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FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R
VOL. XXXIII NO. 101 H CHENNAI H WEDNESDAY 18.3.2015 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS THURSDAY 19.3.2015 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82
At last, Sharad Yadav
regrets for comments
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI):
Days after his controversial comments against HRD Minister Smriti
Irani, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav
today expressed regret and said
he respected her and had defended
her earlier.
‘I regret (the controversy). I respect
her,’ he said in Rajya Sabha, after
Leader of the House Arun Jaitley
said a very improper impression had
been created in the media on Yadav’s
remarks during a discussion in the
House two days ago.
Jaitley urged Yadav to clarify his remarks and put the controversy to rest.
Rs 50 lakh worth
ganja seized
Rameswaram, Mar 18 (PTI):
Police today raided two different areas at Thangachimadam in the district
and seized 100 kg of ganja which was
meant to be smuggled to Sri Lanka.
The seized contraband was worth Rs
50 lakh. Five persons were arrested in
this connection, ‘Q’ branch Inspector
Kennedy said. While 40 kg of ganja
was seized at Thangachimadam, where
it was found kept packed and ready for
being transported to Sri Lanka, 60 kg
was seized at Ariyankundu area, he said.
All the ﬁve persons were remanded
to judicial custody, he added.
D
Tough times
ays after his controversial comments against HRD
Minister Smriti Irani, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav
today expressed regret and said he respected her and
had defended her earlier.
I regret (the controversy). I respect her, he said in
Rajya Sabha, after Leader of the House Arun Jaitley
said a very improper impression had been created in
the media on Yadav’s remarks during a discussion in
the House two days ago. Jaitley urged Yadav to clarify
his remarks and put the controversy to rest.
After expressing regret and saying he respected Irani,
JD(U) chief also said he had been the ﬁrst person to
defend Irani when the controversy over her degrees had
erupted. Yadav said he holds two women ministers in
the BJP-led government - Commerce Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman and Irani, in high esteem.Meanwhile, South
African spinners Imran Tahir and hat-trick man JeanPaul Duminy shared seven wickets between them to
ﬂatten out Sri Lanka for a paltry 133 in the ﬁrst quarterﬁnal of the cricket World Cup, today.
Leg-spinner (4-26) Tahir looked like a man possessed
while Duminy (3-29) bagged the second hat-trick of this
edition -- after England’s Steven Finn -- as South Africa
sent the Lankans packing in 37.2 overs.
Electing to bat at the SCG, Sri lanka lost the plot from the
very start after the Proteas pace attack dismissed the openers
in double quick time to leave the islanders reeling at 4 for two.
High alert for Hamla
q Cops catch 30 ‘terrorists’ q TN under security blanket
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
The security mock drill, code-named
Operation Hamla, began early this
morning across Tamilnadu.
According to sources, over 30 ‘terrorists’ were caught at various places
during the operation.
The exercise, police said, aims at
testing the preparedness of the security
forces and is a joint operation by the State
and Central government to check how
swiftly the forces react in the instance of
a terror strike, with the inﬁltrators being
police personnel themselves.
According to Additional Director
General of Police for Coastal Security
Group, C Sylendra Babu, ‘The inﬁltrators in the city limits were captured
by the city police itself. For example,
there was a group at Kasimedu trying
to enter the harbour when the police
caught them. Another group was
caught at Anna Square. It is assumed
that they were to target the Secretariat. The strength and capabilities of
the force in comparison with the previous years’ drill will be analysed at the
BEACH OF TRUST
What is it?
Operation Hamla will be carried
out with all authenticity, with the
local police and security forces
unaware of the mode and place
of inﬁltration. Operation Hamla
which was introduced after the
Mumbai terror attacks in 2008,
takes place twice a year, with the
ﬁrst drill in Tamilnadu in 2010.
Rs 55 lakh seized
During vehicular checks in the
city for Operation Hamla, cash
amounting to Rs 55 lakh was
seized by the police from a car in
Saidapet. Investigations are on.
As part of Operation Hamla, police personnel maintaining vigil at Marina. (Inset) Vehicle check being conducted
near Kannagi statue.
Photo: A R JAYAKUMAR
end of the operation’. Delving further,
he said, ‘On an average day, 30,000
ﬁshermen across 13 coastal districts
go into the sea. They tip off the Coast
Guard and Customs department in
case of suspicious activity on the sea’.
It has also been reported that at Na-
gapattinam, inﬁltrators were caught
ten kilometers off the shore.
Prior to the operation, the Intelligence Wing and the CISF (Central
Industrial Security Force) have taken
guard at vital installations.
At Tharuvaikulam in Tuticorin, a
group which was heading towards an
industrial establishment was caught by
police forces. Police said, the department has been on a high alert from
Tuesday night, with places like malls,
schools, temples, churches and other
important places under scrutiny.
As far as Chennai is concerned, the
city has been heavily guarded and random vehicular checks are underway.
The 48-hour operation will have
members of various forces such as
Coastal Guard, Armed forces, Tamilnadu Special Police and Tamilnadu
Police participating.
Over 10 lakh students
‘Men in Blue’ face
class 10 exams
another ‘green’ challenge to take
q Flying squads to maintain strict vigil
q Helpline for students, parents
Melbourne, Mar 18 (PTI):
Having decimated six oppositions
without much trouble, India’s real
title defence starts with a tricky
quarter-ﬁnal clash against a conﬁdent Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket
World Cup, here tomorrow.
India with their power-packed
performance throughout the past
one month have emerged as worthy
contenders for retaining the Cup
alongside former champions Australia and co-hosts New Zealand.
However the format of the tournament is such that the real test
starts from the knock-out stages,
which means that effectively three
matches can ensure the Cup as
qualiﬁcation for the last eight was
a foregone conclusion.
However to India’s credit, the
Road to
quarterfinals
INDIA (Won 6, Lost 0, Tie 0)
l
l
l
l
l
l
Beat Pakistan by 76 runs
Beat South Africa by 130 runs
Beat United Arab Emirates by 9 wkts
Beat West Indies by 4 wickets
Beat Ireland by 8 wickets
Beat Zimbabwe by 6 wickets
BANGLADESH
(Won 3, Lost 2, Tie 1)
l Beat Afghanistan by 105 runs
l vs Australia - Match abandoned
l Lost to Sri Lanka by 92 runs
l Beat Scotland by 6 wickets
l Beat England by 15 runs
l Lost to New Zealand by 3 wickets
Head to head
India:
Bangladesh:
24 wins;
3
; two no-results.
India have played Bangladesh ﬁve
times since previous World Cup.
Out of those 5 ODIs, India won three
and Bangladesh won one. One
game was abandoned due to rain.
initial momentum that they seized
after crushing Pakistan in the ﬁrst
game stayed with them throughout
the league phase.
South Africa were blown away,
UAE were no match, West Indies at
Did you know
This is the ﬁrst ever meeting
between India and Bangladesh
in Australia
best gave a scare, Ireland got pummeled and Zimbabwe never had the
bowling to shake India up.
So convincing has been India’s per-
formance in the six matches so far
that Bangladesh, at least on paper,
do not even have the slightest of
chance at the MCG.
But then ‘Cricket is a game of
Glorious Uncertainties’. The tiny
nation has shown the gumption to
ﬁght it out having shown England
the door and gave the ‘Black Caps’
a run for their money. Call it irony
but Bangladesh unwittingly made
a contribution towards ICC trying
out this current format in World
Cup after they shocked India in the
2007 edition in a round robin match
at Port of Spain.
With only skipper Mahendra Singh
Dhoni being the surviving member
of that 2007 team that was trampled
under relentless pressure, the current team does not have anyone,
who has scars of that defeat. So
Mashrafe Mortaza and his boys can
prove to be the proverbial ‘banana peel’ on which Dhoni and
his boys can slip.
As the tournament reaches
its business end, the margin
for error is now nil and that is
what will demand double the
intensity from Dhoni’s side with
the Cup now ﬁrmly in sight.
Qualitatively, Bangladesh are no
match for India, who are certainly
overwhelming favourites going into
the match.
Player by player, India are quite a
few notches above their opposition.
Bangladesh will be hoping dearly that
their formidable opposition have a bad
day in ofﬁce which they can cash in.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
As many as 10,72,691 students
will appear for Tenth Board exams
in Tamilnadu and Puducherry from
tomorrow. Starting Thursday, it will
go on till 10 April.
Students from 11,827 schools in
Tamilnadu and Puducherry (5,40,505
boys and 5,32,186 girls), would sit
for the exam in 3,298 centres. Also,
50,429 students are appearing as
private candidates.
Compared to last year, this year,
33,000 more school students are
taking the exams. Also, 241 prisoners
will take the exams, which includes 111 from Puzan Central jail, 97 from
Coimbatore Central jail and 33 from
Palayamkottai Central jail.
The Directorate of Government
Examinations has provided special
arrangements for differently-abled
students. As many as 5,200 school
heads will be involved in different
capacities such as chief examiner,
department officers, flying squad
members and invigilators.
Severe action will be initiated against
students indulging in malpractices. In
Severe action will be
initiated against students
indulging in copying.
In case of malpractices
involving an examination
centre, action will
be initiated against
the head
case students are caught copying,
they will be barred from taking the
examination for the next two years.
Students caught for misconduct could
be barred permanently from taking
the examination or police action could
be initiated. In case of malpractices
involving an examination centre,
disciplinary action would be initiated
against the head of the centre. In
case of a private school, the school’s
recognition would be cancelled and
arrangements would be made for
students to take the examination at
another centre.
In order to assist the students with
exam fear and to provide them right
Proteas on ﬁre,
restricts Lanka to 133
Sydney, Mar 18 (PTI):
South African spinners Imran Tahir
and hat-trick man JeanPaul Duminy shared seven
wickets between them to ﬂatten
out Sri Lanka for a paltry
133 in the ﬁrst quarter-ﬁnal
of the cricket World Cup,
here today.
Leg-spinner (4-26) Tahir
looked like a man possessed
while Duminy (3-29) bagged the
second hat-trick of this edition -- after
England’s Steven Finn -- as South
Africa sent the Lankans packing in
37.2 overs.
Electing to bat at the SCG, Sri lanka
lost the plot from the very start after
the Proteas pace attack dismissed
the openers in double quick time
to leave the islanders reeling at 4
for two.
Kyle Abbott got Kusal Perera (3)
caught behind and then Dale Steyn
sent the in-form Tilakaratne Dilshan
packing for a nought. But spin was
introduced into the attack in the 14th
over with Duminy getting the ball
ahead of Tahir and the two wrecked
havoc in the Lankan camp.
It was Tahir who started the rot with
a caught and bowled effort to send
Lahiru Thirimanne (41) back in the
pavilion after a hard-working knock.
Thirimanne shared a 65-run third
wicket stand with the retiring Kumar
Sangakkara (45) to bring some stability to the Lankan innings but the
Proteas spinners were relentless on
a day that belonged to them.
counselling, the State Government
has set up a facility through 104 call
centre.
The call centre will provide advise
for not only students but also parents
on food habits during exam days,
health tips etc.
Students or parents can contact
the 104 helpline number 24/7. There
is a psychiatrist and two counsellors
present at the call centre to provide
counselling.
Parents have also been asked to
take good care of the students by
giving them healthy food and ensure
that they reach the centre on time
on all days.
Farmer mauled
to death
by tiger
Udhagamandalam, Mar 18 (PTI):
A farmer was mauled to death by a
tiger at Nilakkottai, about 80 km from
here, a forest department ofﬁcial said.
The 50-year-old farmer was returning home from a shop last night when
the tiger attacked him. Hearing his
screams, villagers rushed to the spot
and found him lying dead in a pool
of blood.
On information, forest department
ofﬁcials and police rushed to the spot
and sent the body to the government
hospital at Gudalur for post-mortem.
This tiger had also killed two cattle
last week in the area, the ofﬁcial said.
Adequate number of police personnel have been deployed in the area,
as a fatal attack on a woman by a tiger
last month at nearby Bidarikadu had
triggered violence, the ofﬁcial added.
2 WEDNESDAY
18 MARCH 2015
City
Centre
CHENNAI
Caught in a jam
Under the sun, literally
Commuters want information desk at Perambur station
Mugalivakkam Main Road has no bus shelters
P
erambur Railway station is
an important transit point in
this neighbourhood. Thousands of
commuters make use of this facility
on a daily basis to travel to various
spots in the city.
Last year, the Southern Railway
along with Government Railway Police (GRP) introduced a help desk
at platform one. This was installed
at the main entrance of the station.
The facility gave details of train
timings, incoming and outgoing
trains and platforms where the
trains would stop. The help desk
also had a few policemen and railway staff manning the place.
Its presence gave joy to many, as
such a facility was available only at
big stations like Chennai Central
and Egmore railway stations. At
small and medium-sized stations,
commuters have to rely on train
timing boards or have to rush to
the station master’s cabin room for
information.
Many say this was the ﬁrst of its
kind in a suburban railway station.
However, after a few months of its
operation, the desk was removed.
Now, passengers have to run to the
The lack of a help desk at
Perambur Railway station
forces commuters to rush to
the station master’s cabin
room for information
station master’s cabin for enquiries.
they have to board.
‘The presence of a help desk was
‘The help desk was not only useof immense help to those who use
ful, it also had a few policemen who
the train service but after a few
used to help commutmonths of its opening,
ers move around with
it was withdrawn,
ease keeping petty
putting us in proboffenders at bay.
R
U
B
lem,’ say commutNow many request
ERAM
P
ers.
that it be set-up again
‘We want the ofkeeping in view safety of women,’
ficials to set up this
again.
says Jayamala, a resident of the
The absence of it results in
area.
confusion and wastage of time,’
The GRPF at this railway station,
laments Surendar, a resident of
informed that the matter has been
Perambur High Road.
represented to them and the same
Surendar is not alone, many say
is being taken for consideration.
the absence of this has cost them
- NT Bureau
dearly as they tend to miss the train
Commuters on Mugalivakkam Main Road are irked due to the lack of bus shelters.
SAFETY FIRST
O
Police have put up boards in the neighbourhood to keep residents informed on emergency numbers and
other rules to be followed.
Photo: K VIJAY ANAND
wing to the lack of bus shelters
on Mugalivakkam Main Road
near the Arasamaram junction, commuters are forced to stand on the
road making their travelling experience a horrible one.
Given the weather that the city is
going through, scores of commuters
are forced to sweat it out while waiting
for buses at different places owing
to the lack of bus shelters. This is a
common sight on the main roads and
colony roads as well.
Sekar who commutes via the Mugalivakkam Main Road says the heat
is slowly increasing by the day.
Elsewhere there are air-conditioned
bus stops which are being constructed but here we are forced to stand
without a shelter.
‘It is difﬁcult for passengers to wait
for buses in the scorching heat.
I hope the authorities concerned
take prompt action to construct shel-
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pounds
their problems.
‘Late afternoons when the
s u n is right above your head and
bus service is comparatively less, we
have to wait for a longer time. Atleast
a make shift bus shelter would do at
this point,’ adds Sekar.
- NT Bureau
VIJAY TV
08:00PM
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09:00PM
Priyamanaval
04:30PM
Cricket Extra : Post Show
08:30PM
Akka
09:30PM
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06:00PM
En Kanavan En Thozhan
09:00PM
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10:00PM
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06:30PM
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10:00PM
Kavidhaiyae Theriyuma
10:30PM
Azhagi
07:00PM
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English News
11:00PM
Movie
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10:45PM
Tamil News
11:00PM
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07:30PM
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2
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8
5
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1
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9
8
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6
7
1
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8
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1
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9
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7
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07:00PM
Cricket Legends
07:30PM
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07:30PM
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Karuthamma
08:30PM
Alaipayuthey
ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final
1: South Africa vs. Sri
Lanka
09:00PM
En Iniya Thozhiye
08:30PM
Cricket Legends
09:30PM
Gouravam
09:00PM
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Koppium-Crime Time
10:30PM
Manathil Uruthi Vendum
Match Point : Quarter
Final 1: South Africa vs.
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07:00PM
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The object is
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ANSWER TO
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RAJATHANDHIRAM
Given the
weather
that the
city is going
through,
scores of
commuters
are forced to
sweat it out
while waiting
for buses
ters to mitigate the woes faced by the
commuters,’ adds Sekar.
The majority of the commuters
utilising the services of the bus stop
come from the ofﬁces and colonies
located around it.
The place bustles with people for
most of the day until late evenings
and the absence of any bus shelter
or sitting arrangements
com-
ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final
1: South Africa vs. Sri
Lanka
TEN SPORTS
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2015 H/ls : Dubai Open
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: 3rd Test
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Around Town
CHENNAI
Tenth students face
eleventh hour pressure
q Good & bad of last minute classes
ANURADHA C
Chennai, Mar 18:
Among the usual tales of exams
and stress, the issue of some
schools in the city continuing to
conduct classes, without providing
study holidays, has taken toll
on the students appearing
for Tenth Board exams
which commences tomorrow.
‘My exam starts from
19 March and they are
still conducting classes
for us. We have no time
to revise by ourselves. It is a
kind of stress, as many have to come
from far away places. The travel
makes me tired and I am not able
to prepare efﬁciently in the evening
hours. But it is ﬁnally over as the
exams are here now’, says Balaji, a
10th standard student.
But, Aruna, a teacher from a
reputed-city school, says, ‘Not every
school conducts classes. In our
school, we conducted classes only
for weak students. They need help
and, if left alone, they might struggle
with the subjects. We go an extra
mile to ensure that everybody gets
through the exams with good marks’.
Perhaps, government schools are
not far behind. Along with studies,
these teachers take care of students
diet, so that they can concentrate
well.
A parent from Perambur feels, ‘My
son was having trouble with maths
and science. He needed support
from us and the tutors. So I went
and asked the teachers, if they could
help, and they organised these revision classes. He is feeling conﬁdent
now’.
Another major thing
is the number of holidays between exams,
reveal parents community. ‘Preparation
leave of ﬁve days for
Tamil Second Paper is
unnecessary, where the
children get lazy and lose
focus. I wish at least next time, the
administration takes these factors into
account’, says an anxious parent of a
10th standard student.
Puja, a psychologist from Virugambakkam, says, ‘A lot of factors
contribute to increase the stress
level - the pressure to do the ‘best’
and score high marks, outdoing their
peers, anxiety to match unrealistic
or high expectations of their parents.
All these can easily affect their focus
during exams. There are also a lot of
distractions for students these days,
like social media, gaming etc that
interfere with their ability to focus
and concentrate. So sometimes having extra classes may reduce their
distractions and help them focus on
their studies. It is good or bad, which
solely depends upon the nature and
mind set of children.’
WEDNESDAY
18 MARCH 2015
PLUS TWO PAPER
VALUATION BEGINS
q CCTV cameras ﬁxed to monitor the process
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
Valuation of answer sheets of Tamil
and English papers of ongoing Plus
Two exams have commenced in
Tamilnadu and Puducherry.
The Directorate of Government
Examinations has taken up adequate safety measures to prevent
malpractices. Also, CCTV cameras
have been ﬁxed at 73 centres where
the paper corrections are going on.
A police team led by an inspector is
posted at each centre and two CCTV
cameras have ﬁxed.
About the valuation process, ofﬁcials said the Tamil and English
paper answer sheets kept in bundles
were opened only by authorised
examiners. ‘They were given question papers and key answers. After
the completion of Tamil and English
this week, other papers will arrive as
per schedule and the process will
function till second week of April,’
they said.
Taking into consideration of the
secrecy of the answersheets, the
examiners have been asked to be
more careful and strict action would
be taken if any found in malpractices, ofﬁcials said.
As many as 8,43,064 students are
appearing for Plus Two board exams in Tamilnadu and Puducherry
which commenced on 5 March and
will go on till 31 March.
To prevent malpractices, separate
top sheet has been provided. It includes photo of the student appearing for the exam, bar code, serial
number and secret number. Also,
the number of pages in answersheet has been reduced this time.
Students from 6,256 schools
in Tamilnadu and Puducherry
(3,90,753 boys and 4,52,311 girls),
are taking the exam in 2,377 centres.
A total of 24,653 boys and 28,750
girls from 412 schools in Chennai
writing the exam in 144 centres.
Seventy seven prisoners are
taking exams in Puzhal central
jail. There are 42,963 private candidates appearing for the exams
this year.
Over 4,000 school heads are in-
‘Taking into consideration of the secrecy
of the answersheets,
the examiners have
been asked to be
more careful and
strict action would be
taken if any found in
malpractices’
volved in different capacities such
as chief examiner, department ofﬁcers, ﬂying squad members and
invigilators.
Severe action will be initiated
against students indulging in malpractices.
In order to assist the students with
exam fear and to provide them right
counselling, the State Government
has set up a facility through 104 call
centre. The call centre will provide
advise for not only students but
also parents on food habits during
exam days, health tips etc.
Students or parents can contact
the 104 helpline number 24/7.
There is a psychiatrist and two
counsellors present in the call centre to provide counselling.
‘Students should involve
in development activities’
q SSN College of Engineering holds Graduation Day
Special trains
to Tirunelveli
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
Southern Railway has introduced
special trains to clear extra rush
during summer.
The Tirunelveli-Chennai Egmore
super fast special train (No.06028)
via. Dindigul, Karur and Namakkal
will leave Tirunelveli at 5 am on 1
April and arrive at Chennai Egmore
at 7 pm the same day.
The Tirunelveli-Chennai Egmore
super fast special train (06029) via
Dindigul, Karur and Namakkal will
leave Tirunelveli at 5 am on 2 Arpil
and arrive at Chennai Egmore at 7
pm the same day. The TirunelveliChennai Egmore superfast special
train (06030) via will leave Tirunelveli
at 6 pm on 4 April and arrive at Chennai Egmore at 6.15 am the next day.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
Students should not get satisﬁed
by higher pay packet or position.
Beyond that they should look into
engaging themselves in development activities - be it in low cost
energy devices or affordable housing, said Indira Gandhi Centre for
Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, director P R Vasudeva Rao.
Participating at the 15th graduation day celebrations of SSN College of Engineering at its campus
at Kalavakkam recently, he said
‘There is no dearth of challenging
problems in our country and engineering students should have the
ability to innovate and readiness to
exploit their talents for their country
that matters.’
Mentioning Einstien’s quote ‘Concern for man and his fate must
always form the chief interest of all
technical endevours,’ he said ‘Any
IGCAR director P R Vasudeva Rao giving away a degree certiﬁcate
to student S Sahana during the 15th graduation day celebrations of
SSN College of Engineering at Kalavakkam near Chennai recently. The
college principal S Salivahanan, chairman R Srinivasan and president
Kala Vijayakumar are present.
effort that provides societal beneﬁt
gives a unique satisfaction besides
being the best way of repaying our
debt to our country.’
In her address, the college presi-
dent Kala Vijayakumar said that it
was very satisfying to see the students placed in various meritorious
positions across a wide spectrum
of engineering, manufacturing, and
IT industries. She added that the
graduates have much to look forward to as they have acquired good
grounding in academics and holistic
development from the exposure to
various extra-curricular activities
and sports from the institution. They
have a lot to be proud of as they
step out of the college as worldclass
socially responsible citizens of tomorrow’s India, she said.
In the year 2013-2014, 702 engineering UGs, 186 PGs, 62 MCA and
99 MBA (a total of 1049) students
passed out. The graduated batch
has 140 university rank holders.
Vasudeva Rao gave away certiﬁcates to students and the college
management honoured the rank
holders with Chairman’s Gold and
Silver Medals and Certiﬁcates.
The college chairman R Srinivasan, principal S Salivahanan and
School of Management director B
Srinivasan were present.
3
BSNL launches
special scheme
for customers
Chennai, Mar 18 (PTI):
State-run BSNL has come out with
two special offers for customers
in Tamilnadu for 3G data card and
special recharge for mobile pre-paid
subscribers.
Customers with BSNL Broad band
connection and ﬁxed monthly charges of more than Rs 600 can avail
3G data card for Rs 800 plus taxes,
BSNL said in a statement.
To avail the offer along with 500Mb
free data, customers have to purchase new SIM and data plan for Rs
94 at BSNL customer service centres.
Under the special calling facility
scheme, prepaid customers can purchase Rs 88 special voucher which
allows to make calls across any network and location at a ﬂat 50 paise
per minute for a period of 90 days.
The scheme is valid till 45 days
for a special recharge of Rs 51, the
release said.
TN farm fresh veggie
outlets clock
Rs 21.73 cr sales
Chennai, Mar 18 (PTI):
The cooperatives-run farm fresh
vegetable outlets in Tamilnadu,
launched by the State government
in June 2013 as part of measures to
cushion people from rising inﬂation,
have recorded a sale of Rs 21.73
crore, selling 75,74,282 kgs of vegetables in the past 18 months.
‘Till March 15, 2015 the farm fresh
outlets have sold 74,74,282 kilos
of vegetables recording a sale of
Rs 21.73 crore since these were
launched,’ a government statement
said yesterday. Earlier in the day,
Cooperative Minister Sellur K Raju
made an inspection of a farm fresh
outlet and interacted with customers.
Farm fresh veggie outlets were
launched in June 2013 by the then
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as part
of measures to tame inﬂation and
control prices of vegetables.
The initiative was also intended
to link customers and farmers by
opening ‘farm fresh outlets’ through
cooperatives in urban regions.
Chennai has 42 outlets, Coimbatore
10, Madurai four, Tuticorin and Thiruvannamalai one each. Also, Chennai
has two mobile outlets.
Cooperatives procure vegetables
directly from farmers and procured
onions from Maharashtra.
Distance
education
exam results
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
The results of all exams in professional courses (MBA M.Sc (IT), MCA)
conducted by the Institute of Distance
Education, University of Madras in
December 2014 will be published
today.
They will be available from 8 pm
onwards at http:www.ideunom.ac.in
and http:www.unom.ac.in.
Jat, set, go
q What city lawyers feel about SC verdict?
‘Namma Toilet’ facility will soon be opened near Madipakkam bus
Terminus, which is set to provide hygienic sanitation facilities to
thousands of commuters.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
After Tuesday’s ruling by the Supreme Court scrapping the status
of ‘Other Backward Class’ to Jat
community. News Today caught
up with few city-based lawyers on
their perspective on reservation and
possible implications of the verdict
in Tamilnadu.
For, caste plays a crucial role in
the State’s politics, as communities
such as Vanniyars and Thevars
wield considerable political clout.
Tamilnadu Bar Council chairman D
Selvam says, ‘Our country is based
on reservation system. Sometimes
afﬂuent people receive all the special treatment given by the government. Therefore, we should look out
for people who are really eligible for
the same’.
Selvam’s views are echoed by
advocate Murali Babu, ‘It’s time for
India to make reservation policy
based on economical status of a
family and not caste. While reservations must be based on caste, as it
the only way the downtrodden and
untouchable section of the society
can come up and be visible. However, there are ﬁnancially well-off
people from the same community
who also receive these advantages.
Government must bring about methods to verify, monitor and screen
candidates to ensure the deservability factor’.
He adds, ‘It is good that the Supreme Court overruled the case, if
the case was in favour of Jat community then various other com-
munties would have wanted to be
included in the OBC list.’
‘The decision against Jat community by the Supreme Court is
absolutely right. There are already
many communities involved in
OBC category. Social and educational backgrounds should be
determined for reservation’, says
a city-based lawyer Balu Kaliyaperumal.
Advocates felt that it is too early
to predict the verdict’s implications
in Tamilnadu.
Apollo marches ahead in heart, lung transplants
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
In an attempt to increase awareness on improving timing of referral in
patients with end-stage lung disease,
doctors at Apollo Hospitals here showcased success rates in the increasing
number of combined heart and lung
transplant procedures performed in
the city.
Senior consultants, cardiothoracic
and transplant surgeons Dr Paul
Ramesh Thangaraj, Dr Sunder T and
Dr Madhan Kumar spoke on how
comprehensive interdisciplinary endstage lung disease management has
ensured good success rate at Apollo
Hospitals.
Paul Ramesh said, ‘The heart and
lungs are intricately entwined organ
systems. End-stage lung disease
can cause failure of the heart and
end- stage heart disease can cause
failure of the lungs. Combined heart
and lung transplants are an option
for selected patients. A lung alone
can be transplanted in those patients
where the heart is not irreversible
damaged by lung disease. This calls
for increased awareness and early
referral.’
‘On an average, 84 per cent of donor
kidneys are usable, so are 70 per cent
of livers and 28 per cent of hearts. But
only 19 per cent of lungs can be taken,
partly because they are particularly
prone to injury,’ said Paul Ramesh said.
He said Apollo Hospitals had per-
formed heart and lung transplants on
six patients in the last 18 months. The
unit at Apollo Hospitals has done the
most number of combined heart and
double lung transplants in India. The
unit has also successfully performed
this procedure on a 67-year-old (this
is second oldest patient in the world
to receive this operation - the oldest
was 68-year-old).
Patients Hanifa, Asokan, Devanayaki and Aruna who successfully underwent transplants were
also present to address and break
common myths associated with
transplants.
‘Follow-up is crucial in these cases.
The hospital has a dedicated heart
and lung transplant intensive care
Apollo Hospitals has
done the most number
of combined heart and
double lung transplants
in India
unit for these procedures,’ he said.
Preetha Reddy, executive vicechairperson, Apollo Hospitals, said
credit for all the successes goes
ﬁrst to donors and their families.
Chairman Prathap C Reddy said
though the country is doing very well
in organ donation, more donations
should be encouraged. ‘A system
could be set up where everyone
automatically donates unless they
speciﬁcally opt out of the programme,’
he said.
Apollo Hospitals chairman Dr Prathap C Reddy, senior consultants,
cardiothoracic and transplant surgeons Dr Paul Ramesh Thangaraj, Dr
Sunder T and Dr Madhan Kumar with the heart double lung recipients
in Chennai yesterday.
Blend
4 WEDNESDAY
18 MARCH 2015
WHAT
WH
AT NEWS
NEW
NEW
EWS
S TODAY
TODA
TO
DAY
DA
Y PRINTS
PRIN
PR
INTS
IN
TS IS
IS NEWS
NEWS THAT
TTHA
HAT
HA
T COUNTS
COUN
CO
UNTS
UN
TS
CHENNAI
AGONY & FRUSTRATION
Let the games begin
A
fter the league phase that produced a glut of runs and apparently
set the tone for the tougher battles ahead, India and New Zealand
have stayed unbeaten and are the teams to beat. It is make-or-break
time and performances in the past hardly matter as the teams battle for
the ultimate prize in cricket.
For the Indian fans, so passionate about the game, there is a lot riding on the World Cup and there can be nothing better than defending
the title they won on a momentous night in Mumbai four years ago.
Cricket is more than a sport in the country and the attention the players
garner is unimaginable. Even as the cricketers conquer one opponent
after the other Down Under, there have been achievements by Indian
sportspersons in other disciplines. Promising shuttler Kidambi Srikanth
has been rising the ranks, slowly but surely and opened his Swiss account by winning the (Swiss Open) title a few days ago while the Indian
football team has qualiﬁed for round two of the World Cup qualiﬁers!
However, their feats may not have found much mention with the cricket
extravaganza occupying taking a lot of air time and space in the media.
On the positive side, it must be said the Prime Minister has been
sending out congratulatory messages to sportspersons who have been
doing the country proud every now and then. It must be said the Badminton Association also extended help to Srikanth after his exploits in
Switzerland.
Yet, it is cricket and the cricketers who hog the spotlight, most often
than not. The fans are solidly behind M S Dhoni & Co, who have in the
space of month gone from underdogs to favourites in the World Cup.
The fans can’t have enough of it, so to speak. The sport’s showpiece
will be followed by the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), which
will keep spectators across the nation busy for nearly two months.
For now the focus is on the World Cup, which has reached the business
end and one bad day can dash the hopes of an entire country. India will
be favourites to put it across neighbours Bangladesh and advance to a
semiﬁnal clash against the winner of the Australia-Pakistan encounter.
With supporters in Australia turning up in large numbers to support the
team, players must be feeling ‘at home’ though the pressure of playing in India would not be there. Having overcome all the odds and the
tensions of playing in home conditions in 2011, Dhoni’s band of men
would be conﬁdent of beating all-comers to the top prize.
Zillions of followers will be praying for an Indian victory not only
tomorrow but in the matches to come as they expect nothing short of
the country winning a third title.
Pakistanis mourn the death of their relative after a bomb blast in Lahore. In the other picture, Nuns walk in a silent procession protesting the
rape of an elderly nun at a convent in Ranaghat, in Kolkata recently.
Israel polls: Netanyahu
surges ahead
q Manages to get 29 seats q To win a record fourth time
JERUSALEM:
The Israeli elections took a dramatic
turn in the early morning hours on
Wednesday as ofﬁcial tallies from
nearly all precincts indicate that
Netanyahu’s Likud has opened up
a signiﬁcant lead over Zionist Union,
a far cry from the virtual dead heat
that television exit polls had reported
Tuesday evening.
With nearly 95 percent of precincts
reporting before dawn on Wednesday,
the Likud has emerged as the clear,
undisputed victor in the elections.
According to the ofﬁcial up-to-theminute tally, Likud wins 29 seats while
Zionist Union comes in second at
24 seats. The parties that follow are
Joint Arab List (14); Yesh Atid (11);
Kulanu (10); Bayit Yehudi (8); Shas
(7); United Torah Judaism (7); Yisrael
Beytenu (6); and Meretz (4).
Eli Yishai’s far-right Yahad party has
Everyday is a lesson!
‘People’ being the hardest subject :)
Digvijaya Singh @digvijaya_28
Cookery shows lead
to pile on pounds
WASHINGTON:
If you often source your recipes from
TV cookery shows, you are likely to
weigh about 11 pounds more, a new
study suggests.
People who often cook from scratch
and source their recipes from TV are
likely to weigh more than if they watch
cooking shows for entertainment
and do not often cook, researchers said.
‘One reason for this phenomenon may be that often the
recipes portrayed on TV are not
the healthiest and allow you
to feel like it is ok to prepare
and indulge in either less
nutritious food or bigger portions,’ said co-author Brian Wansink,
Professor and Director of the Cornell
University Food and Brand Lab.
The team surveyed 501 women
ages 20-35 to assess their cooking
habits and how they obtained new
recipes. They found that those who
obtained recipe information from
cooking shows and often cooked
from scratch weighed an average
of 11 pounds more than those who
watched food TV but did not often
cook and those who looked for new
recipes in print, online or from inperson sources.
The findings, published in the
journal Appetite, indicate that it is
advantageous for cooks to gather
recipe information from sources
other than television.
‘Because many cooking
shows normalise overconsumption and gratification, it
comes as no surprise that
viewers’ culinary habits are
negatively inﬂuenced,’ said
lead author, Lizzy Pope,
now Assistant Professor and Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at the University of Vermont.
‘This is why it is so important for
cooks who enjoy watching these
shows to recognise these inﬂuences
and learn to modify recipes to be
more healthful or ﬁnd recipes from
other sources,’ Pope added.
VOICE MAIL
Welcome move
Sir
The UN investigators for human rights violations in Syria offering to share
some information from secret lists of alleged war criminals with prosecutors to aid investigations and help bring perpetrators to justice should be
welcomed. We are ready to cooperate with states particularly prosecuting and
judicial authorities where they are investigating crimes and share some information on a conﬁdential basis, said Vitit Muntarbhorn, a member of the Commission
of Inquiry (CoI).
The CoI has been compiling lists of people suspected of committing war
crimes in the brutal Syrian conﬂict for the past over three-and-a-half years.
Sekar, By email
ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO :
The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
or e-mail to : [email protected] / [email protected]
Netanyahu
thus far failed to make the cut, though
it has hovered near the minimum
threshold throughout. These results
are not ﬁnal since 10 percent of precincts still need to report their results.
The ﬁrst exit polls were released
Tuesday at 10 pm as voting closed in
elections for the 20th Knesset, suggesting a surprisingly good showing
for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party versus Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union. While Likud had
trailed by as many as ﬁve mandates in
pre-election polls, Netanyahu’s party
led the Zionist Union in one exit poll
and was tied with Herzog’s party in
the two others.
Channel 2’s poll had the Likud with
28 mandates, Zionist Union with 27
mandates, the Joint Arab List with
13 mandates, Yesh Atid with 11
mandates, Kulanu with 10 mandates,
Bayit Yehudi with 8 mandates, Shas
with 7 mandates, United Torah Judaism with 6 mandates, Meretz with 5
mandates, Yisrael Beytenu with 5
mandates and Yahad failing to pass
the electoral threshold.
Netanyahu, 65, who has been in
power for nine years over three
terms, was pitted against 54-yearold Zionist Union leader Isaac
Herzog, who has promised to repair
ties with the Palestinians and the
international community and also
deal with middle class issues such
as price rise.
Prince Charles & Camilla
arrive on US visit
Parineeti Chopra @ParineetiChopra
Shocked and sorry to hear about the death
of Ravi IAS ofﬁcer Karnataka cadre. Government must investigate his death without fear
or favour.
With nearly 95 per cent of precincts
reporting before dawn on Wednesday,
the Likud has emerged as the clear,
undisputed victor in the elections
Package containing
cyanide received by
White House
WASHINGTON:
The White House has received
poisonous cyanide packed in an envelope carrying the address of a man
who had earlier sent a similar package covered in urine and faeces to
the US President’s ofﬁcial residence,
according to the US Secret Service.
On Monday March 16, an envelope
was received at the White House Mail
Screening Facility. Initial Biological testing was negative; however, on March
17, the chemical testing returned a presumptive positive for cyanide, Secret
Service spokesman Brian Leary said
in a statement yesterday.
The sample was transported to another
facility to conﬁrm the results, a statement
said. The envelope listed a return address for a man who has a record with
the Secret Service dating back to 1995,
which includes sending a package covered in urine and faeces, according to
online publication The Intercept.
That person has sent multiple packages over the years, the most recent
was received on June 12, 2012, which
contained mini alcoholic beverages,
the website said.
Japanese
PM to meet
Obama soon
WASHINGTON:
President Barack Obama and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe will meet at the White House
next month.
The date was not immediately
announced. Susan Rice, Obama’s
national security adviser, had previously announced that Abe is one of
two Asian leaders who will make a
state visit to the US this year.
Rice met with the secretary-general of Japan’s National Security
Secretariat, the White House says
she noted that Obama is looking
forward to hosting Abe in April.
The President visited Abe in Tokyo last April. Obama has placed
a premium on deepening US relations with Asia’s fast-growing and
populous countries.
WASHINGTON:
Prince Charles and wife Camilla
arrived Tuesday in the United States
for a jam-packed four-day visit that
includes a meeting with President
Barack Obama and a stop in Kentucky.
The Prince of Wales sported a
blue suit and the Duchess of Cornwall a beige-gray coat and dress
by British designer Bruce Oldﬁeld
as they exited a plane bearing
the American and British ﬂags at
Andrews Air Force Base, outside
Washington.
Camilla`s hair blowing in the wind,
they were greeted by a US ofﬁcial
before being whisked away for a
reception at the opulent British embassy in the US capital.
Prince Charles and Camilla`s visit
comes three months after his son
Prince William and his wife Kate
made a glittering visit to the United
Measurement of Higgs
boson ﬁnetuned
GENEVA:
Physicists at the world’s largest particle collider have made the most accurate measurement yet of the Higgs
boson, which was found after a nearly
half- century quest, CERN said.
The European Organisation for
Nuclear Research (CERN) said two
labs that were normally in friendly
competition at the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) had joined forces for
the ﬁrst time in making the combined
estimate.
Using different technologies, the
labs Atlas and CMS found the elusive
particle had a mass of 125.09 gigaelectronvolts (GeV), with a margin
of error of 0.24 GeV either side. The
ﬁgure corresponds to a measurement
precision of better than 0.2 per cent,
CERN said in a press release.
‘It is the most precise measurement
of the Higgs boson mass yet and
among the most precise measurements performed at the LHC to date.’
The Higgs is a cornerstone of
the Standard Model of particle
physics, the theory that describes
all known elementary particles and
their interactions.
States. The couple`s schedule
includes a series of meetings to
promote US-British work on issues including climate change,
youth programs and business
responsibility, the embassy said
in a statement.
They are scheduled to tour Washington on Wednesday, including a
visit to the Lincoln Memorial and
a monument for late rights leader
Martin Luther King.
They will then travel to Mount Vernon, home of the ﬁrst US president
George Washington, just outside
the capital.
Prince Charles and Camilla will
also visit the National Archives in
downtown Washington, where the
prince will mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
US Airman tried to join
Islamic State group
NEW YORK:
A US Air Force veteran who was recently ﬁred from his job as an airplane
mechanic plotted to travel to Syria to
join the Islamic State group and was
arrested on terrorism charges, federal
prosecutors said. Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, of New Jersey, was indicted
yesterday on charges of attempting to
provide material support to a terrorist
group and obstruction of justice.
He was in custody and will appear
Wednesday in federal court in New York
City. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The 47-year-old Pugh served in the
Air Force as an avionics instrument
system specialist from 1986 to 1990,
and received training in the installation
and maintenance of aircraft engines
and navigation and weapons systems,
according to federal prosecutors.
1,300-year-old temple restored
BEIJING:
A 1,300-year-old funeral temple of
Emperor Shun, regarded as one of
the ancestors of China, has been
restored after ﬁve years of renovation
work costing USD 6.55 lakhs.
The State Administration of Cultural
Heritage spent a total of 3.74 million yuan (USD 6.55 lakhs) on the
restoration project which started in
2010, Han Shirong, an ofﬁcial with
the cultural relics bureau of Yanhu
District, Yuncheng City said.
According to Chinese folk legend,
the Monarch Shun lived more than
5,000 years ago and created the
Chinese morality system. Covering a
total area of 122,500 square meters,
the funeral temple of Emperor Shun
was built in 738 AD during the Tang
Dynasty in Yuncheng City.
Repairs were carried out during the
Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and today it stands as a major
tourist attraction featuring multiple
historical styles. Around 3,00,000
tourists visit the temple annually, including overseas Chinese who come
to worship their ancestors.
The renovation project mainly focused on replacing the roof tiles, rotten purlins and rafters, and strengthening the walls, according to Han.
Landscaping and roads nearby
were also improved during the restoration, state-run Xinhua news agency
reported.
6 WEDNESDAY
18 MARCH 2015
Sports
CHENNAI
Former Pak stars want
Younis to play in QF
q Call to pick Yasir Shah in place of injured Irfan
Karachi, Mar 18 (PTI):
Pakistan’s cricket commun of former Test players
nity
are in favour of the national
team m
management playing senior
batsman Younis Khan in the World
qua
Cup quarter-ﬁ
nal against Australia
in Adela
Adelaide on Friday.
Pa
The Pakistan
think-tank had sideY
lined Younis
for the last game
against Ireland in order bring in
Haris So
Sohail, even though the senbatsm struck some form with
ior batsman
resilien 37 against South Africa
a resilient
ba
while batting
at number three.
But on Tuesday former players
pleaded for the inclusion of Younis
against A
Australia.
‘I think the pressure Younis will
have on the Australians batting at
numbe three no other batsman in
number
tea can have certainly not
the team
Haris Sohail,’ former Pakistan
capta Rameez Raja told Geo
captain
News channel.
He pointed out that Pa-
‘Ajmal option open if
Pak makes semis’
Karachi, Mar 18 (PTI):
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan
has said that the option of ﬂying out
off-spinner Saeed Ajmal to Australia
for the cricket World Cup was
available if Pakistan reached the
semi-ﬁnals of the tournament.
Khan said that Ajmal could replace the injured pacer Muhammad Irfan, who was ruled out of
the World Cup on Tuesday with
a stress fracture of the pelvic. Pakistan take on co-hosts Australia
at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
‘We are sending no replacement for Irfan for the quarterﬁnals
because we don’t have time as by
the time the replacement reaches
Adelaide it will be too late for him to
take part in the quarter ﬁnal,’ Shaharyar Khan said.
‘But yes if we reach the semiﬁnals
than a replacement will be sent and
it could be Saeed Ajmal,’ he added.
Ajmal is presently working as an
expert on a television channel for the
World Cup and was due to play in
the non-ﬁrst class grade two Patrons
Trophy competition but his regular
employers didn’t give him permission
to play for another side.
The 38-year-old champion
spinner had to sit out of the
World Cup after the ICC
suspended him from bowling
in international cricket last
September because of an
illegal bowling action.
Ajmal finally cleared the
ICC bowling review test but
by that time the World Cup
squad had been ﬁnalised and
he was not part of the ﬁnal-15.
The PCB chief however made it clear
Ajmal was an option but it was upto
the team management to decide on
the replacement. ‘They can ask for
someone else,’ he said.
The name of left-arm pacer Junaid
Khan has been doing the rounds as
a possible replacement for Irfan but
even he has recovered from an injury
and has not played competitive cricket
since January.
kistan would need the experience
of Younis against Australia in the
high-pressure match.
The cricketer-turned-commentator
opined that with Pakistan’s opening
problem resolved due to the form
of Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfraz
Ahmed this was the best time to
play Younis at number three.
Rameez also felt that the Misbahul-Haq-led side can beat Australia
as they had gotten used to
playing in Adelaide and the
co-hosts would feel the pressure of the home crowd.
‘Pakistan has a very high
chance of reaching the semifinals because they have
sustained and performed
under pressure in the group
matches and they should now play
without any pressure against Australia,’ he said.
The former opener also batted for
wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz.
‘Before this World Cup I had
mentioned three game changers
for Pakistan and one of them was
Sarfraz. I don’t think there was
any ego problem on part of Waqar
(Younis) not to play Sarfraz but yes
I think the captain and coach failed
to recognise the ﬁghting qualities
of Sarfraz.
‘Sarfraz is not my relative nor
lives in Lahore but yet I have been
speaking for him because I believe
he is essential for this team. And
that is why I am also pushing for the inclusion of leg
spinner, Yasir Shah I see
no valid reason for not
playing him.’
Former Test captain
Muhammad Yousuf said
he would also like to see
Younis back in the playing
eleven.
‘Younis showed his old form
against South Africa and he should
be given a chance in such a big
match that is the quarterﬁnal,’ Yousuf said.
Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar
said he would also like to see
Younis back in the side.
‘Definitely there is a place for
Younis at one down position as
there is no better player than him
for this position against Australia.
But I think Misbah should not
bat at number four instead Umar
Akmal should be promoted to this
spot,’ Akhtar said on Geo News.
He also advised the team management to play Yasir Shah in
place of the injured Muhammad
Irfan.
‘They should give conﬁdence to
Yasir Shah as he can be a good
choice to play instead of Irfan,’
Akhtar added.
He also felt that Pakistan should
bat ﬁrst in the quarterﬁnal and any
score in excess of 250 would give
Pakistan the better chance of winning the match.
Former Test opener and coach
Mohsin Khan also felt that Younis’s
experience would be invaluable in
the quarterﬁnal.
Shane Watson
C
I
T
Y
S
P
O
R
T
S
Karachi, Mar 18 (PTI):
Pakistan’s captain Misbah-ul-Haq
has said his decision to hang up his
boots from one-day international
cricket after the World Cup is ﬁnal
and will not change
‘I had decided to retire from ODIs
after the World Cup after giving it
much thought and it was the right
time to take the decision,’ he told
<I>PTI<P> in a telephonic interview
from Adelaide.
‘I had decided that regardless of how
I perform in the World Cup and the
results I will go and I have no intentions to change that decision. It is the
right time to retire from ODIs,’ he said.
Misbah, to a question, also stated
candidly that he would prefer to see
the PCB give the captaincy to a
young player for ODIs.
‘We should be looking for a younger
guy as Pakistan need to move on and
give someone responsibility for a long
time,’ he added.
Gayle will be ok to
face NZ: Sammy
Chris Gayle
Wellington, Mar 18:
West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle
has had a scan and a painkilling injection to
alleviate a back injury and should be ready to
take on New Zealand on Saturday, according
to all-rounder Darren Sammy.
Gayle, who missed his side’s ﬁnal pool game
against United Arab Emirates with the injury,
was now almost certain to play in the cricket
World Cup quarter-ﬁ nal at Wellington Regional Stadium.
‘I think yesterday he had a scan. He had
an injection,’ the 31-year-old Sammy
told reporters on Wednesday.
‘Chris is not missing this quarter-ﬁnal
for anybody. He is more pumped up
for this than the rest of the team.
‘It’s just unfortunate his back keeps
hindering his progress but he won’t
miss the quarter-ﬁnal.’
West Indies lurched into the
quarter-ﬁnals and only qualiﬁed
for the knockout stages on the ﬁnal day with a six-wicket
victory over United Arab Emirates in Napier.
Sammy drew a lot of smiles on Wednesday when he
claimed his team were the underdogs, yet it was his
comparison of Brendon McCullum’s side to another
sportsman that drew a few chuckles.
‘It’s a big match, and I remember some guy named
(Buster) Douglas beating Mike Tyson so it’s the case
of that on Saturday,’ he added.
‘It’s the business end so you can win all your pool
matches and come in the knockout there is no guarantee you will win.
‘You turn up on the day and the guys know what is
at stake and we are doing everything in our powers
to beat Mike Tyson.’
Comparing New Zealand to Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion who suffered
a shock loss to Douglas in 1990, will no doubt also
cause a wry smile amongst the management of the
New Zealand cricket team, who are often categorised
as the underdogs in most matches they play.
Watson savours second chance
Melbourne, Mar 18:
Australia all-rounder Shane
Watson is savouring his second chance at the World Cup
after his omission from the
side left him convinced he
had played his last match
at the tournament.
Struggling for runs,
Watson was dropped
before the pool
match against
Afghanistan but
was a surprise
recall for the cohosts` win over
Sri Lanka.
He scored a handy 67
Misbah-ul-Haq
‘No change in
decision to retire’
in the match at the SCG when pushed
down to the middle order after having
previously struggled when batting at
three in the earlier pool games.
‘I wasn’t expecting to play after being
dropped for the Afghanistan game for
the rest of the tournament,’ Watson
told reporters in Adelaide on Tuesday,
where the team will play their quarterﬁnal against Pakistan.
‘(Selector) Rod Marsh at that time
made it very clear what their intentions were.
‘It was unbelievably disappointing.
‘When it really sunk in I’d been
dropped, it really hurt.’
Watson’s place in the Australian
squad has been questioned for a
number of years, with injuries taking
their toll and a modest output of runs.
A clutch of promising all-rounders in
James Faulkner and Mitchell Marsh
have also put pressure on the burly
Queenslander.
But the 33-year-old remains a proven World Cup performer, and boasts
an impressive average of 40.23 in
the 50-over game with the bat and
a handy bowling average of 31.45.
Watson was back at number three
for the match against Scotland but,
with only 130 to chase, the move appeared more for batting practice for
he and captain Michael Clarke, who
was elevated to open the batting.
Watson said he had made some
Hindustan varsity,
MOP triumph
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
Hindustan University men’s team
and MOP Vaishnav women’s team
clinched the titles in the Dr K C G
Verghese Memorial 24th Statelevel inter-collegiate basketball
tournament organised by School
of Physical Education and Sports,
Hindustan University at its Padur
campus.
According to a press note, S
Prasana Venkatesh, international
basketballer was the chief guest
for the valedictory and gave away
the prizes. Ashok Verghese, Director, Hindustan University presided The Hindustan University men’s team, winner of Dr K C G Verghese
over the function, S Ramachan- Memorial 24th State-level inter-collegiate basketball tournament.
nai 26 - 10.
AVM Cricket Academy will condren, Vice-Chancellor and Pon
Ramalingam, Registrar, Hindustan
Men (ﬁnal): Hindustan Univer- duct a summer coaching camp
for boys aged 6 to 16 years from
University, were also present.
sity beat Sathyabhama University
4 April at Avichi HSS, VirugamResults: Women (final): Hin- 76-58.
bakkam. Entries close on 1 April.
dustan University, Chennai lost to
3rd-4th place play-off: MCC
For details, contact G
MOP Vaishnav 34-59.
beat Hindustan College of Arts &
Venkateshwaran at 99419 42139.
Science, Chennai 71-61.
3rd-4th place play-off: Stella
Loyola ‘Whites’ wins
Mary’s beat DG Vaishnav, ChenSummer coaching camp
A brace from Sarath Raj helped
Loyola Whites defeat Jeppiaar
Engineering College 2-1 and
win the L D Rev Fr Murphy Memorial football tournament here
yesterday.
Results: Final: Loyola Whites
2 (Sarath Raj 12, 42) bt Jeppiaar
Enginneering College (Pravitto
65).
TDCA selection trials
Thiruvallur District Cricket Association will conduct selection trials
for various age categories at Gojan
Engineering College, Edapalayam,
Red Hills, from 11 April.
Domiciles of Thiruvallur district
will be eligible for selection trials.
The players should also register
with any of the afﬁliated clubs of
TDCA/TNCA.
For further details contact Dr
Rabindran’s Health Care Center,
212, MTH Road, Ambattur OT.
Phone: 94444 41817, 98404
82220, 94448 65137.
‘mental adjustments’ after being
dismissed softly by spinner Daniel
Vettori in Australia’s narrow loss to
New Zealand.
‘It’s just amazing how quickly
things can turn around,’ he added.
‘I know (being dropped) is going to
hold me in good stead over the next
couple of years hopefully, because
I don`t want to be feeling like that
again.
‘I’m going to be doing everything I
can to make sure I make the most
of this opportunity now.’
Watson said he expected a tough
game against Pakistan, who beat
Australia by four wickets at the 2011
World Cup in Colombo.
Aaron lets it rip
Bangalore, Mar 18 (PTI):
Pace spearhead Varun Aaron
wrecked Karnataka with a six-wicket
haul to help Rest of India bowl out the
Ranji Trophy champions for 244 on day
one of the Irani Cup here yesterday.
Karun Nair (59) and debutant Abhishek Reeddy (54) shepherded
Karnataka’s innings with a 113-run
ﬁfth wicket stand but oce they departed,
Karnataka witnessed a batting collapse
with the hosts losing their last six batsmen for just 24 runs in the ﬁnal session
of the day. Opener Mayank Agarwal
top-scored with a handy 68. In reply,
the Manoj Tiwary-led Rest of India
side, who won a good toss on a green
Chinnaswamy wicket, were 20 for one
at stumps with Jiwanjot Singh (16) and
Paras Dogra (4) at the crease.
Federer blasts Seppi
Indian Wells, Mar 18:
Struggling with her serve and a rash
of errors, Serena Williams overcame
a slow start to beat Sloane Stephens
6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 in the fourth round at
the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday,
extending her winning streak to 14
matches.
Maria Sharapova struggled mightily,
too, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to defending
champion Flavia Pennetta, who won
her ninth straight match after becoming emotional and leaving the court
in the ﬁrst set.
Four-time Indian Wells champion
Roger Federer defeated Andreas
Seppi 6-3, 6-4, avenging his thirdround loss to Seppi at the Australian
Open.
Seppi fought off three match
points on his serve to trail 5-4 in the
third set. He netted a forehand to
give Federer a fourth match point in
the next game, and the Swiss star
closed it out with a forehand winner
in the corner.
Seppi’s win Down Under stopped a
10-match skid against Federer. The
Italian broke Federer to tie it up 3-all
in the second, but Federer broke
back on a forehand winner in the next
game to take a lead he never gave up.
Pennetta went off and cried, say-
Roger Federer
ing she ‘let everything out, screaming, do something.’ ‘For the ﬁrst two
or three games I was OK,’ Pennetta
said. ‘Then it’s coming. Like I never
expect. I never do something like
that. Normally you go away and you
don’t want to stay on the court. But
for me was important to just keep
calm and try to play. In the end I just
play really well.’
Pennetta had 34 unforced errors
and just 15 winners. Sharapova
topped her in both categories with
42 unforced errors and 27 winners
to go with 11 double faults.
‘She got in a really good rhythm,’
said Sharapova, who didn’t notice
Pennetta’s meltdown. ‘Everything I
gave her she was able to hit back
solid with pace.’
Serena committed 52 unforced
errors and had nine double faults
to go with 13 aces and 31 winners
in the up-and-down match played in
90-degree (32 Celsius) heat.
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
q Expansion of party across States
is one of the issues for internal rift
AAP leader Sanjay Singh informed the media that the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) has
decided to expand the party in
other States, an issue over which
senior leader Yogendra Yadav
had earlier come under ﬁre as
he had favoured AAP spreading
its wings in other States.
‘After our spectacular victory
in Delhi and seeing the love of
the people, we have decided
to expand at the national level,’
Sanjay said.
Who were
present?
Five of the PAC’s seven
members met at the residence
of Kejriwal, who returned to the
capital late on Monday after 12
days of naturopathy treatment
in Bengaluru for his nagging
cough and high blood sugar.
Those who took part in the
meeting included Kejriwal, his
deputy Manish Sisodia, Delhi
minister Gopal Rai, Sanjay
Singh and Ashutosh. Ashish
Khetan and Dilip Pandey also
attended. Two PAC members
were not in town.
Nun gangrape:
‘Ensure justice
is done’
Kolkata, Mar 18:
The president of Catholic Bishops’
Conference of India (CBCI) Cardinal
Baselios Cleemis arrived in Ranaghat
on Wednesday to meet the 71-yearold nun, who was gang-raped by
dacoits in West Bengal’s Nadia district, and said that authorities should
ensure that justice is done and made
visible.
‘Such inhuman acts should be
stopped. We request the authorities
to ensure that justice is done and
made visible,’ he said while speaking
to mediapersons.
He said that the Catholic Church’s
commitment will continue. ‘We will not
be stopped by such events and such
violations,’ he said.
The Cardinal further said that he will
meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at 4:45 pm today.
‘We will request Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee to take a fast approach in the matter and ensure that
justice is brought to us at the earliest,’
he said.
Cardinal Baselios Cleemis arrived
in Kolkata today morning from where
he traveled to Ranaghat, where the
elderly nun is undergoing treatment
in a hospital.
‘We are here to verify what had happened. The entire Catholic Church is
behind nun,’ the Cardinal said.
What
happened?
Battling inﬁghting, the AAP
Tuesday decided to take steps
to douse the flames of dissent by reaching out to senior
leaders Yogendra Yadav and
Prashant Bhushan besides
expanding the party in other
States, one of the contentious
issues behind the rift.
Over the past few weeks, AAP
has been embroiled in internal
turmoil with leaders from both
the camps making accusations and levelling allegations
against each other.
Sanjay Singh maintained that
the crisis in the party would
soon end, and party leaders
would reach out to Prashant
Bhushan, who, along with
Yogendra Yadav, was ousted
from the PAC this month.
Kakodkar resigns
as chairman of IIT-B
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI):
Nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar has
resigned as the chairman of the board
of governors of IIT Bombay apparently
because of differences with the HRD
Ministry over selection of some IIT directors. Kakodkar, whose tenure was
supposed to come to an end in May this
year has, however, agreed to continue
till that period after being persuaded by
HRD minister Smriti Irani, who had a
long telephonic conversation with him
last evening, sources in the ministry said.
Woman throws acid at
paramour in Korukkupet
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 17:
In a shocking incident, a woman
poured acid on her paramour at J J
Nagar in Korukkupet last night.
According to police sources, Sorna
Kumari (44), a widow was said to be
having an affair with her brother-in-law
Lakshamanaiyya (48), a daily wage
earner. Lakshamanaiyya lived near
her house with her sister Nagathamma
(40).
Police said, last night, Lakshmanaiyya went to Sorna’s house in an
inebriated condition when her children
told him that she had gone to attend
prayers at a church.
Lakshamanaiyya then went to the
church and reportedly disrupted the
service by calling out her name loudly,
asking her to get home.
An enraged Sorna left the church
and Lechumanya followed her till
house. Following this, Sorna took a
bottle of acid from her bathroom and
splashed it across Lakshamanaiyya’s
face. The incident is also said to have
caused injuries to Vinod Kumar (17),
a passerby.
Neighbours, on hearing the screams,
rushed both the men to Stanley Medical College and Hospital.
RK Nagar Police arrested Sorna
and registered a case in this regard.
VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan and dignitaries during the launch of
two-year career oriented programme for students in association with
Microsoft at university campus, Vellore.
project ideation and abstract. This is to
The Chancellor also said for the
be done before April last week.
purpose of this course, VIT University undertook extensive preparation
The Microsoft Campus Hire team will
then visit the Chennai and Vellore cam- for its students. They were tested
on their skills in C++ and Java and
puses of VIT University for the project
evaluation and ﬁnal intern selection. only those who clear this initial testing were sent for application of the
This is based on the projects submitted
course. ‘As for the Idea Themes,
during the September last week and
Microsoft has agreed to help and
October ﬁrst week. Microsoft will ﬁnally
guide aspiring entrepreneurs of VIT
offer the course to shortlisted students
University. This it has been a vital
for free. The course will begin from
part of the project’, he said.
January, states press release.
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI):
Government is open to extending the ﬁrst half of the ongoing
Budget session by two days if
need be and Parliament can meet
on 23 and 24 March to pass key
reform bills on coal and mines
and minerals.
The ﬁrst half of the session is
otherwise slated to end on 20
March. The Cabinet Committee
on Parliamentary Affairs, which
met here today, decided to hold
two additional sittings on Monday
and Tuesday ‘if required’ to pass
predictability could prove
to be their secret weapon
against Australia having
reached the quarter-ﬁnals
thanks to a four-game win
streak which followed two
dismal opening losses.
‘Pakistan is one team
which can beat any
team and can lose
to any team and it
has been like this for
several years, but everyone knows that on our
day we can do the best,’
said Afridi, who needs ﬁve
more wickets to complete
400 in one-dayers.
That would make him
the only player in all oneday cricket to have scored
8,000 runs and taken 400
wickets.
the two bills.
Government,
ofﬁcial sources said, is hopeful
that the two bills will be passed
by Rajya Sabha. If government
accepts amendments as recommended by the respective Select
Committees which scrutinised the
measures, then the bills will have
to travel back to the Lok Sabha
for approval of the amendments.
The sources said the issue of
proroguing the session did not
come up in the meeting. There
is a view within the govern-
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 18:
Founder of Ampere Vehicles Pvt Ltd
Hemalatha Annamalai was conferred
the Confederation of Indian Industry
Southern Region (CII-SR) Emerging Entrepreneur Award in Chennai
yesterday.
Hailing from Coimbatore, she was
one of the six winners of the award
for this year.
Hemalatha said she hoped this
would encourage more women to
enter the ﬁeld. Her company manufactures e-cycles and e-scooters.
The other winners were: Shyam
Vasudeva Rao and K Chandrasekhar
from Forus Healthcare; Sanjeev from
Mediff Technologies; Beas Dev Ralhan from Next Education India Pvt.
Ltd.; Vinod Nambiar from Position2
Marketing Pvt. ltd; and Sundar Muruganandhan and K Durgasharan from
Versa Drives Pvt Ltd.
Speaking at the function, Apollo
Hospitals chairman Prathap C Reddy
said more entrepreneurs need to help
tackle the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country.
CII-SR chairman Navas Meeran,
Apollo Hospitals chairman Prathap C Reddy giving away the
Confederation of Indian Industry Southern Region (CII-SR) Emerging
Entrepreneur Award to Ampere Vehicles Pvt Ltd founder Hemalatha
Annamalai in Chennai yesterday. CII Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Council co-chairman C K Ranganathan is present.
CII-SR Emerging Entrepreneur
awards 2014 chairman Ramesh
Datla and CII Innovation and Entre-
ment that if the Land, Coal and
Mines and Minerals Ordinances,
passed by the Lok Sabha as
bills, fail to clear the Rajya
Sabha test, then the session
can be prorogued to
enable repromulgation of the
ordinances.
The ordinances will lapse on
5 April -- 42 days from the day
the session began on 23 February -- as per the provisions
if the executive orders are not
passed as bills by Parliament.
After a month-long recess, Par-
liament will meet again on 20
April. The ongoing session is
slated to end on 8 May, as per
the present schedule.
Sources admitted that there
is little hope that the Land Acquisition Bill, passed by the Lok
Sabha, will be cleared by the
Upper House ‘at least’ in the ﬁrst
half of the session.
They said any decision to
prorogue the session when it is
in recess to enable government
repromulgate the ordinance will
be taken at a later date.
Improvement is only
constant for Raina
Melbourne, Mar 18 (PTI):
Conﬁdent after notching
up a century ahead of the
knock-outs, India’s middle-order mainstay Suresh
Raina believes that he has
become ‘more matured’ as
a batsman in the past four
years as he batted in different situations since the
team won the cricket
World Cup in 2011.
Raina has had a good
World Cup so far,
having scored an unbeaten 110 in the last
game against Zimbabwe and a quickﬁre halfcentury against Pakistan
in the opening match of
the mega event.
‘I have improved as a
player (from 2011 onwards) having learnt a lot
from players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj
Singh and Mohammed
Kaif. I have played a lot of
matches with them, coming in at different slots like
No 4, 5 or 6. I know what
sort of batting is needed
for ODIs. So I think I’ve
become more mature after
2011,’ Raina told mediapersons on the eve of India’s quarter-ﬁnal against
The collaboration between the multinational corporate giant Microsoft and
India’s premier private engineering
institute VIT University has come
through due to consistent student
performance and goal-oriented academic results.
‘This course was the outcome of
the VIT-MICROSOFT Campus Connect project. The primary aim for this
collaboration is to provide exposure
to students by experts from 36 different countries. It also aims to impart
learning of the best practices in the
industry currently. Finally, we are preparing more industry-ready students
and this will lead to higher percentage
of recruitment’, the Chancellor said.
He also said that by the end of the
course, qualified students will be
absorbed in this global giant.
This course will now be regular
and permanent, available only at
VIT University. Apart from IT, it will
include submissions by students
from biotechnology and electronic
engineering as well, the release said.
CII honours emerging
entrepreneurs in city
Parli session likely to be extended
Afridi wants happy
end to 19-year journey
Sydney, Mar 18:
Pakistan’s superstar
all-rounder Shahid Afridi
Wednesday vowed to bring
the curtain down on his 19year one-day international
career by scripting a happy
ending with a World Cup
triumph.
The 35-year-old will quit
the 50-overs game after the
World Cup and he wants
his ﬁfth appearance at the
global showpiece to be a
memorable one.
‘I want to do what the team
demands,’ Afridi told AFP,
ahead of Friday’s quarterﬁnal clash against Australia
at the Adelaide Oval.
‘I want to live up to the
expectations from the fans
and I think that will help the
team win. I want a happy
ending and I am conﬁdent
that Pakistan will give its
best against Australia.’
Afridi admits that
Pakistan`s trademark un-
q To offer two-year career intensive oriented programme
NT Bureau
Vellore, Mar 18:
A ﬁrst-of-its-kind, VIT University has
collaborated with Microsoft, which will
provide a two-year career oriented
intensive learning programme for
students.
According to a press release, the
programme will be conducted with
the support of Microsoft architects
and Microsoft Innovation Centre
Team.
VIT University Chancellor G Viswanathan said that of 1,300 applications, only 150 students have been
selected for induction. They are
from third and fourth year, who will
undertake this two-year programme.
It also includes a paid internship of six
months in the fourth semester.
For the programme, VIT students
are required to apply for the screening
test. It is noted that the Microsoft will
conduct the screening test for the ﬁfth
semester projects (all branches) in the
second week of April.
This is followed by submission of
Why is it now?
7
VIT University,
Microsoft join hands
AAP GOES
NATIONAL
NT Bureau
A month after assuming power in
the national capital, the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced
that it has decided to go national.
WEDNESDAY
18 MARCH 2015
Bangladesh at the MCG.
The Indian batting has
ticked all the boxes in the
tournament so far and the
Uttar Pradesh left-hander
is happy that he got going
against Zimbabwe.
‘I think I’m glad it happened against Zimbabwe
and got enough to settle
myself. When the team
needed me the most and
when you deliver it’s the
best feeling. At the same
time, I got lucky. I was batting with MS and he told me
‘you just need to be focused
with what you’re doing the
last few years. You need to
be calm for yourself. Whenever you get the ball, you
need to play your strokes.’
Raina said that he thrives
in pressure situations and
would not mind if the same
need arises against Bangla-
desh. ‘I really love all those
pressure situations, I have
done that in the past, but
that game I got plenty of
overs to chase those target,
so I was very happy to win
that game for my team. So I
think now we have done all
the homework in the batting
department. Whether we’re
chasing, whether we’re
defending, we all need to
go and express ourselves.
I think we’re all looking
forward to that.’
Raina was a part of the
victorious 2011 squad
but got to play only in the
quarters, semis and ﬁnal.
But he is enjoying the
journey in this edition as
he is playing a bigger role
and the team is also doing
well on all fronts.
preneurship Council co-chairman C
K Ranganathan were present during
the ceremony.
Sena slams BJP
over no-trust motion
Mumbai, Mar 18 (PTI):
Shiv Sena, which is sharing power with the BJP in
Maharashtra, today came
down heavily on its ally for
backing the no-conﬁdence
motion against Legislative
Council Chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh and ‘betraying’ the people of the
state.
Citing Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s description of the NCP as the
‘Naturally Corrupt Party
that has looted the people of Maharashtra’, the
Sena said that BJP’s act
of supporting the NCP has
shown that there are no
permanent friends or foes
in politics.
‘There were people, who
had accused us of being
hand in gloves with the
Congress for supporting
the candidature of Pratibha
Patil and Pranab Mukherjee to become the President of India. The hands
of such people are now
looking dirty for joining
hands with a corrupt party.
It is unfortunate that we
have to say this. All this has
only resulted in the betrayal
of people,’ Sena said in its
mouthpiece Saamana.
‘The same Narendra Modi
went to Baramati after the
election and said (NCP
Chief) Sharad Pawar is my
guide. (Shiv Sena MLC)
Ramdas Kadam said in
the Council that the Sena
has been cheated by the
BJP,’ it said.
The differences between
Congress and NCP are
not new, but BJP should
not have meddled into the
affairs of both these parties.
‘While speaking in the
Council, even Shivajirao
Deshmukh said that quarrels keep happening between the NCP and Congress, but the BJP should
not have interfered,’ the
Sena said.
While a total of 45 members voted in favour of
the no-conﬁdence motion
when it was put to vote in
the Council on Monday,
22 voted against it. 27
members of the NCP voted
in support of the no-conﬁdence motion brought in
by the party last week. The
motion was also backed
by 12 members of the
BJP. However, Shiv Sena
abstained from voting.
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, CHENNAI
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Tomorrow’s
match
Shastri’s pep talk
spurred Dhawan
MELBOURNE:
Indian cricket team’s Director Ravi Shastri played
a massive role in getting
Shikhar Dhawan back on
track after a prolonged
lean patch during the tour
of Australia that preceded
the ongoing World Cup,
according to a team ofﬁcial.
It has been learnt that
Shastri had a lengthy session with Dhawan just before the start of the World
Cup, which definitely
helped the ﬁery left-hander, who is presently India’s
leading run-scorer in the
World Cup with 337 runs,
including two centuries and
a half-century.
‘Before the World Cup
started, Ravi (Shastri) had
a lengthy session with
Shikhar (Dhawan) and
gave him a pep talk. Those
of us, who have seen Ravi
address the players from
time to time would swear
by his passionate speeches. It worked wonders for
Dhawan as everyone can
see,’ a senior member of
the Indian team’s support
staff told PTI on Tuesday
on condition of anonymity.
According to the team ofﬁcial, the best aspect about
Shakib keeps
his cool
Left is just right for Starc fan Wasim
MELBOURNE:
The 2007 upset still
quite fresh in their minds,
all that the Bangladeshi
journalists obsessed
over during their interaction with star all-rounder
Shakib Al Hasan was the
percentage of the team’s
chances of an encore in
the cricket World Cup
quarterfinal against India
here.
There were some passionate queries and they
would refuse to accept
anyone who would tell
them that Bangladesh
has less than 40 per
cent chance of winning
against India the MCG
on Thursday.
ADELAIDE:
Wasim Akram can’t wait to see six left-arm seamers
in action when Australia and Pakistan clash Friday for a
World Cup semi-ﬁnal spot, but admits Mitchell Starc is his
favourite exponent. The Adelaide showdown promises a
feast of left-arm pacemen with Australian spearhead
Starc the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup
with 16 victims in ﬁve matches.
Feared for his pace and bounce, Mitchell Johnson
has taken nine wickets while James Faulkner has
three in three games since returning from a side
strain on 4 March. Pakistan’s left-armers are led by
Wahab Riaz (14 wickets) ably assisted by Rahat
Ali (eight) and Mohammad Irfan (seven).
Left-arm fast bowling legend Wasim,
part of the Pakistan team which
won the country’s only World
Cup title in 1992, said he
is anxiously waiting for
the showdown of leftMitchell Starc
ies. ‘It excites me no
end,’ Wasim told AFP.
Shastri’s pep talk was that
it has got nothing to do with
technical nuances.
‘Ravi does not talk on
cricketing matters or about
any technical problems that
the players might be facing.
Ravi made one thing clear to
the players. There is a chief
coach Duncan Fletcher and
three assistant coaches in
Sanjay Bangar, Bharath
Arun and R Sridhar. Any
technical problem will be
addressed by the quartet.
‘For him, it’s about giving time to the players,
understanding what’s going through their mind. In
case of Shikhar, Ravi told
him that he should just play
in the manner that has got
him runs all these days,’
said the ofﬁcial. The team
ofﬁcial also said that chief
coach Duncan Fletcher
and bowling coach Bharath
Arun normally preside over
all the team meetings.
‘The players normally
don’t speak a lot at the
team meetings. It’s normally Duncan or Bharath
Arun, who addresses the
players and also reveal the
homework done by them.
(Mahendra Singh) Dhoni
normally keeps quiet at
‘When I used to play there were very few left-armers, it
was a sort of novelty but imagine three on each side? I will
be the most excited person at Adelaide Oval.’
As many as five left-arm pacemen
have played in the same one-day international, the last being in Sharjah
last December when Pakistan faced New Zealand.
Mitchell McClenaghan and
Corey Anderson bowled
for the Black Caps while
Pakistan had Sohail Tanvir,
Irfan and Riaz in their line-up.
Wasim said left-arm fast bowling
has evolved in the last few years,
with Starc his favourite exponent.
‘To me Starc is the best. He has height
and he swings the ball and that is why
he is so successful,’ said Wasim, of the
25-year-old who took a career best 6 for 28
in the narrow one-wicket loss to New Zealand in
Auckland last month.
I
layaraja recently watched a special screening of the upcoming period flick Rudramadevi. The team behind
the magnum opus starring Rana Daggubati, Anushka
Shetty and Nithya Menon held a special screening of
T
he ﬁrst look of Lawrence Raghavendra’s
Kanchana 2 was out recently. The movie
is an eerie thriller and is directed and written
by Lawrence Raghavendra himself.
Tapasee and Nithya Menon play heroines,
while Kovai Sarala, who acted in Muni 2, is
also part of the cast. The movie has music by
S S Thaman.
The first look stills were out recently.
It has gone viral in internet. Kanchana 2
will be released by Sri Thenandal films
this summer.
— NT Bureau
II
India vs Bangladesh
at Melbourne,
9 a.m (IST)
Won’t mind
facing India
again: Misbah
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s experienced captain Misbah-ul-Haq says his
team wouldn’t mind facing India
in the semiﬁnals if it progresses
beyond the quarterﬁnals of the
cricket World Cup.
In an exclusive interview
to PTI from Adelaide on
Tuesday, Misbah said it will
be another opportunity for
them to try and break the
jinx of not winning a match
against their arch-rival in
World Cup. ‘It will be another chance for us to go
there with a positive frame
of mind. We would take it
like another opportunity for
us to break the shackles as
we have never won against
India in the World Cup,’
Misbah said.
India beat Pakistan in their
opening match of the ongoing mega event at Adelaide.
‘We just have to go in with
a positive frame of mind and
self-belief and do our best,’
Misbah said.
The 40-year-old Misbah,
who has been captain of
Pakistan since late 2010 after the infamous spot-ﬁxing
scandal in England, made it
clear he was conﬁdent his
team could beat Australia in
the quarterﬁnals on Friday.
Ilayaraja watches
Rudramadevi trailer
Lawrence Raghavendra,
Tapasee in Kanchana 2
Get, set, go for
Kanchana 2
team meetings. I have not
seen him speak much at
the team meetings. But
yes, he does address the
team during the huddles.
Normally, it’s Virat (Kohli) or
MS (Dhoni) who address the
team but anyone can express
their view at team huddle.
Meanwhile, the families of
the Indian cricketers have
started arriving in Melbourne. It has been learnt
that pacer Umesh Yadav’s
wife Tanya has already
arrived while Ajinkya Rahane’s better half Radhika
is expected to arrive today.
— PTI
QUARTERFINAL
Srushti Dange’s
special
A
ctress Srushti Dange is fast rising the ladder of fame
in Tamil cinema. She had acted in few ﬁlms including
Megha and Darling. Now cashing in on her popularity,
one more ﬁlm is getting ready for releasing that featuires
her in the lead role.
The movie is titled Oru Nodiyil, being directed by
M Choudhary. Says the director, ‘The movie is about a
village where strangers gets killed. Not even police could
enter the village. There is a reason behind the events.
How it is cracked form the rest’.
Oru Nodiyil has Anandharaj playing a key role. The
movie, produced by K Koteeswarara Rao, has enough
graphic sequences and would be released very soon.
The movie has music by Sai Parvesh and camera by
Mahisarla.
— NT Bureau
Kohli
bowled over by
Anushka’s acting
MELBOURNE:
Star batsman Virat Kohli decided to unwind before the
cricket World Cup quarterﬁnal against Bangladesh by
watching Bollywood’s latest suspense thriller NH 10, which
features his girlfriend Anushka Sharma in the lead role.
‘Just watched #NH10 and i am blown away. What a brilliant ﬁlm and specially an outstanding performance by my
love @AnushkaSharma. SO PROUD:),’ Kohli wrote on his
twitter handle on Tuesday.
Kohli, India’s new Test captain, was in the news recently
for all the wrong reasons as once again he lost his cool
and hurled expletives at a journalist who he thought had
written about his relationship with Anushka.
He apologised to the scribe through another journalist
after verbally abusing him following a training session
ahead of their league match against the West Indies.
The Indian team management tried to play down the
incident, calling it a case of mistaken identity. The BCCI
later warned the ‘player in question to maintain the dignity
of the Indian team’.
Still from Nathigal Nanaivathillai
the trailer for the legendary composer in Chennai.
As soon as the trailer was done with, Ilayaraja was
extremely thrilled at the experience and said that he
was certain that the ﬁlm would go on to become a
roaring success. He even complimented the director
Gunasekar on his vision in having crafted such an
elaborate ﬁlm, with such extensive sets and such a
varied star cast.
It may be recalled that Gunasekar is the man who successfully wrote and directed the original ﬁlm that was
later remade as Ghilli with Vijay in the lead. This ﬁlm is
being produced under the Sri Thenandal Films banner.
— NT Bureau
Still from Oru Nodiyil
Movie for today’s
youngsters
T
oday’s youngsters
want more than just
food; they want love, happiness and security too,
says director Nanjil P C
Anbazhagan.
‘My ﬁlm Nathigal Nanaivathillai stars Pranav and
Monika in the lead roles. It
is about this eternal quest.
The youngsters are unlike
those in previous genera-
tions who were content to
live off ancestral wealth.’
He adds, ‘The hero is an
educated but unemployed
youngster, who is willing
to do any kind of job, as he
believes that dignity exists
in all kinds of labour.’
The movie is scheduled for release later this
month.
— NT Bureau
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