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FRONTLINE
PRINTERS
PRIVATE LTD
3
Mada Veedhis,
Madisar & mandapams
6
Yuvi, Zak
eye comeback
7
VIT students win in
aeroplane contest
WHEEL-MIGHTY
8
Ahimsa,
Alimighty
Complete Printing
Facilities under
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M-7, Thiru-Vi-Ka
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2250 0111, 4202 1111
Chennai’s No 1 English evening daily since 1982
www.newstodaynet.com
Spiritual fervour was all over Mylapore as part of
the annual car festival.
Photo: K VIJAY ANAND
NATIONAL DAILY
VOL. XXXIII NO. 115
FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R
H CHENNAI H WEDNESDAY 1.4.2015 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS THURSDAY 2.4.2015 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82
IPL in Chennai: Ticket
sales likely from Sat
q Informal ban on Lankan players to stay
Biz man
kidnapped at
Arumbakkam
A view of the stands at Chepauk stadium.
Photo: A R JAYAKUMAR
‘We can go ahead and
get down to the task of
ticket sales’.
TNCA is planning to begin
ticket sales from this weekend. ‘The sale of tickets will
most likely commence on
Saturday,’ said an official.
seat around 12,000 spectators, are unauthorised.
So far, 21 Indian Premier
League (IPL) matches
have been held in the stadium since 2011, when the
stands were constructed.
The TNCA, meanwhile,
Of course, the renovated I,
J and K stands will remain
closed during the entirety
of the IPL season.
According to the Chennai
Metropolitan Development
Authority (CMDA) the three
stands, which in total can
is expected to work with the
the relevant State government departments on how to
regularise the construction
of the contentious stands.
As a starting point, the
MCC gym would be demolished and from then
on TNCA officials would
seek to get valid permission to operationalise the
three stands. The Supreme
Court’s verdict explicitly
tells TNCA to get ‘planning
permission from appropriate authorities’ before the
stands could be let open
to the public.
But in the event of such a
permission not forthcoming
from the officials, the TNCA
will have to face the mortification of seeing portions of
violations (in construction)
being practically demolished. ‘We hope the situation won’t go to that level,’
the source said.
Breather to Manmohan
in coal scam case
New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI):
In a relief to former Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh,
the Supreme Court today
stayed the trial court order
summoning him as accused in a case pertaining
to grant of Talabira-II coal
block in Odisha in 2005 to
Aditya Birla group company Hindalco.
The stay, which also applied to Hindalco Chairman
Kumar Mangalam Birla,
former Coal Secretary P
C Parakh and three others,
came after senior counsel
Kapil Sibal questioned the
legality of the summons to
the former Prime Minister
citing lack of sanction as
required under the CrPC
and contended that allocation of a coal block was an
administrative act without
any criminal intent.
We issue notice on all six
petitions. The trial court order
shall remain stayed, a bench
of justices V Gopala Gowda
and C Nagappan said after
hearing arguments by Sibal,
who represented the former
Prime Minister, and other
lawyers in the case.
82-year-old Manmohan
Singh’s daughters, Upinder
Singh and Daman Singh,
were present in the court
during the proceedings.
The bench also stayed the
proceedings before the trial
court and issued notice to the
Centre on a plea challenging
constitutional validity of section 13 (1)(d)(iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The other three summoned as accused are
Hindalco, Shubhendu Amitabh and D Bhattacharya,
its officials. All the six were
summoned by Special CBI
Judge Bharat Parashar to
appear before the court
on April 8. ‘I must confess
that I have not been able to
find out what is the illegal
act done by the petitioner
in the case,’ Sibal said at
the outset of the 35-minute
proceedings.
Sibal said it is not an
illegal act to allot a mine
contending that the administrative acts of the Prime
Minister cannot be faulted
on the ground that he did
not follow the recommendations or procedures
adopted by the screening
committee.
Komban: More twists to the tale
q Actor Suriya comes to Karthi’s rescue
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
The travails surrounding
Karthi starrer Komban that
picked up steam a couple
of days ago have not died
down.
Studio Green, producers
of the movie, announced
releasing it from evening
shows today after the final verdict by the High
Court, on a petition filed
What he
tweeted
Verbal volley
l KOMBAN is about
beautiful relationships.
Don’t understand this
sudden sensitivity two
days before release!
l I thank the film fraternity, media & fans for
whole-hearted support
to Komban. Please understand, respect the
Censor Board’s decision
l W Peter Ramesh Kumar, the counsel for Dr Krishnaswamy, contended that the Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC) had committed contempt of court
by issuing certificate to the movie on Monday when
the court was seized of the issue.
l CBFC counsel K R Laxman said that the certificate
was issued only as per norms. ‘We asked them to cut
a few scenes and mute a few dialogues. They obliged
and the censor certificate was given’.
against Komban by Puthiya
Thamizhagam leader Dr K
Krishnaswamy, expected
late in the afternoon.
Elsewhere, actor Karthi’s
elder brother Suriya took to
twitter to express his support for the Komban crew.
Krishnaswamy had opposed the release of the
movie and grant of censorship certificate to it on
the ground that its story
revolved around animosity
between different caste
groups and therefore it had
Special show
A special screening of the movie for the journalists
took place in Chennai this morning. A few of those who
watched the film said it did not glorify one community or
defame another.
It was a family drama set around a
caste. It is more a commercial cinema
with action, dance and drama, many
said.
Karthi, producer Gnanavelraja and director Muthaiah
were present on the occasion.
the potential to incite violence in southern districts.
Appearing for the film’s
producer Gnanavel Raja,
senior counsel R Viduthalai
said that the petitioner had
made wild allegations even
without watching the movie.
After hearing arguments,
Justices S Tamilvanan
and V S Ravi said that
they shall pronounce their
verdict by afternoon today.
However Gnanavelraja
annnounced releasing the
movie today (a day ahead
of its scheduled release)
after the Censor Board
granted an ‘UA’ certificate
for the movie.
Speaking to News Today
Gnanavelraja, said, ‘The
movie had nothing to do
with caste animosity. We
always respect the laws
of the land. We got censor
certificate. We also arranged a special screening
of the film for a committee headed by two retired
judges of the High Court.
Unfortunately those who
appeared along with the
petitioners in the screening were not interested in
watching the movie and
were involved in delaying
tactics’.
Elsewhere, the other ticklish issue --- the presence
of Lankan cricketers in
Chennai ---- also seems
sorted out. The solution
arrived at is that they won’t
show up here. Like it was
the case in 2013 (The State
government had then written to the Prime minister seeking a ban on Sri
Lankans’ involvement in
the Chennai leg of IPL).
Since similar sentiments
prevail even now, the governing council of the IPL
has intimated to the franchises that the informal
ban on Lankan players in
Chennai stays.
Consequently, Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians),
Angelo Mathews (Delhi
Daredevils), Thisara Perera (Kings XI Punjab) --the three Lankan players
in the fray --- wouldn’t show
up here.
q Thousands witness Mylapore car feseival
V PADMASINI
Chennai, Apr 1:
Gaiety and colour marked the Ther festival of the
Mylapore Kapaleeshwarar temple today as always.
Even by 8 am, despite it being a working day, the South
Mada street was colorful with crowds. Devotees from
the surrounding areas of Mylapore had already begun
to make a beeline to the South Mada street from morning and stationed themselves at convenient shady
places to have a darshan of the deities as they came
in a procession seated on the chariot. Ardent devotees
made their way to the spot where the chariot stood and
offered their prayers along with flowers and coconuts.
A huge crowd of devotees moved in front of the chariot
on its journey. All of them constantly fanned themselves
to keep cool and also squirted water using packets occasionally to keep the road from getting too hot.
‘Attempts were made to pour water from the terrace
of a flat on South Mada street but since an electric
transformer stood right in front of the building it was
given up’, said Usha, one of the devotees.
Ritualistic exhibition of devotion, with no thought to the
dangers it posed to other devotees nearby seemed to be
the order of the day. Whether it was paying obeisance to
Lord Ganesha on the wooden chariot or Kapaleeshwarar
and Karpagambal on the huge car devotees preferred
to offer their prayers in a flamboyant way than quietly
expressing it through their hearts and mind.
Flowers and coconuts were offered in abundance. Several moved a few feet away from the car and lit camphor
on the ground and paid obeisance with folded hands to the
deities. Others who were several feet away from the main
car just could not contain their emotions and wait to give vent
to them when the car reached the place where they stood.
They lit the camphor on the center of the road adjacent to
where they stood and offered their prayers. Seeing a couple
of devotees following this practice, others followed suit. Devotees in a hurry had a glimpse of the deity, shot the spectacle
in their cell cameras and moved on.
Several devout residents offered cups of sweet pongal
and buttermilk as a gesture of hospitality.
2G: DMK MLAs walk
out of TN Assembly
NT Bureau
tested these remarks and
wanted the Speaker to
Chennai, Apr 1:
expunge them from AsDM K M L A s s t a g e d
sembly records.
walkout from the AsTo this, the Chief Minissembly today protesting
ter said he did not menremarks from Chief Mintion anyone’s name and
ister O Panneerselvam
he did not go into the
that cases were filed
issue further since it is
against DMK functionarin the court.
ies in the 2G scam.
Not ready to accept his
Panneerselvam, while
explanation, DMK
replying to the general
U
members led
debate on budget,
AD ASS
N
by M K Stalin
said that allestaged walkgations should
out.
not be made on
Tamilnadu govThe Chief
ernment based
Minister, replyon CAG report. ‘If
ing to a special
there is something
calling attention
against the State governmotion, said enough
ment in the CAG report,
funds have been alloa case can be filed in the
cated to handle water
court. But no such thing
situation during summer
happened so far,’ he said.
and additional amount
would be earmarked if
He also said that cases
need be.
were filed against DMK
functionaries in the 2G
‘The funds asked by the
scam, based on CAG
district administration has
report.
already been sanctioned,’
he said.
DMK legislators proBLY
EM
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
A complaint has been
filed with the police that
a Karnataka based businessman was kidnapped
by unidentified men from
Arumbakkam last night.
According to police sources, Mohamed Rafeek (48),
a fish exporter from Manglore, was at the city with
his driver Sudhish. Police
said, Sudhish informed
police that Rafeek was
whisked away by a group
of unidentified men outside
a lodge in Arumbakkam,
adding that Rafeek sent a
text message to Sudhish
about the same.
STAND AT UNEASE
TAMIL
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
Yesterday’s Supreme
Court verdict to keep the
I, J and K stands sealed
in the M A Chidambaram
stadium during the upcoming IPL season, during
which Chennai is scheduled to host 8 matches,
has come as bitter-sweet
for the TNCA officialdom.
A top source in TNCA
today said ‘we are happy
that the Supreme Court has
allowed the matches to go
ahead without any hitch.
Of course, we are unhappy
that the SC did not find our
arguments acceptable in
opening the stands for the
IPL matches’.
The TNCA is relieved that
since the apex court hasn’t
stopped the matches from
being held here, the cloud
of worry hovering over the
schedule is now gone.
Ther is here
Bengaluru:
Teenage girl
shot dead
Bengaluru, Apr 1:
In a shocking incident, an
18-year-old girl student in a
residential school here was
shot dead on late Tuesday
night by an office attendant
for allegedly spurning his
advances. The incident took
place at Pragathi school
where the accused, Mahesh, allegedly opened fire
at the victim, Gauthami, who
was studying in Class XII.
He allegedly went to her
hostel room at around 11
pm and opened fire at her
when she opened the door.
A friend of the girl has
also been injured in the
incident.
The deceased, who
hailed from Pavagada in
Tumakuru district, was
staying in the hostel. The
police teams are looking
for the accused, Mahesh,
who is currently absconding after the incident.
Karnataka Home Minister
K J George, city Police chief
M N Reddi and other senior
officials rushed to the spot.
2 WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL 2015
City
Bridge the gap
Loco Works overpass cries for maintenance
The road of the overpass that is battered.
bridge as well as the road had not
The Loco Works bridge was conseen any sort of maintenance and
structed over Loco Works Station
hence it is a bad shape. The reflecto ease traffic congestion in the
tors are missing and the surface
area five years ago. This was welhas worn out. This not only gives
comed by residents of Perambur
a shabby appearance but
and neighbouring areas. But over
poses danger to motorists
a period of time, due to
who struggle to negotiated
lack of maintenance,
R
through this road. The isthe stretch is now in a
MBU
PERA
sue is worse during nights
shambles.
as there are not enough lights,’
Many in the locality
says Sridhar, a social activist and
feel that the road and
the
a resident of the area.
bridge should be repaired before
things get out of hand.
This road is a vital link as it connects Anna Nagar, Ayanavaram,
We still remember how nice the
ICF and several areas in North
bridge used to look when it was
Chennai. Therefore it faces a good
built. It had expensive reflectors and
volume of traffic through the day.
lights. But since its inauguration, the
‘
‘
Centre
Inconvenient issue
Since
inauguration, the
bridge as well as
the road had not
seen any sort of
maintenance and
in a bad shape
But it is regretted to note that a such
an important road and the bridge
has been left out by the authorities
concerned. The public are put to
great hardship apart from the fact
that tax payers money is wasted.
Hence it is suggested that speedy
action be initiated and the facility
be made safe,’ says Archana, a
regular here.
Construction of a bridge is not a
easy as it involves a lot of planning, manpower and funds. But after
a fine construction it needs to be
maintained periodically. When large
amounts of money are pumped into
such things it is equally important to
see that it is not wasted. Therefore
we request that action to renovate
the bridge and the road be done
without any further loss of time,’
says Sabarish, another resident.
- NT Bureau
Bio-tiolets on Elliot’s beach unsued
‘
POSTER BOY
Advertisement bills
stuck on Murasoli
Maran flyover in
Perambur paint an
ugly picture.
Photo:
R THIYAGARAJAN
Bio-toilets shifted near Urar Kuppam.
A
fter repeated pleas to the
Corporation officials, the biotoilets on Elliot’s beach were shifted
near Urur Kuppam, but they remain
locked.
Citing rules involving Coastal
Regulation Zone (CRZ), officials
say, ‘We could only shift the toilets,
we have not yet fixed them. There
are procedures to be followed.’
The toilet complex, which was initially set up on Elliot’s beach, was
too open. So residents and visitors,
though welcomed the facility, were
not comfortable with the spot where
it was placed.
‘It was placed near the parapet wall where people
sat. So the bio-toilets
were lying unused
for months. A few
months back, during
the Mayor’s inspection, he
directed the civic offi cials
to
shift the facility,’ sources said.
The toilet complex was built at
a cost of Rs 8.5 lakh. The aim of
installing it is to eliminate open defecation and ensure the surrounding
IN THEATRES
SONYPIX
VALIYAVAN
06:25 PM You Only Live Twice
09:00 PM Welcome to the Jungle
AGS Cinemas, INOX National, Abirami Mega Mall,
11:23 PM Nothing But The Truth
Woodlands Multiplex, Mayajaal Cinema, Sangam
Theatre
The toilet complex was
built at a cost of Rs 8.5
lakh. The aim of installing
it was to eliminate open
defecation and ensure the
surrounding clean
HBO
S
U
D
O
K
U
07:02 PM Mean Girls 2
11:15 PM Sex and the City 2
MOVIES NOW
Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre,
re,
kki
PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Hall, Rakki
07:15 PM Bean
Multiplex, Abirami Theatres,
09:00 PM Johnny English Reborn
11:05 PM Thor: Hammer of the
Gods
KOMBAN
Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre,
PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Abirami
STAR MOVIES
06:43 PM 47 Ronin
09:00 PM Johnny English
Theatres,
RA J TV
04:30 PM Kollywood Gallery
09:30 PM Madippakkam Madhavan
05:00 PM S K Shoppe
05:00 PM New Songs
10:00 PM News Headlines
05:30 PM Vellithira
05:30 PM Makkalin Mudhalvar
10:02 PM Kaliyugam
06:00 PM Raj News
06:00 PM Arokiya Unavu
10:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
06:30 PM Thirai Vaanil
11:00 PM Telebuy
07:00 PM Sindhu Bhairavi
07:30 PM Mann Vasanai
07:00 PM Ramayanam
07:00 PM News
07:30 PM News
07:30 PM Nadhaswaram
VIJ AY TV
08:00 PM Hits
08:00 PM Deiva Magal
03:30 PM Deivam Thandha Veedu
08:30 PM Akka
08:30 PM Vamsam
04:00 PM Aandaal Azhagar
09:00 PM Priyamana Thozhi
09:00 PM Priyamanaval
04:30 PM Super Singer T20
09:30 PM Poomagal
09:30 PM Vani Rani
05:30 PM Uravugal Thodar Kadhai
10:00 PM Kavidhaiyae Theriyuma
10:00 PM Sakthi
06:00 PM En Kanavan En Thozhan
10:30 PM English News
10:30 PM Azhagi
06:30 PM Puthu Kavithai
10:45 PM Tamil News
11:00 PM Movie
07:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal Varai
04:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
07:30 PM Aandaal Azhagar
08:00 PM Deivam Thandha Veedu
03:00 PM Valli
05:00 PM Endrum Super
08:30 PM Saravanan Meenatchi
03:30 PM Movie
05:30 PM Kalai Koil
09:00 PM Mahabharatham
06:00 PM Mundhanai Mudichu
06:00 PM Utchakattam
09:30 PM Super Singer T20
06:30 PM Pasamalar
06:30 PM Idhu Pudhusu
10:30 PM Office
07:00 PM News
3
5
1
4
9
1
6
2
2
5
The object is
to insert the
numbers in
the boxes to
satisfy only
one condition:
each row,
column and
3x3 box must
contain the
digits
1 through 9
exactly once:
Easy nah?
6
8
5
7
1
4
4
3
6
4
2
5
6
7
9
8
1
3
9
3
8
7
1
6
2
5
4
8
3
1
6
4
7
2
5
9
2
8
9
5
3
4
8
1
6
3
7
2
5
9
4
6
1
7
6
5
1
6
7
2
9
7
5
9
4
8
3
1
8
3
2
4
7
1
4
3
9
8
3
4
1
2
6
5
2
7
5
9
8
6
03:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
11:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1:
2015 H/ls : Final: AustraNew Zealand vs. South
lia vs. New Zealand
Africa
11:30 PM Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru
09:00 PM Odi Vilayadu Pappa
SUN TV
9
STAR SPORTS 1
08:30 PM Romapuri Paandiyan
KA LAIGNAR TV
8
2
4
11:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaad
hal Varai
JAYA TV
11:00 PM Thenkinnam
2
5
08:00 PM Bhavani
07:30 PM Mohini
06:30 PM Galatta Comedy
2
8
ANSWER TO
SUDOKU 3033
(31.3.2015)
10:46 PM American Pie 2
TV TODAY
8
3034
09:00 PM World War Z
CSK
The toilet manufacturers will be
responsible for cleaning it once in
three days. Even with all the plans
clear, officials are not ready to fix
the toilets, which has raised a question among the residents, as to why
they are delaying it.
‘The government has spent so
much on it for the benefit for the
people, and yet it lies unused,’ says
a senior citizen, who lives in the
same locality.
- NT Bureau
is clean.
Now it has been weeks since the
toilets have been shifted, but they
remain locked. ‘The
toilets should be put
into use as soon as
possible, else there
R
ADYA
is no point in shifting
them here,’ says a resident of
the area.
The toilets will not be connected
to a sewage network. The facility
has been designed such that it will
treat the water, which can be reused to flush.
IN HOME
Kamala Theatre, Udhayam Theatre, PVR Cinemas,
Multiplex, Sri Ganga Cinema, Raj Theatre, Maharani
CHENNAI
08:00 PM Karuthamma
08:30 PM Alaipayuthey
09:00 PM En Iniya Thozhiye
09:30 PM Gouravam
10:00 PM Koppium-Crime Time
10:30 PM Aaha Ethanai Azhagu
POLIMER TV
05:10 PM
05:35 PM
06:05 PM
06:30 PM
07:00 PM
07:30 PM
Comedy Express
Nenjam Pesuthey
Saami Potta Mudichu
Madhubala
Ullam Kollai Pogudhada
Sakthi Pole Yaarumillae
04:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Final: Australia vs. New Zealand
2015 H/ls : Semi Final 2:
Australia vs. India
TEN
CRICKET
03:00 PM West Indies Tour of South
Africa 2014/15 H/ls
05:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
05:00 PM Australia Tour of South
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final
Africa 2014 H/ls
1: Sri Lanka vs. South
06:00
PM
England
Tour of West
Africa
Indies 2014 H/ls
06:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final 07:00 PM South Africa Tour of Sri
Lanka 2014 H/ls
2: Bangladesh vs. India
08:00 PM Tri-Nation 2014
07:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
(Zim,SA,Aus) H/ls
2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1:
09:00 PM Australia Tour of Pakistan
New Zealand vs. South
2014 (UAE) H/ls
Africa
08:00 PM Late Cut
08:30 PM Cricket Legends
09:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Final: Australia vs. New Zealand
10:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
10:00 PM West Indies Tour of South
Africa 2014/15 H/ls
11:00 PM Bangladesh Tour of West
Indies 2014 H/ls11:00PM
South Africa Tour of Sri
Lanka 2013 H/lsT20ODI:
South Africa vs. Australia
Around Town
CHENNAI
WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL 2015
3
Mada Veedhis, Madisar
& mandapams
q Spirituality, celebrations in air at Mylapore
M
Governor
greets
Hamid Ansari
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
Tamilnadu
Governor K
Rosaiah today greeted
Vice-President
Hamid Ansari
who turned 78
today.
‘I am privileged to extend
my heartiest greetings and best
wishes to you on your birthday’,
Rosaiah said in hisgreetings to
Ansari.
‘Your wealth of experience, pragmatic approach and dynamism
will make India more vibrant and
further strengthen its bonds of
friendship between nations,’ he
said.
‘I wish you a long, happy and
healthy life in your distinguished
service to the nation’, he said.
E
SRINIDHI VASUDEVAN
Chennai, Apr 1:
Mandapam lights, Madisaar
maamis, evening concerts and men
in dhotis are a common sight at North
Mada Streets in Mylapore at the ongoing 10-day Brahmotsavam festival.
The festival attracts lakhs of devotees from Tamilnadu and neighouring states.
Panguni celebrations at Mylapore
Kapaleeswarar temple enlighten
spirituality and serve as a visual
treat. The festival commenced
with the flag hoisting pavazhakaal
vimanam procession. The chariot
procession took place at 7.30 am
today. On 2 April, the much awaited
‘Arupathumoovar Vizha’ will see
Sixty three-year-old Babu has been supplying gas lights for all
idols of 63 Saivite saints taken
processions at Kapaleeswarar temple for close to two decades.
around the streets of Mylapore in
a colourful procession.. Every
val. One glimpse at the glowing
to two decades.The gas lights could
ere
day, until 6 April, there
temp
temple would tell you that
be spotted in the deities procession
P
A
O
L
d
would be Tirumurai and
R
the fabulous work of G
and during Thevaram sessions. Going
Y
Vedic chanting. Emi-B
Babu, the gas light sup- down the memory lane, Babu says,’30
nent musicians like
p
plier from Ponnambala
years ago, I used to make disco lights
Bombay Jayashri, ViV
Vadyar Street.
with coloured gel sheets so that decojay Siva, T M Krishna
rative lights illuminated the place. But
63-year-old Babu can be
will enlighten the devowith generasspotted in his small shop lo- n o w ,
C
tees. There are a lot off
enabled
ca alongside the temple. tor
cated
R
O
RNE
nd
people working behind
Babu has been supplying gas
the glorious look of the festilights fo
for all processions for close
CM seeks AP’s help
to fill Chennai’s thirst
q ‘Release 2 tmcft water from Kandaleru reservior’
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
With water levels in the city’s
reservoirs depleting, Tamilnadu
government on Tuesday sought
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N
Chandrababu Naidu’s intervention
in releasing 2 tmcft from Kandaleru
reservoir to meet the city’s drinking
water needs.
‘As summer is fast approaching and
the levels in the Chennai reservoirs
have depleted, I request you to order
the release of water from Kandaleru
immediately so that at least two tmcft
of water is realised at zero point in
Tamilnadu,’ Chief Minister O Panneerselvam told Naidu in a letter.
During the 43rd Liaison Committee meeting, Andhra Pradesh had
agreed to Tamilnadu’s request for
supply of 3 tmcft during February and
March, but only 1.34 tmcft of water
has been realised at Tamilnadu border up to 21 March, he said.
Since then, there had been no re-
Change in
postal pin code
The pin code of the Ongur, Nallathur, Kiladanur post offices will be
changed from 604307 to 604305,
according to an official release from
postmaster general, Chennai city
region office.
The change will be effective from
April. ‘Public are requested to use
the correct pin code to avoid delay
in delivery of letters,’said an official.
alisation of water at the Tamilnadu
border, the Chief Minister said while
pointing out that as against its stipulated quantity of 4 tmcft to be supplied
to Tamilnadu from January to April,
2015, his state has realised only 1.74
tmcft from January to 21 March.
He requested Naidu to instruct the
officials concerned to ensure immediate release of water from Kandaleru
so that at least 2 tmcft was realised
at the Tamilnadu border in April this
year, Panneerselvam said.
Free meditation
session
tomorrow
Over 83,000
unfilled seats
in polytechnics
O v e r
83,000 seats
in State-run
polytechnic
colleges
remained
unfilled during the last
academic year, Higher Education
Minister P Palaniappan informed
the Assembly on Tuesday.
Replying to a query by DMK
member Pushpa Leela Alban, the
Minister said only 1.19 lakh seats
of the total 2.03 lakh seats in 502
polytechnic colleges in the State
were filled in last academic year.
Alban sought to know whether
the government would set up a
polytechnic college at Anaiyadi in
Kanyakumari district.
lights, my work is not much’.
Babu charges less while making
lights for the temple and copes up
with it by charging extra for marriages and other events. His two
sons work along with him during
the festive season and if needed, he
would hire men. Learning the art of
making gas lamps in his childhood
days, Babu managed to open his
existing shop in Mylapore at the age
of 15. His initial days did not fetch
him enough money. He did all other
odds jobs to take home a good sum.
‘I was starving. On the day of the
wedding, my wife did not have a
saree. The devotees of the temple,
who were my customers too, bought
a saree that was then 36 rupees’,
he added.
Cut to the present, the pandal-s on
all the mada streets have also been
illuminated too well. Despite focus
light, Babu supplies gas lights too.
It is to be noted that Babu has
taught this art of making gas lamps
to nearly 1000 people and they run
shops at different parts of the state.
Babu can be contacted at
8939333850.
Devotees in large numbers participated in the Panguni Uthiram festival
at Vengiswarar Temple,Vadapalani, today.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
The Art of Living Centre will organise a free
meditation session on 2
April at 6 pm in 13A/6A,
Umapathy Street, West
Mambalam.
For registration, contact
98407 89742.
Young Achiever Award
for city psychologist
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
K Kumaran, a counselling psychologist and a resident of Ashok
Nagar received ‘Young Achiever
Award’ at a function organised by
Rotary Club of Chennai Towers at
T Nagar recently.
Additional Director General
of Police (Prisons) J K Tripathy
presented the award in presence of Rotary Club president
M Srikumar, director (Vocational
Service) Satish Reddy and secretary Prithviraj.
Despite being affected with
cerebral palsy, a motar disability which primarily affects the
functioning of limbs to a varied
extent, 24-year-old Kumaran is
K Kumaran
pursuing his doctoral degree
in psychology at Bharathiar
university, Coimbatore and has
also set up a counseling centre
named ‘K point’ .
Kumaran has written autobiography ‘Aanantha Thaandavam’
in Tamil and ‘CP to CP: Cerebal
Palsy to counseling psychologist’ in English, which narrates
his life from the beginning till the
present day. The book spans
across various perspectives of
Kumaran on himself, his family,
teachers, friends, the quest for
learning languages, his passion
for the game of cricket and his
viewpoint of political and social
support which people with disabilities deserve .
Kumaran resides at 37/19,
12th Avenue, Ashok Nagar and
can be reached at 98414 07561.
Consulate General of Kingdom of Belgium, Bart De Groof lighting
the traditional lamp at the inauguration of 20th annual European film
festival in Chennai yesterday. Executive director, Alliance Francaise of
Madras Pierre-Emmanuel Jacob and Director, Goethe Institut, Helmut
Schippert, ICAF officials Sivan Kannan and Thangaraj and actress
Komal Sharma are present.
An European
experience
q 10-day EU Film Festival begins
ANURADHA C
Chennai, Apr 1:
The 20-year-old European film
festival has not just bridged vibrant cultures but also induced
rich film traditions of the respective countries, said Ambassador
of European Union, H E Dr Joao
Cravinho during the inauguration
of European Union Film Festival at
The Alliance Francaise of Madras
here on Tuesday.
The 10-day film festival is organised by Indo-Cine Appreciation
Foundation (ICAF) and Delegation
of European Union, New Delhi in
association with ‘Cinema d’Europe’
To mark its 20th anniversary, the
delegates are keen on screening
the latest films from Europe which
would recreate film buffs.
Film organisations including Federation of Film Societies of India
have partnered with the Embassies of member States to promote
the festival to prominent cities like
Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Coimbatore and Jodhpur over the next
four months.
On talking about the festival, Vishwasini, a movie buff said, ‘The fact
that around 21 award winning films
from Europe are screened is making me all excited. I like European
festivals for not just its exotic story
line but also for its splendid cinematography and screenplay.’
The craze has accentuated
for the film festival, which has
now developed into a significant
annual event. The point can be
proved from the massive presence of movie enthusiasts from
all over the city. When Gopal, a
Viscom student of Loyola was
contacted, he said, ‘The selec-
Around 20 award winning movies of varied genres including
comedy, drama, romance and
action will be screened at Alliance Francaise of Madras and at
the Goethe Institute till 10 April,
from 5 pm to 6.45 pm.
tion of the cinemas by the delegates is so appropriate. Also,
one can learn subtle techniques
of film making by watching such
movies.’
Janani, a spectator said, ‘Knowing about the beauties of foreign
countries has
always been a
facination for
many youngsters including
me. The best
way to know
about a country is through
their films. It
always procures a good
feel to watch
them in film
Janani
festivals rather than downloading it and watching
it indoors. It is a nice experience
watching the Latvian fi lm Pizzas
yesterday’.
Consulate General of the Kingdom
of Belgium, Bart De Groof, Executive director, Alliance Francaise of
Madras Pierre-Emmanuel Jacob
and Director, Goethe Institut, Helmut Schippert, President ICAF
Sivan Kannan and eminent Cine
actress Komal Sharma were also
present at the inaugural function.
To know the schedule of the movies, visit http://madras.afindia.org/
http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/en/
che.html
Blend
4 WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL 2015
WHAT
WH
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TODA
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PRIN
PR
INTS
IN
TS IS
IS NEWS
NEWS THAT
THA
THA
HAT
T COUNTS
COUN
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A
Land issues
s things stand, Rahul will be the focus of attention at a massive
rally against the Land Bill in New Delhi on19 April, flanked
as he will be by his mother, sister Priyanka and a host of Congress
leaders hoping against hope that this would mark the resurrection
of the party in the eyes of the people. If Rahul carries it off well, it
would give Sonia’s movement to woo the farmers a fresh impetus, but
if he blunders along the way, as is his wont, he could well dissipate
whatever gains have been made by Sonia in the weeks during Rahul’s
absence from the scene. There is no denying, however, that this is
the best platform set up by Sonia for Rahul and the Congress. In
Parliament, the Modi Government’s biggest failing has been that
despite deputing over a dozen ministers and party functionaries,
it hasn’t been able to effectively counter the allegation that the
government is working for the rich and the industry, instead of the
common man.
In Modi’s defence, it can be said that he is keen to kick-start
reforms, create the right kind of environment for investment and
remove impediments that delay projects. Restrictions on buying
land are holding up projects worth nearly Rs. 20 lakh crore and the
industry is impatient for clearances. But this is an apparent truth that
the BJP has not been able to sell to the people, especially the farmers.
The speed with which it promulgated an ordinance to get over the
Rajya Sabha hurdle has made many in rural areas feel it is out to
bulldoze its way forward. With the need to replace the ordinance
with an Act, it now realises that it has gained little and has actually
strengthened fears against the legislation.
There is the option for the BJP to have the Bill passed in a joint
session of Parliament, in which it will doubtlessly have the numbers,
but it now realises how this would set the masses against it. There are
far too many BJP detractors in the opposition and if the opposition
rallies to the Congress’ side another time, it will be a setback from
which the BJP will find it hard to recover. As it is, the BJP’s allies,
the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal, have been locking horns with it.
It would indeed be a huge embarrassment if, in a joint session, in
addition to the joint opposition, the BJP’s allies too break ranks to
vote with the opposition. The BJP on its part has consulted the RSS
and all constituents of the Sangh Parivar in a bid to ward off a possible
defeat and a consequent huge loss of face. A crucial second part of
the current session of Parliament lies ahead. The battle of perception
will sooner than later enter a decisive phase.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar @SriSri
Selfish politicians, ruthless bureaucrats,
brainless religious leaders, spineless
businessmen & powerless women are a
curse to any nation.
We as fraternity of entertainment
world hve failed time n again to
protect ourselves frm such communal
fanatics..its high time we stood up.
Khushbu Sundar @khushsundar
Caught on camera
Cell phone video found among Germanwings wreckage
BERLIN:
What happened in the final moments before the ill-fated Germanwings Airbus A320 was intentionally crashed by the co-pilot in the
French Alps?
Thanks to one of the black boxes
recovered from the crash site,
the investigators have ‘heard’ the
details about the chaotic situation
inside the plane just before the
tragedy, but they may have never
‘seen’ what transpired inside.
However, given the extent of
destruction and the reports of the
plane being ‘completely destroyed’
and ‘pulverized wreckage’, it was
almost impossible to imagine that
anyone could ever have recovered
an intact cell phone that would show
the footage captured from inside the
doomed jet as it was sent plummeting down rapidly to slam into the
French Alps by the co-pilot.
However, it has emerged that a
cell phone memory card carrying
the video of final moments before
the crash has been found among
the wreckage by ‘a source close to
China creates
great wall
of sand
BEIJING:
China’s land reclamation is creating a ‘great wall of sand’ in the South
China Sea, a top US official says,
leading to ‘serious questions’ on its
intentions.
US Pacific Fleet Commander
Admiral Harry Harris made the comments in a speech in Australia on
Tuesday night.
He said by pumping sand on to coral
reefs and adding concrete, China had
created ‘over 4sq/km (1.5 sq miles)
of artificial landmass’. China has
overlapping claims with neighbours
in the South China Sea.
It has been reclaiming land in contested waters - something it said last
year was ‘totally justified’ as it had
‘sovereignty’ over the area.
In recent months images have
emerged of Chinese construction on
reefs in the Spratly Islands to create
artificial islands with facilities that
could potentially be for military use,
including an air strip.
Several nations, including Vietnam,
the Philippines and Taiwan, also
claim ownership of territory in the
Spratly Islands.
IN THE MIND
How to play it?
Go to Google Maps in a browser
on your computer, or on the updated iOS and Android Google
Maps apps, and find an area
with lots of streets.
Click the Pac-Man button in the
bottom left corner, and Google
Maps will change into a playable, giant version of Pac-Man.
Click on the up, down, left and
right arrows to move Pac-Man
around, and the aim is to collect as many dots and cherries
as possible while avoiding the
ghosts.
not known how long the
1980s game will remain
an option.
It has become a tradition for
Google to release a game on
or before April Fools’ Day. Last
year, for instance, the company
let users catch Pokemon using its
mapping tool.
VOICE MAIL
Shameful incident
Sir,
It is reported that the dead body of a 11-year-old girl, who died due to
cancer in Bengaluru, was not allowed to perform the last rites, as the burial
ground was claimed by some people that the place belonged to them.
Though this family’s native place is Krishnagiri, they were living in Bengaluru for the past 30 years. Since no compromise was reached and the
family did not want to perform the rites at a distance place, they took the
body to Krishnagiri and performed the rites. The incident is shameful, and
is to be condemned.
Burial places are earmarked by the government. None have any right to
claim reservation on that place. The government should take steps to avoid
such occurrences to happen in future.
C L NARASIMHAN, Saligramam
ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO :
The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
or e-mail to : [email protected] / [email protected]
the investigation’, reported the Paris
Match and German newspaper Bild.
According to the German newspaper Bild, the video’s authenticity is
‘unquestionable’, say reports.
The video is said to have confirmed what the investigators
found from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
The video purportedly shows a
scene ‘so chaotic that it was hard
to identify people, but the sounds of
the screaming passengers made it
perfectly clear that they were aware
of what was about to happen to
them,’ says the Paris Match.
Then as revealed from the CVR,
the video also shows people
screaming - with shrieks of ‘My
God’ in various languages well audible. Also heard in the video is the
sound of heavy metallic banging,
heard thrice, which confirms the
recordings of the CVR according to
which the pilot tried to open the door
with a heavy object after the co-pilot
locked him out of the cockpit.
According to the investigators,
recordings from one of the black
boxes that was recovered just a day
after the crash the CVR revealed
that one of the pilots who left the
The video shows
a scene so chaotic
that it was hard
to identify people,
but the sounds
of the screaming
passengers made
it clear that they
were aware of what
was about to
happen to them
cockpit could not get in back there
and his frequent knocks on the
locked door went unanswered till the
plane crashed in the French Alps.
Based on the recordings of the
CVR, it is now understood that
the 28-year-old co-pilot named
Andreas Lubitz had intentionally
crashed the plane as the pilot left
the cockpit for a while.
Indo-American found
guilty of foeticide
Activists voice opposition to conviction
WASHINGTON:
An Indian American woman has
been sentenced to 30 years in
prison following her conviction last
month for foeticide. A judge in South
Bend, Indiana, announced the
sentence on Monday, Public Radio
International (PRI) online reported.
Purvi Patel, 33, comes from a family of Indian immigrants who settled
in Granger, Indiana, a suburb of
South Bend.
She was sentenced on the neglect
of a dependent charge to 30 years
in prison with 20 years executed, 10
suspended. She will also serve five
years probation.
For the foeticide charge, she was
sentenced to 6 years in prison, to
run concurrently with her neglect of
a dependent sentence, ABC News
reported.
However, reproductive rights
activists have been voicing their
C
Purvi Patel, 33, comes from a
family of Indian immigrants
who settled in Granger, Indiana,
a suburb of South Bend
opposition to Patel’s
conviction. ‘What this
conviction means is that
anti-abortion laws will
be used to punish pregnant woman,’ Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director
for National Advocates
for Pregnant Women,
Purvi
told NBC.
In July 2013, Patel showed up
at the emergency room of St. Joseph Regional Medical Centre in
the town of Mishawaka, bleeding
heavily. Doctors quickly realised
she’d lost a pregnancy
and she confessed that
she’d left the foetus
in a dumpster outside
Moe’s Southwest Grill
in Granger, a restaurant
Patel’s parents owned.
Police questioned
Patel and searched
Patel
her cellphone while
she was in the hospital, which led
them to a series of text messages
the prosecution claimed made the
case for Patel’s illegal abortion
and felony charges.
L ICK
PIC
Now play Pac-Man
on Google maps
SAN FRANCISCO:
If you’re struggling to get through
the work day, then Google Maps can
help. The search engine is allowing
users to play Pac-Man through the
virtual streets of their hometown,
or anywhere you’d like to explore.
To play the game, visit Google
Maps in a browser on your computer, or on the updated Google
Maps apps on your mobile.
Click the Pac-Man button in the bottom left corner, and Google Maps will
change into a playable, giant version
of the classic Atari game.
Click on the up, down, left and right
arrows to move Pac-Man
around, and the aim is
to collect as many dots
and cherries as possible
while avoiding the ghosts.
Google Maps’ support page includes a list of clues to find the best
locations to play the game.
The addition has been released
in time for April Fool’s Day, and it’s
CHENNAI
Villagers pray by the bodies of landslide victims during a joint funeral in the village of Laden, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of
Srinagar, India. In the other photograph, candles and flowers placed in memory for the victims of the plane crash at the airport in
Dusseldorf, Germany.
Poverty may shrink
the brain: Study
LOS ANGELES:
Children of well-educated and
wealthy parents have larger brains
and better performance in
certain cognitive skills than
HEALTH their peers from low-inToday come families, the
largest study of its
k i n d h a s claimed.
The study, led by researchers at
The Saban Research Institute of
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and
Columbia University Medical Center,
found correlative links between family income and brain structure.
‘While in no way implying that
a child’s socioeconomic circumstances lead to immutable changes
in brain development or cognition,
our data suggest that wider access
to resources likely afforded by the
more affluent may lead to differences in a child’s brain structure,’
said Elizabeth Sowell, director of
the Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, part of the
Institute for the Developing Mind
at CHLA.
World’s oldest
person no more
TOKYO:
The world’s oldest person, Misao
Okawa, died in Japan on Wednesday,
a month after celebrating her 117th
birthday. The nursing home where
she lived in Osaka said she breathed
her last around 7 am.
On the occasion of her birthday
early last month, Okawa, a mother of
three, grandmother of four and greatgrandmother of six, was one of only a
handful of people still alive who had
been born in the 19th century.
Her birth on 5 March 1898 predated
the Wright brothers’ first powered
human flight by five years, she was
already a teenager when World War
I broke out and in her 70s by the time
of the first moon landing.
When she turned 114, she was
officially recognised by Guinness
World Records as the oldest woman
in the globe. Japan, known for the
longevity of its people, is home to the
Okawa, a mother of three, grandmother of
four and great-grandmother of six, was one
of only a handful of people still alive who
had been born in the 19th century
NEWS MAKER
of the day
Misao Okawa
world’s oldest man, Sakari Momoi,
who celebrated his 112th birthday in
February. In 2013, life expectancy
for women in Japan was 86.61, the
longest in the world followed by Hong
Kong women, according to the health
ministry.
For men it was 80.21, the fourth
longest, after men in Hong Kong,
Iceland and Switzerland. The world’s
oldest person is now believed to be
American Gertrude Weaver, who is
reportedly 116 years old.
Enterprise
CHENNAI
L&T Bags
Rs 1,432 cr
defence order
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has been
awarded a contract valued at Rs
1,432 crore by the Ministry of
Defence for the design and construction of seven Offshore Patrol
Vessels (OPVs) for the Indian Coast
Guard (ICG). The contract is part
of the government’s initiative to
strengthen India’s coastal security.
A press statement here said, In
keeping with government’s ‘Make
in India’ focus, complete design and
engineering of OPVs is planned to
be undertaken in-house at L&T’s
Warship Design Centre.
The first OPV under the project is
scheduled to be delivered within 36
months from signing of the contract.
Subsequent OPVs shall be delivered at six months interval.
WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL 2015
e-com firms make it big
Flipkart to raise around $600 mn
NT Bureau / PTI
Chennai, Apr 1:
Online marketplace Flipkart is believed to be in talks to raise around
$600 million (about Rs 3,750 crore)
from a group of investors.
The eCommerce firm, currently being valued at around $11.5-12 billion
(about Rs 71,000-75,000 crore) is
also looking at a higher valuation,
people in know of the development
said.
‘Flipkart at present is in talks with
a clutch of investors to raise somewhere in the range of $600 million. It
is also looking at a higher valuation
than its present $11.5-12 billion’,
sources said.
When contacted, Flipkart did not
offer any comments.
On higher valuation, they said the
Snapdeal buys majority stake in RupeePower
Flipkart at present is
in talks with a clutch
of investors to raise
somewhere in the
range of $600 million.
It is also looking at a
higher valuation than
its present $11.5-12 bn
Bangalore-based firm’s bid for a
higher valuation will depend on the
ongoing fund raising talks with the
investors.
In December last, Flipkart raised
$700 million and in July 2014 it raised
$1 billion, the largest by any eCommerce firm in the country. So far it has
raised over $2 billion.
Its investors include Qatar In-
vestment Authority, Baillie Gifford,
Greenoaks Capital, Steadview Capital, T Rowe Price Associates, DST
Global, GIC, ICONIQ Capital and
Tiger Global.
Tiger Global is Flipkart’s largest
shareholder followed by Accel Partners. Co-founders Sachin and Binny
Bansal hold a little over 8 per cent
stake in the company.
Meanwhile, Snapdeal has picked
up majority stake in digital financial
products platform, RupeePower, for
an undisclosed amount through a
stock and cash deal.
The move will help Snapdeal to enter the Rs 4,500 crore online financial
services market in the country.
‘Consumers often face difficulty
while deciding and buying financial
products/services.
Gurgaon-based
RupeePower, majority stock of which was
acquired by Snapdeal,
offers a digital distribution platform for
loans, credit cards and
other personal finance
products. At present, it
has 40 employees.
This partnership will help solve distribution challenges of the financial
services ecosystem and make it more
inclusive’, Snapdeal co-founder and
CEO Kunal Bahl told reporters.
He declined to comment on the
financial terms of the deal.
SIDBI, World Bank ink
Videocon D2H raises
$325 mn on Nasdaq $543 mn pacts for start-ups
Mumbai, Apr 1 (PTI):
Becoming India’s most valued
company on the US stock exchange
Nasdaq, television services provider
Videocon D2H has raised $325 million through issuance of American
Depository Receipts.
The company, which recently deferred its plans to list in India, has
attained a market cap of $1.15 billion
with the issuance of its ADRs, which
begin trading on Nasdaq on Tuesday.
The company said it has closed the
initial public offering (IPO) process
and is in the process of being listed on
the American technology exchange
by issuing American Depository
Receipts (ADR) worth $325 million.
‘We have achieved a market capitalisation to the tune of $1.15 billion on
the Nasdaq. We will use the proceeds
to continue the capex growth and further strengthening it by deleveraging’,
Videocon D2H Managing Director
Saurabh Dhoot told said.
The company claimed that its IPO
has created many milestones by
becoming the first domestic private
sector company since 2000 to list on
an overseas bourse, largest Indian
IPO in the US since 2007 and first
sizeable Indian listing on a US exchange since 2010.
Videocon D2H is one of the fastest
growing direct to home television
broadcast service providers offering
500 channels and has over 12.8 million customers. The company is looking at doubling its subscriber base in
four years from now.
‘Some of the top US funds with
several multi-billion dollar funds have
invested in the IPO and it is one of the
first Indian companies’ sizeable listing
at US exchange house since 2010’,
he said adding that more than 300
shareholders participated in the IPO.
‘We expect to continue our leadership position through our plans to
more than double our subscriber base
in the next four years’, Dhoot said.
New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI):
Lender to small industries, SIDBI
yesterday signed $543 million
(about Rs 3,400 crore) pacts with
World Bank for two projects to provide debt assistance to start-ups,
MSMEs and promote energy efficiency investments in the country.
‘The projects will mark a new
beginning in the area of MSME
financing and supplement the
Government’s thrust on Make in
India and Zero Defect Zero Effect
Programme’, SIDBI said.
The first agreement on MSME
growth, innovation and inclusive
finance project is for line of credit
of $500 million to Small Industries
Development Bank of India. Of
this, $150 million will be used for
spurring early stage risk capital
finance; $200 million for supporting service sector enterprises; and
$150 million will be utilised for financing of manufacturing MSMEs.
ICICI Bank opens
4000th branch
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
ICICI Bank has announced the inauguration of its 4000th bank branch
at Sector 37D in Chandigarh. It is
the first private sector bank in the
country to achieve this milestone,
said a press release.
Additionally, the bank also inaugurated over 50 branches in other
parts of the country during the day,
thereby taking its total branch count
to 4050.
The bank’s branch footprint covers
2300 locations across the country
from Sopore in Jammu & Kashmir
to Nagercoil in Tamilnadu to Naliya
in Gujarat and Mokokchung in Nagaland.
Speaking at the inauguration,
ICICI Bank, MD and CEO, Chanda
Kochhar said, today’s important
ICICI Bank managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar inaugurating
the 4000th branch in Chandigarh electronically.
milestone is yet another step towards providing our customers
BHEL commissions
second boiler
New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI):
State-run power equipment maker BHEL has
commissioned a second
800 MW boiler at Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah
Thermal Power Plant (SDSTPP) at Krishnapatnam
in Andhra Pradesh. ‘This
is the second 800 MW rating indigenous boiler to be
commissioned in the coun-
try. The first 800 MW boiler
was commissioned earlier by BHEL at the same
project, last year,’ BHEL
said in a statement today. BHEL’s scope of work
in the project envisaged
is expected to comprise
manufacturing, supplying,
erecting, testing and commissioning of the boilers
and associated auxiliaries.
improved access and proximity to
the bank’s services.
The project also targets women
entrepreneurs (20 per cent of the
project) and units in underserved
(low income) states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh
and West Bengal (25 per cent
of assisted units
from low income
states).
The second
agreement is
for Partial Risk
Sharing Facility
for Energy Efficiency (PRSF)
Project with a
total outlay of $43 million. Under
this pact, a guarantee fund with a
corpus of $37 million will be managed by SIDBI. It also entails technical assistance of a $4 million to
be implemented by SIDBI and $2
million to be implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
‘The objective of the project is
to support the GoI’s efforts to
transform the energy efficiency
(EE) market in India by promoting
increased level of EE investments,
particularly through
energy service performance contracting (ESPC) delivered
through Energy Service Companies (ESCOs)’, SIDBI said.
It will guarantee the
loans given by Banks/
financial
institutions/NBFCs
to ESCOs and ESCOimplemented projects to minimise
their risk perception.
It is estimated that the project is
expected to provide credit guarantee to more than 500 ESCO
implemented EE projects which
would mobilise financing of the
tune of $127 million.
Motor insurance
premiums go up
New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI):
Owning a vehicle would now pinch
pockets more, with third-party motor
insurance premiums set to rise for
two-wheelers, private cars and heavy
load carriers from today.
It is observed that the cost
inflation index (CII) has
increased by 9.05 per cent
over the previous year, i.e.
from939 in FY 2013-14 to
1024 in FY 2014-15.
‘The Authority hereby
notifies the premium rates
applicable to Motor Third
Party Liability Insurance
covers with effect from 1 April, 2015’,
said Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in
a notification.
The premiums are being revised
after a gap of three years.
Owners having third-party cover
for private cars of 1,000-cc capacity
would now have to pay premiums of
Rs 1,468 from Rs 784, those exceeding 1,000 cc but below 1,500 cc will
attract premium of Rs 1,598 (from Rs
925) and those above 1,500 cc at Rs
4,931 (from Rs 2,853).
‘Motor Third Party Liability
premiums are increasing but at the same time
insurance companies are
still losing money on the
portfolio.
‘In a free market scenario...each insurer
should be free to price
the product as per their
risk perception. That will
ensure that insurers who are committed to providing good service in
this portfolio have an opportunity and
incentive to differentiate their services
which no one may be willing to do in
a fixed price, loss-making scenario’,
said Pavan Dhingra, Director Prudent
Insurance Brokers.
Wipro to grab bigger share of IT spend
New Delhi, Apr 1(PTI):
As he retired from India’s third largest IT services firm
on Tuesday, Wipro CFO Suresh Senapaty said the
company is ready to grab a larger share of $8 trillion
global IT spending that will rise further.
Senapaty, who hung his boots at the Bangalore-based firm after 35 years, described his
journey as ‘enriching’ and ‘wonderful’.
‘My time with Wipro has been enriching as
well as wonderful. It has been an outstanding
place to work, learn and grow’, Senapaty said.
He added that being able to maintain an optimum
capital position for the company is one of his major
achievements. When asked about the changes he has
witnessed in the IT services market, he said: ‘IT
services space has seen so many changes and
today the spending is about $8 trillion and it
will rise further.
The Indian IT-BPM sector is just $118 billion. So it has a lot to achieve’.
Senapaty said he is leaving the company at
a time when it is in a more stronger position to
leverage its resources and capabilities to take
a bigger share of the global IT services market.
Google, Microsoft battle brings
down rates of PCs, tablets
San Francisco, Apr 1 (AP):
Google is releasing its cheapest
Various PC manufacturers have
Chromebook laptops yet, two versions
been
working with Google to design
priced at $149 aimed at undercutting
Microsoft’s Windows franchise and
lightweight laptops running on the
gaining ground in even more classChrome operating system since 2011
rooms.
Various PC manufacturers have been
at Walmart.com and Haier’s version can be bought at
working with Google to design lightweight laptops running
Amazon.com.
on the Chrome operating system since 2011. The newTheir arrival coincides with Microsoft’s rollout of a
est versions are made by Hisense and Haier. Hisense’s
lower-priced Surface tablet in an effort to reach students
Chromebook can be ordered beginning on Tuesday
and budget-conscious families. Pre-orders for that de-
vice began yesterday, too. As the prices for tablets and
smartphones have been declining, it has forced on PC
makers to lower their prices, said International Data Corp.
analyst Jay Chou. The success of the Chromebook line
is intensifying the PC pricing pressure.
‘It has been good news for consumers, but not so good
for vendors’, Chou said.
The cheaper version of the Surface Pro 3 sells for $499,
compared with $799 to $1,949 for the higher-end models.
The discounted version has a slightly smaller screen 10.8
inches rather than 12 a slower processor, and less flexible
kickstand just three angles rather than unlimited positions.
5
Ved Prakash
takes over as
MMTC chief
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
Ved Prakash has taken over as
the chairman and
managing director of MMTC Ltd,
a government of
India enterprise under the Ministry of
Commerce.
According to a
press note, he is Ved Prakash
a B Tech from IIT-Delhi and PGDM
from IIM-Kolkata. He was director
(marketing) in MMTC Ltd and has
held various responsible assignments
in the company.
Ashok Leyland
sales up
New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI):
Hinduja Group flagship company
Ashok Leyland today reported a 24
per cent increase in total sales at
12,754 units for March 2015, as
against 10,281 units in the same
month last year.
Sales for its heavy and medium
commercial vehicles increased by
29.91 per cent at 10,027 units in
March as against 7,718 units in the
year-ago period, the company said
in a filing to the BSE.
Light commercial vehicles sales
also went up 6.39 per cent and
stood at 2,727 units as against
2,563 units in March last year.
For the fiscal 2014-15, total sales
were at 1,04,902 units as against
89,337 in the previous year, up
17.42 per cent.
KPMG partners
with MS
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
KPMG on Tuesday announced an
expansion of its strategic relationship with Microsoft to include a
global collaboration to jointly deliver
new suites of innovative solutions
and services in data and analytics
(D&A), cloud compliance and transformation, and business solutions.
According to a press release,
KPMG has already guided over
100 clients using Microsoft’s Business Intelligence (BI), Analytics
and Microsoft Dynamics products to
transform their business operations.
The new strategic collaboration,
based on Microsoft’s Azure, Dynamics and data platforms, will allow Microsoft and KPMG member firms to
work together to develop and deploy
solutions and services that will help
address the disruptive challenges
topping the Board agenda.
These include realizing the business potential of one global, scalable platform which can deliver
cloud-based solutions for Customer
Relationship Management (CRM),
Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) and Data and Analytics,
which will collectively help transform the business while maintaining
regulatory and compliance requirements.
PUBLIC NOTICE
This is to inform to the General
Public that My Client Banumathi @
Banumathi ammal, wife of Venugopal,
Hindu, aged about 61 years, residing
at No. 6/251, 6th Block, Kannadasan
Nagar,
Kodungaiyur,
Chennai
600 118, is the absolute owner of
the property Thiruvallur District,
Ponneri Taluk, Padiyanallur Village
Comprised in Survey Nos. 50/15, 50,
51/14, 51, 60/1, 60, 72/7, 72, 51/4
total measuring 4.43 acres., which
she had acquired under a deed of
sale registered as Doc No. 721/1978
Dated 25.05.1978, subsequently a
rectification deed was registered as
Doc No. 1933/1981 both registered
at Ponneri Sub Registrar’s office. On
29.03.2015 at about 5.00 pm., the
above mentioned Documents were
lost near Kannadasan nagar bus
stop. If anybody is holding or finds
the said Sale Deed Doc No. 721/1978
and Rectification Deed Doc No.
1933/1981, is requested to hand over
the same to me or to my client within
Ten days and if anybody misuses
the aforesaid missing document to
encumber the property the same will
not be binding on my client.
G.Arunkumar, MBA., ML.,
Advocate
93, S.M.Plaza, 3rd Floor,
Armenian Street,
Mannady, Chennai- 1
9841164545.
Read
Every evening
PASSPORT LOST
I,
J.Raguraman,
lost
my
original Indian Passport while
Travelling from Kamarajapuram to
Tambaram by bus.
Passport No:K5826201 issued
on 16.10.2012. If found, Please
Contact:9791136141
PUBLIC NOTICE
It is hereby informed that my clients
Tmt. Pavithra Chander, age 34 years,
W/o. Ravi Shankar Shanmugham
and D/o Late Hemachander residing
at New No.61, First Floor, Karpagam
Avenue, 2nd Street, R.A.Puram,
Chennai- 600 028 have lost the
following Original Documents of Sale
Deeds purchased by her parents (1)
Parent Sale Deed No. 1109/1974
registered on 24.06.1974 (2) Sale
Deed Document No. 1665 of 1980
registered on 05.09.1980 before
the SRO Mylapore in respect of
the house property situated at New
Door.No 61, Flat No. 57-A, in Second
Street, Karpagam Avenue, South
Beach Road, Santhome, Chennai600 028 measuring an extent of
one ground, R.S.Nos.4295/1 and
4300 (part ) Lay out No. 136/71
on 24.03.2015 on the way to the
xerox center Santhome High Road.
If anyone finds the abovementioned
documents they may kindly handover
the same to me. It is also hereby
informed that anyone dealing with
the said property without my client’s
knowledge and consent is doing so
at their own risk and cost.
E. JAYASANKAR, B.Sc.,M.A.B.L.,
Advocate
IV Law Chamber
High Court Building
Chennai - 104
Ph : 9444688789
6 WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL 2015
Sports
Yuvraj Singh
and
Zaheer Khan
CHENNAI
Yuvi, Zak eye comeback
Keen to display their best in IPL
I am enjoying playing cricket again. I have
been away from cricket for a while now, so
just looking forward to get back. Taking
one step at a time and IPL is definitely
the first step,’ said Zaheer
New Delhi, Apr 1:
Hoping to make a comeback into the
Indian cricket team with stellar showings in the IPL, new Delhi Daredevils
recruits Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer
Khan today said they will make their
stint with the franchise count to revive
their international careers.
Mills follows Vettori
into retirement
Delhi bagged Yuvraj for a record
fee of Rs 16 crore in the February
auctions and the all-rounder wants
to make the most of it.
Definitely yes, it’s been a couple
of hard years for me since I have
come back from my treatment. I am
in good shape, I have worked very
hard and I have
had a good domestic season. I
am confident of
doing well and
hope that things
get better from
here and I make
it back into the team,’ Yuvraj said at
a function.
Zaheer was bought for four crore
by DD this season after the left-arm
pacer pulled out midway from IPL last
year due to an injury while playing for
Mumbai Indians. Zaheer believes that
IPL will be a step in the right direction.
I am enjoying playing cricket again.
I have been away from cricket for a
while now, so just looking forward to
get back. Taking one step at a time
and IPL is definitely the first step,’
said Zaheer, who stood beside Yuvraj
and South Africa’s Albie Morkel wearing the new DD jersey.
The 36-year-old veteran has been
out of action for a while after playing
his last international match against
New Zealand in early 2014. Zaheer
is happy to once again team up with
Gary Kirsten, who joined the DD unit
Lorgat denies media reports
We never interfere in team selction’
Wellington, Apr 1:
New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Mills
announced his retirement from all
cricket today, following Daniel Vettori
in calling it quits after the World Cup
final. Mills was consistently ranked
among the world’s top 10 one-day bowlers throughout his illustrious 14-year
career, and for a long time was ranked
number one.It’s been an honour and
privilege to play cricket for my country
over the past 14 years and I will miss it
greatly, the 36-year-old said.
‘However the time is right for me to
step away from playing this great game
and devote more time to my family
who have sacrificed so much for me
to keep playing the game I love.’ Mills
represented New Zealand in 170 ODIs
and took 240 wickets to be the Black
Caps’ second highest wicket-taker in
the shortened game behind Vettori,
who took 297.
Vettori announced his international
retirement on Tuesday when the New
Zealand side returned from Melbourne
after losing the World Cup final to Australia by seven wickets.
Mills took part in three World Cups, although in the latest edition he was one
of three members of the New Zealand
squad who did not take the field as the
Blacks Caps kept a largely unchanged
line up throughout the tournament.
He also played 42 Twenty20s and 19
Tests for his country.
‘Kyle has been a wonderful ODI
player over a long period of time and,
but for injury, would have played closer
to 200 games for New Zealand, New
Zealand Cricket chief executive David
White said.
Johannesburg, Apr 1 (PTI):
Dismissing reports of interference
in team selection ahead of
South Africa’s World Cup semifinal against New Zealand
as utter nonsense, CSA
Chief Executive Haroon
Lorgat has clarified that no
late-night
instructions were given
after the playing XI was announced.
Responding
to reports in Afrikaans dai- l y
‘Beeld’, Lorgat denied that he had
sent instructions to Proteas coach
Russell Domingo at 1 in the morning,
insisting that the coach, who is also a
member of the CSA selection panel,
add one more player of colour to
the squad.
It was widely speculated
that coloured player Vernon
Philander was included in
the team ahead of Kyle Abbott for the last clash.
‘This is utter nonsense reporting with false allegations
being made,’ said Lorgat.
There was no SMS, WhatsApp or
BBM sent by me to the coach, and
Demolish three
stands in MAC: SC
New Delhi, Apr 1:
The Supreme Court has said that
the three stands (I,J,K) of the MA
Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai
will not be used for seating spectators during cricket matches
as they do not conform to
regulations and public safety
and their unauthorised parts
need to be demolished.
Your starting point was
wrong. You are not an average citizen constructing
one room or so, you are
TNCA. Everything smells
and everything stinks, a
bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and
Justice R.V. Ramana told the Tamilnadu Cricket Association which
owns the stadium, formerly called
Chepauk Stadium.
It asked the TNCA to submit to the
Chennai Municipal Corporation its
plan for the demolition of unauthorised structure.
Directing that the requirements of
setbacks must be complied with by
carrying out necessary demolitions,
the court said that once it is done,
the TNCA would inform the CMC
and seek inspection.
Asking the TNCA to take necessary steps to remove unauthorised construction to meet the
requirements of public safety,
the court said: If deficiencies
are found to be removed, then
CMC will act accordingly.
The court remained unimpressed when senior
counsel Amit Sibal appearing for TNCA urged the court to
allow them to use the three stands
as in past 21 matches held in the
stadium, spectators were seated
in them. The prospects of M.A.
Chidambaram Stadium holding
matches appeared to be dim as
court did not say anything on Sibal's
plea that they may be allowed to
hold matches in the stadium using
six other approved stands.
Cricket
why would I want to do that when I
know the team was confirmed and
already announced to the players
and team management at their usual
18h00 team meeting that evening?
Our media policy is not to respond
to speculative or false media reports
where unnamed sources are quoted,
but in this case, due to the damage
being caused to the reputation of
the Proteas, CSA and individual
players soon after a painful exit from
the World Cup, I feel it necessary to
speak out and make it clear that this
report is false,’ added Lorgat.
Harika shown
the exit door
Sochi, Apr 1:
Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika
missed out on winning opportunities and boweed out of the World
Women’s Chess Championship
after losing the 10-minute tiebreaker
against Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine
in the semifinals here .
Harika missed her chances in the
first game of the second set of tiebreak games and then was outplayed
in the second game to lose 0.5-1.5 in
10-minute chess.
Harika was unlucky not to win the
first game of the 10-minute game.
Playing white, the English Opening
led to level middle game but Harika
picked up her pace in the queen and
Bishops endgame. After winning
a couple of pawns, Harika was on
course to victory but an incredible
blunder on move 83 saw the advantage evaporate. Muzychuk pounced
on her chance to ensure parity. In the
second game, Harika lost after giving
up a handful of pawns in the endgame. Earlier in the day, Harika had
to bounce back in the rapid tiebreaker
in 2013, after a successful World Cup
campaign in 2011 with the South
African as India’s coach.
Gary is a very good coach and we
have spent a lot of time together,
so I hope that we are able to
replicate our success with DD
this time around. We know
his working style, even he
knows what to expect from
us. So hope that we combine well this season to turn
it around for Delhi this time
around, said Zaheer.
We are up for it. It’s
a new challenge. Lot of
new faces this time in DD, so
looking forward to it. We hopefully will
be able to turn this season around
for Delhi,’ he added. Yuvraj, who
last played an ODI for India in 2013,
believes it’s an important season not
only for his career but also for Delhi,
who ended last in the eight-team
event last year.
It’s an important season. I have
had a good domestic season
so hoping that I carry the same
form into the IPL. It will be different because T20 is a different
ball game,’ he said. Like Zak said
that DD did not do too well last
season, so it’ll be great that
as a unit we do well and help
the team move forward. Delhi
had some good first
three seasons, so
we hope that all goes
well and we live up to our
potential,’ he added. The Chandigarh-born Yuvraj, who has represented
India in 293 ODIs and 40 Tests, feels
at home in Delhi and hopes to give all
the love back to the fans.
It’s Man U or
no-one:Hummels
Berlin, Apr 1:
Manchester United-target
Mats Hummels has said if he
ever transfers abroad it will
only be to the Red Devils after telling Borussia Dortmund
he is weighing up his future
options.
Borussia`s captain, 26, has
a Dortmund contract until
2017, but has long been courted by United, whose current
manager Louis van Gaal is
looking for a defensive leader
with the English giants poised
to table a bid, according to UK
media reports.
Germany centre-back Hummels told Monday`s edition of
German magazine Kicker that
he often thinks about moving
abroad, but gave Tuesday`s
edition of German daily Bild
a far stronger indication of his
Manchester thoughts.
If I was to transfer abroad
at some stage, then it would
only be to Manchester United,’
Hummels is reported to have
said.
Hummels agent, his father
Hermann, is a friend of United
boss Van Gaal from when
they both worked at Bayern
Munich, where Hummels
senior was youth team coordinator until 2012, while Van
Gaal was head coach from
2009 until 2011.
Dortmund CEO HansJoachim Watzke says the World
Cup-winner has informed them he
is weighing up his options.
Mats had a conversation with
(director of sport) Michael Zorc
and myself two weeks ago, when
he informed us that he is thinking
about his future, said Watzke.
That is completely legitimate.He
Mats Hummels
has a contract until 2017 and we
haven`t received an offer, therefore
we`re pretty relaxed.
Dortmund have endured a poor
season by their own high standards
as the 2011 and 2012 German
champions found themselves bottom of the table in February and
are now up to mid-table in the
Bundesliga.
Djokovic rallies, Venus loses
Novak Djokovic
Key Biscane, aor 1:
Before the first set ended Tuesday,
Novak Djokovic had busted a racket
in anger, drawn jeers from the crowd
and received two code violations,
which cost him a point penalty.
There were no further outbursts,
and as Djokovic’s play improved, so
did his mood. He rallied from a break
down in the second set and beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-0 in
the fourth round of the Miami Open.
‘The first set and a half, he was
dominating from the baseline,’’
Djokovic said. ‘I was frustrated and
nervous and wasn’t showing composure on the court.’
Dolgopolov led 4-1 in the second
set before Djokovic mounted a comeback to remain in contention for his
fifth Key Biscayne title. Dolgopolov
required treatment from a trainer after
the second set and lost 36 of the final
41 points.
Venus Williams’ recent resurgence
stalled when she lost in the quarter-
With Rafael Nadal already eliminated and Roger Federer skipping the
tournament, the No. 1-seeded Djokovic’s most likely opponent in the final
would be Andy Murray
finals to No. 12-seeded Carla Suarez
Navarro 0-6, 6-1, 7-5. The 34-yearold Williams was broken six times in
the final two sets and double-faulted
twice in the final game.
‘Too many errors, and I was going
for it the whole match,’ Williams
said. ‘Toward the end, I just
never found the happy medium
between being aggressive and
putting the ball in the court.’
Williams is a three-time Key
Biscayne champion, but her
most recent title came in 2001.
Her sister, seven-time champion Serena Williams, will play in
the quarterfinals Wednesday
against No. 27 Sabine Lisicki.
With Rafael Nadal already eliminated and Roger Federer skipping
the tournament, the No. 1-seeded
Djokovic’s most likely opponent in
the final would be No. 3 Andy Murray,
who became the ninth active man to
win 500 matches by beating Kevin
Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
The milestone made Murray’s victory especially
sweet. Afterward he was
presented with a cake large
enough to feed many of the
players he has beaten.
Murray will face unseeded Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals,
while Djokovic will play No. 6
David Ferrer.
Others advancing included
unseeded Juan Monaco and
No. 8 Tomas Berdych, who won when
No. 17 Gael Monfils fell, hurt his right
Venus Williams
hip and retired in the second set. No.
4 Kei Nishikori beat David Goffin 6-1,
6-2 and has lost 10 games in his three
matches.
Djokovic received a warning for
ball abuse early in his match, and
when he netted a forehand to fall
behind 5-4, he slammed his racket
against the concrete to earn a
second code violation. The crowd
hooted as he walked to his chair,
and Djokovic raised both arms in
response.
‘That was a gesture of just feeling
bad for what I have done,’ Djokovic
said. ‘I was fighting a battle inside
of myself, I would say. That was the
biggest battle that I fought today.’
Djokovic quickly regained his composure, but it took him awhile to find
his range against Dolgopolov, who
slices his groundstrokes as if hitting
them with a sand wedge.
‘He was playing well,’ Djokovic
said. ‘He has a very unorthodox
game - tricky opponent, mixes up
the pace, and can easily get you
out of the rhythm.’
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL 2015
7
Devotees pulling the chariots on the occasion of Panguni Uthiram at Maruntheeswarar Temple, Thiruvanmiyur and Muthiyalpet Mallikeswarar Temple, Mannadi in Chennai today.
India’s turn to
fight for net
neutrality
q TRAI seeks feedback
from internet users
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 1:
While net neutrality may have
a secure future in US, its fate in
India will be decided upon soon.
India does not have an existing
legislation for net neutrality. Feeling threatened by ‘Over the Top’
(OTTs) players such as Whatsapp,
Viber and Skype, the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) released a consultation paper recently on regulatory framework of OTTs asking stakeholders
(internet users, internet service
providers, telcos, industry bodies)
for comments and feedback on the
issues. This would help the body
make a decision on subjecting
internet services to an additional
licensing fee and whether these
providers should pay telcos for
using their internet pipes.
Akash a net neutrality campaigner who works at an IT firm in the
city said, ‘The thing about telecom
companies is that their aims are
simple enough - money. For them,
charging for specific services/
platforms makes a lot of financial
sense-imagine, paying Rs 20 to
access Facebook, another 15 to
access Twitter, maybe 40 to access Whatsapp.’
‘The whole point of the internet
seems wrong then,’ he said.
Recently Bharti Airtel had announced differentiated pricing for
voice calls over the internet but
pulled back the plan after online
protests by users who said Airtel
was violating the principles of net
neutrality. This was after Whatsapp recently added the free voice
calling feature to its Android app.
PM greets Ansari
New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI):
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
todaygreeted Vice President Hamid
Ansari on his 78th birthday and
wished him a long life.
‘Birthday greetings to Shri Hamid
Ansari ji. I pray for his long life and
good health,’ Modi tweeted.
Ansari, the 14th Vice President of
India, was born on this day in 1937
in Kolkata.
After Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,
he is the only person to get two consecutive terms as Vice President.
Sena defends
Minister who
carried revolver
Mumbai, Apr 1 (PTI):
The Shiv Sena today came in defence of Maharashtra minister Girish
Mahajan for attending a children’s
event with a revolver tucked in his
waist saying the previous government’s ‘anarchic rule’ had forced
people to carry weapons in public
for their safety.
The anarchy that was prevalent
during the last government’s tenure
has left a lasting impression on the
minds of people and Mahajan too
is yet to come out of that mindset,
it said.
Fresh rainfall
lashes J&K
q ‘Army ready to handle situation’
Srinagar, Apr 1:
Flood fears resurfaced in Jammu and
Kashmir on Wednesday after fresh
rainfall was reported in Srinagar.
Rainfall which began last night and is
expected to continue for next two days,
can again cause surge in the water of
level of River Jhelum and its tributaries,
officials said.
The Met department has forecast
light to moderate rains today, raising
fresh concerns among people who
were hoping to see the end of woes
caused by floods.
Director of Indian Meteorological
Department in Jammu and Kashmir,
Sonam Lotus, said that Western Disturbance is persisting over J&K and by
evening, its intensity might increase
leading to more rainfall. Lotus added
that tonight is crucial for the state.
Lotus further said that besides
Kashmir, many hilly areas may experience moderate to heavy rainfall.
Water level in river Jhelum was also
receding and it was flowing at 15 feet
at Ram Munshi Bagh (Srinagar) and
at 12 feet at Sangam (Anantnag)
today (Wednesday) morning.
General Officer Commanding of
Chinar Corps, Lieutenant General
Subrata Saha has said the Army has
its operating bases all across the
state to handle any situation arising out of the flood-like situation in
Jammu and Kashmir.
‘We have got our operating bases in
all corners of Kashmir ready to take on
any situation. That is precisely what I
had gone to check, we are ready to
take on any emergency ... What is different from the last time is that the spill
VIT students win in
aeroplane contest
Put an end to
cattle smuggling:
Rajnath to BSF
What is it?
Net neutrality is the principle that
Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the
Internet equally, not discriminating or
charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type
of attached equipment, or mode of
communication.
What you
can do?
If you don’t want your mobile
operator to charge extra for
WhatsApp, Skype or YouTube
and promote its own services
over the others, submit your
responses to TRAI’s twenty
questions to the TRAI before
24 April, 2015 at advqos@trai.
gov.in.
Users in
millions
As on January 2015, WhatsApp
had 700 million users, all over
the world and 30 billion messages were sent on a daily
basis.
SMS traffic in India has
dropped from 5346 million in
2013 to 4367 million by 2014
end, a drop of 18.3 per cent.
Why telcos
scared?
According to TRAI, as
of December 2014, WhatsApp topped the messaging application market with
52 per cent of all users using OTT messaging services in India, followed by
Facebook Messenger with
42 per cent, Skype with 37
per cent and WeChat with
26 per cent share.
It is also mentioned that
in 2013, Skype carried
214 billion minutes of
International Calls within
their worldwide network.
This is almost 40 per cent
of the global telecom
market, and within this
year, Skype will actually
overtake the traditional
telecom firms in International calls usage.
Telecom firms have said
that OTTs are single handedly
eating their
revenues using their platform, and they
want to implement licenses
and regulations to
milk money from OTTs.
Angrail, Apr 1 (PTI):
Days after advocating a nationwide ban on cow slaughter, Home
Minister
Rajnath Singh today asked BSF
jawans deployed along theIndoBangla border to put a complete
halt to smuggling of cattle to
Bangladesh so that people there
give up eating beef.
‘I am told prices of beef in Bangladesh have gone up by 30 per
cent recently due to heightened
vigil by BSF against cattle smuggling’.
‘You further intensify your vigil
so that the cattle smuggling stops
completely and prices of beef in
Bangladesh escalates 70 to 80
per cent more so that people of
Bangladesh give up eating beef,’
he said addressing jawans of BSF
at this Border Out Post.
SAE-USA’s pilot Dr Allan Sale giving away the coveted cup to students
of VIT University, who emerged as winners in the light weight aerolane
design contest held in Florida recently.
NT Bureau
Vellore, Apr 1:
VIT students emerged as winners
in the light weight aeroplane model
design competition held in Florida,
USA recently.
According to a press release, Society of Automobiles-SAE, Florida
conducted the contest ‘Aero Design
East 2015’ for university students from
all over the world.
Universities like McGill, NYU and
IIT Kanpur took part, forming over 25
teams.
VIT students led by Bhayas Khan
and 16 other students of Mechanic and
Building Science designed a remote
control light weight aeroplane under
the guidance of Professors S K Sekar
and Karupraj and won the first place.
VIT Chancellor G Vishwanathan
congratulated students.
348 Indians evacuated
from strife-torn Yemen
q Four more ships to join rescue operation
New Delhi, Apr 1:
Indian Navy Tuesday night evacuated 348 Indians from strife-torn Yemen.
INS Sumitra rescued the Indian nationals after New Delhi got permission
to dock its ship at the Aden harbour
for the evacuation of its citizens from
the sea port city as the government
launched a massive air and sea
evacuation operation for its over 4,000
nationals in war-torn Yemen.
The Indian Navy ship departed last
night for Djibouti with first batch of Indians evacuated from Yemen by sea.
It is scheduled to reach Djibouti today
morning. The news was confirmed by
the External Affairs Ministry through
its Twitter account. The evacuation operation took place amid the escalating
violence in Yemen. Saudi-led coalition
war planes have struck pro-Iranian
rebels in Yemen with the Islamic
kingdom threatening to send ground
troops which could potentially initiate
a broader sectarian conflict in the Middle East. Two warships have also
been pressed into service besides
two other passenger ships while the
Indian Air Force has put on standby two C-17 Globemaster transport
aircraft. Air India has also stationed
two 180-seater Airbus A320 planes in
Muscat for evacuation of Indians from
Yemen’s capital Sanaa to Djibouti
whenever a clearance is given by the
concerned authorities.
The Defence sources said four
ships, including destroyer INS Mumbai and stealth frigate INS Tarkash -will reach Yemen by Saturday. Two
merchant vessels - Kavaratti and
Coral - have also been dispatched.
The four ships are to join each other
in Arabian Sea on 2 April and proceed as a composite group to Djibouti.
channels rather than the Jhelum itself
where the weaknesses (of Bunds) are
evident because in most of the places
there is lot of water logging and a bit of
overflow of water from the spill channel. These two are adding together to
complicate the problem,’ Saha told ANI.
Eight teams of National Disaster
Response Force have been rushed
to Kashmir and Armed forces, along
with four helicopters, have been placed
in readiness for deployment at short
notice.
In September last year, 300 people
had died and tens of thousands were
left homeless when unprecedented
floods hit the state.
Businesses have started as usual in
Lal Chowk, Residency Road, Maisuma
and other uptown markets which are
the commercial hubs of the Valley.
Mustafa Kamal
resigns as ICC
president
New Delhi, Apr 1:
Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh on
Wednesday resigned from the post
of ICC president over World Cup
trophy presentation snub, accusing
colleagues within the game’s global
body of acting ‘unlawfully’.
‘The main reason for my resignation
is that I can’t work with those who can
act unconstitutionally and unlawfully,’
he told reporters in Dhaka.
Kamal announced his resignation in a brief talk with the media in
Dhaka. He also questioned India’s
victory against Bangladesh in the
quarterfinal.
Kamal was also critical of the role
of ICC chairman N Srinivasan and
India in the International Cricket
Council.
Earlier, Kamal had made a stinging criticism about ‘umpiring bias’
during Bangladesh’s quarterfinal
loss to India in the World Cup. In
that match, India’s Rohit Sharma
was not given out to a Rubel Hossain delivery which apparently
looked a ‘touch and go’ decision.
The simmering row within the ICC
took an ugly turn on Monday with
Kamal threatening to expose ‘mischievous’ designs of some people
who had denied him the ‘constitutional right’ to hand over the World
Cup trophy.
NC slams
State govt
Jammu, Apr 1 (PTI):
Opposition National Conference
today accused the state government
of discriminating against the Kashmir
Valley over the distribution of power
sector funds as they disrupted the
proceedings of the Assembly, forcing
the Speaker to marshal them out and
adjourn the House for ten minutes.
As soon as the House started its business of the day, NC members created
a ruckus in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over the release of funds for the
repair of damaged transformers. The
government planning department yesterday released an amount of Rs 3.5
crore for the repair of damaged power
transformers in the state, out of which
Rs 2.5 crore was released for Jammu
and Rs 1 crore for Kashmir Valley.
8WEDNESDAY
1 APRIL 2015
, CHENNAI
Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17
AHIMSA,
ALMIGHTY
T
According to
Mahaveer, one should
not accumulate bad
karmas (deeds) which
are the main cause
of human delusion
and suffering
HIS MASTER’S VOICE
he birth of Mahaveera, twenty
fourth and the last Tirthankara of
present time cycle is celebrated as
Mahaveer Jayanthi tomorrow.
According to Jain texts, Mahaveer was
born on the thirteenth day of the bright
half of the moon in the month of Chaitra
in the year 599 BCE. Mahaveer was born
into the democratic kingdom of Vaishali,
where king was chosen by voting.
Mahaveer was born into royalty as the
son of King Siddartha of Kundgraam
and Queen Trishala. During pregnancy,
mother Trishala was believed to have
had a number of auspicious dreams,
all signifying the coming of a great soul.
Astrologers interpreted these dreams
claimed that the child would become
either an emperor or a Tirthankara. It is
said that when queen Trishala finally gave
birth to Mahaveer, the God-king Indra
bathed the newborn himself with celestial
milk, a ritual essentially marking him as
a Tirthankara.
During the day, Jains engage in some
sort of charitable act in the name of Mahaveera while others travel to temples to
meditate and offer prayers. Lectures are
typically held in temples to preach the
path of virtue as defined by Jainism. Donations are collected in order to promote
charitable missions like saving cows from
slaughter or helping to feed poor people.
According to Mahaveera, to live a righteous life one should follow the following
principles, which are the main pillars of
Jainism.
Non-violence (Ahimsa) causing no harm
to living beings; truthfulness (Satya) to
speak the truth, non-stealing (Asteya)
not to possess things that does not
belong to you; Chastity (Bramacharya)
not to indulge in sensual pleasures and
non-attachment (Aparigraha) not to get
attached to material things.
According to Mahaveer, one should not
accumulate bad karmas (deeds) which
are the main cause of human delusion
and suffering and lead to vicious cycle
of life and death and continues till one
is liberated.
The most important places of celebration of Mahaveer Jayanthi are Gujarat
and Rajasthan. Gujarat is said to have
to maximum number of Jain shrines.
They are also the states where highest numbers of Jains reside. In India,
Gujarat holds the biggest fair for this
festival. Palitana and Girnar are some
of the most significant places of worship of the state. Yet Vaishali, in Bihar,
being the birth place of Mahaveer, has
its own importance and also celebrates
this Jayanthi significantly.
Governor,
Jaya extend
greetings
O
n the occasion of Mahaveer Jayanthi, which marks the birth of Lord
Mahaveera, Tamilnadu Governor K
Rosaiah, and AIADMK party’s general secretary
J Jayalalithaa, conveyed their greetings.
The Governor, in his greetings , said, ‘Let us,
on the Birthday of Lord Mahaveer, resolve to
lead a moral, compassionate and truthful life, curb
dividual cravings and passions and promote ahimsa and
our intolerance’.
Extending her greetings, Jayalalithaa said, ‘Lord Mahaveer insisted that,
one who is void of love and hatred on anyone, and who lives, pushing
aside his anger and fear, will obtain salvation. Desire remains as the route
cause for many sufferings, one has to let loose these desires to avoid
suffering, and follow non-violence. People must follow the teachings of
Lord to spread love and reach peace in the world’.
— NT Bureau
Rally for a cause
change in the environment. By Jain ideology,
we can save many natural resources from been
wasted unnecessarily,’
Exnora said.
Exnora Greater Chennai
president R Govindaraj,
Exnora Ahimsa India president J Fatheraj, secretary
Vinod O Jain and many
others participated.
l There is no enemy out of your soul.The
real enemies live inside yourself, they
are anger, proud, curvedness, greed, attachmentes and hate.
l It is better to win over self than to win over
a million enemies.
l The soul comes alone and goes alone,
no one companies it and no one becomes its mate.
l A living body is not merely an integration
of limbs and fl esh but it is the abode of
the soul which potentially has perfect
perception (Anant-darshana), perfect
knowledge (Anant-jnana), perfect power
(Anant-virya), and perfect bliss (Anantsukha).
Exnora Ahimsa India members at an awareness
programme on animal welfare and environmental
protection at Marina recently.
E
xnora Ahimsa India
(Animal Welfare organisation) organised an
awareness programme on
animal welfare and environmental protection at Marina
recently.
According to a press release, the event was organised as part of
Bhagwan Mahaveer Jay-
anti which falls tomorrow.
Exnora Ahimsa India office-bearers and coordinators from various parts of
Chennai participated in the
awareness programme.
‘The preaching of Bhagwan Mahaveer and Jainism
are very high. If those are
implemented, there can be
a drastic developmental
l One should fight one’s inner enemies Passions, Attachment, Aversion, Desires
and the like. What is the purpose of fighting the external enemies.? Conquering
the self through self-reliance leads to
Happiness
— Lord Mahaveer
Published by K. Balakumar on behalf of News Today Media (P) Ltd., from 85, Mount Road (GST Road), Guindy, Chennai 600 032 and printed by him at Frontline Printers Private Ltd., M-7, Thiru-Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy,
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