeasure over the manner in which the government has been giving extension to submit the inquiry report by an Additional Director-General of Police on the alleged police excesses at Yamanur village last month over Mahadayi. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/hc-poser-to-spca/article9038437.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/587c36c949d5315559aec262d2a08136e42aa16d4474f21afd1e5698de9b7db4.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-30T04:54:57 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Nadigar Sangam president Nasser on Monday lodged a complaint with the City Police Commissioner alleging a few members had frequently indulged in harassment and intimidation of office staff.After subm | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2Fharassment-of-nadigar-sangam-staff-nasser-files-complaint%2Farticle9046846.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | ‘Harassment’ of Nadigar Sangam staff: Nasser files complaint | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Nadigar Sangam president Nasser on Monday lodged a complaint with the City Police Commissioner alleging a few members had frequently indulged in harassment and intimidation of office staff.
After submitting a complaint to the Commissioner, Mr. Nasser told media persons that certain persons have been indulging in a malicious campaign by levelling corruption charges against the present office-bearers of the Sangam.
He said the allegations levelled by them were baseless.
Mr. Nasser said the office-bearers were determined to proceed with the construction of a new building for the Sangam after obtaining all necessary permissions from the authorities.
Mr. Nasser sought police protection for the staff and urged the Commissioner to conduct an inquiry.
He also referred the complaint given by the manager of the Sangam on the August 27 at Teynampet police station. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/harassment-of-nadigar-sangam-staff-nasser-files-complaint/article9046846.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/96d6de7e0f57ef6ef23a2b085db4b6007c6ee10a428f36e3a7939cf0f6a161cc.json |
[
"M. Balaganessin"
] | 2016-08-31T10:56:53 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | The Cantonment unit of the traffic police, presently functioning from a building belonging to a Cooperative Housing Society in Ponnagar, has been crying for adequate space and amenities.The station, w | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FTiruchirapalli%2Fcantonment-traffic-police-need-space%2Farticle9053384.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02993/25aug_tymbg03_p_MA_2993176c.jpg | en | null | Cantonment traffic police need space | null | null | www.thehindu.com | SPACE CONSTRAINT:The Cantonment Traffic Unit police wing which is functioning in a residential area in Ponnagar for the past two decades in Tiruchi.— Photo: A. Muralitharan
It has been crying for more amenities as well
The Cantonment unit of the traffic police, presently functioning from a building belonging to a Cooperative Housing Society in Ponnagar, has been crying for adequate space and amenities.
The station, which started functioning at this building with a plinth area of about 1,200 square feet about two decades ago, lacks toilets and parking facility.
There is no space for parking the vehicles seized during raid against drunken driving. The police personnel have been forced to take the vehicles seized during their raid to the Corporation two-wheeler stand at the Central bus stand where the vehicles are parked till disposal of the case.
In case of heavy vehicles, the trucks or lorries are parked on the nearby Tiruchi – Dindigul highway. Although the introduction of spot fine system has been facilitating the speedy disposal of cases, the problem continues with regard to two-wheelers, police personnel say.
A top police official said that a proposal to construct a building for the Cantonment traffic unit has been taken up and efforts were being taken for identifying a land. The building at Ponnagar was functioning at a rent-free premises belonging to the Cooperative Housing Society.
The official, however, added that separate building had been constructed for the traffic police wing only in select districts such as Pudukottai. In other districts, the traffic unit formed part of the regular police station buildings.
The station presently functions from a building belonging to a Cooperative Housing Society in Ponnagar | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/cantonment-traffic-police-need-space/article9053384.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/761ff323a9cd5ccf06026d1567d97068c0c89f91c83d39dbc33baebf1cb906a2.json |
[
"Vikas Vasudeva"
] | 2016-08-28T06:50:43 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary in his 23rd Mann Ki Baat programme.Mr. Modi said “India has always made sincere efforts to strengthen | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fprime-minister-narendra-modi-speaks-at-the-23rd-mann-ki-baat-programme%2Farticle9042615.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02989/MONKEYBAAT_2989483c.jpg | en | null | Any life lost in Kashmir is loss of the nation: Modi | null | null | www.thehindu.com | On the recently concluded Rio Olympics, Mr. Modi said "We are proud of our daughters who proved themselves yet again in Rio-Olympics games."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary in his 23rd Mann Ki Baat programme.
Mr. Modi said “India has always made sincere efforts to strengthen it's relation with its neighbours.”
On Kashmir, the Prime Minister said “All political parties have spoken in one voice on Kashmir crises.
“All parties believe that Kashmir is an integral part of India. If a life is lost in Kashmir whether it's a youngster or security personnel, it's our loss, it's loss of the nation.”
He also said, "In Kashmir all those who are pushing youth towards stone pelting will have to someday answer them."
On the recently concluded Rio Olympics, Mr. Modi said "We are proud of our daughters who proved themselves yet again in Rio-Olympics games. However, we still have a long way to go when it comes to sports.
“I have constituted a task force aimed at improving sports in India.”
The Prime Minister said “September 5 is not just teachers’ day, but a day of learning. I congratulate Pullela Gopichand for success of his students in Olympics.”
While touching upon the idol immersion on Ganesh Chaturthi, Mr. Modi said “People have written to me expressing concern over pollution due to idols during Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja. I appeal to you to use idols of clay…our traditional approach. This would help preserving environment.”
On Saint Teresa, Mr. Modi said “On September 4 Mother Teresa canonisation as saint is to happen. Her life was dedicated to work for the poor.” | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/prime-minister-narendra-modi-speaks-at-the-23rd-mann-ki-baat-programme/article9042615.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/c3859cd41718917afe3542002d6dc94e36f68ad9570024071e515b5453bf0a04.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T10:51:46 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | A 23-year-old engineering student created a flutter by setting herself ablaze in front of her lover’s house in Woraiyur area on Friday. P. Yazhini with severe burns has been admitted to the Mahatma Ga | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FTiruchirapalli%2Fengineering-student-sets-herself-ablaze-in-woraiyur%2Farticle9038646.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Engineering student sets herself ablaze in Woraiyur | null | null | www.thehindu.com | A 23-year-old engineering student created a flutter by setting herself ablaze in front of her lover’s house in Woraiyur area on Friday. P. Yazhini with severe burns has been admitted to the Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital here.
The girl’s lover, R. Rajkamal (25), who tried to rescue Yazhini after she set herself ablaze also sustained burn injuries. He is also undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The girl is a third-year student of a private engineering college in Tiruchi. Police said the girl had been in love with Rajkamal for nearly two years. The girl’s parents had reportedly opposed the love affair and wanted her to complete her education.
Police said the girl carried a can containing kerosene and went to the boy’s house at Vadakku Mathulankollai Street in the Woraiyur area in the morning. She doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze near the house. Rajkamal who tried to rescue the girl also sustained burns in the melee.
The State’s health helpline ‘104’ provides anti-suicide counselling and Chennai-based Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline is 044 24640050. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/engineering-student-sets-herself-ablaze-in-woraiyur/article9038646.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/5b2eb2f004e9d2ed644e31f48eef3377d92e8af94b96300824fc3bb7543b6b1a.json |
[
"Shiv Sunny"
] | 2016-08-30T06:51:31 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | In possibly the worst traffic snarls witnessed in Delhi this monsoon, commuters were stranded on roads for hours together as heavy rain lashed parts of the city on Monday.
Among the worst-affected | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FDelhi%2Fbumpertobumper-traffic-in-delhi-as-rain-causes-pain%2Farticle9047995.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02991/NIGERIA-USA_KER_JA_2991834c.jpg | en | null | Bumper-to-bumper traffic in Delhi as rain causes pain | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Nightmare:Among the worst-affected routes were Sardar Patel Marg and Ring Road from Ashram Chowk to Dhaula Kuan; (right) vehicles wade through rainwater on Monday.Photos: Sushil Kumar Verma, PTI
Among the worst-affected routes were Sardar Patel Marg and Ring Road from Ashram Chowk to Dhaula Kuan.
In possibly the worst traffic snarls witnessed in Delhi this monsoon, commuters were stranded on roads for hours together as heavy rain lashed parts of the city on Monday.
Among the worst-affected routes were Sardar Patel Marg from Teen Murti Marg to Dhaula Kuan and Ring Road from Ashram Chowk to Dhaula Kuan. Waterlogging turned out to be such a menace that motorists were forced to keep to just one lane at several stretches.
Commuters on Sardar Patel Marg reportedly took around three hours to travel a distance of four kilometres.
No relief
“Each time it rains, we are stuck on Sardar Patel Marg. Today, I did not budge from a spot on this road for over an hour,” complained Surbhi Kaur, who routinely travels on this route. The scenario was worse on Ring Road from AIIMS to Dhaula Kuan. A commuter, Vasundhara, reportedly travelled two kilometres in three hours on this stretch.
The posh Lutyens’ Delhi also had its own share of traffic woes. Among other areas badly affected were Greater Kailash, Subroto Park, Lajpat Nagar, Mayapuri, Nangloi, ITO, Raj Ghat, IP Flyover, Loha Pul and Kashmiri Gate.
The traffic police, however, said the situation was under control at several places.
“Most of our personnel were out on the roads to regulate traffic,” said Sandeep Goel, Special CP (Traffic). | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/bumpertobumper-traffic-in-delhi-as-rain-causes-pain/article9047995.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/f1268fd27ebcbf1e719313307ca5869d1528562510ead55d3616d88bb41935b8.json |
[
"Milan Singhal"
] | 2016-08-29T20:51:48 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Leaving our nest of 15 years and shifting to an apartment better suited to our life today, filled me with overwhelming emotion — both happiness and sadness. Happy because we are going to a better abod | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fopinion%2Fopen-page%2Fthe-trick-about-just-letting-go-of-what-you-dont-need%2Farticle9047132.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02991/New_Picture__1__2991572c.jpg | en | null | The trick about just letting go of what you don’t need | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Leaving our nest of 15 years and shifting to an apartment better suited to our life today, filled me with overwhelming emotion — both happiness and sadness. Happy because we are going to a better abode and sad because I had to bid farewell to my old house, within the walls of which I had made beautiful memories with my family.
Part of me also cried thinking about the dreaded job I had to do over the next few days of packing everything. Yes, stuffing one’s belongings into bags and boxes is tough. It’s stressful, saps energy. By the time you are done with the whole process of packing and then unpacking, there’s not much enthusiasm left to furnish the new house.
Anyway, what has to be done has to be done. To avoid anxiety at the last moment, I decided to start sorting and packing a month before the move. It is said that how we style our home reflects our personality. But I believe that the adage holds good as long as we talk about outward appearances. In my own case my persona is concealed deep inside my closets, to be revealed only when its doors are opened.
Going through my precious belongings — room by room, cupboard by cupboard, attic by attic, and drawer by drawer — made me realise what a great hoarder I am. I never had the time to keep my wardrobe clutter-free. Or, to tell the truth, I never mustered the courage to dispose of all the bric-a–brac kept in my closets: from kids’ projects and empty boxes and clothes to old appliances. Some have a sentimental value attached to them. In the case of others, it’s difficult to bid farewell for fear that they would be needed the very day I dispose of them.
The written word is another category that I love to hoard. In this age of the Internet, where information is just a click away, I still have folders in which newspaper and magazine clippings are tucked into, with the noble intention of coming back to them during my free time. Well, I can’t help but preserve them as I find some articles funny, some informative and others written too beautifully to be thrown away mercilessly. It’s another story that the “free time” never comes in my life. And to avoid the guilt I keep saving these snippets of information.
I don’t know from where I have learnt to accumulate things but I believe the urge to hoard things runs deep in the Indian psyche. In my growing up years I have seen it as a common practice in many households to save the clothes, toys and books of the elder child to hand it down to the younger ones — much to the dismay of the younger ones. But it kept the parents happy.
One of my aunts still saves the takeaway plastic food containers to reuse them later. Although her kids keep buying stylish glass containers, she has some fixation with the plastic ones. “They charge us for these too, so might as well use them,” she rests her case. But my aunt’s craze is nothing compared to the obsession of the average Indian household which, according to compiled data, have piled up as much as 20,000 tonnes of gold worth $1.16 trillion. That, in fact is some serious hoarding!
During the days before our “great move”, our neighbours, an elderly couple, visited us to say goodbyes. Seeing my packed boxes bulging at the seams, it didn’t take the man long to guess that half of them must be filled with junk. He couldn’t help but give me some pearls of wisdom. “If it hadn’t seen the light of the day for a year, there’s no use in hoarding the stuff in home,” he advised. Despite his wife’s protests, he either dumps those articles he deems useless, or donates them if they are in fairly good condition. Embracing a minimalist lifestyle is his mantra, by which he lives now.
It is with a heavy heart that you pare down worldly possessions, still I made a start when I gave away my “hoarded” belongings to my maid, and my kid’s old but almost new clothes to an orphanage. When I let go of them, it did feel good. I slowly started to discard unnecessary goods. Today I can proudly say our new home is in a state of order.
milansinghal@yahoo.co.in | http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/the-trick-about-just-letting-go-of-what-you-dont-need/article9047132.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/7a47ac403dc167db2eda14e5d2e22980c7987b3901e5e99ff450321aeaba4dfe.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-31T10:56:20 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, on Tuesday, announced a scheme to screen newborns for hearing impairment. The State government has allocated Rs. 3.30 crore for the purpose.The pilot project would be laun | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2Fnewborns-to-be-screened-for-hearing-impairment%2Farticle9052582.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Newborns to be screened for hearing impairment | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, on Tuesday, announced a scheme to screen newborns for hearing impairment. The State government has allocated Rs. 3.30 crore for the purpose.
The pilot project would be launched in Chennai and Sivaganga district.
The project would be implemented in 11 maternity hospitals in Chennai and the district headquarters hospital in Sivaganga, taluk hospitals and upgraded primary health centres.
The government has also proposed to implement the AAWAZ – augmentative and alternative communication for mentally challenged children. “Children in government homes will be given an iPad to enable communication among them.” | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/newborns-to-be-screened-for-hearing-impairment/article9052582.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/39b64fc57478028947d1d0ca8202b74fbeb323b481d8bd262931b02ebb544c0d.json |
[
"Vidya Krishnan"
] | 2016-08-28T08:57:37 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Dr. Jayshree Mehta, president of the Medical Council of India which has been under the scanner for corruption and is currently being monitored by a three-member committee mandated by the Supreme Cour | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fjayshree-mehta-on-medical-council-of-india-controversy%2Farticle9032637.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02986/Mehta_jayashree_2986015c.jpg | en | null | Jayshree Mehta on Medical Council of India controversy | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Dr. Jayshree Mehta, president of the Medical Council of India which has been under the scanner for corruption and is currently being monitored by a three-member committee mandated by the Supreme Court, has said that the Council was not ‘given a reasonable opportunity’ to present its side of the story. She said the negative attention on the MCI, following a report by a Parliamentary Standing Committee, was unfair and claimed the report did not reflect reality.
‘Not given time’
“We sought time from the Parliamentary Committee but were not given any time. To that extent, the Medical Council was denied the mandatory opportunity of hearing, which the principles of natural justice guarantee,” Dr. Mehta said, adding that the Parliamentary Standing Committee did not bring out any specific complaints of corruption of any type and magnitude.
On the decision of the NITI Aayog to scrap the MCI and replace it with the National Medical Commission, Dr. Mehta termed it the “remedy more dangerous than the disease.” “The draft Bill on the National Medical Commission, 2016, is plagued by several problems and contradictions,” which would result in “complete loss of democratic character expected of a regulatory body,” she said.
Dr.Mehta said the Supreme Court mandated Lodha panel which is monitoring the functioning was not the first oversight panel for the Council.
“In 2001, the Delhi High Court appointed a full time administrator who supervised the MCI’s functioning for a year. During that year, they could not bring even a single event pertaining to the functioning of the Council, which could be said to be contrary to the governing rules,” Dr Mehta claimed.
Later a four-member ad hoc committee as formed which examined all of the MCI's decisions between 1996 to 2001. “So, we have been under scrutiny from 1996 - 2001 and then 2002 – 2009 and nothing has been found. While the Lodha Committee does not in any way disrupt the functioning of the Council, the decisions/recommendations given by MCI have remain unimplemented for the substantial period of time,” she said.
Asked why the MCI did not inspect the medical colleges even after being asked to do so by the Lodha panel, Dr Mehta said the panel had wanted the applications for starting new colleges/ increase of seats that had been rejected by MCI be accorded another opportunity of compliance. “We considered all the applications in our Executive Committee meeting and found that all these applicants had already been given the required opportunity to comply.” | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jayshree-mehta-on-medical-council-of-india-controversy/article9032637.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/480e2551bd271be6d6ffec49384088d2d0f5b9e3b9a1ea5199fc20a6c99fa65e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:51:45 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011 with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government but has evolved into a complex war involving jihadist groups and regional and internatio | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Finternational%2Fwho-is-fighting-who-in-syria%2Farticle9036200.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/MIDEAST-CRISIS_SYR_2987385c.jpg | en | null | Who is fighting who in Syria | null | null | www.thehindu.com | IS considers all those who fail to pledge allegiance to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi its foes and has battled rebel groups and even rival jihadists.
Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011 with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government but has evolved into a complex war involving jihadist groups and regional and international powers.
Over 290,000 people have been killed and more than half Syria's population displaced in the conflict, which Turkey entered this week, dispatching troops to battle the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and halt the advance of Kurdish forces.
WHO IS FIGHTING WHO?
Regime against rebels
The main battleline pits the approximately 300,000 soldiers of the Syrian army, and allied forces, against myriad rebel groups and Syrian and foreign jihadists.
The largest anti-regime rebel alliance is the Army of Conquest, grouping Islamist factions like Ahrar al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham with jihadists such as Fateh al-Sham Front, previously Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.
The biggest battlefront at present is Aleppo city, divided between government and opposition control but surrounded by loyalist forces.
The government is also fighting to retake control of Eastern Ghouta, next to Damascus, which is largely controlled by the Jaish al-Islam rebel group.
Regime against IS
Syria's army has fought IS in several parts of the country, expelling the jihadists from the ancient city of Palmyra in March.
Regime against Kurds
Syria's Kurds have largely stayed out of the conflict between the government and armed opposition, but in August regime aircraft bombed Kurdish forces for the first time in Hasakeh, a city jointly controlled by the regime and Kurds.
Kurdish forces now hold 90 per cent of Hasakeh.
Kurds against IS
Syria's Kurds have carved out a semi-autonomous region in north and north-eastern Syria, with their People's Protection Units (YPG) becoming a key partner of the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS.
Since January 2015, the YPG has ousted IS from the key towns of Kobane and Manbij in Aleppo province, Tal Abyad in Raqa province, and large parts of Hasakeh province.
The YPG is also the key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which groups diverse factions battling IS.
IS against rebels
IS considers all those who fail to pledge allegiance to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi its foes and has battled rebel groups and even rival jihadists.
Rebels backed by Turkey participated in this week's capture of the border town of Jarabulus from IS.
WHO SUPPORTS WHOM?
Regime
The army is bolstered by 200,000 irregular forces, notably from the National Defence Forces. It also fights alongside between 5,000-8,000 forces from Lebanon's powerful Shia militia Hezbollah, as well as Iranian, Iraqi and Afghan fighters.
Russia, a key regime backer, began an aerial campaign in support of Assad's government last September and has helped Damascus recapture areas in several provinces.
Iran is another key ally, providing financial and military support.
Rebels
Opposition factions deemed "moderate" are backed by the West, particularly the United States, France and the UK, though the forces have accused their supporters of providing insufficient support.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar also back the opposition, and they have also lent support to Islamist factions.
Kurds
Syria's Kurds are key partners of the anti-IS coalition headed by Washington, but Turkey considers the YPG to be a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara brands a "terror" group.
Jihadists
No country openly backs the jihadists of Fateh al-Sham and IS, although the latter has been able to rely on funds from taxation and resources in the territory it holds in Syria and Iraq.
WHO CONTROLS WHAT?
Regime
Syria's government holds around 35 percent of the country, including strategic areas such as the capital Damascus, central Homs and Hama, the coast, and large parts of Aleppo. Sixty percent of the population lives under its rule.
IS
Despite setbacks since 2015, IS controls around 35 percent of Syria, much of it uninhabited. It dominates Deir Ezzor province on the Iraqi border and Raqa province. It is also present in a number of other regions.
Kurds
Kurdish forces hold around 18 percent of the country, including three-quarters of the Syrian-Turkish border. They have declared a federal region in areas under their control.
Fateh al-Sham, other rebels
Fateh al-Sham and other rebel forces hold some 12 percent of the country. The largest expanse is in Idlib province and controlled by the Army of Conquest alliance.
WHAT ARE GOALS OF EACH PARTY?
Regime
President Assad has said he wants to retake the whole country and will not stand down.
Rebels
Rebel forces seek to oust Mr. Assad, though factions differ on their vision for the country, with Fateh al-Sham aspiring to an Islamic emirate.
Kurds
The Kurds seek an autonomous region in areas where they form a majority.
IS
IS seeks to expand its self-proclaimed "caliphate" in territory under its control in Syria and Iraq.
United States
Washington has called on Mr. Assad to step down, but its efforts are now focused on combatting IS.
Russia
Moscow insists Mr. Assad will not be ousted, and seeks a diplomatic victory by competing with Washington to shape negotiations between the regime and rebels.
Iran
Tehran seeks to protect key ally Mr. Assad, and assert its role in the Arab world.
Turkey
Ankara backs the opposition, but is currently focused on preventing the Kurds from creating a contiguous autonomous region. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/who-is-fighting-who-in-syria/article9036200.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/431f85b178b0a2507265fd4b52029787ab3aa9e6b30e2227a4331cb3409c1a7a.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T18:51:03 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will embark on a ‘mahayatra’ from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh’s Rudrapur taluka to Delhi — covering 233 of the 403 Assembly constituencies — on September 6 as part of | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fother-states%2Frahul-to-embark-on-uttar-pradesh-mahayatra%2Farticle9046732.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Rahul to embark on Uttar Pradesh ‘mahayatra’ | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will embark on a ‘mahayatra’ from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh’s Rudrapur taluka to Delhi — covering 233 of the 403 Assembly constituencies — on September 6 as part of a State-wide outreach programme in the poll-bound State.
Announcing the programme, Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said Mr. Gandhi would travel through 39 districts and cover 2,500 km in an almost one month-long exercise.
He will be accompanied in each district by local leaders. ‘Khaat sabhas’ will be held in 21 districts, interspersed with road shows in large towns and cities. But there will be no big rallies.
The mahayatra comes in the wake of the Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s road show in Varanasi earlier this month and the two yatras of State party leaders now making their way through various districts. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/rahul-to-embark-on-uttar-pradesh-mahayatra/article9046732.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/82dd1a1aba3e58cb0bd51c54a3b60417d8593f9c6ec45958cc2fabc5e5f34af2.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-28T00:52:30 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The leak of documents about the Scorpene submarine provides an interesting insight into a not-so-well known aspect of the murky world of defence deals — of numerous free-floating consultants, many of | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fcontractor-who-came-in-from-the-cold%2Farticle9040869.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/Scorpene_2988976c.jpg | en | null | Contractor who came in from the cold | null | null | www.thehindu.com | A retired French naval officer is suspected to have engineered the Scorpene data leak.
The leak of documents about the Scorpene submarine provides an interesting insight into a not-so-well known aspect of the murky world of defence deals — of numerous free-floating consultants, many of them retired military personnel, who play a crucial role in deciding the fate of billion-dollar deals. They operate in addition to the unscrupulous middlemen who are integral to most deals.
Many senior officials who have dealt with foreign suppliers say that despite the avowed anti-corruption policies adopted by global military giants, middlemen and consultants are essential to their strategy to win a major deal.
One such retired naval-officer-turned-contractor working with DCNS, the French submarine-maker, is believed to have spirited away the sensitive set of information, giving out much of the secret details of India’s yet-to-be deployed diesel-electric submarines.
The Australian newspaper says the retired French naval officer may have spirited out the data to a southeast Asian country in 2011. Most important, he was using that data to swing a contract with that Asian country for training, says Cameron Stewart, the reporter with The Australian who scooped the story.
It is possible that the officer-turned-consultant was targeting the Malaysian Navy, which ordered the Scorpene submarines in 2002.
Such individual contractors play a crucial role by being part of the legitimate part of a contract. They could be working for major suppliers involved in the contract, or act as sub-contractors, or could even be part of the negotiations representing the arms dealer without disclosing the fact.
According to senior retired and serving military officials, whenever foreign firms are engaged in contesting for an Indian contract, such foreign and Indian consultants get into the act.
“We are well aware of the way Indian arms dealers operate, and the kind of people they deploy. However, the presence of foreign consultants/contractors, who pop up at various stages of a contract, is quite baffling,” a senior officer said.
An official, who has dealt with the Scorpene submarine contract, said in Mumbai that the set of French officials, who would appear one day for Armaris — the primary contractor — would represent DCNS, a sub-contractor, the next day.
“They probably were not employees of either,” he said. There were far too many consultants and individual contractors from France involved in the Scorpene submarine contract, he recalled.
“For someone involved in it, there is nothing more than his access to the confidential details that can be shown to a potential new client,” the officer said, speculating why a former consultant to the contract would run away with so much of data, if espionage was not the motive.
Another officer who had been involved in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal that the air force signed in 2010, which later snow-balled into a huge scandal, said there were foreign consultants who popped up regularly.
“They would be retired British military personnel or others. Clearly, most of them were not employees of AgustaWestland,” he said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/contractor-who-came-in-from-the-cold/article9040869.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/9070bbd860dff87d654efd32053b2259f31f8cf159bc46219b89bac3be1c73ad.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T20:54:09 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | BJP MP from Bhadohi, Virendra Singh, has alleged that officials at the U.S. embassy objected to his turban while denying him a visa. Mr. Singh told The Hindu that he had applied for a visa after a gr | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fi-was-denied-us-visa-due-to-turban-bjp-mp%2Farticle9037183.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | I was denied U.S. visa due to turban: BJP MP | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Turban signifies my self-respect, says Badohi MP, Virendra Singh
BJP MP from Bhadohi, Virendra Singh, has alleged that officials at the U.S. embassy objected to his turban while denying him a visa.
Mr. Singh told The Hindu that he had applied for a visa after a group of U.S. experts and officials visited him to learn about agriculture and invited him to visit the American countryside.
“I am a wrestler and an agriculturalist and I wear a turban as a sign of my dignity and pride. I cannot compromise on my turban for going to the U.S. I had been invited by U.S. officials to visit their country and give lectures on agricultural issues, but when I visited the embassy on Wednesday, the officials asked me to come with photographs without the turban and ordered me to take it off,” Mr. Singh said.
In response, the U.S. Embassy said that it follows a non-discriminatory policy on visas. “During the visa application process, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi does not ask individuals to remove turbans or other religious dress,” the Embassy said in a statement on Friday evening.
The Ministry of External Affairs said it was studying the case. “We have seen his comments on TV. Once the issue is taken up with us at the official level, we will try to find out the grounds on which the visa was denied and what the U.S. rules for visa are,” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/i-was-denied-us-visa-due-to-turban-bjp-mp/article9037183.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/38b124ac325dc0e9ff51545867cfccf0f506cd9c9ae78c9e996e3c0cab9f16b4.json |
[
"Shiv Sunny"
] | 2016-08-27T22:53:11 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | They may not have received the love and care they deserved from their parents, but the abandoned sisters have brought out the human side of many people associated with them over the past few days. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FDelhi%2Funwanted-by-parents-but-cared-for-by-strangers%2Farticle9038572.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/26-ndssy01-Huma_DE_2988253c.jpg | en | null | Unwanted by parents but cared for by strangers | null | null | www.thehindu.com | “Brave”:The two sisters, seven-year-old and three-year-old, are recuperating at Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Delhi since Saturday .— Photo: Shiv Sunny
A Delhi Police constable has started buying packets of their favourite snack in bulk, while the barber who shaved their heads refused to charge for his services
They may not have received the love and care they deserved from their parents, but the abandoned sisters have brought out the human side of many people associated with them over the past few days.
The frontrunner among them is Ashok Kumar, a constable who has been taking care of them at Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. since Saturday. His salary may be the lowest among all the Delhi Police ranks, but that has not prevented Mr. Kumar from buying food for the children from his own pocket.
“The girls love Kurkure. Initially, I would buy one packet at a time. But when I saw that the snack made them happy, I started buying it in bulk,” Mr. Kumar said.
He added that caring for the girls has been the “most satisfying job” in his 21-year-old career, during which he has not seen a single promotion.
“Children are another form of God. So I am actually serving God.”
Ever since he took up this “service,” the constable said his wife and children look at him with more respect when he returns home at the end of the day. Mr. Kumar has four children. His youngest is eight-year-old. He described the sisters as the “bravest” he has seen, considering the adverse situation they are in.
“The girls have not cried once in front of me. They have brought joy to everyone in this hospital ward.”
Iqbal Ahmed, the barber who tends to patients at this hospital, agreed with the constable’s description of the girls as brave.
“Due to the maggot-infected wounds on the older girl’s head, I had to use scissors instead of a razor to shave her head. But neither of them flinched even once during the painful process, which took nearly an hour. They are good children,” said Mr. Ahmed, who did not charge for the service.
“It would be a sin if I took money for serving these girls. In the one hour that I shaved their head, we developed a special bond,” said the barber, who added that he never charges patients who are abandoned or differently-abled.
In the six-bed ward where the sisters are recuperating, they are everyone’s favourite.
“When the girls are not sleeping, they are playing with us. They seem hungry for love,” said Meena, a patient’s relative.
Over the last couple of days, the children have been flooded with food items and toys, including half-a-dozen teddy bears. However, the police have been trying to keep the gifts away.
“I cannot risk their safety,” Mr. Kumar told a man while asking him to take away the two teddy bears he brought on Friday. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/unwanted-by-parents-but-cared-for-by-strangers/article9038572.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/263ab71760bb590b469128e9b7d3f56b3bca10bd25a07ae750c36e2b2812a9b8.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:51:14 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran is in the eye of a storm over his remarks that lighting of lamps and singing of religious hymns at government programmes and functions at schools should be avoided | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fkerala%2Fshun-prayers-lighting-of-lamps-at-functions-sudhakaran%2Farticle9046508.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Shun prayers, lighting of lamps at functions: Sudhakaran | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Several people trolled the Minister on the social media following the remarks.
Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran is in the eye of a storm over his remarks that lighting of lamps and singing of religious hymns at government programmes and functions at schools should be avoided.
“Our Constitution has no religion or caste. So there is no need to light nilavilakku (traditional lamps) during the inauguration of government programmes or at school functions,” he said while inaugurating a seminar ‘Namukku Jaathiyilla’ (We are not caste-driven), at Muthukulam in Alappuzha district on Sunday.
The CPI(M) leader said the State government did not subscribe to any particular caste or religion. The Minister claimed that he had recently seen a girl student reciting a prayer in praise of a goddess at a school function. “Though it is inappropriate, singing of prayers and lighting of lamps have become a common practice during official functions in the State,” he added. He also suggested that patriotic songs be sung during public functions, instead of religious hymns.
Several people trolled the Minister on the social media following the remarks. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/shun-prayers-lighting-of-lamps-at-functions-sudhakaran/article9046508.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/a8b74aebeb5f49809857c4359055468b4d4a59f45b0b3acc18b209881e7d33c2.json |
[
"Gudipoodi Srihari"
] | 2016-08-27T20:55:28 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | In the early Seventies I remember attending a Yakshaganam event at Thyagaraya Ganasabha where Bhagavatula Ramakotaiah was performing ‘Ramanatakam’. Playing ‘Lavudu’ was his five-year-old son Sethuram, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ffeatures%2Ffriday-review%2Fbhagavatula-sethuram-strives-to-keep-up-the-tradition-of-yakshaganam-through-its-kuchipudi-origins%2Farticle9035584.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/Seturam_teaching_c_2987113c.jpg | en | null | Bhagavatula Sethuram strives to keep up the tradition of Yakshaganam through its Kuchipudi origins | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Bhagavatula Sethuram strives to keep alive the tradition of Yakshaganam through its Kuchipudi origins.
In the early Seventies I remember attending a Yakshaganam event at Thyagaraya Ganasabha where Bhagavatula Ramakotaiah was performing ‘Ramanatakam’. Playing ‘Lavudu’ was his five-year-old son Sethuram, whose career got initiated early and blossomed into passion later.
Ramakotaiah was perhaps the first artiste who established a dance school on Telangana soil in Hyderabad in 1961. After the demise of Ramakotiah, Sethuram took over the mantle after being mentored by stalwarts like Vedantham Prahlada Sarma and Uma Rama Rao. Later he did post-graduation in dance in Telugu University and eventually became assistant professor, a job he holds now.
Sethuram’s focus is not just on training students in Kuchipudi art but also to revive the art of Yakashagana presentation that is almost becoming extinct. Yakshaganam is a crucial wing of Kuchipudi dance. It was their strong point too. “I grew playing Yakshaganam roles and even recently I played roles in a set of half a dozen Yakhaganas staged at Kuchipudi for the purpose of a documentary produced by Central Sangeet Natak Akademy.
Recalling the days when he was training under different gurus, Sethuram says, “Basically we follow the style of Chinta Venkatramayya whoteaches the meaning of every line of Sahitya first, only then he goes to teach abhinaya. Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastry used to elaborate the abhinaya beyond the scope of the sahitya line. I follow that too. My father learnt the art from Vedantam Raghavayya and Venkatramayya. They used to teach solo items too while teaching Yakshaganas,” he informs. “My father Ramakotaiah too taught me Yakshaganas till I was 19,” he adds.
Sethuram travelled extensively to different countries to give performances on behalf of ICCR and other organisations. He toured places like Mauritius to teach the art to groups of children there. Some more organisations like Silicon Andhra, Telugu associations, Sabhas at Mauritius and Singapore had organised his visits. “The audience in these places not only loved our dances but wanted us to teach their children too,” he informs.
Recently Sangeet Natak Akademy made a documentary on Kuchipudi dances, especially on Yakshaganas. Sethuram was part of those films.
Speaking about the importance of Yakshaganam Sethuram says, “There’s no Kuchipudi if there’s no Yakshagana. It has been our strength. It’s based on Bharata’s Natya Sastra. It signifies the role of a Sutradhar, who also takes care of the jati presentation.”
After his father’s demise, Sethuram has taken over the running of Sri Kuchipudi Nritya Nilayam, the institute his father had launched. Very recently he held a workshop for his students in ‘Bhamakalapam’, considered as the prime number of Siddhendra to present it completely.
Recently Sethuram has been appointed as distance education director. He is also presently working on ‘Harmonized Symphony’ aimed at curing psychological and physiological patients. It is a kind of dance therapy, akin to ‘Music Therapy’. For this symphony Jayant Sridhar wrote script, he informs. This is related to endocrinology.
Sethuram says he’s interested in reviving ancient subjects like Golla Kalapam which was originally written his own great- grandfather Ramayya. | http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/bhagavatula-sethuram-strives-to-keep-up-the-tradition-of-yakshaganam-through-its-kuchipudi-origins/article9035584.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/aeb65251691b1927cf820e3093549ba7a8f1baaee1547d152cf4e820899f76fa.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T16:53:05 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | A large number of security personnel will be on duty to provide protection to the third BRICS urbanisation forum meeting to be held here from September 14 to 16, Commissioner of Police T. Yoganand has | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FVisakhapatnam%2Foctopus-personnel-to-bedeployed-for-brics-meet%2Farticle9037192.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Octopus personnel to bedeployed for BRICS meet | null | null | www.thehindu.com | A large number of security personnel will be on duty to provide protection to the third BRICS urbanisation forum meeting to be held here from September 14 to 16, Commissioner of Police T. Yoganand has informed during a meeting held by HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao on the preparations for the summit on Friday.
Octopus personnel would also be deployed and CCTV cameras will be arranged wherever necessary, Mr. Yoganand said.
Earlier, Collector Pravin Kumar gave a power point presentation on the arrangements being made to host the meet in which 700 delegates, including many from foreign countries are participating.
Several committees, each headed by a senior officers have been formed to take care of every arrangements. Cultural programmes will be conducted at Novotel hotel on September 14 and atop Kailasagiri on September 15.
Of the estimated cost of Rs. 7.5 crore towards expenses, Central government would provide Rs. 5.5. crore and State government would bear the rest.
An agency KW Conference would conduct the meeting. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/octopus-personnel-to-bedeployed-for-brics-meet/article9037192.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/1d9155289bf8f48fbd3429665dfdd5849f3ee0f80b6bb87ee3688d2f21fc7daa.json |
[
"V. Raghavendra K. Srinivas Rao Rohit P. S."
] | 2016-08-28T14:53:25 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Juttu Deshamma’s kidneys have shrunk to half the normal size, a telltale sign that they have been damaged. Sitting in a remote village in Srikakulam, her will to survive is weakening. The 57-year-old | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FVisakhapatnam%2Fchronic-illness-cripples-6-mandals-in-andhra-pradesh%2Farticle9040847.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/Kidney_2988950c.jpg | en | null | Chronic illness cripples 6 mandals | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Debilitating kidney disease affects many in Srikakulam district.
Juttu Deshamma’s kidneys have shrunk to half the normal size, a telltale sign that they have been damaged. Sitting in a remote village in Srikakulam, her will to survive is weakening. The 57-year-old is among thousands affected by unexplained Chronic Kidney Disease that has gripped this district. Deshamma lives in Kusumapuram, an obscure settlement of 4,000 people in Andhra Pradesh, with two unmarried daughters who together earn less than Rs. 100 a day. The young women show their mother’s health records anxiously to visitors, hoping that they can offer some miracle cure.
Financial burden
The verdict on the silent collapse of her kidneys came after her creatinine levels climbed steadily and settled at 8, compared to a normal level of 1.1. Renal failure brings with it chronic financial distress, and in the last two years, Deshamma has undergone several dialysis sessions for which she is forced to commute to Visakhapatnam, over 200 km away. The crisis has tested the daughters’ resolve to find a cure for their mother.
“Though free treatment can be availed by eligible beneficiaries, the commute to big cities even for a day is expensive,” says Niranjan Bishai, Kusumapuram’s community facilitator. “Nearly everyone gives up treatment.”
Stories like Deshamma’s are common in Itchapuram, Kanchili, Kaviti, Mandasa, Sompeta and Vajrapukotthuru mandals which form the Uddhanam region, although the majority of the known sufferers are men in the productive age group.
The six affected mandals are home to about four lakh people.
At least a couple of households in each of the village’s 15 streets has someone with the renal disease the origin of which is unknown. “We treat patients for minor ailments but cannot diagnose or treat kidney disease here due to lack of manpower and infrastructure. Blood samples collected are sent to district headquarters or elsewhere for testing,” says pharmacist Sumalatha at Manikyapuram’s Primary Health Centre, the only medical facility with some capability in the village.
Dr. Ramesh Naidu, who runs the PHC, says those with oedema of the feet and face are referred to the district hospital. Mild kidney disease is managed with diuretics and antibiotics while severe cases are referred for follow-up. Frequent administration of the painkiller, diclofenac, injections and tablets by private practitioners in the village is now under study.
A better understanding of the epidemic is likely to emerge when kidney biopsies of 50 patients are performed next month at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Srikakulam.
There are several hypotheses on why a higher incidence of renal failures is being reported in Andhra Pradesh. One is the possible link to excessive levels of silica and heavy metals in groundwater. The water in Uddhanam region was tested by the Ground Water Department and ICMR in 2013.
Doctors, however, are not certain if the tests can confirm the silica and heavy metals link. It will take more research to see if abuse of painkillers, alcohol, genetic predisposition or other factors are also responsible. From traditional reliance on surface water, many dehydrated villages now consume groundwater in Andhra Pradesh. Only a few get treated water once a week.
A third affected
Whatever the cause, the outcome is devastating. Dr. T. Ravi Raju, Vice-Chancellor, Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada, who is leading research on the issue, says a staggering 35 per cent of the population is affected in some areas.
New cases continue to be reported from across this coconut-growing region, and the disease profile is so clear that it is now called ‘Uddhanam nephropathy’. Concentration of silica in the groundwater could be a cause, but it could not be scientifically established, says Dr. Raju.
Dr. Gangadhar Taduri at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad says hard water, aggravated by alcohol, and rampant use of painkillers could be the culprit.
Killer cocktail
“After an exhausting work day, many men tend to take painkillers and drink alcohol. These and other factors, including dehydration, could be driving the disease,” according to Dr. Taduri, who thinks there could be an ongoing CKD epidemic in Khammam district of Telangana too.
Dr. Taduri and others reported last year that high levels of urea and creatinine, markers for renal diseases, were found in blood samples of inhabitants of Uchapally, which had higher mean levels of lithium, silicon and strontium, compared to residents of Pedarajupalem where the water has smaller amounts of these elements. Both villages are in Nellore district.
While researchers work to unravel the Srikakulam crisis, villagers have their own views. Sarpanch B. Krishna Rao of Kusumapuram thinks the number of kidney-related complaints have dipped after a reverse osmosis water plant was installed. In neighbouring Majhiputtuga, Dandapani Majhi believes that the physically active are spared 'the curse'.
The issue has attracted international attention and is now recognized as a key dot connecting similar phenomena seen in Nicaragua, Egypt and elsewhere. The CKD epidemic in Srikakulam and its likely dehydration link to global warming is to be discussed at a conference on ‘Health Impacts from Climate Change’ being held by the Aspen Global Change Institute in Colorado, U.S., next month. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/chronic-illness-cripples-6-mandals-in-andhra-pradesh/article9040847.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/d58e03ce520c41c285cd6cf266045f051f428cc4a85a12b60b37d6408c708ca0.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:52:02 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Australian investigative journalist Cameron Stewart, who broke the sensational story on the leak of data on Indian Scorpene submarines, has questioned the Indian Navy’s attempt to downplay the leak, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fwhy-downplay-scorpene-leak-asks-scribe%2Farticle9037103.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Why downplay Scorpene leak, asks scribe | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Australian investigative journalist Cameron Stewart, who broke the sensational story on the leak of data on Indian Scorpene submarines, has questioned the Indian Navy’s attempt to downplay the leak, saying his newspaper can post all the leaked documents online if India feels they pose no threat.
In an email response to questions from IANS, Mr. Stewart, an Associate Editor with The Australian, said the Navy was just trying to do “damage control.”
“The Navy is just trying to control the public relations damage of the leak, so they are trying to play it down. If they claim there is no damage, then maybe we should now put all 22,400 confidential documents on the net,” he said.
“This is a major and serious data leak despite the spin…”
Asked whether the documents were there in the open market, he said: “We don't know. They were vulnerable on the Internet for some time, so I think [it] is likely they have been taken but I am not in any position to know this.”
The 22,400 pages of information leaked from DCNS, as reported by The Australian, has crucial information on the DCNS-designed Scorpene submarines that are set to form the core of India's submarine fleet once inducted.
Some of the documents uploaded by The Australian on its website include data on functional description, including the cylindrical and flank array, sonar interception and a number of other details on the boat as well as on noise generated during patrol, attack and snorting (staying submerged but taking in surface air through the snorkel) modes.
The newspaper has redacted crucial information in the documents.
Asked about the source of the document and the leak, Stewart said his next report in The Australian would explain it. He also said the newspaper was not planning to upload more leaked documents “right now”.
The journalist's comments came as Defence minister Manohar Parrikar again played down the Scorpene leak, saying its a “not big worry”.
But he admitted there were few pockets of concern/ because the ministry was assuming the worst case scenario.
The defence minister said the leaked documents put on the web of 'The Australian' newspaper does not include any of the weaponry systems of the Scorpene.
He said the navy had assured him that most of the leaked documents were not of concern.
The Indian Navy has taken up Scorpene document leak matter with French Directorate General of Armament. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/why-downplay-scorpene-leak-asks-scribe/article9037103.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/98319871003ad82f885cc9c4c9466ccecdea571fdaa3180ea16a5c79ea4d782f.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:50:42 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | South Africa and New Zealand go into a one-match shootout for series honours when they meet in the second and final Test starting at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Saturday.
The Proteas can nudge | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Fcricket%2Fsouth-africa-new-zealand-in-shootout-for-series%2Farticle9037056.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/TH27STEYN_2987664c.jpg | en | null | South Africa, New Zealand in shootout for series | null | null | www.thehindu.com | After the Kingsmead wash-out, the second Test is a decider
South Africa and New Zealand go into a one-match shootout for series honours when they meet in the second and final Test starting at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Saturday.
The Proteas can nudge up one place to sixth in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings if they win, while the Black Caps will remain fifth irrespective of the result.
It is the first time Test cricket has been played in South Africa in August, almost two months before the usual start of the season.
Preparing grounds for winter conditions has been a challenge - which Durban failed to meet after re-seeding the outfield only two months before the match.
Centurion groundsman Rudolph du Preez had the advantage of planting winter grass much earlier than Durban, with work starting in April, almost immediately after the 2015-16 season.
He said it was necessary to plant winter grass because fielders struggled on dry, dormant summer grass when the same two countries met in an One-Day International in August last year.
With virtually no rain falling on the South African Highveld during winter - and no rain predicted during the Test - Du Preez is confident that conditions will be suitable for Test cricket.
Centurion has been a fortress for South Africa in Test cricket, with the home side having won 16 of the 21 Tests at the ground.
Its only two losses was against England in a contrived result in 1999-2000, engineered by the late Hansie Cronje before he was banned from cricket because of his association with bookmakers, and against Australia in 2013-14.
The host goes into the match buoyed by the form shown by opening bowlers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, both returning from injury, although they only bowled six overs each before rain intervened on the second day in Durban.
South Africa’s batting is a concern, however, with AB de Villiers missing because of injury and several players falling to loose shots in Durban.
New Zealand has an advantage in terms of match practice after playing and winning two Tests in Zimbabwe before coming to South Africa.
The teams: (from):
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt.), Dean Elgar, Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla, J-P Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Q. de Kock, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Dane Piedt.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt.), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, B-J Watling, Mitchell Santner, Doug Bracewell, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult. | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/south-africa-new-zealand-in-shootout-for-series/article9037056.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/e2ad5e8e70056e2e72928c1108792b6cae06c8427fe2d03cfe344dddb0f5db85.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T02:52:25 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | South Africa’s T20 skipper Faf du Plessis urged the administrators to emulate India, which is all set to play as many as 13 Tests this season in its backyard.
Placed sixth in the ICC rankings | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Fcricket%2Ffollow-the-india-example%2Farticle9040837.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | ‘Follow the India example’ | null | null | www.thehindu.com | South Africa’s T20 skipper Faf du Plessis urged the administrators to emulate India, which is all set to play as many as 13 Tests this season in its backyard.
Placed sixth in the ICC rankings, the Proteas are set to play 11 Tests this season, but du Plessis asked the administrators to have more Tests at home.
“We don’t play a lot of Tests at home. If you look at India, this season they have got 13 Tests coming up in their country. You want to try and make use of your own conditions and play as many Tests as possible,” said du Plessis.
“We play a little bit and then there’s a big break. With the space the team is in now, we would like to play as much Test cricket as possible, and try and build something. We have a mission as a team and we are trying to get there.”
The 32-year-old, who features in T20 leagues across the world, however, said the longest format of the game was his top priority.
“Test cricket is the best thing to play. That is the challenge you want. You want to sit after a day’s play as a bowler… your toenails are bleeding and you are extremely tired and you want to, for the guys that drink, have a sip at the end and say we gave it everything. You can’t copy the feeling of winning a Test match in any other format, especially in T20s,” he said. | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/follow-the-india-example/article9040837.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/85489bb1f4111fcdb5b4ce50f0fc1c33828fde16f5c95bc42dc885bd2c40d078.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-30T10:55:00 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | MDMK general secretary Vaiko has urged the United Nations Human Right Council (UNHRC) and the Red Cross Society to inquire into the disappearance of Tamils in the last phase of war in Sri Lanka and t | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fprobe-disappearance-of-tamils-vaiko%2Farticle9046690.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Probe disappearance of Tamils: Vaiko | null | null | www.thehindu.com | MDMK general secretary Vaiko has urged the United Nations Human Right Council (UNHRC) and the Red Cross Society to inquire into the disappearance of Tamils in the last phase of war in Sri Lanka and the alleged poisoning of 107 LTTE cadres.
In a statement here, he said Balakumar, one of the important Tamil leaders, who was seen sitting with his son in a photograph, disappeared during the last phase of the Eelam war.
Similarly, senior LTTE leaders including Yogi, Baby Subramaniam and political wing Ezhilan were arrested by the Sri Lankan Army.
“There is no information about them even though seven years have passed since the end of the war. There are reports that the captured LTTE leaders were poisoned to death by the Sri Lankan government,” he alleged. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/probe-disappearance-of-tamils-vaiko/article9046690.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/72951cd18fba1497fdb0fa9481c23425df93be3d809c2fb63b2f9456064ba438.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-27T02:50:13 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Three persons, including a temporary employee of the general hospital here, were arrested on Friday for alleged sexual harassment of a Dalit girl who had come to the hospital for treatment recently.Th | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fkerala%2F3-held-on-charges-of-raping-dalit-girl%2Farticle9038883.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | 3 held on charges of raping Dalit girl | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Three persons, including a temporary employee of the general hospital here, were arrested on Friday for alleged sexual harassment of a Dalit girl who had come to the hospital for treatment recently.
The trio, Kishor, 29, working as a temporary staff at the hospital, his friends Manjunath, 34, and Anil Kumar, 32, were arrested by a team led by Kasaragod Circle Inspector C.A. Abdul Raheem after a case in this connection was registered on Thursday.
The alleged assault on the girl, a resident of Poodamkallu locality falling under the Rajapuram police station limits, was committed on August 23. The reportedly became close to Kishor whom she met at the hospital, Mr. Raheem said.
The girl who had come to the hospital alone is said to have sought Kishor’s help. Kishor took her to a lodge here along with his other two friends and they allegedly raped her.
The youths after committing the crime abandoned the girl near the railway station premises here in the early hours of Wednesday, he said.
The police have registered cases against the trio under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and would be produced before a court here on Saturday, a senior police officer said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/3-held-on-charges-of-raping-dalit-girl/article9038883.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/6933a8a2e2d554967129c093141c0b4498ee11f50e592311996a41aff4e7c321.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T14:51:08 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The international arbitration system is ad hoc and unpredictable, Minister for Law and Justice and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday, adding that there is not enough represe | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Finternational-arbitration-process-ad-hoc-unpredictable-ravi-shankar-prasad%2Farticle9040030.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | International arbitration process ad hoc, unpredictable: Ravi Shankar Prasad | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The international arbitration system is ad hoc and unpredictable, Minister for Law and Justice and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday, adding that there is not enough representation of developing countries in the arbitration process.
The Minister also said that there is a need to revisit the system of bilateral investment treaties.
“India has had a mixed experience with bilateral investment treaties,” the Minister said while addressing a conference on international arbitration in BRICS. “Experience has shown that the interpretations of the treaties were done in an ambiguous manner. And there are several other countries also that have issues with these treaties. So, if so many countries have such worries, then there is something wrong with the system.”
Ajay Tyagi, additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, too touched upon the issue of the under-representation of developing countries in the international arbitration process.
“There is a feeling that there is a lack of understanding about the developing countries’ issues,” Mr. Tyagi said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/international-arbitration-process-ad-hoc-unpredictable-ravi-shankar-prasad/article9040030.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/106fb9a40d7e72690d6fb421e6958c97c448b2214845de77be28662bea31628e.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T20:51:45 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | A Government Railway Police’s (GRP) Assistant Sub-Inspector was on Saturday suspended for “not performing his duty properly”, leading to undignified treatment of an old woman’s body in Odisha’s Balas | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fasi-suspended-over-taking-body-on-pole%2Farticle9040900.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | ASI suspended over taking body on pole | null | null | www.thehindu.com | A Government Railway Police’s (GRP) Assistant Sub-Inspector was on Saturday suspended for “not performing his duty properly”, leading to undignified treatment of an old woman’s body in Odisha’s Balasore district.
“We have suspended ASI P. R. Mishra for not performing his duty properly while transporting the body of an old woman. The ASI was suspended after preliminary inquiry into the incident,” Superintendent of Police, GRP Odisha Sanjay Kausal said.
He said the GRP had hired two sweepers from Soro in Balasore district for transporting the old woman’s body. As rigor mortis had set in, they allegedly broke her body and wrapped it in a cloth and tied it to a bamboo pole to carry the body.
“The ASI was on duty and present at the spot, but did not oppose the sweepers’ act,” Mr. Kausal said. Salamani Behera, an 80-year-old widow was run over by a goods train near Soro railway station on Wednesday. Her body was taken to the community health centre. But the GRP personnel reached there only after 12 hours.
OHRC seeks report
As they could not arrange an ambulance to take the body to Balasore for post-mortem, they broke it, stuffed it in a gunny bag and carried it tied to a bamboo pole, Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) said in its report.
The OHRC has sought a report from Balasore District Collector and Railway IGP. The National Human Rights Commission too issued a notice to Odisha government seeking a report on the incident within four weeks. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/asi-suspended-over-taking-body-on-pole/article9040900.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/2570175f83479a66ad893029ab8af20829825b29604a9affaceaff612652a879.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-30T00:52:02 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | G. Dilip Kumar (6) and S. Priyadarshini (8) from Kaverirajapuram in Tiruvallur district, who had dengue, were discharged after treatment from the Institute of Child Health, Egmore, on Monday. Health | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2Ftwo-children-from-tiruvallur-treated-for-dengue-discharged%2Farticle9046850.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Two children from Tiruvallur treated for dengue, discharged | null | null | www.thehindu.com | All 32 district collectors across the State are conducting fever surveillances, reviews every week
G. Dilip Kumar (6) and S. Priyadarshini (8) from Kaverirajapuram in Tiruvallur district, who had dengue, were discharged after treatment from the Institute of Child Health, Egmore, on Monday. Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar and Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, along with Director of Medical Education R. Vimala and other health officials, visited them at the hospital.
The Minister said: “The children, who were admitted on August 18 and 19, had been put on ventilator and treated at the IMCU. “The children recovered. We want to stress that not all fevers are dengue and that even if it is dengue, there is no need for people to panic. All the necessary facilities to treat the illness are readily available,” he said. Since August 1, a total of 63 cases of fever had been recorded at the hospital, of which 49 patients have been discharged and 14 are remaining, said ICH director D. Saminathan.
Since January, the State has seen just over 1,200 dengue cases and five deaths, fewer than the number this time last year and far fewer than in 2012, said Mr. Radhakrishnan. On measures being taken to tackle the fever cases in Tiruvallur district, Mr. Radhakrishnan said that all entry points were being monitored and health camps were conducted at places where migrant workers stayed.
“Our focus is on cause management. All 32 district collectors across the State are conducting fever surveillances and reviews every week. District hospitals have been told that if they see more than three dengue or 10 routine fever cases from the same area, they have to check the locality for breeding sources,” he said.
The Minister said that hospitals had been asked to admit all patients coming in with fever for treatment, and that was the reason the number of in-patients seemed high. He said that teams consisting of district administration officials, directorate of medical services officials and the police were on the lookout for quacks across the State. He said action was taken against six pharmacies in the district for selling drugs without prescriptions.
He also said 20 doctors from city medical colleges were providing additional support to hospitals in Tiruvallur district.
He said testing at the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Guindy, had shown that this was not a new strain of the virus. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/two-children-from-tiruvallur-treated-for-dengue-discharged/article9046850.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/85166ea20747266ca4db18cb88d335c867459bd5a14b1ee6741a4d111af7f6ba.json |
[
"Sumit Bhattacharjee"
] | 2016-08-28T00:50:51 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Youth, who aspire to join the police force as constables, demand that the age limit be extended from 22 to 27 years.Holding a dharna in front of the Collectorate here on Saturday, members of the DYFI | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FVisakhapatnam%2Fcandidates-seek-rise-in-agelimit-for-constable-posts%2Farticle9040852.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/28VZVISKPAGE3DYFI__2988951c.jpg | en | null | Candidates seek rise in agelimit for constable posts | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Members of DYFI demanding enhancement of age limit from 22 years to 27 in a dharna outside the Collector's office in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
No recruitments taken up for last five years, they say.
Youth, who aspire to join the police force as constables, demand that the age limit be extended from 22 to 27 years.
Holding a dharna in front of the Collectorate here on Saturday, members of the DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) said constable recruitment in the State has been held up for over five years, due to various reasons such as bifurcation of the State and elections, and hence the age limit should be extended by five years, as many had missed the opportunity.
Former DGP J.V. Ramudu had agreed to increase the age limit by two years, but no order was passed and the notification specified the age limit between 18 and 22 years, said district secretary of DYFI V.V. Srinivasa Rao.
The serving Home Guards are also not happy with the age limit set in the notification. For serving Home Guards, the age limit is 30 years for candidates from the open category and 35 from reserved categories.
“Since we have lost five valuable years, we demand that the age limit be enhanced to 33 years from open category and 38 for reserved aspirants,” said N. Ramakrishna Yadav, joint secretary of AP State Home Guards Welfare Association.
The total, posts earlier stated was about 8,000 for constables and sub-inspectors and the government had finally zeroed down on 4,548 posts for constables only, holding back the sub-inspector posts.
Huge rush
It is expected that some 4 lakh candidates will be applying for the 4,548 posts and as of now from Visakhapatnam alone about 20,000 youths have applied for and about 1.95 lakh candidates have applied from the 13 districts in the state.
DYFI city secretary V. Krishna Rao said the government’s decision to conduct a preliminary test was also not justified.
“The preliminary test will filter many deserving candidates. The original format of physical test and final test should be maintained,” he said.
The home guards are also not happy with the preliminary test. “After working for 12 or more hours, it is not possible for us to prepare for a written preliminary test and compete with graduate and post graduate students. We are a trained force and we demand that our selection should not be clubbed with the general candidates,” said Mr. Yadav.
He further said home guards be given the opportunity to undergo a departmental test, just like how a head constable is subjected to a departmental test to be elevated as assistant sub-inspector.
“The government has agreed to give us 10 per cent weightage marks, but that will not serve the purpose,” said Mr. Yadav.
Many feel that the government had notified the selection of AR (Women) candidates to 20 per cent when compared to the legal norm of 33 per cent.
“This will attract legal implications and we think this may delay the recruitment process,” said Mr. Srinivasa Rao . | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/candidates-seek-rise-in-agelimit-for-constable-posts/article9040852.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/368aa97595e823e1900c5b3ce9eb191838a96260ab8cc73b4f0fa706ebe73494.json |
[
"Bindu Shajan Perappadan"
] | 2016-08-31T02:55:28 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | With the city witnessing a surge in the number of dengue, chikungunya and viral fever cases, Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda “stepped in” to reassure Delhiites asking them not to panic.“We are worki | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FDelhi%2Fcentre-assures-all-help-to-tackle-chikungunya-dengue%2Farticle9052703.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02993/DE31-LNJP2_G4FC_DE_2993046c.jpg | en | null | Centre assures all help to tackle chikungunya, dengue | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Surge in numbers:Patients queuing up at LNJP Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday, as dengue cases are on the rise in the Capital.- Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
We are keeping a watch on availability of kits, staff training, bed strength: Union Health Minister
With the city witnessing a surge in the number of dengue, chikungunya and viral fever cases, Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda “stepped in” to reassure Delhiites asking them not to panic.
“We are working in close coordination with the Delhi government and various agencies to tackle the outbreak,” he said adding that the focus should be on “symptomatic” treatment and prevention.
“The municipal bodies have been directed to ensure that there is no stagnation of water and cleanliness is maintained. Also all central government hospitals are fully equipped to deal with the situation. We are keeping a close watch in terms of availability of kits, training of staff, bed strength,” he added.
The city has so far reported 432 cases of chikungunya and 487 cases of dengue.
The Delhi government announced a capping of Rs. 600 to Rs. 1,500 for tests to confirm chikungunya.
Speaking about the condition in Delhi, State Health Minister Satyendar Jain said: “Chikungunya and dengue are on the rise in Delhi because the BJP-ruled municipal bodies have failed to provide fogging and sanitation services.”
He said it is the municipal corporations’ job to carry out cleaning and fogging.
“We have 10,000 beds and the number of fever clinics has been increased from 55 last year to 355. People should not fear. The Delhi government is ready to tackle the menace,” he said.
He added that people should take precaution to avoid the disease and prevent the breeding of mosquitoes on their premises.
Hospitals across the city have confirmed that they are seeing large number of patients coming with seasonal fevers. Doctors also warn that chikungunya cases are far more than what is being reported.
Till August 20, Safdarjung Hospital reported 246 cases, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) reported 391 cases, Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Hospital 23 cases and Hindu Rao Hospital 28.
Safdarjung Hospital Medical Superintendent A. K. Rai said: “We have recorded 246 confirmed chigungunya cases so far. The number of suspected cases is much more.”
He added that the focus should be on preventing chikungunya from spreading.
Doctors advise that water stagnation should not be allowed and people should protect themselves from mosquito bites, keep their surroundings clean, dispose of unnecessary items such as old tyres, flower pots and cans, use mosquito repellents or nets.
A senior physician from LNJP Hospital said that though they have 23 confirmed chikungunya cases, the number is much higher as several patients don’t go for tests.
“The last two weeks have definitely seen a surge in the number of chikungunya case,” he added.
Number is rising because BJP-ruled civic bodies have not done fogging: Delhi Minister | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/centre-assures-all-help-to-tackle-chikungunya-dengue/article9052703.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/bc682890be3aa49d066bd46b567e6af4e3cd9d777d8ce56a23414ded6a02ed86.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:51:21 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | : One person was killed and two others were injured when their motorbikes collided at Kadhinamkulam, Channankara.The deceased was identified as Ramesh Kumar, 37. He was brought to Government Medical C | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FThiruvananthapuram%2Fone-killed-in-accident%2Farticle9048782.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | One killed in accident | null | null | www.thehindu.com | : One person was killed and two others were injured when their motorbikes collided at Kadhinamkulam, Channankara.
The deceased was identified as Ramesh Kumar, 37. He was brought to Government Medical College Hospital from A.J. Hospital, Kazhakuttam. Those who sustained minor injuries were Khajrudeen, 29, of Perumathura, and Rajeev, 33, of Kadhinamkulam, Medical College Hospital sources said.
The body has been moved to the hospital mortuary. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/one-killed-in-accident/article9048782.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/c0e20799f375cee7d583f3cc6ba378eb5e67fc74d77b9fa3d8a01238e8bb3628.json |
[
"A Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-30T20:54:50 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Manipur Chief Miniter Okram Ibobi Singh and his deputy Gaikhangam seem to have realised that they cannot pass the new anti-migrant Bill, their brainchild, during the Assembly session beginning Friday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fother-states%2Fmanipuris-oppose-bill-on-nonlocals%2Farticle9051451.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Manipuris oppose Bill on non-locals | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Manipur Chief Miniter Okram Ibobi Singh and his deputy Gaikhangam seem to have realised that they cannot pass the new anti-migrant Bill, their brainchild, during the Assembly session beginning Friday simply because all sections of people are against it. As there will be just two sittings they had planned to pass it on Monday.
A convention held recently in Imphal had spurned the draft Bill, titled The Manipur Regulation of Non-Locals Bill 2016. Advocate activist Khaidem Mani told The Hindu that there was not a word about the protection of the indigenous peoples in the draft bill which mainly sought to facilitate the entry and settlement of the non-locals. Though it contained some regulations a non-local must observe, it was silent on punishment for flouting the regulations. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/manipuris-oppose-bill-on-nonlocals/article9051451.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/066a53201fde455ab1ae59dc69a38e0bdd970ca494e448a2d8e22e41dd19f56e.json |
[
"Rohit P. S."
] | 2016-08-31T00:52:10 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Rabies reared its head again on Monday, claiming a 10-year-old who contracted the virus following dog bite 25 days ago in Trimulgherry. The boy, S. Ronald, was bit earlier this month by a rabid dog w | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FHyderabad%2Fchild-falls-victim-to-rabies-in-hyderabad%2Farticle9051473.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02992/hy31dog_eps_2992707c.jpg | en | null | Child falls victim to rabies in Hyderabad | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Kept away from vaccination due to parents’ ignorance
Rabies reared its head again on Monday, claiming a 10-year-old who contracted the virus following dog bite 25 days ago in Trimulgherry.
The boy, S. Ronald, was bit earlier this month by a rabid dog when he was out playing. Instead of taking him to a hospital for anti-rabies vaccination, the boy’s family sought traditional healing. Consequently, the boy developed rabies, an incurable infection and died after experiencing violent symptoms associated with the disease.
“The boy hails from a middle-class educated family. Due to ignorance, he was treated with herbal leaves after being bitten and developed clinical rabies,” said Fever Hospital Superintendent K. Shankar. Ronald succumbed on Monday morning at the hospital.
Rabies attacks brain and the nervous system but the disease can be completely prevented by administering vaccine course immediately after bite. Vaccine helps the body develop antibodies and neutralize the virus. In cases of bites close to the brain, mainly on face and neck, rabies immunoglobulin along with the vaccine shot is administered.
A study published last year showed that nearly a third of dog-bite victims are children. This research was based on arrivals at Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) following bites. The study called for greater awareness about rabies exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis treatment.
It also advocated pre-exposure vaccination and booster for children in areas where rabies is endemic. In the GHMC area with an estimated stray dog population exceeding three lakh, over 50,000 bites are said to occur every year.
Incidentally, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board where Ronald lived was unaware of his death. “We will enquire into the incident,” assured Afzal Mohiuddin, the Health Superintendent of the board.
Child rights activists claim instances of dog bites are on the rise and blame the municipal administration for being unable to control stray dog population. AP Balala Hakula Sangham has sought compensation for the victim’s family besides demanding better efficiency in rabies control measures. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/child-falls-victim-to-rabies-in-hyderabad/article9051473.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/0cc4f00e6483bb90cda7b8cb20e1a6f2f32d1619a1b9cb6a73d7f2adb3a650ef.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T02:52:37 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Members of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam and All India Agricultural Workers Union staged a demonstration in Kallankattu Valasu near Pallipalayam on Sunday demanding the implementation of the Cauve | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fdemonstration%2Farticle9044406.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Demonstration | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Members of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam and All India Agricultural Workers Union staged a demonstration in Kallankattu Valasu near Pallipalayam on Sunday demanding the implementation of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal Award.
Please Wait while comments are loading... | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/demonstration/article9044406.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/2a4702f387074888ca7dc8ad54c270876ef6efff7517a3f2d3f5e6ae8c8a9eb2.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-28T02:50:44 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | For the past two months, their weekends have been anything but leisurely. Every Saturday and Sunday, a group of 12 students reach the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum (KSSTM) at PMG here wit | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FThiruvananthapuram%2Fsweating-over-robots-ahead-of-olympiad%2Farticle9042393.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02989/22tvrkr02-Robot_28_2989397c.jpg | en | null | Sweating over robots ahead of Olympiad | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Young minds at work:Select students of government and aided schools undergoing training for the regional championship of the World Robot Olympiad at the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum in the city.
Students preparing for a regional Olympiad round are priming robots in waste collection
For the past two months, their weekends have been anything but leisurely. Every Saturday and Sunday, a group of 12 students reach the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum (KSSTM) at PMG here with an eye on bagging the top spot in the regional championship of this year’s World Robot Olympiad.
The students, from government and aided schools, tinker with Lego EV3 kits trying to get their robots to work in line with the theme of the contest ‘Rap the scrap.’ Shortlisted after two rounds of tests, they are being sponsored by the KSSTM for the contest.
The children have been divided into groups, with each set to participate in a different category. While the youngest lot try to programme their robots to clean up the road on the children’s journey to school, another group’s task is to get the robot to collect and transport recyclable waste from home to recycling bins. The oldest of the students have to make their robots bring sorted waste in the bins to a recycling plant.
September-end
The regional round will be held at the KSSTM at the end of September. Akhila G.P., Rafsal R.S., and Anand M., none of whom has played with Lego bricks before, let alone the high-end versions they are working on now, are stumped by their robot’s failure to pick up waste. They had built this robot anew in the morning after dismantling an underperforming version. The trio is confident that they will get it to lift the ‘scrap’ soon enough. This is critical, for at the contest they will have to build the robot from scratch in the allotted time.
So, for now, it is looking up YouTube videos and poring over a Lego Mindstorms book figuring out ways to overcome the hurdle.
They also have help from Akhila Gomez, a mentor at the KSSTM’s Innovation Hub, and Cyril K. Babu, Scientific Officer.
Building robots is only part of the challenge. They also have to write programmes and none of them has done programming before. “Only a part of the programme remains to be completed,” say the children.
“Without any prior exposure to robotics, it is amazing how far the children have come in such a short time,” says Akhila Gomez. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/sweating-over-robots-ahead-of-olympiad/article9042393.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/aff681f55026ac06670519f5f4add1b37e2d022acb1069c96aa47966457ce276.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:52:28 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha member M Sasikala Pushpa will appear before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday. “There is no question of my resignation from the Rajya Sabha,” Ms. Pus | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fsasikala-pushpa-to-appear-before-madras-high-courts-madurai-bench%2Farticle9045394.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02990/29IN_SASIKALA_PUSH_2990812c.jpg | en | null | Sasikala Pushpa to appear before Madurai bench | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Sasikala Pushpa, expelled AIADMK MP, is set to appear before the Madurai bench File Photo: R.V. Moorthy
Expelled AIADMK MP arrives in Chennai from Singapore, takes a a domestic flight to Madurai to appear before HC bench
Expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha member M Sasikala Pushpa will appear before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday.
“There is no question of my resignation from the Rajya Sabha,” Ms. Pushpa, who was recently expelled from the AIADMK, told reporters here on her arrival from Singapore. She headed to Madurai in a domestic flight.
She will be appearing before the court to respond to an allegation of having played fraud on the court while filing an anticipatory bail application, and in connection with the registering of a case by the Thoothukudi police against her and her family members for allegedly ill-treating and sexually abusing two domestic aides.
The court had directed the MP to appear and explain how she could have signed a petition in Madurai on August 17 authorising her lawyer to argue the advance bail plea on behalf of her when the police claimed that she did not enter Tamil Nadu ever since the case was registered early this month.
On August 11, the Delhi High Court asked the Tamil Nadu government not to take any coercive action against her, her husband and their son in the case till August 22.
The domestic aides filed a police complaint alleging that they were tortured and sexually harassed.
The High Court had also asked her family to approach the appropriate court in Tamil Nadu for relief by then.
On August 26, the Supreme Court granted protection to her from arrest for six weeks.
She was expelled from the AIADMK after an ''altercation'' with DMK MP Tiruchi Siva at the Delhi airport earlier last month. Since then she has alleged that she was being threatened to resign her post. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/sasikala-pushpa-to-appear-before-madras-high-courts-madurai-bench/article9045394.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/6e66b01ce0fcddcdf81b2d4e7716aa94eec4980d0a06e6f911b52f54f4950493.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-31T02:56:04 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | PDSO seminarThe Progressive Democratic Students Organisation (PDSO), will be hosting a one-day seminar on the ‘ill-effects of corporate education’, here at the Andhra University Platinum Jubilee Guest | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fandhra-pradesh%2Fpdso-seminar-today%2Farticle9053470.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | PDSO seminar today | null | null | www.thehindu.com | PDSO seminar
The Progressive Democratic Students Organisation (PDSO), will be hosting a one-day seminar on the ‘ill-effects of corporate education’, here at the Andhra University Platinum Jubilee Guest House on Wednesday. PDSO’s State president K. Mohan said 80 per cent of the education, right from school to higher studies, has gone into the hands of private sector, which is costly and caters to the rich.
The seminar will be inaugurated by Director of School of Law GITAM University Y. Satyanarayana. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/pdso-seminar-today/article9053470.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/3c16c9efa71634299f743f8c01b7f3121d4de09a1e0ca7d879af8cdc5005b364.json |
[
"Vasanth Srinivasan"
] | 2016-08-30T20:55:51 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | From the Romesh Thapar episode of the early 1950s to the Salman Rushdie case of the late 1980s to the Wendy Doniger brouhaha of recent vintage, independent India has had a chequered history when it co | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Finterview-with-author-and-rationalist-sanal-edamaruku%2Farticle9050772.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02992/Sanal_2992448c.jpg | en | null | ‘Tolerance is the foundation of the idea that is India’ | null | null | www.thehindu.com | In an interview, rationalist-author Sanal Edamaruku talks about being a victim of intolerance of the worst kind.
From the Romesh Thapar episode of the early 1950s to the Salman Rushdie case of the late 1980s to the Wendy Doniger brouhaha of recent vintage, independent India has had a chequered history when it comes to defending freedom of expression in all its glory. Nobody knows this better than Sanal Edamaruku, an author and a rationalist, who himself has been a victim of intolerance of the worst kind. Now in Finland on a self-imposed exile following a threat to his life in the wake of the Mumbai ‘crucifix miracle,’ Mr. Edamaruku, in an email interview with Vasanth Srinivasan, shared his thoughts on a wide range of issues including the circumstances that forced him leave India four years ago, religious extremism that seems to be scaling new heights every day and what is expected of the civil society in a deeply polarised world. Excerpts:
What prompted you to leave India in 2012? Don’t you think it’s time you returned?
When I left India in June 2012, I did not think I would be staying away for this long. Following the Mumbai crucifix miracle exposure over a TV panel discussion, the situation went out of my control. Apart from the cases that they tried to impose on me by misusing the archaic Section 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code, there have been direct and indirect attacks on me from the side of the Catholic Church.
As church sources later admitted, it was not only this “miracle” debunking that turned them against me. The list of my perceived ‘sins’ is long: I continued re-printing and circulating my father Joseph Edamaruku’s famous book Christ and Krishna Never Lived. In 2005, I exposed the miracle claim of the magical tumour cure with Mother Teresa’s picture and triggered a controversy. In 2011, I exposed the fallacy of the so-called shroud of Turin in a TV programme. I published critical articles on conversion strategies of the church. Then there was my initiative to defend P.M. Antony, the author of the banned theatre play ‘Sixth Holy Wound of Christ’.
So, following the TV debate with the Mumbai bishop, a group of goons were sent to the studio with sticks to attack me. After several hours, the studio crew had to save me by opening a new way out. As church panellists threatened in the TV programme, several complaints were filed against me in Mumbai police stations. There were calls to get me arrested for at least one night so that they could get rid of me by a co-prisoner.
All these forced me to go into hiding. And, protected by trusted friends, I gave interviews and appeared on TV programmes. In my last weeks in India, I was hiding in a hostel room at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. It was from there I left for Finland two weeks ahead of a pre-scheduled lecture tour in Poland.
Before leaving India, I talked to many top politicians of India whom I knew personally, including some of the Cabinet Ministers. I wrote to the Maharashtra Chief Minister and the Home Minister explaining to them the nature of the threat. I wrote in detail to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Indian Society of Authors, backed by several prominent writers, also wrote to the Prime Minister. I tried to get an anticipatory bail from the Delhi High Court and Mumbai High Courts. We decided to fight the law (Section 295 A), as it is violative of my fundamental rights. Even as an international petition seeking the intervention of the Indian government and signed by several prominent signatories including people like Richard Dawkins and many Nobel laureates went unanswered, the Archbishop set my apology as the pre-condition for withdrawing the cases. My answer was a clear ‘No’.
As soon as I get protection and a guarantee of safety, I will come to India. It’s been a long time. I need to meet my friends and people close to me. I hope the Maharashtra government will reject the complaints lodged against me by the Catholic groups to make it possible for me to come to India without intimidation and bullying.
Investigative agencies have made a few arrests in the Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi murder cases. Isn’t that a good beginning?
In 2013, my friend Narendra Dabholkar called me and told me about his plans to protect me if I come to Mumbai. Four days later, he was shot dead!
However, it is relieving that at last some arrests have been made in the murder cases of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi. The solidarity expressed by Indian writers and artists is also very promising. But that is not sufficient. There has to be an atmosphere encouraging critical thinking and the spirit of reform. As I wrote in my articles after Kalburgi’s assassination, if the Prime Minister of India were to say that critical thinking, scientific temper and rationalism are part of our ethos, and that the attacks on rationalists will not be tolerated, it would be a good beginning.
What do you think of institutional attitude and response to incidents like yours? Has it improved?
The Indian social scene has suffered a big setback in the last three decades. The new climate of intolerance began with the ban of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. A climate change is needed in India. Tolerance is eroding so fast. Somehow we have to stop it. Recent stories are scary sometimes. We need a serious effort to re-establish confidence and restore an atmosphere of tolerance.
Has there been a change in the civil society’s mindset and response?
I think the Indian society has started responding seriously to the threats against freedom and tolerance. Social media is also playing a promising role. At the political level, statesmanship should take precedence over expediency and it should uphold the great values of dialogue, critical thinking and tolerance — the foundations of the idea that is India.
Even at the time of your leaving India, there were many who said you could have stayed back and fought the cases and that the courts would have protected you. So what are you wary of? The system, including the police, or the mobs?
There can be several views about how it could have been better handled. I have a clear judgment about the situation. I did not take any hasty decision. I remained in India three more months after the threats started escalating. I could have tried my ‘luck’ by remaining in India. But I am not comfortable with the cynical view that Socrates has to drink his cup of poison. I preferred to continue with my mission of spreading scientific temper and tolerance instead of becoming an easy target and a quick martyr. I wish to survive as long as possible so that I can do meaningful things.
The Madras High Court’s verdict in Madhorubagan case deals with both Article 19 and Section 295A of IPC. What’s your reading of it given your own case?
In my view, Article 19 dealing with freedom of speech and expression has to be respected absolutely. To what extent a society practices and tolerates free speech shows what level of civilisation that society has. The Madras High Court’s verdict on Perumal Murugan and Madhorubagan case is therefore very important. It is a ray of hope and quite relieving.
As a rationalist who is facing a life threat, what do you think of the emergence of outfits like IS and the terror campaign that it has unleashed?
ISIS and other terror groups are inspired by the Quran. There are several verses in the Quran and the Hadith that justify all that they do.
The wrong notion that all religions fundamentally stand for peace stems from ignorance and opportunism. Quran, The Bible and Bhagavad Gita have verses that justify violence. Also, there are some verses that could be projected as peaceful. Sanctifying religious texts focussing on the peaceful set of verses will sanctify the other verses that advocate violence also. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/interview-with-author-and-rationalist-sanal-edamaruku/article9050772.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/2650ee0882387b8b336e70de78253400dc0b1097517d3516f1e6de0fe34d3f36.json |
[
"Anuradha Raman"
] | 2016-08-30T20:55:31 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has decided to arrogate to itself the power to suspend a publication for anti-national activ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fpress-council-alarm-on-davp-overreach%2Farticle9051313.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Press Council alarm on DAVP overreach | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has decided to arrogate to itself the power to suspend a publication for anti-national activities, which was vested in the Press Council of India or the concerned courts.
In the new policy, which was effected in June this year, Clause 25, says: A newspaper may be suspended from empanelment by DG, DAVP with immediate effect if, among other things, it had indulged in unethical practices as found by the Press Council of India or indulged in anti-national activities.
This proviso along with others, prompted the Press Council of India chairperson Chandramouli Kumar Prasad to convene an Extraordinary Meeting on August 22, where suggestions were offered to temper the powers of the Government. The Council also recommended that the government take no coercive step in this matter until its recommendations were considered carefully.
As the DAVP is the nodal agency of the Government of India for advertising on behalf of various Ministries, Departments and PSUs which are funded by the government, it wields considerable clout specially with small and medium newspapers for whom these advertisements are a lifeline.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Prasad, said, “The old rule states that this was not a discretionary power of the Government of India. It is our mandate to secure the freedom of the press. Besides, the courts will not accept this.”
“Our suggestions are not binding on the Government, yet we are a statutory body and our suggestions have a persuasive value,” he clarified.
The Council at its meeting has proposed the following changes: Indulged in unethical practices or anti-national activities, as found by the Press Council of India, or convicted by a court of law for such activities.
A Press Information Bureau release on June 10 had hailed the policy as transparent and equitable in ushering in a new system to incentivise newspapersand ensure equity in release of government advertisements. Yet, the proposed changes have alarmed the Council. “We chose to call the meeting after receiving representations from the media,” Mr Prasad said.
Andhra Union of Journalists representative Amarnath Kosury said, “We were concerned that the power to suspend a publication was vested with a bureaucrat.” | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/press-council-alarm-on-davp-overreach/article9051313.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/eb39530f8fc84953ba40816b313e8c4e96bbb9283362c33151aec3f7f43f5a7c.json |
[
"Irfan Syed"
] | 2016-08-31T12:52:54 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fthread%2Farts-culture-society%2Farticle9055173.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02993/Title_Pups_2993440c.jpg | en | null | Give a dog a bone, a child a home | null | null | www.thehindu.com | There are so many young orphans in need of care. We have a choice: give one a home and relieve the overburdened adoption centres/shelters, or breed more. It’s a choice. | AP, G. Ramakrishna
Fertility centres seem to be coming up faster than, erm, babies. I turn a corner, and there I spot a spanking new facility. I turn a newspaper page, and here I come across an ad for a newly opened centre or a new fertility department of an existing hospital chain. All promising “the joy of motherhood”, or some warm copy and visuals to this effect. The existing centres, not to be left out in the BYOB (beget your own baby) race, seem to be devising more creative ways of marketing themselves.
Outside one centre, I spotted a huge banner featuring a tapestry of kids’ pictures. It couldn’t have been all those kids’ birthdays the same day, for that’s what the banner looked like: individual studio pix, sprinkled with balloons and candles. So, I gathered — as my transport whizzed past — that the facility was celebrating its own birthday. I guess what better way to celebrate a fertility facility’s birthday than by showcasing all the birthdays they’ve helped cause, right? And in last week’s paper, things seem to have gotten expectedly commercial. One ad talked of different packages (Basic, Standard, Premier), and another of easy EMIs. And you thought bringing up the baby was the expensive part.
I find this both intriguing and amusing. Amusing, because — heaven knows — this country’s leading deficit is babies. Also because some folks seem to have taken our PM’s call for Make in India quite seriously, and are determined that, at least in this department, we’re going to sock it to China. And intriguing because someone like me, who isn’t too hot about either marriage or moppets, can only wonder at the boom of these baby-promising places. Some reasons seem fathomable. Couples are not able to beget due to some “problem” with either or both of them, age-related issues (with the increasing tendency of couples to marry later in life, once they turn their attention from the rat race to the brat race, they find themselves fighting against the biological clock), and lifestyle-related complications (longer work-hours, shorter leisure-hours, the resulting stress and exhaustion) leading to love-making complications.
Another rarely-cited reason is the lack of compatibility. Some research shows that one in three marriages end in divorce — and within three to four years of getting married. Before they get to that, though, some couples, as a last resort, are turning to that old gem: “Maybe a baby can fix things?” but are perhaps ignoring that other gem: “Maybe the problem is not in the bed, but in the head”.
Some more researching throws light on another reason — another trend. Many of these centres have a large clientele of foreign nationals, especially from European countries, where population isn’t a problem, or — rather — ‘under-population’ is a problem; and where money isn’t a concern, being the developed world and all. One such friend once told me their government incentivises them to have kids, such as through educational subsidies.
The surrogacy law has come in for a bit of debate. On the one hand, there is rights and choice. On the other, there is the unignorable disproportionality of expensive breeding while orphans exist. | P.V. Sivakumar
Which leads me to the biggest wonder: why aren’t these folk looking at... adoption? With the number of kids we know are filling orphanages and adoption centres, and the appalling conditions and illegal practices in quite a few of them, instead of paying so much to bring forth a new life, why not pay nothing to give a home and a new life to one of these kids, and the same joy to yourself?
Foreigners are up against a lot when doing so, having to go through a litany of checks. But Indians? Ah, the good-old attitude of “log kya kahenge [what will people say]?” and “pataa nahi kiskaa bachchaa hogaa [we can’t be sure about the parentage of the child]”. And then, of course, there’s the Great Wall of Religion.
And, of late, some people we look up to in some ways don’t seem to be helping much either. Things looked promising until a decade or so ago, when we had two Bollywood divas, Raveena Tandon and Sushmita Sen, choosing to adopt even when single, sending out great signals in pre-Twitter times (Raveena later got married and had two children with her husband). But of late, the fertility centres seem to be winning. A few Bollywood biggies (Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Farah Khan) and a couple of “mediums” as well (Sohail Khan and, most lately, Tusshar Khan) have, in recent years, all chosen to have kids through surrogacy.
Just imagine if Aamir Khan had emulated his character from Taare Zameen Par, taking under his wing (albeit in a different way) a lesser-blessed kid. Such an act would have sent out a message that reinforced both his screen persona and the narrative around adoption.
Now, for someone who has already said he isn’t too hot about kids, why am I going on about them? Well, I may not like babies, but I love their four-legged versions, animals (who are just as innocent but with more hair). But I see the same attitudes prevailing here. No, not that animals are going to fertility clinics for problems on the jungle bed a la Mufasa and Sarabi, or Raksha and Rama. I’m talking about people’s tendency to bring home animals from pet shops and breeders as opposed to adopting one from a shelter. So, they continue to buy Persian cats and Afghan hounds and house them in climes they are not meant for. I mean, don’t you see the incongruity from the very names? A Siberian Husky in Scorching Chennai?
Puppy-farming involves keeping dogs captive or caged when they aren’t breeding. Before that, it involves having them constantly pregnant, leading to a range of problems, from malnutrition to pendulous mammaries. And when their pup-producing days are over, they are either cast off on the roads or bumped off.
Why do they do it, then? It seems to have to do with the same old fear of societal judgment…
“How will it look if I get a shelter-residing dog into my sea-facing penthouse?”
“Ew, only a shiny Golden Retriever will do in my gleaming silver Merc.”
And to be straight-up snarky, “Oh, the irony of feeding Pedigree to a dog without one.”
And so, they continue fattening unscrupulous pet-shop owners and animal breeders and perpetuating puppy-farm cruelty. A puppy farm, or puppy mill — in case you don’t know — is actually various kinds of cruelty rolled into one. It involves keeping breeding dogs captive or caged when they aren’t breeding, which is very little of their miserable lives. Before that, it involves having them constantly pregnant, leading to a range of problems, from malnutrition to pendulous mammaries. And when their pup-producing days are over, they are either cast off on the roads or bumped off.
New-born pups don’t have it much better either — neither the ones who make it to the pet store nor those that don’t. The pups that do make it have been pulled away at birth from their mom, resulting in separation anxiety (for both), and are brought to the store packed in like sardines, resulting in stress and fatigue. The ones who don’t make it to the store — because they are adjudged unhealthy or abnormal among the other pups on the assembly line — face a fate similar to mom’s. Suddenly, you’re seeing the cruelty behind the cutie in the pet-shop cage. Blood Doggies, anyone?
In South Korea, puppies thrive in shelters because it means escaping a fate of being served on a dinner plate. Elsewhere, pups face cruelty in controlled conditions — the assembly line of pet-shop breeders. Why would you not adopt one rather than fatten the pockets of puppy farms? | AP
Even when enlightened, people don’t care — or worse, they don’t want to. On my morning walks, I sometimes meet this man with this Lhasa Apso (again, a bad choice for the Indian climate, but then most foreign breeds are) named Fido. Last time, though, Fido wasn’t to be seen. When I asked him about it, he told me that Fido had passed away after an incident of food poisoning. After expressing my remorse, enquiring about the details, and commiserating him over the loss of “his son” (his words: “he was like a son to me”), since I know the way these things go, I ventured, “So, you plan to bring home another dog”? Pat came the answer, even before Fido’s soul could have reached animal heaven, “Yes. I’ve already paid for it. It’s a Beagle.”
Even as I was sighing at the idea of “paying” for a “son”, I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to inform him about the cruelties of dog breeders, that he could consider adopting one from a shelter (without having to pay, to boot), and that if he really wanted a Beagle, he could go for a Freagle, a Beagle that has been freed from an animal-testing lab and is up for adoption.
He looked at me like I had just revealed it was I who had poisoned Fido. We parted, with him offering that he’d think about it, but I daresay, since the money’s been paid, the deed’s been done. And the next time I see him on my morning excursion, there’ll be alongside him a fresh little Beagle pup, and not a thankful shelter-housed indie. Because attitudes, unlike pets, are not so easy to change.
Some people ask me why I campaign for animals as such. My usual reply is, “Because for most humans, animals are at the level of trash”. Given our propensity to want “our own” child at any cost, rather than give a home to one from an orphanage, our outlook toward less-fortunate younger human beings seems no better. | http://www.thehindu.com/thread/arts-culture-society/article9055173.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/13ac32898b651016213c84ae7f98a8e7d3cd28733a5b67299d16cd8b1d05987a.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T04:51:41 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Acupressure has impressed people from different sections. A camp on the therapy held here saw people from different walks of life having a feel of acupressure treatment after treatment in other branch | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FVisakhapatnam%2Ftreatment-brings-relief-to-them%2Farticle9037188.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/27VZVISKPAGE2DASAC_2987753c.jpg | en | null | Treatment brings relief to them | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Method will work, but only patience is required before enjoying the results and relief, says a retired Navy officer
Acupressure has impressed people from different sections. A camp on the therapy held here saw people from different walks of life having a feel of acupressure treatment after treatment in other branches of medicine failed to provide them relief to the extent they expected.
A medical officer of a PHC in Guntur district, V. Vaidehi said there was something that the science has not fully solved and this method looks good since it is giving results. She said so after getting a brief treatment for her hands which are experiencing pain. Her elder sister and Principal of AU College of Arts and Commerce A. Gayathri went through a brief session to get relief for her knee pain, said she felt some relief.
A former Navy officer and Ph.D. degree holder R.B. Rao said he looked for an alternative to Allopathy from the childhood since he does not like to gulp medicines. A fracture certainly needs surgery but other problems which do not need surgery can be managed with acupressure, he said.
Another Navy officer, a retired Captain M. Sudhakar said this method would work, but only patience is required before enjoying the results and relief. Both are aware of this method of treatment and after being treated by trained persons at the camp they have also undergone training.
Director of Lal Naik Trust, one of the organisers of the camp and a former Director of GITAM University R. Ramachandra Naik has brought four persons from his village in Guntur district to undergo training. The four would provide prompt medical care to the sick in the village which is bereft of a qualified doctor. “The four could at least provide a prompt and proper medical care that would stop a medical problem getting acute”, Dr. Naik said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/treatment-brings-relief-to-them/article9037188.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/d2c1524c7575357c98c1d327befe04365f52ec17ae10c0772faf6ad49b401b07.json |
[
"Vasundhara Chauhan"
] | 2016-08-27T22:52:43 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The comedian Buddy Hackett once said, “My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.” I am consumed with envy. What confidence! What conviction! I wish that, instead of trying to b | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ffeatures%2Fmagazine%2Fvasundhara-chauhan-on-being-a-food-fundamentalist%2Farticle9036014.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/28SM_THALI_2_2987257c.jpg | en | null | Vasundhara Chauhan on being a food fundamentalist | null | null | www.thehindu.com | ‘I wish that, instead of trying to be a people-pleaser, I could just have said exactly that.’
The comedian Buddy Hackett once said, “My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.” I am consumed with envy. What confidence! What conviction! I wish that, instead of trying to be a people-pleaser, I could have said exactly that.
As it happened, there was a daily struggle to put a colourful, balanced meal on the table, shop within a budget, buy seasonal vegetables, and get them to eat it. After all that, to see puckered brows and hear dramatic sniffing made me want to throw in a trowel.
I remember my own childhood, the daily return home from a long, hot school-bus journey, desperately ravenous. I’d spend the last half hour of the ride visualising my favourite food and come home to find, alas, French beans-alu, peeli dal, salad and dahi. Even that I attacked with gusto. And even then, when I reached for a third phulka, I was stymied. My mother would push a bowl of dahi towards me and say okay, later, after you finish this. Or at dinner, when there was always some kind of meat, we had to take more veggies.
Every day, new menus were devised and though we had little say in them, I can see now how beautifully balanced and attractive the meals were. And now, benefiting from the careful planning, we think of those menus as good menus, and are grateful for the eating habits. And then there were the taboos, some of which I long for even now.
We were not allowed to eat potatoes if there was rice or bread on the table. Today, given a free hand, I love to dice a few potatoes into a vegetable pulao. And screech to a halt — and reverse — if I drive past a pavement stall of bread pakoras. (“Bread coated with besan and filled with potatoes! And fried? What sort of disgusting food is that?”) They remain a special treat, along with vada pav. Of the same ilk.
Alternatively, I shouldn’t have been exposed to any information or views on what makes a healthy, nutritious diet. I could have pleased the kids with so much easy cooking.
In any case, every few years, the rules would have changed: eggs would have been bad, then good; ghee would have been bad, then good; coconut oil, ditto; chicken would have been good, then unhealthily full of growth-hormones and antibiotics… So the easiest way out would have been to make things I read about, but didn’t dare cook: sweet parathas, oozing melted sugar caramelising on the tawa; parathas filled with processed cheese; white bread slathered with cold butter and sprinkled generously with sugar. This even fulfils many haute cuisine criteria with its variety of textures: the soft fresh factory-made bread covered with cold, salty butter so thick as to form another slice; the large white crystals of sugar not mingling in the butter but crunching separately. I think it’s a wonderful dessert, especially now that I see on TV so many unexpected combinations: bacon in chocolate cupcake icing and peaches with foie gras.
I’ve never had a cheese-filled paratha, but it’s not hard to imagine it, the crisp and golden fried wheat-flour casing, with cheese leaking out here and there, getting browned and chewy where it touches the griddle. As the kids would have said, what’s not to like about it.
And though nutritional wisdom changes, this doesn’t: white flour, white rice, white sugar are all still the bad boys. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
But one or two incidents make me think that maybe being a tough food Nazi was worth it. When the children are away from home for an extended period, indulging in nasi goreng, pizza, tortellini, naan or butter chicken, they return home dreaming of greens. On the last inward leg, one of them will say, “Can we have a large green salad tonight?” Better still, the one that lives away will come home asking for palak, tinda, tori, lauki and bhindi, pushing away oily qorma to reach for pale-green greens.
vasundharachauhan9@gmail.com | http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/vasundhara-chauhan-on-being-a-food-fundamentalist/article9036014.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/dc55d3f362c2c06cb3041ed5aff03d6784aee93c49dc6aaf898662faabebcdbc.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T08:54:50 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The water level in Papanasam dam was 53.65 feet, maximum capacity of the dam is 143 feet. The inflow was 378.47 cusecs and outflow was 554.75 cusecs. In Manimuthar dam the water level was 60.20 feet, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fwater-level%2Farticle9044841.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Water level | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The water level in Papanasam dam was 53.65 feet, maximum capacity of the dam is 143 feet. The inflow was 378.47 cusecs and outflow was 554.75 cusecs. In Manimuthar dam the water level was 60.20 feet, maximum capacity of the dam is 118 feet. The inflow was 20 cusecs and outflow 405 cusecs.
Please Wait while comments are loading... | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/water-level/article9044841.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/89639d6660e3ac2f3dde2a7fd854033349862b80e58225a02954cc6c009bc2f3.json |
[
"G. Shankar Gopalkrishnan"
] | 2016-08-30T00:53:08 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | The baggage-claim area in an airport arrival area is a great leveller. Prince or pauper, business-class pampered mogul or the economy-class huddled software engineer, regardless of your tag, you have | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fopinion%2Fopen-page%2Fwith-bag-and-baggage%2Farticle9047199.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | With bag and baggage | null | null | www.thehindu.com | An inescapable saga plays out at the airport carousel
The baggage-claim area in an airport arrival area is a great leveller. Prince or pauper, business-class pampered mogul or the economy-class huddled software engineer, regardless of your tag, you have to jump through the same hoops when it comes to picking up your baggage. It is almost inescapable. If you land in India, the great Indian mela starts right here, in the baggage-claim area. It’s a lot like our traffic, there’s never a dull moment. Carousels, running conveyor belts, suddenly-stopped-running belts, baggage on the belt, baggage outside the belt, baggage-about-to-tip-over from the belt, travellers, attendants, side-kicks, everything choc-a-block... you name it! It isn't easy for the flight-weary or the faint-hearted. Regardless of how we are built, our baggage, for sure, is made of sterner stuff. They say a home-raised village-cow is equipped with its own biological GPS system. Even if you were to abandon it miles away, it will make its way back to the owner with unerring accuracy.
Our baggage does even better. We are challenged when it comes to our multi-leg international flights — to find the correct flight and the correct gate and wade through miles of pathways, corridors and security-scanners. Surprisingly, the baggage manages to do all this, that too unaccompanied, with effortless ease! It’s baffling. Little wonder, we question, and repeatedly, “Does the baggage go all the way to San Francisco or do I pick it up at Dubai?” “No sir! It is checked all the way to San Francisco!” We are forced to confirm one more time. “You mean I pick it up...er...er... at San Francisco directly?” “Yes sir,” comes the blunt reply.
And sure enough, it’s there for you at the carousel at San Francisco — blinking with the same beady eyes, just the way you left it at Bangalore. It's simply unbelievable! If ever our baggage had a catwalk of their own, their two minutes of fame, where a hundred eyes stayed glued to them, it has to be at the conveyor belt. Unlike a regular catwalk, you don't have to be an eye-candy to be a head-turner here. In fact, the more unconventional your looks, the more points you get. Just think about it — all your branded suitcases file past... prim and proper. And suddenly, out of the blue, stumbles along... this box of Alphonso mangoes! Just a simple cardboard box, wriggling its way through, with a vernacular script scrawled all over, from some nondescript place on this planet. It has no zips, no handles, no bells or whistles. If you have to lift it, it is by the scruff of the neck — by the coir-rope that keeps the box together. As make-shift and raw as that, but it invites all attention. And as it floats by, through the crack in the cardboard lid, you spot the little yellow of the ripening Alphonso mango. You break into a smile, run your tongue over your lips, for it’s so overly inviting, standing right there at the carousel. The Alphonso mango gets more shutter-bugs than anyone out there. A 14-hour flight is gruelling. It’s hard on the body for sure, but it takes a greater toll on the mind, reducing you to an absolute zombie. Suddenly, you can't recall anything about how your luggage looked! It’s a state of total blankness. You can’t recall if it was black or navy-blue or red, rectangular or triangular. As the pieces of luggage float past, your sleepy
brain gives you opposite messages. Either it urges you to reach out for every piece out there because they all look familiar, or it tells you to stay aloof because none of them seem even vaguely related. You kick yourself. At least you could have spent that one minute to tie a friendship-band of sorts, some terribly ugly length of ribbon that would have made life simple. Now, it’s a lost cause.
You drift off and think about Rama. The other day, he would have felt just as helpless, reduced to being a mute spectator, watching Vali and Sugreeva clawing at each other. They both looked alike, much like these suitcases so that he couldn’t tell one from the other.
The solution was simple. Sugreeva wore a garland the next day, and now Rama could unerringly aim his arrow at Vali. It was a simple and effective plan.
I took a leaf out of this episode. On my way back I tied this most eye-piercing green, fluorescent ribbon at the handle of the black suitcase. But life isn’t as easy as the Ramayana narrative. To my utmost surprise, at the Bangalore airport, a dozen black suitcases all landed up, with the same ribbon at the handle! Imagine what Rama would have done had Vali also turned up with a garland the next day? For sure, he would have broken his Kodanda bow in two, and moved on... to other vocations in life! Sometimes an enormous waiting game gets played out. The last few get to play this game, and yes, you are one of them. Suddenly, no one wants to pick up suitcases from the ring any more. The suitcases keep spinning and spinning for eternity. Each time, you look at it expectantly, only to realise that it’s the same one that picked your curiosity the last time too. “Why are they even there in the first place...if no one wants them!” you feel like yelling. The problem is that all the players out there... are equally affected by a sudden bout of amnesia. No one remembers his suitcase anymore. Each one is waiting for the other to blink first, take his suitcase and move on, so that the last man standing can take the left-over and leave. This war of attrition can be terribly draining, and played out at a point when you can barely stand after the log journey. Suitcases are much like us: Each has a distinct personality. I believe we deserve the suitcase we get. There are party-animals out there who have hit it off with other suitcases in the course of their journey. It is evident that they have had a great time: they come bunched up, all heady and excited, tumbling down... almost falling over each other — and off the conveyor belt.
And then, there is the loner. The rest of humanity has walked away with its bags and you stand alone at the carousel. It is terribly lonely out there... with carousels stretching till the horizon and not a soul in sight. (This is of course the United States). You feel you could get mugged. That’s when the loner ambles along, shuffling his feet, on the conveyor belt, with not a care in the world. You have half a mind to give him a nice kick in the back. He richly deserves it, but you restrain yourself. At least, he showed up. Otherwise, you would have had to file a missing claim, which would be another set of headaches. Gently, I open suitcase flap and peer into the contents for confirmation. There is an overwhelming sense of relief — to spot a bright-red brief. It surely is mine! I yank out a trolley, stack-up the suitcase, wheel it past the sliding door... and melt into the sunshine. I have just one thought running in my mind.
The next time I am going to play it real safe. My suitcase will be the easiest to spot. He’s going to be dressed like Superman, with my red-brief on the outside! Surely, no one would have thought of that!
gshankar@cisco.com | http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/with-bag-and-baggage/article9047199.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/f472898ee8b9ade058405423e813edeae41e2f067f4a8bee8fdc7908ffca6e54.json |
[
"Kalyan Ashok"
] | 2016-08-27T12:50:13 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The show is over at Rio and the Olympics provided some sombre thoughts for Indian sports in general. It took two spunky athletes to redeem the honour for India in Rio. The shuttle star, P.V.Sindhu and | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ffeatures%2Fmetroplus%2Fa-lot-needs-to-be-done-to-improve-our-olympics-performances%2Farticle9040503.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/29BGM_RIO_2988732c.jpg | en | null | A lot needs to be done to improve our Olympics performances | null | null | www.thehindu.com | While Sakshi and Sindhu’s wins at Rio are heart-warming, a lot needs to be done to improve our showing in the international arena
The show is over at Rio and the Olympics provided some sombre thoughts for Indian sports in general. It took two spunky athletes to redeem the honour for India in Rio. The shuttle star, P.V.Sindhu and wrestler, Sakshi Malik, put India on medals table with a silver and a bronze respectively.
The two were showered with awards and rewards and a welcome that befitted a royalty. The 21-year old Sindhu, and her coach Pullela Gopi Chand, came home to a tumultuous welcome when they landed in Hyderabad. Ministers, sports fans and officials gathered to welcome their new icon, who seems have to pushed fellow Hyderabadis Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza to sidelines. While the euphoria swept the nation, there is no hiding from the fact that it was not an impressive show from rest of the Indian contingent. India with a population of more than a billion, deserved more than two medals, which pales in comparison with with the medal haul of smaller nations such as Cuba, Jamaica and Kenya. India ranked 67 in medals tally, 12 spots below their 2012 London Olympics performance.
It certainly could have better, but for a few so-near–yet so-far finishes by sportspersons such as Beijing Gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindira and gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who missed their medals by a whisker.
Tennis mixed doubles duo, Sania Mriza and Rohan Bopanna blew their chances in the play-off for bronze medal. Men’s hockey team, another medal contender, failed to make the cut . The irony was Argentina, which India beat in the league phase, won the Gold.
One did not expect any medal in athletics, yet Lalita Babbar, by making it to the 3000 metre steeplechase final gave a heartwarming performance. The shooters and archers, who were tipped as big medal hopes, fell flat. Jaisha collapsed midway due to for lack of water and dehydration in women’s marathon and Narsingh, was kept out of wrestling as WADA The World Anti-Doping Agency was not convinced about clearance given to him at home on drug charges.
As the dust settles down, there will be post-mortems, even inquiries and calls for accountability to ascertain the causes for the debacle. The need of the hour is to find ways to improve the quality of our athletes and translate their potential into medals. We also need to develop a strong base in sports disciplines.
M. Krishna Kumar, the noted sports and management mentor aptly observed, “We seem to be doing everything in reverse. The riches that were showered on Sindhu and Sakshi came after they become champions. It should have come when they were trying to become one.” | http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-lot-needs-to-be-done-to-improve-our-olympics-performances/article9040503.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/3cb90f562914ed0f63d39dabc0f3aa13b62585838b8cc62920aa02302c0916d9.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-31T12:54:44 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Calling upon youngsters to launch a strong fight against corruption and corporate-sponsored politics, secretary of the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) national council R. Tirumalai on Tuesday said t | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fandhra-pradesh%2Fprotect-secular-fabric-of-nation-aiyf-leader%2Farticle9052395.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Protect secular fabric of nation: AIYF leader | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Calling upon youngsters to launch a strong fight against corruption and corporate-sponsored politics, secretary of the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) national council R. Tirumalai on Tuesday said the lives of the Dalits, Muslims and minorities turned miserable in the country ever since the Narendra Modi-led government was voted to power at the Centre.
Inaugurating the 20th round of State conference of the AIYF here, Mr. Tirumalai said that it was the need of the hour for the youngsters to protect the secular fabric of the nation by fighting against religion-based politics. He said the government had failed to provide education, healthcare and employment to all and instead was encouraging religion-based and corporate-sponsored politics. “The AIYF is going to fight for the cause of the public in general and for the Dalits and the minorities in particular. We have to protect our democracy and secularism without wasting any time,” he said. Former president of AIYF’s State unit Muppalla Nageswara Rao, actor Madala Ravi and others spoke. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/protect-secular-fabric-of-nation-aiyf-leader/article9052395.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/d34479eb28a1ee84e9c0aee3bb0df15d488b09ba83e27bc4e16bc6000a487512.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-28T18:50:47 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | In response to the PDP’s appeal to separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Gelani to treat Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti as his “daughter” and “give her a chance,” the separatist leader o | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fgeelani-urges-mufti-to-join-the-just-struggle%2Farticle9043138.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Geelani urges Mufti to ‘join the just struggle’ | null | null | www.thehindu.com | In response to the PDP’s appeal to separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Gelani to treat Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti as his “daughter” and “give her a chance,” the separatist leader on Sunday asked her “to join the just struggle” while the Hurriyat Conference questioned how Ms. Mufti could confine “the fatherly figure” in the first place.
“Geelani sahab is the leader of this nation. He treats every woman as his daughter. How is this ‘daughter’ who feels happy to confine her fatherly figure in his house for years together doesn’t hesitate to call for his help whenever her position is threatened,” a Hurriyat spokesperson asked. Mr. Geelani accused Ms. Mufti and “her barbaric armed forces and uncontrolled police” of turning J&K “into a hell.” “ For petty power she has been killing and maiming her own people.” | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/geelani-urges-mufti-to-join-the-just-struggle/article9043138.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/d39cd8546881d992d49d6cb0bded98f37d7130092cd03726f8388c2d66e1d056.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T22:53:07 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | R. Vijay Chakaravarti’s five-wicket haul helped United CC beat Korattur CC by one wicket in the Tiruvallur DCA second division cricket league recently.The scores: II div.: SSCA 240 for seven in 30 ov | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Fcricket%2Fchakaravarti-scalps-five%2Farticle9037124.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Chakaravarti scalps five | null | null | www.thehindu.com | R. Vijay Chakaravarti’s five-wicket haul helped United CC beat Korattur CC by one wicket in the Tiruvallur DCA second division cricket league recently.
The scores:
II div.: SSCA 240 for seven in 30 overs (E. Rajesh 48, M. Kaushik 52, S. Hari Ram Ganesh 71) bt Sundar 129 for nine in 30 overs (R. Nirmal Kumaran 48, S. Risha Rajas three for 31).
Korattur 132 in 27.2 overs (D. Gokulnath 28, R. Rajkumar 27, R. Vijay Chakaravarti five for 36) lost to United 135 for nine in 29.1 overs (Haaresh Augustus 34, T. Ashwin 26, K. Nagaraj three for 37).
III div: Pattabiram CA 192 in 30 overs (N.A. Vaidhyanathan 37, C. Karthick 29, S. Karthick 32, Marimuthu four for 24) bt FSCA 144 in 29 overs (S. Sathish Kumar 65, N.A. Vaidhyanathan three for 14).
IV div.: Universal 127 in 24.5 overs (B. Saravanan 52, R. Thammem five for 29, A.S. Suryaprakash three for 31) lost to WABCO 130 for two in 20.5 overs (K. Swaroop Krishnan 52 n.o., V. Dinesh Kumar 34).
Sri Vaishnavi 161 for eight in 30 overs (S. Dayal Sagar 43, L. Kailash Patel 39, S. Sai Sabarish 26, R. Gajendran three for 16) bt Jaya Education Group 158 for nine in 30 overs (B. Manikandan 39, A. Parthiban three for 27).
Frank Worrell 186 for seven in 28 overs (S. Mohan Raj 41, T.S. Audlin 42, B. Ramesh three for 43) bt CPCL 118 in 19.3 overs (A. Gopi 31, Anirudh Balaji four for 41, V. Simon Stanley four for 35). (match reduced to 28 overs).
M.O.P. Vaishnav College for women will conduct VASPO, the annual National-level inter-college women’s sports tournament, from August 29 to September 1 across three venues in the city.
This year marks the institution’s 25th anniversary, and so it has launched several women-centric initiatives.
Around thousand sportswomen from across thirty-five colleges in the country will contest in basketball, volleyball, throwball, table tennis, chess, football, ball badminton and tennis.
The inauguration will be held at the University Union Grounds at Chetpet on August 29.
Dr. Ramasubramani, Inspector General of Police, Railways, will be the chief guest, and Ms. Sudha Shah, former India cricketer, will be the guest of honour. | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/chakaravarti-scalps-five/article9037124.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/70d2f1f689ec9b1ae563d8d52302539f89a659ba8f4bab82e1ed99e14dc0bd1e.json |
[
"R. Prasad"
] | 2016-08-29T20:51:39 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Indian researchers have been able to bring about more than 50-fold improvement in the efficacy of the commonly used TB vaccine — Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) — by giving mice the anti-leprosy drug | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsci-tech%2Fhealth%2Fantileprosy-drug-can-enhance-bcg-vaccine-efficacy-study%2Farticle9047124.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Anti-leprosy drug can enhance BCG vaccine efficacy: Study | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Indian researchers have been able to bring about more than 50-fold improvement in the efficacy of the commonly used TB vaccine — Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) — by giving mice the anti-leprosy drug (clofazimine) for a month along with a dose of the vaccine. The duration of protection lasted till the end of the trial protocol period of 120 days. Results were published on August 29 in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
“Mice vaccinated with BCG will remain equally protected if just two doses of anti-leprosy drug are given on the day of vaccination and on day seven. This is because the drug has a long half-life of 28 days in mice,” says Prof. Gobardhan Das, the corresponding author of the paper from the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. To test the efficacy of the novel strategy, the BCG-vaccinated mice that were co-treated with anti-leprosy drugs for a month were exposed to TB bacteria. “At the end of 60 days after infection, the bacterial load was more than 50 times lesser in mice that got the vaccine and the drug compared with mice that got only the vaccine,” says Dhiraj Kumar Singh, a co-author of the paper from JNU.
The BCG vaccine efficacy is critically dependent on the generation of long-lasting memory cells called the central memory T (Tcm) cells. The Tcm cells generate effector memory T (Tem) cells that kill the TB bacteria.
Though effective in children, the vaccine’s efficacy diminishes with time, particularly in TB endemic regions. This is because people in TB endemic countries are continuously exposed to TB bacteria. With regular exposure to TB bacteria, Tem cells that fight the bacteria get used up and the pool of Tcm cells that get converted to Tem cells eventually get exhausted, thereby rendering the host vulnerable to TB infection, explains Mr. Singh.
If the Tcm cells are much higher in number to start with then they can convert to Tem cells for a longer period and produce a much rapid and stronger response against TB bacteria and protect the individual from TB infection for an extended period. This is precisely what the team led by Prof. Das achieved. The researchers nearly doubled the size of Tcm cell pool by administering anti-leprosy drug (5 mg/kg body weight) to mice already vaccinated with BCG.
“Initially after vaccination both Tcm and Tem cells are produced. Because we don’t want Tem cells, we try to make most of the cells into Tcm cells. This is achieved by administering the anti-leprosy drug on the same day of BCG vaccination. Since the drug blocks the potassium channel of Tem cells, the production of Tem cells is slowed down or inhibited and the cells are pushed to become Tcm cells. This leads to an increase in Tcm pool,” says Prof. Das. | http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/antileprosy-drug-can-enhance-bcg-vaccine-efficacy-study/article9047124.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/04c750f5c12667f7cc39589cbc5ee2baa417c2f970c47b3368d5dbe9323503dd.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T06:55:10 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee led by historian M.G.S. Narayanan has expressed disappointment over the exclusion of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road widening project under the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fkozhikode%2Faction-panel-disappointed-over-exclusion-of-road-widening-project%2Farticle9042997.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Action panel disappointed over exclusion of road widening project | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee led by historian M.G.S. Narayanan has expressed disappointment over the exclusion of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road widening project under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
The State government has announced that seven roads in the district will be renovated using funds from the KIIFB, which has been newly-created by the government to raise additional resources for infrastructure development outside the State plan fund.
It was announced that funds to the tune of Rs.160 crore would be used to renovate the roads including the Kadalundi-Tirur road. The roads are Kadalundi-Tirur (Rs.15 crore), Kozhikode-Balussery (Rs.25 crore), Beypore-Cheruvannur (Rs.25 crore), Variyattikkal-Thamarassery (Rs.25 crore), Payyoli-Peramba (Rs.25 crore), Kallanthode-Kulimad (Rs.15 crore) and Muttungal-Pramtalam (Rs. 30 crore).
Many of the roads especially the Karaparamba-Balussery road was in a pitiable condition following its digging for laying of pipes for the Japanese-aided drinking water project. There are also proposals to widen some of them.
The action committee secretary M.P. Vasudevan said Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, who was in Kozhikode in the first week of August, had said that the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road widening project would be the first venture under the KIIFB.
Based on the suggestion of the Minister, a report had already been submitted by Kozhikode North MLA A. Pradeepkumar, stating that a sum of Rs.284 crore was required for the project. The Public Works Department chief engineer had been tasked to prepare a detailed report for submission to the KIIFB, official sources said.
However the government would first have to take into possession the land required for converting the 8.4-km stretch into a four-lane carriageway. As of now, the land at Malaparamba had been acquired for the purpose of junction improvement.
Mr. Vasudevan said the Minister had assured them that the Cabinet would ratify the project as soon as the government got the report on the project. “The committee would meet soon and take up the issue as this should be the first project to be implemented under the Kozhikode city road improvement project,” he said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/action-panel-disappointed-over-exclusion-of-road-widening-project/article9042997.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/67edc9de07a8faaa9dbb951ce891ec7e2be72bcd1b8058f44172c4b18029ee33.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T08:51:50 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Wednesday removed its Goa chief, Subhash Velingkar, for working against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.
“Velingkar has been remove | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Frss-axes-goa-chief-for-acting-against-bjp-government%2Farticle9055070.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | RSS axes Goa chief for acting against BJP government | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Subhash Velingkar was removed from his post after BJP President Amit Shah complained against him to the RSS leadership
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Wednesday removed its Goa chief, Subhash Velingkar, for working against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.
“Velingkar has been removed from his post with immediate effect for faulting a political outfit and working against the Goa government,” RSS publicity head Manmohan Vaidya told IANS.
Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), an outfit led by Velingkar, has been demanding that regional languages (Konkani and Marathi) be made the medium of instruction in Goa’s elementary schools and asking the state to stop grants of English medium schools.
Velingkar was removed from his post after BJP President Amit Shah complained against him to the RSS leadership, informed sources said.
Shah was shown black flags by members of the outfit during his recent visit to Goa. He was on his way to address a meeting of BJP workers near Panaji.
Critical of the Laxmikant Parsekar-led BJP government, Velingkar accused the state government of betraying the electorate’s trust.
He also said that the chances of the BJP winning the upcoming Goa assembly elections were bleak.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has said it will contest the Goa elections, had been using Velingkar’s criticism of the state government in its campaign. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rss-axes-goa-chief-for-acting-against-bjp-government/article9055070.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/6a9e4823b2f2541eb389bdf3d518edc100d109f8adea4f85c2a409f4d54a1c34.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T22:53:06 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The graphic, “Peace in Colombia” (‘World’ page, Aug.26), was interesting. If a peace deal between the government and FARC rebels in Colombia was made possible after 52 years of hostilities, why is i | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Finspiration-from-colombia%2Farticle9037134.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Inspiration - from Colombia | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The graphic, “Peace in Colombia” (‘World’ page, Aug.26), was interesting. If a peace deal between the government and FARC rebels in Colombia was made possible after 52 years of hostilities, why is it so difficult to achieve peace in Kashmir? Perhaps our government should send an all-party delegation to Colombia to study the process especially after it had claimed thousands of lives and displaced 7 million Colombians.
Kiran P. Gandhi,
Pune | http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/inspiration-from-colombia/article9037134.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/796a2df631309bdbd732c34a5f8f0807b3981524ba195ebd7b89fc90252ceb10.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:50:53 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The Philippines government and Maoist-led rebels agreed indefinite ceasefires on Friday as part of an accord to accelerate efforts to end a conflict that has lasted almost five decades and killed at | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Finternational%2Fphilippines-govt-maoist-rebels-sign-ceasefire-deal%2Farticle9036999.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Philippines govt., Maoist rebels sign ceasefire deal | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The Philippines government and Maoist-led rebels agreed indefinite ceasefires on Friday as part of an accord to accelerate efforts to end a conflict that has lasted almost five decades and killed at least 40,000 people.
The government expressed hopes that a peace agreement could be reached within a year after the Oslo talks. The guerrillas, who reiterated demands for “revolutionary change,” stopped short of setting a deadline.
Both sides, at a signing ceremony in a hotel on the outskirts of Oslo, hailed the ceasefire deal and measures to step up negotiations as a breakthrough after 30 years of fitful peace talks.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende, hosting the ceremony, urged both sides to mirror an agreement between Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC rebels to end Latin America’s longest conflict.
“I hope this has been an inspiration,” he said after the five-day meeting in Oslo. Norway has been a long-standing facilitator for peace deals in Colombia and the Philippines.
Under the accord, the rebels indefinitely extended a week-long ceasefire that had been due to expire after the Oslo talks. The government reaffirmed an open-ended ceasefire since August 21 that could have been called off if the guerrillas failed to match it. — Reuters | http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/philippines-govt-maoist-rebels-sign-ceasefire-deal/article9036999.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/2422e81049f6275c8c48ffbf27700ac174b1d419c7ecca840c638050ea2adf92.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-31T03:04:02 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Southern Railway will operate a special train from Tiruchi to Velankanni and back to clear the extra rush of traffic for the Velankanni festival.The DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) special train | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FTiruchirapalli%2Fspecial-trains-to-velankanni%2Farticle9044371.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Special trains to Velankanni | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Southern Railway will operate a special train from Tiruchi to Velankanni and back to clear the extra rush of traffic for the Velankanni festival.
The DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) special train will be operated from August 28 to 30 on both directions.
The Tiruchi – Velankanni special will leave Tiruchi at 12 noon and arrive at Velankanni at 3.55 p.m. In the return direction, the Velankanni – Tiruchi DEMU train will leave Velankanni at 4.45 p.m. and reach Tiruchi at 8.45 p.m.
Special passenger trains will be operated from Velankanni to Nagapattinam and back from August 29 to September 8.
The Velankanni – Nagapattinam specials will leave at 12.40 p.m. and 2.10 p.m. and reach Nagapattinam at 1.05 p.m. and 2.35 p.m. respectively.
The Nagapattinam – Velankanni specials will leave Nagapattinam at 1.35 p.m. and 3 p.m. and reach Velankanni at 2 p.m. and 3.25 p.m. respectively, a press release said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/special-trains-to-velankanni/article9044371.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/acf2edc29bba90f504623dd7a28465cb1d896f01ca0d0c9cfefc60c6626d5453.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T02:54:10 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The Hindu visited some unauthorised colonies in South Delhi and the situation there is bad, especially after the rains. What happened to the government’s project of developing these colonies? The | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FDelhi%2Fgive-us-time-till-end-of-2017-you-will-see-results%2Farticle9044331.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02990/DE29_JAIN_GBECN0NF_2990523c.jpg | en | null | Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain talks about the lack of development in unauthorised colonies | null | null | www.thehindu.com | According to Satyendar Jain, the biggest problem in such colonies is lack of good roads.File Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain talks about the lack of development in unauthorised colonies and the government's approachto the issue at hand
The Hindu visited some unauthorised colonies in South Delhi and the situation there is bad, especially after the rains. What happened to the government’s project of developing these colonies?
The government has already acknowledged the problem and it is being addressed.
Carrying out development works in unauthorised colonies is a priority project, but you have to give us time till December 2017. You will see the results then. The project is very much on track.
What is the focus of the project?
The biggest problem in such colonies is lack of good roads. Estimates suggest that we have to develop more than 20,000 roads and narrow lanes. Second, storm water drains have become almost non-existent as they are decades old. We have to build them as well.
What is the status of development works as of today?
There are approximately 700 colonies that are left to be developed. Out of this, tenders for awarding work in about 100 colonies have already been floated.
For the remaining 600 colonies, the DSIIDC is conducting a survey to prepare estimates.
Waterlogging is a persistent problem in these areas. What are the immediate measures being taken?
I am taking weekly review meetings and teams from both MCDs and the PWD are actively working to drain out water from such areas.
In many cases, the PWD personnel are even carrying out such works on roads that are not under their jurisdiction, but under the MCDs. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/give-us-time-till-end-of-2017-you-will-see-results/article9044331.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/1d50cef039d6d933b2bbb02e437f340ad57a65f437bf5c901c5b2c83525560f0.json |
[
"K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj"
] | 2016-08-30T10:52:38 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Exactly a year has passed since scholar and rationalist M.M. Kalburgi was killed by an unidentified assailant, but neither the probe into the case nor the legislation against superstitious practices, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fbangalore%2Fa-year-on-no-headway-in-kalburgi-case%2Farticle9047825.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | A year on, no headway in Kalburgi case | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Even the legislation against superstitious practices, which the rationalist advocated, has seen no progress
Exactly a year has passed since scholar and rationalist M.M. Kalburgi was killed by an unidentified assailant, but neither the probe into the case nor the legislation against superstitious practices, which he advocated, have made much headway.
On August 30, 2015 a man pumped three bullets into the scholar at his residence in Dharwad.
The murder sent shockwaves across the literary establishment and triggered a campaign that saw writers return their State-endowed honours. The writers demanded a speedy trial, protection of freedom of expression, and passing of an anti-superstitious practices legislation — all of which seem unfulfilled.
Common link
Probing agencies suspect that Goa-based Hindutva group Sanatan Sanstha carried out the assassinations of three rationalists — Narendra Dabholkar (August 2013, Pune), Govind Pansare (February 2015, Kolhapur), and M.M. Kalburgi.
It was the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sleuths probing the Kalburgi case, who gave the technical lead linking the murders. Ballistic reports by Forensic Science Laboratories, Bengaluru, showed that 7.65 mm country-made pistols were used in all three assassinations. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing Dabholkar’s murder, is waiting reconfirmation of this from tests conducted by Scotland Yard, London.
First breakthrough
The first breakthrough came when the Special Investigation Team of the Maharashtra police probing Pansare’s murder arrested Sameer Gaekwad, a Sanatan member. He has now been chargesheeted, while SIT is on the lookout for others involved.
Meanwhile, the CBI probing Dabholkar’s murder has arrested Veerendra Tawade, an ENT specialist and member of Sanatan Sanstha, who is accused of arranging weapons and logistics.
The CID in Karnataka is still waiting to interrogate Tawade in the Kalburgi murder case. It is now confirmed that neither Tawade nor Gaekwad pulled the trigger. Both are believed to be conspirators.
Sleuths have identified two other Sanatan members — Vinay Pawar and Sarang Akolkar — suspected to have carried out the attacks and are since absconding. Sources claimed that the two are Sanatan ‘sadhaks’ trained in armed combat.
The CID sleuths are also on the hunt for Rudra Patil, another sadhak and accused in the 2010 Goa blasts, whose presence at Kalburgi’s house was seemingly shown through a sketch by witnesses. “They could have fled the country as we have observed Sanatan Sanstha has branches in countries that Indian citizens can get visa on arrival,” said a senior official.
Much deferred Bill
Meanwhile, the proposed Bill on superstitious practices — now named Eradication of Human Sacrifices and other Inhuman Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2016 — has been referred to a sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa after being deferred numerous times. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/a-year-on-no-headway-in-kalburgi-case/article9047825.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/549bd0658f1fb2eb324c22b1bbf0a86d537d549f051efe71adbc55b223f5ea5c.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-28T02:55:53 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the State to make sufficient arrangements so that life does not come to a standstill when the kaali peeli taxis go on an indefinite strike on August 29.A Di | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fmumbai%2Fnews%2Fensure-taxi-strike-doesnt-hit-life-in-city%2Farticle9032654.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02986/24_BM_Kaali_peeli__2986017c.jpg | en | null | ‘Ensure taxi strike doesn’t hit life in city’ | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the State to make sufficient arrangements so that life does not come to a standstill when the kaali peeli taxis go on an indefinite strike on August 29.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice M.S. Sonak was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Pravin Upadhyay.
The PIL stated that kaali peeli taxies would go on strike to protest against the State government’s failure to regulate radio taxi services like Ola and Uber, which are eating into their business.
The PIL said the State has enacted the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act, 2011, in the interest of the public to ensure unrestricted service of taxis and that the State does not follow its own legislation. The PIL sought a direction from the court to frame a policy so that the right to strike in a society is taken away. The court said State authorities ought to have negotiated with the taxi unions to avoid the strike. There is no doubt that when a union of this nature goes on strike, traffic is affected. The bench disposed of the petition. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/news/ensure-taxi-strike-doesnt-hit-life-in-city/article9032654.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/53b6a8563a4830aeaad057334c70ec93b9a19ec91bcbe133fdb009831c6dc207.json |
[
"Naveena Vijayan"
] | 2016-08-30T20:56:46 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Independent film director Roopa Rao has probably created history. She has come up with a 12-episode web series about homosexual love, which she claims is the first in India. The first episode was rele | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ffeatures%2Fmetroplus%2Fsociety%2Fon-a-love-less-spoken-a-web-series-about-homosexual-love%2Farticle9050223.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02992/_VJN7772_jpg_2992261c.jpg | en | null | On a love less spoken | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Roopa Rao talks about her 12-episode web series about homosexual love
Independent film director Roopa Rao has probably created history. She has come up with a 12-episode web series about homosexual love, which she claims is the first in India. The first episode was released on August 27. Titled The Other Love Story, the series revolves around the lives of two college girls from middle-class families who fall in love with each other. “Set in the Nineties, it’s a sweet romance brought out more through exchange of love letters, greeting cards and landline calls, than Facebook statuses and smartphone texts,” says Roopa, over a call from Bangalore. “The Nineties was also a simpler era, where debates about homosexuality had still not kicked in. The taboo, though it might have been present, wasn’t really as spoken about as much as it is today. So, the characters, who are neighbours in the web series, really do not think about any consequences; their love is organic, and takes its course without any apprehensions,” she adds.
But, the making of the series was not as simple. Incidentally, it also comes out at a point when a major airline is under the radar for cutting same-sex kissing scenes from the movie Carol, while screening it for its passengers.
Roopa knocked at the doors of eight producers, who rejected it simply because of the stigma surrounding the topic. “Most of them were scared that the series would be banned soon after its release. A few would ask questions such as ‘How many sex scenes are there?’” says Roopa.
So, she put her project up on the crowdfunding site Wishberry.com, and the support she got was overwhelming. “It was a successful campaign. Besides, I also got a producer through the campaign — Harini Daddala,” she says. While she had her doubts if the Indian audience was ready for a web series such as this, the support on the crowdfunding and social media sites gave her some reassurance that it would be well-accepted if the story was treated well, “like the two-part mini series called Fingersmith, a love story of two girls, set in Victorian-era Britain”.
Roopa had the story ready a long time ago, when she was still working in an IT company. “One of my close friends is in a relationship with her girlfriend for 14 years now. We grew up together, and I know how their love matured. That was probably an inspiration for me to write the story. Theirs is still a secret affair,” she says.
The film-maker had the plot, but did nothing about it. “I thought that somebody would soon make a film on this subject, and I might not have to be the first, but no one did. So, I decided to go ahead.”
Because of the limited budget, a feature film was out of question. “A web series was the perfect choice, given it doesn’t throttle one’s freedom of expression, and also manages to gain wide reach among youngsters.”
Check out the web series on the YouTube channel Justlikethat Films. | http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/on-a-love-less-spoken-a-web-series-about-homosexual-love/article9050223.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/eaa0a39d0388727638968f0cdc3435e3eaaaccc513ef6fe78277ade4ae5ddd95.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-29T08:53:47 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Youth drowns in Kumbakarai fallsA 22-year-old man drowned in the pool of Kumbakarai falls, seven km away from Periyakulam, on Sunday. The deceased was Thoufiq (22) of Begampurin Dindigul.Thoufiq, alon | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fyouth-drowns-in-pool-of-kumbakarai-falls%2Farticle9044401.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Youth drowns in pool of Kumbakarai falls | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Youth drowns in Kumbakarai falls
A 22-year-old man drowned in the pool of Kumbakarai falls, seven km away from Periyakulam, on Sunday. The deceased was Thoufiq (22) of Begampur
in Dindigul.
Thoufiq, along with his friend Abdul Kalam of Begampur, went to Kumbakarai falls for bathing. They entered the prohibited area in the reserve forest and tried to take bath near Vazhukkuparai. Thoufiq suddenly slipped into the deep pool and drowned.
Acting on information given by his friend Abdul, police and fire and rescue services personnel rushed to the spot and retrieved the body from the pool after a long search. A case has been registered in this connection. The deceased did not know swimming, the police said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/youth-drowns-in-pool-of-kumbakarai-falls/article9044401.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/a437e553aeab02533a427d4f5e17f0eb3c2bf1e966ff07b12d5f9bba597179ee.json |
[
"D. Madhavan"
] | 2016-08-27T12:57:33 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | It’s 8.25 a.m. one Tuesday. Class III student S. Sundar, a Nepalese by origin, waits for his fellow countrymate, friend and classmate, S. Anish, and seniors Kushwanth, a Class VIII Marwari student, Ar | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2Fdivided-by-language-and-culture-united-by-love-for-tirukkural%2Farticle9034169.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/Chennai_2987033c.jpg | en | null | Divided by language and culture, united by love for Tirukkural | null | null | www.thehindu.com | IN ONE VOICE: Students of Sri R. M. Jain Group of Schools in V.M. Nagar in Tiruvallur recite the Tirukkural during the morning prayer session. Photo: Special Arrangement
With 200 days of recitation completed without any hitch, the students are now aiming to enter the Guinness Book of World of Records.
It’s 8.25 a.m. one Tuesday. Class III student S. Sundar, a Nepalese by origin, waits for his fellow countrymate, friend and classmate, S. Anish, and seniors Kushwanth, a Class VIII Marwari student, Arpan Dubey, a Bengali and Sushanth, who speaks Marathi, to attend their morning prayers on the sprawling campus of Sri R.M. Jain Group of Schools in V.M. Nagar in Tiruvallur.
Although separated by language and culture, what unites them is the recitation of the Tirukkural, a classic Tamil work dating back to the early Christian era. It is their everyday ritual but this Tuesday, will be special as it marks the 200th day of the recitation of Tirukkural by more than 2,000 students, including 350 non-Tamil students of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated school.
“Though we find the recitation a little tough, our teachers help us in understanding its concepts and importance. So, we enjoy the exercise during the prayer session,” says Vikas Viswakarma, a Class XI student of Nepalese origin.
It was during random oral tests in class that N.C. Sridharan, correspondent of the school, found that his students, including the Tamil-speaking students, were unable to recite even one couplet from Tirukkural that has lessons for every aspect of life.
So this April 21, he, along with a team of 25 teachers from the school’s department of Tamil, decided to include a few couplets from the Tirukkural during the morning prayer sessions. All parents were receptive to the idea. In fact, more than 600 students brought individual copies of the Tirukkural for the recitation.
‘Promotes ethics, values’
“Such recitation helps students to memorise difficult concepts. It also helps to inculcate in them ethics and values,” Vaani Arivaalan, Department of Tamil Language, University of Madras, told The Hindu .
At the spacious 12,000 sq.ft prayer hall, students (from Class I to XII) recite five couplets every morning for 10 minutes.
Of the five, one couplet is replaced with a new one every three days.
With 200 days of recitation completed without any hitch, the students are now aiming to enter the Guinness Book of World of Records. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/divided-by-language-and-culture-united-by-love-for-tirukkural/article9034169.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/1fc493bd60bd56664ef57e9f19e3205d87ceb3d38c3fccb50af6090d019e7bed.json |
[
"Atul Aneja"
] | 2016-08-26T17:00:16 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | China on Thursday urged India to do more to reinforce peace and stability along the border, following reports that New Delhi was deploying advanced cruise missiles in the eastern sector.“We hope the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fchina-nudges-india-to-focus-on-border-stability-following-brahmos-controversy%2Farticle9032307.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | After BrahMos row, China wants India to focus on border peace | null | null | www.thehindu.com | China on Thursday urged India to do more to reinforce peace and stability along the border.
China on Thursday urged India to do more to reinforce peace and stability along the border, following reports that New Delhi was deploying advanced cruise missiles in the eastern sector.
“We hope the Indian side can do more for peace and stability in the border region…,” Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian said at a media briefing. He was answering a question on reports that India was deploying the BrahMos cruise missiles, which have a 290-km range, in the eastern sector.
“To maintain peace and stability along the India-China border is an important consensus reached by the two sides,” he said.
The BrahMos can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. A result of India-Russia collaboration, the missile was inducted in the Army in 2007 and was being tested for induction in the Su-30 fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Col. Wu’s remarks scaled down observations in a commentary that appeared in PLA Daily, which said India’s decision to deploy 100 missiles of an upgraded version in the northeast exceeded its defence needs and posed a “serious” threat to Tibet and Yunnan. “This news has gained widespread attention. India’s move to deploy missiles on the national boundary has already exceeded its defence needs and poses a serious threat to Tibet and Yunnan,” it said. “The deployment of the BrahMos missile is bound to increase the competition and antagonism in the China-India relations and will have a negative impact on the stability of the region,” it observed.
The controversy precedes the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Hangzhou next month for a meeting of the G-20 countries. He is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit.
Mr. Modi will reach Hangzhou after visiting Vietnam, which has expressed its interest in buying the BrahMos missiles. India is free to export these missiles as it has got the membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime.
Vietnam has close economic ties with China, but tensions between the two countries have been growing on account of their differences over their maritime boundaries in the South China Sea. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/china-nudges-india-to-focus-on-border-stability-following-brahmos-controversy/article9032307.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/cddb2154f3bdcae9fab77452c1b24df42f2d73f5840cd5e1f61dd6d7ae3d49de.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-26T19:00:51 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | A tense situation prevailed at Muzhakkunnu here since the attack on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] worker on Wednesday night and a retaliatory attack on a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (R | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fkerala%2Ftension-in-kannur-after-retaliatory-attack%2Farticle9034637.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Tension in Kannur after retaliatory attack | null | null | www.thehindu.com | A tense situation prevailed at Muzhakkunnu here since the attack on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] worker on Wednesday night and a retaliatory attack on a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker on Thursday.
The Muzhakkunnu police said RSS local functionary P. Sujesh (30) sustained serious stab injuries in an attack by a group of suspected CPI(M) workers around 1.30 p.m. He sustained serious stab injuries in his legs in the attack, the police said.
He has been rushed to a hospital. His friends Santhosh (28), Arun (30) and Ratheesh (29), who were with him at the time of attack, sustained minor injuries.
They were at the house of a BJP worker preparing food for workers engaged in building a house nearby when the assailants attacked Sujesh.
Injured
The police said that the attack was apparently to retaliate the attack on K.P. Suresh (34), CPI(M) Pullathiyod branch secretary, at Kakkayanad around 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
He sustained injuries in his head and was admitted to a private hospital at Iritty, the police said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district president P. Sathyaprakash said the CPI(M) had been targeting BJP workers at Muzhakkunnu panchayat since the BJP's win in two wards in the last local body elections. BJP workers in the two wards and those suspected to have voted for the BJP candidates in the election were being denied right to movement in their locality, he alleged. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/tension-in-kannur-after-retaliatory-attack/article9034637.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/9ab045384b1168089ccaf0e29f0bf0718c75842adf5d17b22fd8d75f40f9f8ee.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-28T22:59:07 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | In a daring robbery, a five-member gang attacked three persons who were sleeping in an irrigation tank in Sivarakottai near Tirumangalam and drove away an SUV past midnight of Wednesday.Police said P. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FMadurai%2Farmed-robbers-attack-3-drive-away-suv%2Farticle9034399.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Armed robbers attack 3, drive away SUV | null | null | www.thehindu.com | In a daring robbery, a five-member gang attacked three persons who were sleeping in an irrigation tank in Sivarakottai near Tirumangalam and drove away an SUV past midnight of Wednesday.
Police said P. Mariappan (37) of Thittankudi near Kovilpatti was involved in shredding of firewood cut in the irrigation tank. He had brought a machinery for the purpose and it was parked inside the tank. Mariappan, along with two others, Karuthapandi and Sundarapandi, used to sleep near the machinery. They had parked their SUV along the bund.
The gang that came to the tank, located along Madurai-Virudhunagar four-way highway, on two motorbikes brandished knives and asked for the SUV’s key. Even as Mariappan was trying to locate the key, one of them inflicted a bleeding cut injury on his left hand.
After snatching the key, three mobile phones and three debit cards from them, the gang drove away the SUV along with their two motorbikes. The police said the robbers also tore the bed sheets used by the victims to tie their legs and hands. The victims struggled for nearly two hours to free themselves, and then they went to a hospital for treatment. They alerted the police in the morning. Mariappan has been admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital here.
Superintendent of Police Vijayendra Bidari and Deputy Superintendent of Police (Tirumangalam) K. Sankar inspected the spot. Tirumangalam Taluk police are investigating. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/armed-robbers-attack-3-drive-away-suv/article9034399.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/380bf55288c093abcdc228940fe7d8fd280c55a02d91773770a85105e5dd1a74.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T00:50:59 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The indigenously-developed stratosphere-troposphere (ST) radar at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) will be showcased under the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.A high-level | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FKochi%2Fcusats-st-radar-makes-it-big%2Farticle9042993.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02989/29ki_radar_eps_2989877c.jpg | en | null | Cusat’s ST radar makes it big | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The indigenously-developed stratosphere-troposphere (ST) radar at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) will be showcased under the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
A high-level meeting held at NITI Aayog in New Delhi in June is learnt to have recommended the radar project under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious programme that intends to make the country a manufacturing hub. The proposal to showcase the radar project under the Make in India campaign got a boost after V.K. Saraswat, a member of the NITI Aayog, visited the facility in March.
The meeting at NITI Aayog observed that including the radar project under the Make in India initiative would help in encouraging indigenous production of the technologies associated with it and reduce the dependence on foreign countries for various support systems associated with the radar.
K. Mohankumar, director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, said the design, development, fabrication and installation of the radar project were done indigenously. A team of scientists and engineers at the varsity had supervised the project, which was implemented by a Chennai-based firm.
The Centre has suggested that the wind data from the facility could be made available to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for assimilation into their weather prediction models. The Ministry of Earth Sciences will also extend financial support to maintain the radar. Efforts will be made to explore the demand for such a radar facility in various parts of the country. The meeting also recommended that the Indian Air Force could also utilise the facility for wind measurements, especially during take-off and landing operations of aircraft. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/cusats-st-radar-makes-it-big/article9042993.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/271a434530ce63829a18498d6a1985643414e8ecfecd84879abe0091df289d22.json |
[
"Shelley Walia"
] | 2016-08-27T10:50:08 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Reading Sarah Bakewell’s splendidly conceived book, I remember one summer fortnight in Paris, sitting in the warmth and freedom of the cafés that Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre had patronised | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fbooks%2Fliterary-review%2Fsartre-and-de-beauvoirs-initiation-into-existentialism%2Farticle9036037.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/28SM_bakewell_jpg_2987273c.jpg | en | null | Sartre and de Beauvoir's initiation into existentialism | null | null | www.thehindu.com | ‘When you look in through the windows of existentialism, the first thing you see is a busy café’.
Reading Sarah Bakewell’s splendidly conceived book, I remember one summer fortnight in Paris, sitting in the warmth and freedom of the cafés that Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre had patronised, debating philosophy, arguing vital questions of human existence and identity, and liberally gulping apricot cocktails.
The sunny days bring back to memory the 1930s on the Left Bank of Paris, where in the vicinity of the Saint-Germain-Prés Church, Albert Camus, Hannah Arendt, Iris Murdoch and Emmanuel Levinas mingled socially and intellectually. The Café Philo in New York is evocative of such gatherings.
I remember having a drink at Bar Napoleon, a beer and a meal at Deux Magots on Rue Bonaparte, and an evening at the jazz hangout Lorientais, where a book under your arm, symbolic of the anti-bourgeois sensibility, could be the passport to entry. It was here that Sartre and Beauvoir had laboured on their books amidst the cacophony of chatter, blues, jazz and ragtime.
Music and freedom were still in the air that summer afternoon in 1932 when the age-old philosophical puzzle about reality came up before the three friends who met at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on Rue du Montparnasse while sipping their cocktails. Raymond Aron had studied phenomenology under Edmund Husserl at the University of Berlin, and on this historic day, explained the concept to his friends Sartre and Beauvoir, emphasising the role of philosophy as a descent into ‘down-to-earth matters’, a proclivity towards Heidegger’s complete “disregard for intellectual clutter”. The meeting inspired Sartre to spend a year in Berlin and engage in “doing philosophy that reconnected it with moral, lived experience”, a kind of hijacking of Husserl and Søren Kierkegaard to blend a very aggressive phenomenology with a “philosophy of apricot cocktails, of Parisian gardens, the cold autumn sea at Le Havre… the way a woman’s breasts pool as she lies on her back, a film, a jazz song”. This was philosophy of “music and sex, shame and sadism, vertigo and voyeurism”.
The realist turn in Sartre moved him towards the very idea of free will and human freedom that lay at the heart of all experience, distinguishing humans from other species. Unlike non-humans, there is no predefined nature; essentialism stands rejected as you create your nature and your being through what you choose to do: “I am always one step ahead of myself, making myself up as I go along… a work in progress,” in Bakewell’s words. Using her widely researched familiarity with a subject she fell in love with as a teenager, Bakewell draws attention to Sartre’s historic lecture on existentialism (published as ‘Existentialism and Humanism’) that turned both him and Beauvoir into cult advocates of a philosophy in which one’s existence and authenticity depend on the choice arrived at — not as a victim of society but as its “true voice”.
Such a philosophy, in the wake of Auschwitz and the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, would enable people to fall back on their own choices and potential to fashion a better future in a world of mind-boggling violence and outrage. The idea of essence or fixed human nature stood rejected in the face of oppression, racism and the hegemony of religious belief. The Catholic Church blacklisted Sartre and Beauvoir, and Marxism rejected the idea of a freedom that negated the very thesis of inevitable revolution and the envisaged trajectory of history.
Thus, to be an existentialist meant freedom of existence, going to sleep at odd hours, making free love, listening to jazz and dancing to ragtime. This was social behaviour at once radical and nonconformist, a rejection of bourgeois values and right-wing complacency of established norms and received assumptions. Noticeably, there was more conversation than coffee or cocktails.
The café became the ‘happening’ place of all creative art and writing, a world of lovers and artists, musicians and students, that would send ripples right into the rebellious 1960s, bringing most of us, even young teenage undergraduates, in contact with existentialism, with the question of authenticity, with the ‘proto-punk style’ of living, with wearing black woollen turtlenecks and debating philosophy at social events. The Firebox Café in Bloomsbury or the nearby Cuts Café, with its walls lined with the political works of George Orwell, comes to mind, especially at a time when the Left needs to seriously reinvent itself. As Yevgeny Zamyatin would say, “Heretics are the only bitter remedy against the entropy of human thought.”
Such was the deviant world of Paris, the ‘topsy-turveydom’ of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Raymond Queneau deep in debate on freedom and the embarrassment of tolerating a rich elite society or the bourgeois order of marriage and fidelity, so profoundly rejected through the bohemianism of Sartre and Beauvoir.
The existential temperament of the 1940s engaged itself seriously with political issues as is clear from the controversial writings published in the journal, Les Temps Modernes, and the newspaper, Liberation. No state apparatus could overpower this sense of freedom, evident from Sartre’s refusal to accept the Legion of Honour or the Nobel Prize in 1964, arguing for “a writer’s need to stay independent of interests and influence”, living with the credo “whatever you experience, as you experience”. Such was the world view that taught you to live on the edge, a Nietzschean affirmation of an assertive existence. Life for many, thus, “would be always one big existential café”. And in such a world, as Bakewell argues, there was no place for the ‘post-structuralist signifier,’ but an obsession with life itself, with its sorrows and joys, with nuclear war, with environment and foreign policy, with the wretched of the earth. The major questions that concern us are lucidly brought out by the ‘cafephilos’, icons who stand tall even today. The revival of the post-war Parisian café or the coffee house culture ought to be the call of the day.
Shelley Walia is professor and fellow, Department of English and Cultural Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. | http://www.thehindu.com/books/literary-review/sartre-and-de-beauvoirs-initiation-into-existentialism/article9036037.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/51024d6fc3c601cbcc326d9c61db0603db163b99958268274e0ef684e22165c2.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-31T10:54:26 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | Kumaran Nagar police on Tuesday said the preliminary post-mortem report of the 75-year-old woman Sharadha who had died after seeing her neighbour jump from a building in the act of committing suicide, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2Fwoman-died-of-shock-police%2Farticle9052561.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Woman died of shock: Police | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Kumaran Nagar police on Tuesday said the preliminary post-mortem report of the 75-year-old woman Sharadha who had died after seeing her neighbour jump from a building in the act of committing suicide, indicated that she had died of cardiac arrest.
In the first information report, police said that Selvam(34), an auto-rickshaw driver, jumped off from the second floor to kill himself. He landed close to Sharadha (75) who was sleeping outside her house in the Government Quarters, Nallankuppam. Roused by her screams, her family members came out of the house and found Sharadha unconscious, and Selvam, seriously injured. Ananda Raj, Inspector of Kumaran Nagar Police Station, said, “Immediately we took them to the hospital where doctors pronounced Sharada brought dead while Selvam was given treatment for injuries. Sharada’s body was sent for post mortem.”
FIR altered
Police altered the FIR and registered a case against Selvam under Section 304 (A) (Causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code.
The suicide prevention helpline is available at 104, and Sneha’s line is 044 2464 0050. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/woman-died-of-shock-police/article9052561.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/7d1a3594176fe2440786351f1b91107ac9d0338a13876a08aaf502bff6741cd8.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T10:51:07 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution changing the name of the State to Bengal in English and Bangla in Bengali. Despite the Trinamool Congress government trying hard | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fother-states%2Fwest-bengal-assembly-passes-resolution-for-states-name-change%2Farticle9045696.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | West Bengal Assembly passes resolution for State’s name change | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution changing the name of the State to Bengal in English and Bangla in Bengali.
Despite the Trinamool Congress government trying hard to arrive at a consensus of all political parties on the issue, the Congress, the Left Front and the BJP did not support the resolution.
While representatives of all the three parties participated in the debate, Congress legislators walked out of the House during discussion, the Left Front wanted an amendment to the name change resolution and BJP opposed the resolution. In the end a resolution was passed through voice vote.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the attitude of the Opposition a 'historic blunder' and said that the people of the State will not forgive them for this.
Ms. Banerjee said that the Centre has already been informed that they should not consider an earlier resolution adopted by the Assembly on the issue and soon a fresh proposal will be sent to them. She said her government will urge the Centre to pass the resolution through the Parliament. Consent of the Parliament is necessary to affect the name change. In September 2011 the State Assembly has passed a resolution changing the name of the State to Paschim Banga both in Bengali and English. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/west-bengal-assembly-passes-resolution-for-states-name-change/article9045696.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/097f36256b0f52d604aad1a70987021f2fe114162af0abb78b37cce9273bbb5e.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-28T14:53:05 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | After a long time, the government officials were engaged in cleaning the Collectorate campus on their own here on Saturday with an aim of keeping it clean and tidy. Leading a team of officials, Colle | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FMadurai%2Fcollector-officials-join-hands-to-clean-up-collectorate%2Farticle9040792.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/28MA_CLEANING_DGL_2988891c.jpg | en | null | Collector, officials join hands to clean up Collectorate | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Collector T.G. Vinay taking part in mass cleaning programme at the Collectorate in Dindigul on Saturday.
After a long time, the government officials were engaged in cleaning the Collectorate campus on their own here on Saturday with an aim of keeping it clean and tidy.
Leading a team of officials, Collector T.G. Vinay himself swung into action and carted away dead leaves and other wastes collected from the Collectorate campus this morning.
The main aim of the operation was to keep the surroundings clean as the Collectorate attracted large number of people on Mondays.
He also advised the PWD to clean all storm water channels to prevent stagnation of rainwater on the campus during rainy season. This work will continue in the days to come, he added. Officials in all departments joined the cleaning operation. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/collector-officials-join-hands-to-clean-up-collectorate/article9040792.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/1f391033c22ed1ce044b1fca641e32878f82789e68402693ef6ef1b22d571601.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T04:53:30 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Outgoing governor of Reserve Bank of India Raghuram Rajan said on Friday that he has no doubt that inflation, which has crossed the 6 per cent mark in July, will fall in the coming months.
“We fin | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fbusiness%2FEconomy%2Fno-doubt-that-inflation-will-fall-in-the-months-ahead-says-raghuram-rajan%2Farticle9036866.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | No doubt that inflation will fall in the months ahead, says Raghuram Rajan | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Outgoing governor says confident that Urjit Patel will achieve inflation objectives
Outgoing governor of Reserve Bank of India Raghuram Rajan said on Friday that he has no doubt that inflation, which has crossed the 6 per cent mark in July, will fall in the coming months.
“We finally have a framework that commits us to low and stable inflation. Yes, July’s inflation reading was a high 6.07%, but I have no doubt that inflation will fall in the months ahead,” Mr Rajan said in a speech at annual day address of the Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India (FEDAI).
Consumer price index-based inflation rose at a faster-than-expected pace to 6.07 per cent in July, mainly driven by food prices, as compared to up 5.77 per cent in June, higher than the central bank’s March end target of 5 per cent. RBI had kept interest rates unchanged in the August policy due to high inflation.
“The key point is that market participants know that the Monetary Policy Committee has to maintain low and stable inflation, certainly over the next five years for which its remit has been set, and it will do what it takes,” the outgoing governor, who demits office in early September said.
The government is in the process of finalizing a monetary policy committee which will set interest rates, most likely from the October policy review.
Mr Rajan also said he is confident, that Urjit Patel, one of his re deputies who will succeed him, will achieve inflation target.
“I am confident that Dr. Urjit Patel, who has worked closely with me on monetary policy for the last three years, will ably guide the Monetary Policy Committee going forward in achieving our inflation objectives,” he said. | http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/no-doubt-that-inflation-will-fall-in-the-months-ahead-says-raghuram-rajan/article9036866.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/30e790d5502cac2df3890785f0d133e25811bf0e2022d696f6dee660f792a59f.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-28T14:51:39 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | According to the Union Territory Act, 1963, the Lt. Governor is deemed to be the virtual ruler of the Territory in the administrative, financial and legislative spheres through powers. D. Ramabathira | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fso-who-is-the-boss%2Farticle9042584.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | So, who is the boss in Puducherry? | null | null | www.thehindu.com | According to the Union Territory Act, 1963, the Lt. Governor is deemed to be the virtual ruler of the Territory in the administrative, financial and legislative spheres through powers. D. Ramabathiran, former District Judge, says the Constitutional scheme and the laws regulating the administration of Puducherry and the Rules made thereunder with Constitutional competence clearly delineate and regulate the functions of the constitutional authorities.
“No one can encroach into the domain of the other. Rather, the duties and functions required of one cannot be performed by the other, even if it is desired,” he said.
“For all practical purposes, the role of the Chief Minister is only advisory in character and the advice tendered by him is not binding on the L-G in Puducherry,” said M. Ramadass, former MP. The Chief Minister derives his powers from Section 44 of the Act and Chapter III of the Rules of Business. He has the power along with other Members of the Legislative Assembly to enact laws with respect to any one of the matters enumerated in the State or Concurrent List, though the laws become operational only after the consent of the L-G or the President as the case may be. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/so-who-is-the-boss/article9042584.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/db57c41712b9eaf6aede44256da30358c8a3153f7845d9b8a78e1c9dde5ce2e7.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:51:16 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fvideos%2Fnews-videos%2Farticle9046455.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02991/HAJI_ALI_2991253c.jpg | en | null | Where women aren't wanted | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Please Wait while comments are loading...
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[] | 2016-08-27T14:50:17 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Phenomenal Memory (S. Zervan up) won the Her Majesty Trophy, the main event of Saturday’s (Aug. 27) races here. The winner is owned by Mr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla, Mr. Adar C. Poonawalla & Mrs. Natas | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Fraces%2Fphenomenal-memory-bags-her-majesty-trophy%2Farticle9040589.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Phenomenal Memory bags Her Majesty Trophy | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Phenomenal Memory (S. Zervan up) won the Her Majesty Trophy, the main event of Saturday’s (Aug. 27) races here. The winner is owned by Mr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla, Mr. Adar C. Poonawalla & Mrs. Natasha A. Poonawalla rep. Villoo Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt. Ltd. Dallas Todywalla trains the winner.
1. GOLDEN EDITION PLATE (Div. II), (1,400m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: Silk Baby (Yash Narredu) 1, Mariska (Trevor) 2, Rain Dance (Zervan) 3 and Winds Of Change (V. Jodha) 4. Not run: Time Of My Life. Hd., 5-1/2, 1-1/2. 1m 26.94s. 75 (w), 18, 10 and 18 (p). SHP: Rs. 77, FP: Rs. 199, Q: Rs. 49, Tanala: Rs. 347 and Rs. 256. Favourite: Mariska. Owners: M/s. Gautam Thapar & Sultan Singh rep. Sohna Stud Farm Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: C.D. Katrak.
2. JUVENTUS PLATE (1,400m), Cl. II, rated 60 to 86: The Champ (Trevor) 1, Few Dollars More (Sandesh) 2, Traherne (Zervan) 3 and Vixen (J. Chinoy) 4. 3/4, 3, 1. 1m 27.37s. Rs. 13 (w), 10 and 11 (p). SHP: Rs. 18, FP: Rs. 15, Q: Rs. 10, Tanala: Rs. 14 and Rs. 10. Favourite: The Champ. Owners: M/s. Kishore M. Dingra, Sultan Singh & G. Shewakramani. Trainer: P. Shroff.
3. HER MAJESTY TROPHY (2,400m), Cl. I, rated 80 and upward: Phenomenal Memory (Zervan) 1, Rodeo (C.S. Jodha) 2, Heather (P.S. Chouhan) 3 and Caesars Star (S. Amit) 4. 3-1/4, 4-1/2, 3-1/4. 2m 32.79s. Rs. 24 (w), 11 and 41 (p). SHP: Rs. 67, FP: Rs. 93, Q: Rs. 135, Tanala: Rs. 123 and Rs. 30. Favourite: Heather. Owners: Mr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla, Mr. Adar C. Poonawalla & Mrs. Natasha A. Poonawalla rep. Villoo Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Dallas Todywalla.
4. WAR COMMAND PLATE (1,200m), Cl. V, rated 1 to 26: Jarama (J. Chinoy) 1, Synchronicity (C.S. Jodha) 2, Fast Future (Bhawani) 3 and Majestic Honey (T.S. Jodha) 4. 2, 3-1/4, 2-1/4. 1m 12.15s. Rs. 24 (w), 17, 19 and 49 (p). SHP: Rs. 50, FP: Rs. 86, Q: Rs. 47, Tanala: Rs. 1,679 and Rs. 660. Favourite: Jarama. Owners: Mr. Haresh N. Mehta and Mr. Manv H. Mehta rep. Rohan Bloodstock Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Mansoor Shah.
5. DR. K. VASUDEVAN TROPHY (1,600m), Cl. III, rated 40 to 66: San Martino (Trevor) 1, Highland Breeze (P.S. Chouhan) 2, Jeannine (C.S. Jodha) 3 and Multiglory (Dashrath) 4. 1-1/4, 2-3/4, snk. 1m 40.29s. Rs. 25 (w), 16 and 16 (p). SHP: Rs. 34, FP: Rs. 53, Q: Rs. 23, Tanala: Rs. 68 and Rs. 30. Favourite: Jeannine. Owners: Mr. & Mrs. Vijay Mallya rep. Utd. Rac. & Bloodstock Breeders Ltd. Trainer: P. Shroff.
6. MARINSKY PLATE (Div. I), (1,000m), Maiden 3-y-o only: Motherland (Yash Narredu) 1, Firebolt (Neeraj) 2, Abu Al Bukhoosh (C.S. Jodha) 3 and Sporting Spirit (Trevor) 4. Not run: Arc Light. 1/2, 2, 2-3/4. 1m 0.42s. Rs. 18 (w), 12, 14 and 13 (p). SHP: Rs. 36, FP: Rs. 63, Q: Rs. 48, Tanala: Rs. 98 and Rs. 35. Favourite: Motherland. Owner: Mr. Deepak U. Satav. Trainer: Dallas Todywalla.
7. MARINSKY PLATE (Div. II), (1,000m), Maiden 3-y-o only: Captain (C.S. Jodha) 1, Poets Song (Akshay) 2, Crystal Ball (Bhawani) 3 and Forever Free (Zervan) 4. Nk., 1-1/2, 1. 1m 0.18s. Rs. 34 (w), 12, 12 and 43 (p). SHP: Rs. 36, FP: Rs. 64, Q: Rs. 28, Tanala: Rs. 597 and Rs. 376. Favourite: Poets Song. Owners: M/s. Abbas Y. Jasdanwalla & Saleem A. Jasdanwalla. Trainer: Faisal Abbas.
8. GOLDEN EDITION PLATE (Div. I), (1,400m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: Sky Mine (Sandesh) 1, Fringe Benefit (Joseph) 2, Rapid Girl (S. Amit) 3 and Pierce Arrow (Daman) 4. Not run: Sochi. 7, 2-1/2, nose. 1m 25.97s. Rs. 26 (w), 13, 62 and 58 (p). SHP: Rs. 247, FP: Rs. 380, Q: Rs. 175, Tanala: Rs. 6,092 and Rs. 2,610. Favourite: Sky Mine. Owners: M/s. Gautam Thapar & Sultan Singh rep. Sohna Stud Farm Pvt. Ltd & Mr. Rajesh Sahgal. Trainer: Imtiaz Sait.
9. SEA RULER PLATE (1,200m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: Miss Saigon (J. Chinoy) 1, Cicitalia (Trevor) 2, Isinit (Merchant) 3 and Way Ahead (Sandesh) 4. 5-1/2, 2, snk. 1m 11.58s. Rs. 58 (w), 18, 15 and 156 (p). SHP: Rs. 44, FP: Rs. 313, Q: Rs. 128, Tanala: Rs. 11, 121 and Rs. 9,532. Favourite: Cicitalia. Owners: Mr. & Mrs. Vijay B. Shirke, Mr. Jay V. Shirke & Mr. K.N. Dhunjibhoy rep. Five Stars Shipping Co. Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Vishal Gaikwad.
Jackpot: (i): (70 per cent): Rs. 2,660 (72 tkts.); (30 per cent): Rs. 135 (606 tkts.); (ii): (70 per cent): Rs. 10, 419 (44 tkts.), (30 per cent): Rs. 335 (586 tkts.).
Treble: (i): Rs. 106 (44 tkts.), (ii): Rs. 355 (19 tkts.), (iii): Rs. 1,278 (12 tkts.).
Super jackpot: (70 per cent): Rs. 10,293 (six tkts.); (30 per cent): Rs. 389 (68 tkts.). | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/races/phenomenal-memory-bags-her-majesty-trophy/article9040589.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/da076cc3474bfdbd4ae3c98cb2a37bd3bdeebeb96a045690098cbaaf8071d488.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-27T16:51:23 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam treasurer and leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin charged that the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu was deteriorating by the day.“The law and order situation in the State, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FTiruchirapalli%2Flaw-and-order-in-coma-state%2Farticle9038518.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/Stalin_2988438c.jpg | en | null | Law and order in coma in Tamil Nadu: Stalin | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam treasurer and leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin charged that the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu was deteriorating by the day.
“The law and order situation in the State, which was in the ‘Intensive Care Unit’ in the last five years is now in coma,” he claimed at a public meeting on the topic, ‘Plight of Democracy in the Assembly,’ held here on Friday. The meeting was held as part of the DMK’s road show in various cities to highlight the alleged injustice meted out to 79 party MLAs who were suspended for a week from attending the Legislative Assembly proceedings after they created a ruckus in the House over a disagreement with the Speaker.
Mr. Stalin alleged that while the Chief Minister was claiming that Tamil Nadu was a “haven of peace,” in reality incidents of crime were being reported every day. Also the police were unable to make a breakthrough in several high-profile cases, including the murder of former DMK minister K.N. Nehru’s brother K.N. Ramajeyam and the suicide of Namakkal Deputy Superintendent of Police Vishnupriya.
Claiming that the Chief Minister was unable to accept criticism, he said the ruling party had filed a series of defamation cases against political party leaders, including those of the DMK, besides booking similar cases against journalists.
The DMK, he said, had made it categorical after the Assembly elections that the party would act as constructive opposition and not as an enemy of the ruling party. He wondered whether the DMK could not raise people’s problems and burning issues such as the Cauvery dispute in the Assembly.
DMK deputy leader in the Assembly Durai Murugan, Congress legislative party leader K.R. Ramasamy and DMK MLAs were present. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/law-and-order-in-coma-state/article9038518.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/1759dea32ca65c070c409d88c569e620027d900a38453ccf273f97ea39c01b3c.json |
[
"R. Krishna Kumar"
] | 2016-08-28T00:51:44 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Amidst the lush green paddy and sugarcane crops in Mandya, Bore Gowda of Shivalli village comes across as an individual with his own mind ploughing a lone furrow. Though surrounded by commercial but | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fkarnataka%2Fthey-chose-millets-to-avoid-a-millstone%2Farticle9040806.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/27BG_MILLET1_2988907c.jpg | en | null | They chose millets to avoid a millstone | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Two farmers from Mandya district go in for dry crops and reap a rich harvest.
Amidst the lush green paddy and sugarcane crops in Mandya, Bore Gowda of Shivalli village comes across as an individual with his own mind ploughing a lone furrow.
Though surrounded by commercial but water-guzzling crops, he appears content cultivating millets that has limited demand in the market and whose consumption is dwindling even in traditional rural societies.
“Having experienced the impact of agricultural crisis with mounting cost of cultivation and declining income, I decided to opt for millets to tide over the economic crisis and earmarked a small portion of my 10-acre land for it,” said Mr. Gowda
He was introduced to millets and their myriad benefits, including nutritional value, by Sahaja Samruddha, an NGO promoting organic farming, besides dry crops.
Though a good monsoon was forecast, Mr. Gowda decided to experiment with millet and has not regretted his decision. As it turned out, the monsoon played truant and the State government has refused to release water from the KRS. “But since millets are dry crops, it sustained on the available moisture and Mr. Gowda reaped a rich harvest,” said Krishnaprasad of Sahaja Samruddha.
A similar experience was narrated by B. Puttaswamy of Hale Boodhnuru in Mandya district. “I decided to set aside 4 acres of my land to cultivate brown top millet and did not expect much owing to severe summer and depleting moisture. To my surprise, the crops were robust and withstood the severity of drought and yielded a rich harvest,” said Mr. Puttaswamy.
What about the cost of cultivation? “It was near-zero as I only paid for the seeds that were liberally strewn across the field. I did not use an ounce of fertilizer or insecticide and the residual moisture in the field sufficed to give a rich harvest and enabled me to earn nearly Rs. 30,000 in three months,” said Mr. Puttaswamy. “We are convinced that Mandya farmers will benefit if they shift to dry-land farming to tide over the water crisis,” said both the farmers.
These are just two of the success stories with dry crop farming that Sahaja Samruddha intends to take to the broader community of farmers reeling under drought in south Karnataka region.
Meanwhile, efforts are on at various levels to bring millets back as a regular diet in view of their health benefits. Brown top millet is reckoned to have good dietary fibre as also the other varieties, including finger millet, fox tail millet, kodo millet and proso millet. Mr. Krishnaprasad said these crops are easy to cultivate under harsh conditions. But more important, farmers can be assured of nutritious food for their families, besides earning a decent income. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/they-chose-millets-to-avoid-a-millstone/article9040806.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/369c787fe11264b66e1641b6db1e8cf593b956a074bb89139bc4914b2eeeb793.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T12:52:09 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Speaking for the first time on the Scorpene submarine data leak, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the service was taking the leak very seriously.
"Have viewed the leak of the Scor | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fscorpene-submarine-navy-taking-data-leak-seriously%2Farticle9045366.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02985/Kalvari_2985401c.jpg | en | null | Scorpene submarine: Navy taking data leak seriously | null | null | www.thehindu.com | DCNS is also expected to file a petition on Monday to prevent 'The Australian' from making any more information public.
Speaking for the first time on the Scorpene submarine data leak, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the service was taking the leak very seriously.
"Have viewed the leak of the Scorpene data very seriously. Wwe have asked DCNS to launch an urgent investigation. We have ourselves set up a high level committee to investigate into this. Based on the report of the committee, we will see what mitigation measures need to be taken," he told reporters outside the South Block on Monday.
Meanwhile, French submarine manufacturer DCNS is expected to file a petition in an Australian court on Monday to prevent The Australian newspaper from making public any more information from 22,400 pages of classified data.
The newspaper, which was putting up redacted documents on its website, had stated last week that it would release the weapon details on Monday. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/scorpene-submarine-navy-taking-data-leak-seriously/article9045366.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/fe55e2dc6179e7c56caed68ca8338f89b6c0c89963617ca9a72f86568743ad41.json |
[
"Mohamed Nazeer"
] | 2016-08-28T02:50:45 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The performance of a temple ritual during a cultural procession organised near Taliparamba under the aegis of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on August 24, ostensibly to counter ‘shobha yatras | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fkerala%2Ftemple-ritual-at-cpims-procession-triggers-row%2Farticle9042037.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02989/27krnaz01-contr_28_2989303c.jpg | en | null | Temple ritual at CPI(M)’s procession triggers row | null | null | www.thehindu.com | A display of Thidambu Nritham during a cultural procession held under the aegis of the CPI(M) near Taliparamba in Kannur on August 24.
The performance of a temple ritual during a cultural procession organised near Taliparamba under the aegis of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on August 24, ostensibly to counter ‘shobha yatras’ held by the Balagokulam, has raised a controversy.
The Sangh Parivar has decided to organise a protest to condemn the ‘affront’ to the Hindu ritual, even as the CPI(M) maintained that the performance was just a model of the ritual as an art form.
The procession held at Bakkalam, near Taliparamba, on August 24 as part of the CPI(M)’s ‘Nammalonnu’ procession featured Thidambu Nritham, a temple ritual associated with Thrichambaram Sree Krishna Temple, near Taliparamba, here.
Criticising the CPI(M), the Sangh Parivar claimed that the former had affronted the temple ritual by its display at the procession. An action committee for protecting Hindu rituals, formed by the RSS, announced that it would organise a convention and public function at Taliparamba on August 30.
"Revivalists of communalism"
CPI(M) district secretary P. Jayarajan on Friday said those trying to create the controversy over the display of the model of the ritual performance were revivalists trying to instigate communalism. RSS leader Valsan Thillankery, who is also the convener of the action committee, said at a press conference on Saturday that the CPI(M) had organised parallel processions alleging that the Sree Krishna Jayanti celebration by the Balagokulam was a public display of what should be confined in the precincts of temples. The same party had displayed Thidambu Nritham in a public procession, he said.
Calling on the CPI(M) to apologise for the performance, he said the decision of a section of the party to hold its procession at the same day and same time as the ‘shobha yatras’ being held across the State for nearly 35 years betrayed arrogance and lack of morality. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/temple-ritual-at-cpims-procession-triggers-row/article9042037.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/c2d6862a34f1f0b5e1a673939ccead0dc6a7d6a16015d198eccd7cbeb7193169.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T20:52:00 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni suggested that the U.S. should host more one-day cricket. The short Twenty20 series between India and the West Indies ended with play being called off. The West Ind | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Fcricket%2Fdhoni-gives-thumbs-up-to-cricket-in-us%2Farticle9043236.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02990/FLORIDA_INDIA_WEST_2990086c.jpg | en | null | Dhoni gives thumbs up to cricket in U.S. | null | null | www.thehindu.com | India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni suggested that the U.S. should host more one-day cricket. The short Twenty20 series between India and the West Indies ended with play being called off. The West Indies won the series 1-0.
Asked to comment on cricket’s debut in the U.S., Dhoni said he would like to come back and play here more. “This is one place where we can come back and play lot of cricket maybe a triangular or a four-nation ODI or T20 series. It will be better to play T20s to start off. The venue looks good. It will also give us time to spend more time in the U.S., we played back-to-back games. It will easily fit into our schedule because at this time of year we don’t play many games at home,” Dhoni said at the post match presentation ceremony.
“Yes it will be a bit cramped (sic) for international cricketers but I don’t think the modern cricketers mind it. Also, given the money-making ability of this place, the spectators will come, the time suits broadcasters. It’s a win-win situation for every one. It’s a good venue to continue cricket,” Dhoni added. | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/dhoni-gives-thumbs-up-to-cricket-in-us/article9043236.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/6642d30421adb732689303c09b9fa7ce472a43e2ef618a5d174ad19c5ca55620.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:53:07 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Cochin Shipyard is organizing a power presentation competition in Hindi for non-Hindi-speaking students of classes eight and nine of all schools within the Corporation of Cochin area. The competition | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FKochi%2Fhindi-competition%2Farticle9044635.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Hindi competition | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Cochin Shipyard is organizing a power presentation competition in Hindi for non-Hindi-speaking students of classes eight and nine of all schools within the Corporation of Cochin area. The competition is in connection with the Hindi Fortnight Celebrations 2016, said a press release here. The competition will be held in the first week of October. The date and time will be announced later. For more details contact: 0484-2501548.
Please Wait while comments are loading... | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/hindi-competition/article9044635.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/777cc5fafea0b523127f3e9a3e9879308a8249289160f0f8f3ab10c7de11d86c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:55:39 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Jason Roy overcame a dizzy spell to lead England’s charge to a 44-run win under the Duckworth/Lewis method in a rain-marred first One-Day International against Pakistan in Southampton on Wednesday. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Fcricket%2Fpakistan-vs-england-first-odi%2Farticle9032609.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02985/TH26ROY_2985982c.jpg | en | null | Jason Roy sets up England’s 44-run win | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The opener needed several minutes on-field treatment for what was later confirmed as a dizzy spell
Jason Roy overcame a dizzy spell to lead England’s charge to a 44-run win under the Duckworth/Lewis method in a rain-marred first One-Day International against Pakistan in Southampton on Wednesday.
Surrey opener Roy’s quick-fire 65 fired England towards an initial victory target of 261.
But after a third and final rain interruption, the umpires eventually called the game off with England 194 for three.
Eoin Morgan, the England captain, was 33 not out and Ben Stokes 15 not out.
Earlier, Pakistan was held to a modest 260 for six, captain Azhar Ali top-scoring with 82 after he won the toss. Sarfraz Ahmed made 55 and Babar Azam 40 before he was unluckily out lbw.
Pakistan was going well at 173 for three after 35 overs but then lost Azhar before a rain stoppage put a further break on its run-scoring.
Roy and Joe Root (61) took England to the brink of victory with a second-wicket stand of 89 in 14 overs.
Roy sparked England’s chase with three fours off four balls in the third over bowled by Umar Gul.
But there was a worrying moment when Roy, on 20, needed several minutes on-field treatment for what a team spokesman later confirmed was a dizzy spell. | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/pakistan-vs-england-first-odi/article9032609.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/0bbc3a7bd6c92c463b9660942412a416796a7ff668d0777007d4073395b30ba8.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-28T02:50:53 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | In an apparent retaliatory attack, a Congress worker, the second accused in the case related to the murder of CPI(M) activist M.B. Balakrishnan, was attacked allegedly by Left workers at Uduma on Fri | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fkerala%2Fcongress-worker-stabbed-at-uduma%2Farticle9042006.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Congress worker stabbed at Uduma | null | null | www.thehindu.com | HE was allegedly attacked by Left activists
In an apparent retaliatory attack, a Congress worker, the second accused in the case related to the murder of CPI(M) activist M.B. Balakrishnan, was attacked allegedly by Left workers at Uduma on Friday night.
K.V. Shyammohan, 26, a resident of Bara locality received multiple stab wounds in the attack.
Treatment
The Congress worker was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mangaluru, the police officers said.
The police sources said that they would register a case after eliciting the version of the injured person.
Mr. Balakrishnan was stabbed to death at Bara, near Uduma, on September 16, 2013.
The murder triggered political tension in the district.
Shyammohan was arrested on September 25, 2013.
He was out on bail. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/congress-worker-stabbed-at-uduma/article9042006.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/a42833a0eb7222cff1197fd455cadfac4fad16de3e6eac2f5d5f6bb905acf5de.json |
[
"Syed Sajjad Ali"
] | 2016-08-29T12:52:17 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Tripura Assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath on Monday rejected the plea of State Congress Chief Birajit Sinha to disqualify six MLAs who crossed over to Trinamool Congress. The decision ended t | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fother-states%2Ftripura-assembly-speaker-rejects-plea-to-disqualify-6-tmc-legislators%2Farticle9045455.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Tripura Assembly Speaker rejects plea to disqualify 6 TMC legislators | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Congress had 10 MLAs in the Assembly. It is now left with three MLAs in a 60-member house.
Tripura Assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath on Monday rejected the plea of State Congress Chief Birajit Sinha to disqualify six MLAs who crossed over to Trinamool Congress. The decision ended the uncertainty over fate of legislators, including former leader of opposition Sudip Roy Barman, who had organised the ‘revolt’ in Congress against allying with CPI(M) in the West Bengal assembly elections.
Congress had 10 MLAs in the Assembly. Six of them had joined TMC, while another resigned citing ‘personal problems’. The Congress is now left with three MLAs in a 60-member house.
Mr. Debnath said he took the final decision after examining documents submitted by both Congress and TMC, and taking views of legal experts. The announcement preceded a meeting with Sudip Roy Burman who now demanded his party be treated as the main opposition party.
Mr. Debnath did not specify if he would concede the demand of choosing TMC as main opposition party as the latter did not have requisite one-sixth MLAs. However, henceforth TMC would be recognised as a separate opposition block in the Assembly.
Earlier this month, TMC MLAs made a personal appearance in office of the Speaker to face questions and verify their signatures under provisions of the anti-defection law. Thereafter, the Speaker fixed August 29 for final disposal of the politically charged issue.
Besides Sudip Roy Barman, Congress MLAs Ashish Saha, Pranjit Singha Roy, Biswabandhu Sen, Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl and Dilip Sarkar joined the TMC. Their joining paved exodus of rank and file from Congress to TMC and it has been continuing on a daily basis.
TMC Chairman Ratan Chakraborty and Sudip Roy Barman hailed the decision of the Speaker, but reiterated demand for recognition of main opposition party. They announced they would continue to press the demand and would seek intervention of state’s Governor Tathagata Roy.
TMC was revived in Tripura at the cost of Congress and after the rally addressed by party Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on August 9. Her deputy Mukul Roy will arrive here on September 3 to oversee party affairs. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/tripura-assembly-speaker-rejects-plea-to-disqualify-6-tmc-legislators/article9045455.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/624d18cd6d0d01d3508f1ea5e5609576ece350e06e32209595444b19aa122dea.json |
[
"Gudipoodi Srihari"
] | 2016-08-27T08:54:38 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | This month saw the demise of two stalwart musicians — vocalist and scholar Kollegal Subramanyam and noted violinist Kuppuswamy Iyer. Kollegal SubramanyamKollegal Subramanyam, a ‘treasure trove’ of Car | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ffeatures%2Ffriday-review%2Fveterans-no-more%2Farticle9035601.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02987/hyf26KUPPUSWAMY_2987121c.jpg | en | null | Veterans no more | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Carnatic music world saw the passing of two veteran musicians last week.
This month saw the demise of two stalwart musicians — vocalist and scholar Kollegal Subramanyam and noted violinist Kuppuswamy Iyer.
Kollegal Subramanyam
Kollegal Subramanyam, a ‘treasure trove’ of Carnatic music was 87.
He had built a small temple in 1986 at his house in Vidyanagar, Hyderabad for Thyagaraja and would refer to it as ‘small Tiruvayyar’. His forefathers lived in Chidambaram. He was born in Mysore and learned first from Varadaraja Iyengar before moving to Hyderabad.He lived in Hyderabd all his life. He penned ‘Upaghanaraga pancharatnam’ comprising of ragas Kedaragowla, Gowla, Reetigowla, Narayanagowla and Bowli which he considered as Upa Ghanaragas, first of its kind works. He also wrote ‘Lalitha Navavarna kirtanas’, and kirtanas in all the 72 melakarta ragas. He authored a book Thyagaraja Charitra in Telugu and also penned 54 kirtanas narrating Ramayana.
Kuppuswamy Iyer
Well-known violinist P. Kuppuswamy Iyer passed away last weekat the age of 95. He gave a concert for the All-India Radio in Hyderabad when he was 91.
Belonging to Umayalpuram Sri Krishna Bhagavatar lineage, a direct disciple of Saint Thyagaraja, he came to Hyderabad in 1942 when radio station was functioning under the name of Deccan Radio and served for over 30 years. He produced several musical features on the lives of the trinity.
His wife Rajalakshmi too has been a top artist in AIR. He provided violin accompaniment to several stalwarts in South. | http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/veterans-no-more/article9035601.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/1b8ef52439540168f55ce52169126fdbae0d8255f78f633574bf0093a7580b35.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-28T00:51:10 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin on Saturday said the party would soon organise a protest in Kongu region against the State government for its failure to take action against the Kerala government’s proposal | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Ftamil-nadu%2Fdmk-plans-protests-in-kongu-region%2Farticle9040758.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02989/stalin_2989024c.jpg | en | null | DMK plans protests in Kongu region | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Mr. Stalin called upon the newly joined cadres from other parties to work hard to put an end to the atrocities of the ruling party.
DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin on Saturday said the party would soon organise a protest in Kongu region against the State government for its failure to take action against the Kerala government’s proposal to construct a dam across the Siruvani at Attappady.
Speaking at a meeting here on Saturday, he said the construction of the dam would affect districts in the Kongu region and blamed the AIADMK government for its inaction. “The Centre has sought opinion from the State government many times on the proposal of the Kerala government. But the AIADMK government did not respond to it and the Centre permitted the Kerala government to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment for constructing the dam,” he charged.
Party president M. Karunanidhi would be consulted and a massive protest would be organised in the Kongu region soon, he said, charging the State government for also failing to solve the Mullaperiyar, Mekedatu and the Palar check dam issues.
On the DMK MLAs suspension from the Assembly, Mr. Stalin, the Leader of the Opposition, said the Speaker was not willing to listen to DMK MLAs. Instead, it was keen on evicting and punishing them. Assembly Speakers should not be biased and should give the Opposition time to speak. We face problems in exercising our democratic right in the Assembly as we are not allowed to speak,” he said, adding that the party was holding meetings across the State to explain how the voice of democracy was being stifled.
Mr. Stalin called upon the newly joined cadres from other parties to work hard to put an end to the atrocities of the ruling party. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/dmk-plans-protests-in-kongu-region/article9040758.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/d2617bf3e420aa22ef070f0d427f6e811a358d522e8fd9066cfdaf9373b07953.json |
[
"P. Sudhakar"
] | 2016-08-30T02:55:01 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | When the frail-looking folk singer in dhoti, with a few accompaniments, sat in front of the microphone kept on the dais erected for celebrating Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers’ Association’s ‘Kalai Ira | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FMadurai%2Fan-artiste-of-the-masses%2Farticle9046359.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02991/MA30_OBIT_2991231c.jpg | en | null | An artiste of the masses | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Folk singer P. Thiruvudaiyan was killed in a road accident at Vadipatti in Madurai district on Sunday night.
When the frail-looking folk singer in dhoti, with a few accompaniments, sat in front of the microphone kept on the dais erected for celebrating Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers’ Association’s ‘Kalai Iravu’ at MDT Hindu College Higher Secondary School in Tirunelveli in 1993, none expected such a riveting voice from him.
As the very first song from him, ‘Thamizhaa nee pesuvathu thamizhaa?’, reverberated at high pitch, the roaring crowd asked him to go on, and he became the hero of the night. The journey never stopped and he became so close to the hearts of thousands of Tirunelveli residents over the years.
Thiruvudaiyan was first identified as a singer by his father Palanisamy, a poor ‘pet maistry’ (saree border designer), as he would ask his son to sing while he was working in his loom at Sankarankovil to ward off tiredness. And his peculiar voice took him to the temple where the middle school dropout was asked to sing devotional songs with his own accompaniment, a stainless steel plate.
After M.S. Mathiyazhagan of ‘Thamirabharani Nadaka Kuzhu’ was mesmerised by the young talent’s gifted voice, he took him to the stages of Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers’ Association during the events organised by the group. On the stages of the Association events, the stainless steel plate got replaced by Thiruvudaiyan’s tabla. Whenever he sang poet Ekadasi’s ‘Aaththa un sela…’, which is available in YouTube, it moved those silently listening to him with moist eyes. Auto and van drivers at Jawahar Grounds in Palayamkottai, who are great fans of this song, would ask Thiruvudaiyan to sing this number immediately after ‘Thamizhaa nee pesuvathu Thamizhaa…’.
The folk artiste attracted even Maestro Ilaiyaraaja’s attention, and he utilised his talent in ‘Virumaandi’ (Karumathur kaattukkulle…) and ‘Mayilu’ (Kalyanamam kalyanam…).
“Though he was reportedly asked by Ilaiyaraaja to stay back in Chennai as it would give him more chances in the cine music world, Thiruvudaiyan wanted to be only at Sankarankovil. It could have given him better opportunities,” recalls Narumpoonathan of Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers’ Association, which plans to mobilise funds to help the singer’s poor family, with two girls studying Plus Two and a son doing his Bachelor of Engineering. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/an-artiste-of-the-masses/article9046359.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/61175f2c6bb7af975ab22dae224227463fd1d114b97390561980fc12ffe1617b.json |
[
"Staff Reporter"
] | 2016-08-28T18:52:04 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development S.P. Velumani on Saturday opened a modern canteen with dining hall, an Automated Teller Machine, and a toilet at the City Police Commiss | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2FCoimbatore%2Fnew-canteen-opened-at-city-police-commissioners-office%2Farticle9041724.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02989/28--cbmka2_Publ_CB_2989251c.jpg | en | null | New canteen opened at Coimbatore Police Commissioner’s office | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development S.P. Velumani on Saturday opened a modern canteen with dining hall, an Automated Teller Machine, and a toilet at the City Police Commissioner’s office.The Minister said that the Chief Minister had announced Rs. 3.4 crore for the construction of additional buildings at the police commissioner’s office premises. He said that funds will be allotted under the MLA’s local area development scheme to tap solar power at the office to reduce the bi-monthly electricity bills now running close to Rs. 2 lakh. Mr. Amalraj said that the new facilities would be useful for hundreds of police personnel, and the general public coming to the city police office everyday.The building housing the canteen, kitchen and the ATM facility provided by the State Bank of India were built at Rs. 28.55 lakh from Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme of P. Nagarajan, MP.
Though it was known for its quality and nominal price, the canteen was functioning from a tiled roof structure. The canteen will now provide bakery products too.
District Collector T.N. Hariharan; Mayor P. Rajkumar; Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan; Superintendent of Police for Coimbatore district, R.V. Ramya Bharati; and P. Nagarajan, MP; among others were present at the event. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/new-canteen-opened-at-city-police-commissioners-office/article9041724.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/ee147f62812203744e1cf643dffaba36aacdafb9b08016fc358b8cd6ff348c61.json |
[
"Nistula Hebbar"
] | 2016-08-26T16:55:15 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Over two years after he left Gujarat for New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address his first public meeting in the State — at Dhrol in Jamnagar district — on August 30, marking the complet | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fmodi-touching-base-in-gujarat-after-two-years%2Farticle9033050.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02986/Modi_2986064c.jpg | en | null | Modi touching base in Gujarat after two years | null | null | www.thehindu.com | To address public meeting in Saurashtra, stronghold of Patidars; BJP hopes visit will help it solve difficulties in the State.
Over two years after he left Gujarat for New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address his first public meeting in the State — at Dhrol in Jamnagar district — on August 30, marking the completion of the first phase of the Rs.12,166-crore Saurashtra Narmada Avatarana Irrigation Yojana.
The project is aimed at linking 115 dams in the parched Saurashtra (the stronghold of Patidars) region to the Sardar Sarovar reservoir.
“This will make the Narmada appear to be avatarit, as the name of the project suggests, in Saurashtra,” said a senior official of Gujarat. It is the first project of its kind in India.
Saurashtra is the cradle of the Patidar agitation for reservation that had rocked the State for the past two years. From Saurashtra, Mr. Modi had derived much political support while he was Chief Minister.
In the local bodies elections last year, the BJP lost most of the district and taluk panchayats in the region, which sends 57 MLAs to the 182-member Assembly.
“Mr. Modi has only addressed two gatherings in Gujarat since he went to Delhi: one was the Vibrant Gujarat summit and the other was the meeting of Director-Generals of Police (DGP) in Kutch,” said a senior MP from Gujarat, who coordinates the arrangements for the public meeting.
“This will be his first public rally after becoming Prime Minister. We expect a crowd of no fewer than two lakh people,” he said.
Senior sources in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Gujarat government said the project, commissioned in 2013 when Mr. Modi was Chief Minister, held a sentimental value for him.
“Saurashtra has been parched. Despite the construction of 471 small and major dams, water availability is an issue, since dams fill up during the rainy season and are under-utilised in dry months,” an official said. “This project will link 115 of these dams to the Sardar Sarovar Dam to make them perennial,” he said.
The first phase will connect 16 dams with a 220-km pipeline laid in the districts of Morbi, Rajkot and Jamnagar, which are drought-prone and Patel-dominated areas. “The project will bring about tremendous changes in Saurashtra’s countryside,” said a senior official from Gujarat.
The BJP is hoping that Mr. Modi’s undeniable popularity in the State will help it tide over its recent political difficulties.
“This will improve the morale of the party, which has been down for the year or so,” said a senior party MP from the State.
(With Mahesh Langa) | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/modi-touching-base-in-gujarat-after-two-years/article9033050.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/abdedaffb2afb6d4d486d8da00d90fbd093a664d3e22eec9521eb5c64416ea32.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T06:51:13 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Indian qualifier Saketh Myneni gave a mighty scare to the world number 49 Jiri Veseley before limping out of the US Open as leg spasms scuttled his victory march, here.Myneni, ranked 143 in singles, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fsport%2Findias-saketh-myneni-puts-a-tough-fight-but-knocked-out-of-us-open%2Farticle9049622.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02988/SAKETH_2988752c.jpg | en | null | Saketh Myneni puts a tough fight but knocked out of US Open | null | null | www.thehindu.com | Indian qualifier Saketh Myneni gave a mighty scare to the world number 49 Jiri Veseley before limping out of the US Open as leg spasms scuttled his victory march, here.
Myneni, ranked 143 in singles, had a match point in the eighth game of the fifth set but stiffness in the right thigh restricted his movement badly and he was forced out 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-2 2-6 5-7 after battling hard for three hours and 47 minutes in a marathon first round match.
His first ever appearance in the singles draw of a Grand Slam thus ended in disappointment. Myneni was clearly a better player on the court but for fitness issues he lost the opportunity to play with Novak Djokovic, one of the greatest of the game, in the second round.
It brought back the memories of the Davis Cup tie against Korea last month in Chandigarh, where similar scenes were witnessed as both the Indian and the Koreans struggled to stand on court due to humid conditions.
After splitting four sets, Myneni broke the Czech in the fourth game to take a crucial 3-1 lead and led 4-2 in the fifth set. The match changed at that stage as Myneni took a medical time out due to issue in his right thigh but managed to hold for a 5-2 cushion.
From a commanding position, Myneni lost grip over the He surrendered serve twice after that as he hardly had the strength to stand. An error-prone Vesely kept the hopes of the Indian alive but Myneni was now limping, barely managing to stay.
Vesely just needed to keep the ball in play to close the contest. | http://www.thehindu.com/sport/indias-saketh-myneni-puts-a-tough-fight-but-knocked-out-of-us-open/article9049622.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/0bdc67d970215f493be7ae7c8ffeddf372aa52d1e73621e6dd5b79c108d83d93.json |
[
"Special Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-29T00:52:23 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Reaffirming his support for Govindas, who built nine tiers on the recent dahi handi festival while crossing the Supreme Court limit of 20 feet, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fcities%2Fmumbai%2Fraj-thackeray-comes-out-in-support-of-govindas%2Farticle9043149.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01195/Raj_Thackeray_1195496c.jpg | en | null | Raj Thackeray comes out in support of Govindas | null | null | www.thehindu.com | On Thursday, MNS sponsored a dahi handi program at Naupada that violated the SC orders by forming the nine-tier human pyramid.
Reaffirming his support for Govindas, who built nine tiers on the recent dahi handi festival while crossing the Supreme Court limit of 20 feet, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday questioned the rationale behind filing cases against them as none of them broke the handi by forming human pyramid.
“The court in its order prohibited breaking the handi that was built above 20 feet. In Thane, it was at 20 feet. The Govindas who formed the human pyramid did not break the handi by crossing the limit. They did not violate any court order. How can a case be filed against them?” asked Mr. Thackeray. He was addressing a press conference in Thane. The MNS chief said his party stood firmly with the Govindas, daring the government to take action against them. “Do you think, the government will even dare to take action against govinda groups in Mumbai?” he asked.
On Thursday, MNS sponsored a dahi handi program at Naupada that violated the SC orders by forming the nine-tier human pyramid. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/raj-thackeray-comes-out-in-support-of-govindas/article9043149.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/27627d312c556c6a28999630d27ce6975de4a802213fc9afabc9c5a5a72c5daa.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:53:04 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | The All India Radio is all set to broadcast news bulletin in Balochi language, for the benefit of people living in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
The bulletin will be produced by Radio Kashmir. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Fnational%2Fcoming-soon-air-news-in-balochi%2Farticle9055086.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Coming soon: AIR news in Balochi | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The All India Radio is all set to broadcast news bulletin in Balochi language, for the benefit of people living in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
The bulletin will be produced by Radio Kashmir. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/coming-soon-air-news-in-balochi/article9055086.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/9f375373f069d8ce6ddfc248ac27c04864a4e012449fca294e351e63662254a0.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T04:51:18 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | The rupee recovered 7 paise to 67.11 against the US dollar in early trade today on selling of the American currency by exporters and banks amid a higher opening in the domestic equity market.
Besid | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmarkets%2Frupee-value-august-30-2016%2Farticle9049624.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/template/1-0-1/gfx/oghindunew1.jpg | en | null | Rupee value- August 30, 2016 | null | null | www.thehindu.com | The rupee recovered 7 paise to 67.11 against the US dollar in early trade today on selling of the American currency by exporters and banks amid a higher opening in the domestic equity market.
Besides, fresh foreign fund inflows supported the rupee but strength in the dollar against some currencies overseas capped the gains, dealers said.
The rupee had lost 12 paise to close at near one—week low of 67.18 yesterday against the dollar due to strong demand for the US currency amid expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve in coming months.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex surged by 176.95 points or 0.63 per cent to 28,079.61 in early trade today. PTI SUN DP BAL MKJ 08300940 | http://www.thehindu.com/business/markets/rupee-value-august-30-2016/article9049624.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/b8226363f3b5759af6fb67d700f05825462a0b3c15c4bf4f3b4555f84a0b4456.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:50:56 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Suspended President Dilma Rousseff will make a last stand in Brazil's Senate on Monday in an impeachment trial that is widely expected to remove her from office and end more than a decade of leftist | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fnews%2Finternational%2Fdilma-rousseff-takes-stand-in-impeachment-trial%2Farticle9045072.ece%3Futm_source%3DRSS_Feed%26utm_medium%3DRSS%26utm_campaign%3DRSS_Syndication.json | http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/02990/BRAZIL_POLITICAL_C_2990718c.jpg | en | null | Dilma Rousseff takes stand in impeachment trial | null | null | www.thehindu.com | With the odds stacked against her, Ms. Rousseff's testimony appears to be aimed at making a point for the history books that her impeachment was a travesty rather than a bid to sway the 81-seat Senate to block her eviction from office.
Suspended President Dilma Rousseff will make a last stand in Brazil's Senate on Monday in an impeachment trial that is widely expected to remove her from office and end more than a decade of leftist rule by her Workers Party.
Ms. Rousseff, who is being impeached on charges of breaking budget laws, has denied wrongdoing and denounced the nine-month impeachment process that has paralysed Brazilian politics as a conspiracy to overthrow her and roll back policies that have favoured Brazil's poor during 13 years of Workers Party governments.
But a deep recession that many Brazilians blame her for and a huge corruption scandal involving state-run energy company Petrobras have undermined Ms. Rousseff's popularity since she was re-elected in 2014.
Her Vice President, Michel Temer, has been interim president since mid-May, when Ms. Rousseff was suspended after Congress decided it would continue the impeachment process that began in the lower house.
If the Senate convicts Ms. Rousseff on Tuesday or Wednesday as expected, Mr. Temer (75), will be sworn in to serve out the rest of her term through 2018. His business-friendly government vows to take unpopular austerity measures to plug a growing fiscal deficit that cost Brazil its investment-grade credit rating last year.
“She will appeal to undecided senators to respect democracy and stop the coup that is under way,” a spokesman for Ms. Rousseff told Reuters. “She is in good spirits.”
In her 30-minute speech, the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Ms. Rousseff (68), would point to a lifetime fighting for democracy, from her arrest and torture by a military dictatorship for belonging to a left-wing guerrilla group to election as Brazil's first female President.
Twenty of her former Cabinet Ministers will support her from the Senate gallery, along with her political mentor and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, founder of the Workers Party.
With the odds stacked against her, Ms. Rousseff's testimony appears to be aimed at making a point for the history books that her impeachment was a travesty rather than a bid to sway the 81-seat Senate to block her eviction from office.
FIFTY-FOUR VOTES NEEDED TO CONVICT
Mr. Temer is confident he has the two-thirds of the chamber needed to remove Ms. Rousseff, and he has planned an address to the nation on Wednesday before heading to China to attend the summit of the G20 group of leading economies.
“We need 54 votes, and we expect to get at least 60," Mr. Temer's press spokesman, Marcio de Freitas, told Reuters.
He said the more votes Mr. Temer got, the stronger would be his mandate to take the difficult measures needed to restore confidence in Brazil's economy, caught in a two-year recession.
A survey published by O Globo newspaper on Sunday showed 53 senators would vote against Ms. Rousseff and only 18 would back her - 10 short of the 28 she needs to avoid being ousted. Ten senators have not stated a position or were not polled.
Even senators not convinced the accounting charges brought against Ms. Rousseff warrant her impeachment have decided to vote against her because they see her return to the presidency prolonging Brazil's political crisis.
“I will vote against her even though I think it is a tragedy to get rid of an elected president, but another 2-1/2 years of a Dilma government would be worse,” centrist Senator Cristovam Buarque said in a phone interview.
Ms. Rousseff has lost her base of support in Congress and can no longer run the country effectively, he said.
Senator Helio Jose, who was the Rousseff government's deputy whip in the Senate, has not declared his vote. But he said in a telephone interview that Mr. Temer was doing a good job restoring stability since he took over from Ms. Rousseff.
“I don't think the return of President Dilma would be good for the country. Mr. Temer has built support in Congress to pass austerity measures we need to recover confidence and draw investment to Brazil,” he said. | http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/dilma-rousseff-takes-stand-in-impeachment-trial/article9045072.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.thehindu.com/947dde141ae61034b62684783459e60fdacb57644c0827219c70921c729e872f.json |
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