Protests in Puttaparthi over alleged mishandling of Sathya Sai Trust money

Puttaparthi:  Several followers of Sathya Sai Baba held protests in Puttaparthi today over reports of alleged mishandling of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust's money by its members.

"We have lost trust in the trust members and want them to quit. We want the donations to be put to good use," said one of the protesting devotees. They are demanding an inquiry into the functioning of the trust.

On June 17, close to Rs. 11.56 crore in cash were found in Yajur Mandir, which was Sai Baba's private chamber at his ashram. 98 kilos of gold and 307 kilos of silver were also found. At that time, trustees said the cash was being counted in the presence of income tax officials and was being deposited in the State Bank of India.

Two days later on June 19, police in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district seized Rs. 35.5 lakh from a car belonging to the trust and arrested the driver of the vehicle Harishnanda Shetty. A trust official V Srinivasan was believed to have given him the money. This led to allegations that the trust money was being removed from the ashram premises. Sai Baba's nephew RJ Ratnakar, who is also a member of the trust, was questioned by the Andhra Pradesh police today in connection with this seizure. Police is also interrogating V Srinivasan.

The trust enjoys several exemptions from the state government and there are now demands that the government must withdraw those privileges and intervene on behalf of the devotees.

Earlier this week, Sai Baba's grand-niece Chetna Raju claimed that there was a threat to her life as she is questioning the actions of those managing the trust.

"Since the person caught claims that the money was given by a trust member, V Srinivasan, we are demanding that there should be a proper inquiry into all this," Chetna told NDTV.

The spiritual and religious guru of millions died on April 24.

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Hunt on for mob that thrashed a 19-yr-old bike thief

CHENNAI: The police are hunting for members of a mob who brutally attacked a 19-year-old bike thief in Pudupet on Wednesday.

According to the police, the youth had stolen the bike parked outside a restaurant in Parrys three days ago. Immediately , the bike owner, Yusuff of Mannadi, came to Pudupet, the hub for for used automobile spare parts in the city. On Wednesday, Yusuff noticed the youth, later identified as R Dinesh , 19, of Bangalore, riding his brand new Yamaha and informed his friends.

They intercepted Dinesh and assaulted him. The youth abandoned the bike and began running, chased by Yusuff and his friends along with local shop owners and some of their employees. He rushed into a residence where he was cornered and thrashed again. He fainted.

By the time the Egmore police could come and rescue Dinesh , the mob, including Yusuff and his friends, had melted away.

He was taken to a private hospital and then to the Government General Hospital . Yusuff had taken away his bike without
lodging a complaint , the police said. According to the police, Yusuff on Monday last went to a restaurant on Armenian Street. When he came out, he found his bike missing. Some of his friends, who own shops in Pudupet , advised him to come there to see if his bike was there, ready to be sold as scrap. The Egmore police registered a case and launched a hunt for Yusuff and the mob that attacked Dinesh. A separate case was registered against Dinesh.

Dinesh, who came here from Bangalore a year ago, lived on a platform and stole bikes from parking lots and sold them in the Pudupet market , the police said. tnn

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19 'terrorists' held on Day 2 of mock drill

CHENNAI: The city police nabbed eight 'terrorists' who tried to sneak into Chennai Harbour on Thursday, the second day of Operation Hamla-3 .

The arrested men were among the 19 caught across the state during the exercise, designed to check the terror-preparedness of the state. The operation began on Wednesday and will continue till Friday.

Early on Thursday, police personnel near the Chennai Harbour check point on Rajaji Salai nabbed eight 'terrorists' , who were actually commandos, trying to enter the harbour. "Though we cannot reveal the developments of the 'Operation' now, most of the 'terrorists' were nabbed by the police and other agencies," a senior police officer said.

Following the Mumbai terror strikes in 2008, the Tamil Nadu police have regularly tested their preparedness to fight terrorism . First came 'Operation Barricade' , followed by 'Operation Rakshak' , Operation Hamla-1 and Operation Hamla-2 , all within a period of six months.

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A. Raja's wife appears before IT officials

Former Union Telecom Minister A. Raja’s wife Parameswari, and his elder brother appeared at the Income Tax Office here on Friday after they were summoned by the IT Department for an enquiry. 

Sources said Parameswari, wife of Raja, who has been arrested and lodged in the Tihar Jail in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, and his elder brother A. Ramachandran were questioned by a senior officer of the IT Department in the rank of a Deputy Director for about three hours. 

It is said that the inquiry was to seek certain clarifications regarding income tax returns they had filed and the source of their income. Ms. Parameswari and Mr. Ramachandran were accompanied by a team of auditors during the IT inquiry. 

The CBI, which is probing the 2G Spectrum scam, had conducted raids in the residences of relatives of Raja and in Perambalur and Tiruchi a few months ago, besides raiding the houses of the former Union Minister’s aides in Perambalur.

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Indian cricketers criticise Daryl Harper for bad decisions

KINGSTON ( Jamaica): Umpire Daryl Harper came in for some scathing criticism from the Indian cricket team, which blasted the Australian for his poor decisions during the first cricket Test against the West Indies.

Such was the exasperation that a senior member of the side said that whole team wishes that Harper does not officiate in the third Test.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did little to hide his disgust at the standard of umpiring in the Test, which they won by 63 runs to take a 1-0 lead.

"If correct decisions were made, the game would have ended much earlier and we would have been in the hotel by now," Dhoni said at the post match press conference.

The Australian would stand for one last time when India take on West Indies in the third Test at Dominica from July 6.

"We don't want him -- you can quote it as the reaction of the entire Indian team," said a very senior member of the side.

Though Dhoni did not name anyone of the two umpires officiating in the match --- Ian Gould (England) and Harper -- several Indian players openly termed the latter as the centre of their ire.

"It's Daryl Harper six not out," said another senior cricketer as soon as he saw a bunch of Indian pressmen approaching him.

Indians were upset that Harper made at least three critical errors against India and three in favour of West Indies during the match.

"Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh and Dhoni himself for done in; (Darren) Bravo twice and once (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul benefitted," chimed in another Indian cricketer, bristling with aggression.

Raina was given out caught in the leg-trap off Devendra Bishoo and television replays suggested no edge from either bat or gloves of the batsman.

Harbhajan Singh was ruled out leg before wicket when the ball clearly was seen going way above the height of the stumps.

Dhoni was cleanly caught at point region off Bishoo but the bowler had cut the return crease in his bowling run-up and the delivery should have been called a no-ball.

All three decisions in question were given by Harper in India's second innings.

Then, when West Indies batted for the last time, there were confident appeals against Bravo and Chanderpaul which were not upheld.

The controversial Australian umpire is regarded worldwide as the worst umpire in the ICC list of elite umpires.

After being on the panel for nine years, between 2002 and 2011, the ICC too has come round to the general perception and declared that Harper will stand down after the termination of his contract in July 2011.

Harper also needled the Indians by banning Praveen Kumar from bowling for treading on to the 'danger area' of the pitch in his follow-through in the first innings.

Indians are not contesting the decision in private but feel Harper could have cautioned the debutant in a friendly way before taking the strong step.

Indian cricketers have little doubt umpire Harper has been clearly biased against them over the years.

"Remember, it was Harper who gave Sachin Tendulkar out lbw in a Test when the batsmen had ducked and was hit on his shoulder," remarked a cricketer.

During a Test of the 1999-2000 tour to Australia, a short delivery from Glenn McGrath had Tendulkar looking to duck under it but it hit him on the shoulders.

Umpire Harper promptly gave Tendulkar out though he was to say later 'the one (decision) that I would like the world to forget is the Sachin one.'

The shocking decision was the reason the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced neutral umpires for both ends in Test matches.

Justified as the Indians are, it only underlines the reason why they should give their sanction to Umpires Decision Review System (UDRS).

The Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) has been steadfastly refusing the usage of UDRS technology even though worldwide it's acceptance is a norm.

The UDRS technology, because of BCCI's insistence, is not being used either in the present series or the one in England which follows next month.

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Government shying away from facing Parliament: Sushma

Chennai: The ruling coalition at the Centre is shying away from facing Parliament, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday. “They [the ruling party] do not want to face Parliament and will delay the session as long as they can.”

Addressing a press conference, Ms. Swaraj said the budget session of the Lok Sabha had already been cut short. “We expected a short session in May; that didn't happen.” The Opposition sought a special session and that also did not take place. On top of that, now the government had announced that the monsoon session would begin in August and not in July. “As the principal Opposition party, courtesy demands that we should have been consulted or at least informed. We have come to know of it only through the TV,” she said.

Ms. Swaraj was here to participate in the two-day State Executive Committee meeting of the party, which concluded on Thursday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said there were a number of issues, such as the Lokpal Bill, which had to be discussed and debated in Parliament. “While they are convening an all-party meeting, why is it that Parliament, the forum of collective wisdom and the actual forum of legislation, is not being used? There are too many interlinked issues that have got to be discussed.”

Pointing out that the Women's Reservation Bill could get consensus in the Rajya Sabha, she observed that the consensus could be obtained only after use of marshals to remove some persons from the House. “We do not want those scenes repeated in the Lok Sabha,” she said and pleaded for the cooperation of all the parties to get the Bill passed.

Referring to the alleged bugging of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's offices in North Block, she said: “I have already called it India's Watergate. This shows how insecure the government is. The Finance Minister may have his own compulsions to play it down. That chewing gum issue is hard to digest,” she quipped.

Ms. Swaraj said whether it was the handiwork of the government or a corporate house “it is a matter of great concern. And it should be thoroughly investigated and I am demanding a probe.”

Asked about the Lokpal Bill, she said: “We have not seen the draft at all. Let both the drafts [of the government and also of the civil society] be placed before us. Then we will come out with our response.”

On the issue of holding talks with Pakistan, she was categorical that there was no sense in talking to that country unless it did something solid to stop cross-border terrorism.

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Katrina Kaif with Hrithik Roshan on the cover of Filmfare Magazine

Sexy Katrina Kaif on the cover of Filmfare Magazine with Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif filmfare photo.

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This Surat businessman bought Sachin's red Ferrari

Surat:  The '360 Modena Ferrari', which once occupied a pride of place in batting icon Sachin Tendulkar's fleet of premium cars, is now a prized possession of a city businessman.

Jayesh Desai, Chairman of Raj Hans group, said he purchased the car a fortnight ago.

"I have bought the 360 Modena Ferrari car directly from Sachin Tendulkar with all legal documents," Desai told PTI, but declined to reveal the price.

"It was my dream to drive a Ferrari and now my dream has come true," Desai, who has a passion for driving luxury cars, said.

The Ferrari, which was presented to Tendulkar by racing legend Michael Schumacher, will be the first racing car in his fleet of luxury vehicles, Desai said, adding that his latest acquisition was a prized possession as it was owned by the batting great.

"Kindly ask me only about the car and nothing about Sachin," he said when asked if he and Tendulkar were friends or had known each other.

The Ferrari had got mired in a controversy in 2003 after it was reported that Tendulkar had requested for a customs duty waiver despite getting it as a gift and not winning it as a prize in a tournament.

In August 2003, the finance ministry had exempted Tendulkar from paying around Rs. 1.13 crore (approximately USD 245,000) towards import duty for the vehicle, valued at Rs. 75 lakh (approximately USD 162,600).

The car was gifted to him by FIAT, which manufactures the premium Ferrari cars and endorsed by Tendulkar, after the Indian batting legend equalled Don Bradman's tally of 29 Test centuries.

Ferrari's Formula One driver Schumacher presented the car on behalf of the company to Tendulkar when the two met in 2002 at Silverstone, England.

Tendulkar has taken a break from cricket after playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is away on a vacation in England with family.

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We are ready to face bullets for Lokpal Bill: Hazare

Pune:  Anna Hazare today said he was not afraid of death and dared the government to fire bullets in the event of his going on fast to press for a strong Lokpal bill.

"Anna is not afraid of death. They can fire bullets and not just use lathis to repress our agitation and the people of this country will decide whether India has a democratic rule or a dictatorship," said Anna.

The anti-corruption crusader said this in Pune when asked to comment on Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh's remarks on his plans to go on a fast from August 16.

Digvijaya Singh, however, denied saying that the social activist would be given a treatment similar to yoga guru Ramdev if he goes on fast unto death.

"I am surprised and pained at reports in today's newspapers which quoted me as saying that the treatment given to Ramdev would also be meted out to Anna Hazare," said the Congress General Secretary.

Singh said that during his interaction with reporters in Jabalpur what he said was that the Congress had nothing to do with the manner in which either Hazare or Ramdev will be treated.

He said Congress had nothing to do with how the two were treated as it is always decided by the local administration after assessing the prevailing situation at that moment.

The outspoken leader maintained that if there was a need for holding a fast, the younger activists of civil society like Arvind Kejriwal or Prashant Bhushan should do it instead of Hazare.

Hazare, who was on his way to his native village Ralegaon in Ahmednagar district, also wondered whether the present Congress party was the same that had links with Mahatma Gandhi and leaders like Kamraj.

Asserting that to protest is the democratic right of every citizen, Hazare said, "Congress seems determined to crush our agitation for a strong Lokpal. But it should be remembered now that it is not just Anna Hazare but the entire country that is supporting this agitation and the people will teach them a lesson".

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Andhra Pradesh minister's car attacked in Telangana

Hyderabad:  Demanding his resignation over the issue of a separate state, Telangana activists on Wednesday attacked a minister's convoy in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district.

The incident took place in Hanamkonda town when Handlooms and Textiles Minister Shankar Rao arrived to pay his last respects to Telangana ideologue K. Jayashankar, who died on Tuesday.

Raising slogans of "Jai Telangana", students and activists of various pro-Telangana groups hurled stones and footwear at the minister's convoy, police said.

Police officials rushed to the minister's rescue and escorted him to safety. The window panes of the minister's car were damaged in the attack.

For the second day, leaders of the ruling Congress party have come under attack from mourners and Telangana activists. They roughed up parliament members S. Rajaiah and G. Vivek Tuesday when they came to Jayashankar's house to pay their homage.

Angry mourners have vowed not to allow leaders of the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) pay their respects to the late leader or attend his funeral scheduled later in the day.

The protestors, including students of Kakatiya University, alleged that leaders of the two parties are responsible for the delay in formation of a separate state as they were not ready to quit their posts.

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Aishwarya Rai is pregnant, says Big B

BollywoodWorld.com, Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai is in the family way, says her father-in-law and Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.


“NEWS NEWS NEWS !! I AM GOING TO BECOME A GRANDFATHER .. AISHWARYA EXPECTING .. SO HAPPY AND THRILLED, (sic)” Amitabh posted on his Twitter account.

Ever since Amitabh posted the message on the microblogging site, congratulatory messages have started pouring in.

Aishwarya, 37, and Abhishek, 35, were married in 2007 and as soon as they tied the knot, the rumours of Aishwarya getting pregnant have been making the news. And finally she is expecting.

“Yes, it is true,” Ash’s spokesperson told IANS, confirming the news.

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Emotional Karunanidhi meets Kanimozhi again at Tihar

For the second time in one month, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi  on Tuesday arrived at Tihar Jail to pay a visit to his daughter Kanimozhi. 

Karunanidhi's second visit comes a day after the Supreme Court refused bail to Kanimozhi, who is arrested in the 2G spectrum case.

A visibly emotional Karunanidhi spent about 20 minutes alone with his daughter, before he summoned his wife and son. 

This is Karunanidhi's second meeting with Kanimozhi after she was arrested and sent to jail on May 20. Earlier, he met her on May 23. 

88-year-old Karunanidhi arrived at Tihar Jail at about 4.30 pm accompanied by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders T R Baalu, K Ponmudy and Duraimurugan. His wife Rajathi Ammal and son MK Alagiri were present as well.

Sources said that Karunanidhi met his daughter at the assistant jail superintendent's office. He waited in the room, while his wife and son, presumably on his request, waited outside. 

"When Kanimozhi entered the room, the father-daughter embraced. He gave her some home-made chips in a packet. He spent about 20 minutes with her before he sent for his wife and son," a Tihar source said. 

Sources also said that except for mother Rajathi Ammal, nobody else cried at the meeting.
Ammal also gave Kanimozhi some home-cooked food. Kanimozhi and Karunanidhi were seen talking in a composed manner. 

After about 30 minutes, the DMK chief also summoned former Telecom Minister A Raja and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar. After they came in, T R Baalu, K Ponmudy and Duraimurugan also joined them. 

In all, their meeting lasted for about 45 minutes

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Government draft on Lokpal Bill excludes PM

NEW DELHI: The Joint Drafting Committee on the Lokpal Bill ended its deliberations on Tuesday without a common text, and the government has decided to go ahead with its plan of consulting political parties and Chief Ministers on the two different versions before getting the Cabinet to clear a final draft.

Expressing “deep disappointment” at what it said was the government's watered down version of a Lokpal Bill — an official draft was presented to it for the first time on Tuesday — Team Anna criticised the exclusion of the Prime Minister from the ambit of the ombudsman and threatened to take to the streets from August 16. Anna Hazare, who has accused the government of lacking the will power to draft a Bill altogether, plans to go on another “indefinite” fast from that day. “The people will teach them [the government] a lesson,” Mr. Hazare said.

The ninth and last meeting of the committee did not last an hour; the two sides exchanged their drafts. The government representatives were, to quote Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily, “quite happy that the deliberations of the committee have come to an end.”

Mr. Moily, accompanied by Kapil Sibal and Salman Khursheed, said both versions of the draft Bill would be circulated among the Chief Ministers and political parties ahead of the all-party meeting in July and, along with their responses and comments, the Cabinet would be approached to take a decision on the final draft to be presented before Parliament.

The Ministers said the decision to keep the Prime Minister out of the purview of their draft was not that of the government but of the five Ministers on the committee. The Prime Minister had no role in it, they stressed.

They clarified that they had discharged the responsibility vested in them to take a call on the issue and decided to keep the Prime Minister out of the ambit of the Lokpal for various reasons, which, among others, was not to question the integrity of the post. Only the Cabinet took government decisions, they explained.

They said the attempt was to set up a new institution; the parameters of the new system had to be drawn at a particular point without changing the law of the land. The power to subject the Prime Minister to scrutiny had not being given to the Lokpal but he would still continue to be covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the CBI.

Stressing their draft Bill was the outcome of deliberations with the civil society members spread over nine meetings, the Ministers said it was the best possible Bill in the current geo-political situation. Agreement was over 34 out of the 40 points presented by the civil society members.

They explained in great length the difficulties in adopting the six other suggestions made by Team Anna even to give all powers to the Lokpal to investigate and prosecute bureaucrats who enjoy protection under the Constitution.

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Karunanidhi to leave for Delhi tomorrow

With the Supreme Court rejecting the bail plea of DMK MP Kanimozhi, her father and DMK chief M Karunanidhi will leave for New Delhi on Tuesday morning to meet her in Tihar Jail, where she has been lodged. 

DMK sources said a visibly upset Karunanidhi had decided to call on his daughter at the prison to console her.

Kanimozhi’s mother Rajathi Ammal is already in New Delhi.

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Single window counselling for engineering admissions

CHENNAI: Admissions to engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu through the single window counselling process will begin on June 30. Minister for higher education P Palaniappan announced the dates on Monday at an event organised at Anna University to generate random numbers for applicants having the same cut-off marks.

While 3,457 applicants under the sports quota will go through the counselling process first on June 30, the counselling for 5,578 vocational candidates will be held from July 1 to 7, the counselling process for 464 students under the differently-abled category will be held on July 7. Counselling for 1,42,775 applicants under the general academic category will be held from July 8. The rank list of the candidates will be published on June 24, and sports quota verification will be done on June 28 and 29. 

This year 1,25,000 seats will be offered through the single window counselling system, which is an increase of 5,000 seats from last year. The number of engineering colleges has also gone up marginally from 491 last year to 494 in 2011. While 51,462 seats in engineering colleges in the state went vacant in 2009, last year the number was 31,000. This year the number of applications sold has dropped from 1.78 lakh in 2010 to 1,63,509 this year. Anna University has received 1,48,353 applications this year.

Minister Palaniappan said that as per the state's decision to merge the four Anna Universities of Technology in various districts in the state counselling would be conducted only at Anna University in Chennai.

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Supreme Court denies bail to Kanimozhi

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed DMK Member of Parliament Kanimozhi's bail plea in the 2G spectrum allocation case and questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation for its failure to interrogate the accused for recovering certain documents. 

However, the court offered her some hope, saying she could approach the trial court for bail once charges are framed. It said she shall be entitled to invoke Section 437 of the Criminal Procedure Code (“when bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence”), which provides for, among other things, grant of bail if the person is under the age of 16 or is a woman or is sick or infirm. 

The CBI is likely to file soon a third charge sheet soon after which the special CBI court is expected to frame charges. 

A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and B.S. Chauhan ticked off counsel for Kanimozhi and co-accused Sharad Kumar (Kalaignar TV managing Director) when they claimed that the two were innocent and were not hungry for money. 

“Hungry people neither take bribe nor do they come to the courts. None of them [accused] is a hungry person,” the Bench said when senior counsel Altaf Ahmed argued that the accused were “not hungry for money,” and the Rs. 200 crore transferred to Kalaignar TV was part of a loan amount.

The court order came as a surprise for the lawyers and family members of the two accused as they were hopeful of getting relief from the Bench. 

Defence argument that Ms. Kanimozhi and Mr. Kumar, whose bail plea was also rejected, were no longer required for investigation as the CBI had so far not interrogated them prompted the Bench to ask the agency why it failed to interrogate her. 

It also asked senior counsel A.S. Chandiok, appearing for the CBI, what prevented the investigating agency from recovering certain documents. 

“What is preventing you from recovering the documents? Why did you not interrogate them? Have they been interrogated? Why were they not questioned?”

Mr. Chandiok replied the probe was on. 

The Bench was not impressed with defence plea that the accused were willing to abide by any condition for bail and even the former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was granted bail in a sexual molestation case. 

“Let us keep the media discussions outside. It tends to blur our thinking,” the Bench said.

It did not agree with the plea of senior counsel Sushil Kumar that Ms. Kanimozhi should be granted bail as she has a 10-year-old child to look after and that she was being denied his company. “That happens to all other women,” it said. 

Mr. Sushil Kumar pleaded that since Ms. Kanimozhi was not charged with any IPC offence, the maximum sentence that she could face in the event of her conviction was six years and hence she should be granted bail.

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Four hours of load shedding from tomorrow

Residents of Chennai and its suburbs will have to brace themselves for four hours of load shedding daily from June 21 to 30. The cut would be carried out in spells of one hour every four hours in rotation. 

Line connectivity work

The four-hour load shedding is being introduced to take up line connectivity work to the TNEB-NTPC joint venture thermal power plant at Vallur. The Nellore-Alamathy 400 KV line is being shutdown for this purpose. 

According to a press release from TANGEDCO, the shutdown of the line would lead to a shortage of about 300 MW of power to the city and its suburbs. Officials said the existing one hour of load shedding in the city will be replaced by the new schedule in areas covered by the four-hour shutdown.

Consumers have been asked to bear with the inconvenience caused and to cooperate with the authorities to enable early commissioning of the new mega power station at Vallur. 

The NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Ltd (NTECL), a joint venture of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), is setting up the project, which has three units of 500 MW each, near Chennai.

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Student found hanging in school hostel

A student of a private school near Velur in the district was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his school's hostel in the early hours of Sunday. 

According to police, the boy who was hailing from a village near Bodinayakanur in Theni district, was homesick as his parents had forcibly put him in hostel after the school reopened on Wednesday.

The boy wanted to go to school from home and asked his parents to take him back home, the police said quoting his friends and school sources. On Saturday evening, he called up his home from a public booth and told his parents to take him back. His mother promised to meet him in the hostel on Sunday. 

His mother who was on her way to meet her son was informed of the incident.

The body was taken to the Velur Government Hospital for post-mortem.

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Lessons my father taught me: Happy Father's Day!

by Lynette Holloway
CHICAGO, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Rebecca L. Stinson still recalls the poignant letters of encouragement she received from her father in Chicago as a college student in Washington, D.C. while she earned her education degree.

The Chicago Police Detective who died 13 years ago encouraged her to receive a good education and to be an independent thinker. His advice helped shape her life as a daughter, woman, wife, mother, teacher, friend and now as a principal of Claremont Math, Science, and Technology Academy on Chicago's South Side in Englewood, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city.

"My father was smart and fiercely intuitive," Stinson told Xinhua in an interview. "He was such a great father. He passed along some great lessons and advice to me. When I need to hear his voice or draw on some of that strength, I pull out those letters that I have stored away. I love him for that."
Stinson, mother of two grown daughters, said she plans reflect on her father's memory with quiet time on Father's Day on Sunday like she does every year.

She is not alone. On Father's Day on Sunday, scores of Americans will to pay tribute to fathers, those alive and deceased, through family-oriented activities, such as breakfast, brunch, dinner and other celebrations.

"It's an important event," said Tressa Epps, an events planner in Chicago. "People like to pay tribute to mothers and fathers."

Indeed, President Barack Obama quickly put fatherhood first when he was elected to office in 2009, taking family vacations with first lady Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia. As someone who grew up without a father in the household, fatherhood is important to him. He has said being a father is "the most important jobs he has."

For years, he has worked to improve fatherlessness in America, from supporting local fatherhood programs to encouraging personal responsibility.

On Wednesday, he reinforced that goal. During a screening of the movie Cars 2 for military fathers and families, he unveiled a program called "Strong Fathers, Strong Families" as part of his " Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative."

"It's an effort with partners from around the nation to create simple opportunities for dads and kids to connect," Michael Strautmanis, counselor in the Office of Public Engagement, wrote on the White House Blog. "Whether it's a free game of bowling, a Major League Baseball or WNBA game, a visit to the zoo or aquarium, or discounts for dads and kids through partners like Groupon and LivingSocial, we're excited to help create small moments that can have a big impact."

Further, President Obama recently wrote an essay for People magazine about being the father he never had and growing up without a dad in the house. His experience was not atypical. Scores of children grow up in households without dads. According to the U.S. Census, nearly one in three children in the nation grow up without a father.

Other politicians are taking the president's lead and are being more emphatic about the importance of fatherhood. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and former Obama White House chief of staff, reportedly calls his father daily and receives a special Father's Day gift every year from wife Amy: a photo album of what his three children did the past year, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

And once seen as the scourge as examples of fatherhood, athletes are beginning to be viewed as models of success. On Thursday, Miami Heat basketball star Dwayne Wade was awarded the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative for " giving dads everywhere a great example of what it means to be an involved, responsible, and committed father." Wade recently won custody of his children.

"I am so thrilled to be given this award, especially because it is in recognition of the most important thing in my life, my kids, " Wade said in a prepared statement. "Nothing in the world compares to the happiness that they bring me each and every day. I know that my biggest responsibility is to be there for them 100 percent and to demonstrate to other fathers that it is possible to be a strong male figure in your children's lives regardless of what else is going on in your life."

For her part, Darya Johnson, a stylist in Chicago's South Loop, said she would celebrate Father's Day with her husband Albert, who is an exemplary dad in their blended family of seven children, ranging in ages 23 to 6.

"He is a true provider in the sense of being there," Johnson said of her husband. "I love him for that. He cares about our safety and wellbeing. And all of the kids are treated according to their strengths and personality. We have family meetings to review their goals. We help them sort out issues. We're there for them. That's what fatherhood is about. They are being raised."

Jamie Payne, whose father passed away four years ago will celebrate her father's memory with quiet time on Sunday. The TV producer, who lives in Chicago, said her father, James W. Payne, had a monumental impact on her life.

"My father taught me by his actions alone," Payne said, "which were to treat people the way you want to be treated, be confident in who you are and use every talent that God has blessed you with for the service of others. My father's life on earth was mostly to serve others and today I make sure that I am a replica of that continued service. As I pursue my goals and dreams, I use those same actions to help others achieve their dreams and goals as well. So in short, if everyone took that same mindset, our accomplishments would be endless and doors of opportunity will continue to open. Thanks Daddy for your service, not only to your family, friends, loved ones, but in the community as well. I love you."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/19/c_13937414.htm

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Education must be beyond controversies: Chidambaram

Education must be beyond controversies, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said at the inauguration of the new campus of the Omayal Achi College of Nursing at Puzhal, near here.

School and college admissions attract controversies almost every year, Mr. Chidambaram said. For instance, this year, a Delhi college had declared that the cut-off mark was 100 per cent. If this is the base mark, can students score over 100 per cent, he wondered. 

This was the situation, at a time when the government was attempting to increase the number of students who take up higher education from 12 in every 100, to 15. The long term goal is to increase it to 20 while the global average was 45 in 100 students.

There were insufficient number of colleges and universities in the country. More opportunities must be created and the government alone could not do that. Private charitable institutions should be involved, actively supported by the government.

Mr. Chidambaram said that while the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme had managed to ensure 98 per cent coverage in primary sections, attention should now be focussed on retaining students in middle and high school, and then encouraging them to go on to higher education.

There was a great thirst, aspiration among students from across economic strata to take up higher education these days, even if they had to avail of bank loans. One out of every four bank loans disbursed for education was from Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University Vice-Chancellor Mayil Vahanan Natarajan said that the new facilities at the Omayal Achi College of Nursing were impressive. If a ranking of colleges were to take place, the college would probably figure right on top of the list.

Valli Alagappan, managing trustee, MR Omayal Achi MR Arunachalam Trust, said that the college had been functioning from leased premises. Efforts were taken over the years to set up its own infrastructure dedicated to nursing training. 

The motto of the trust was ‘With love to serve' and, in keeping with this, highly subsidised training was being provided to students.

Vivian Ramsden, from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, spoke about her institution's long relationship with the nursing college. 

She handed over a cheque to fund research capacity and training to principal Kanchana Khan.

Kasi Viswanathan, trustee, and Kamala Selvaraj of GG Hospital spoke.

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Young woman found murdered in Mumbai train

Mumbai: A partly decomposed body of a woman with stab injuries was found in a second class compartment of an empty local train at Kalwa railway car shed on Friday night.

The incident came to light at 11.30 pm when RPF (Railway Protection Force) on duty constable Ajitsingh Kalam in Kalwa car shed found the body of a woman lying between two seats in the second class compartment of the empty 12 car rake that had arrived from Kalyan. Thinking that she was asleep Kalam approached her and tried to wake her up. When she did not respond, he called the Thane railway police.

The railway police rushed to the spot and found that blood was oozing from her mouth and nose. "She had four stab injuries on her body and we could not find anything near her," said ACP P V Sardar of Mumbai railway police. He added that the body has been sent to the Thane Civil Hospital. The case has been registered under sections 302 (Murder) and 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence) IPC.

"Rape cannot be ruled out. We will confirm only after receiving the post mortem report," Sardar said. It seemsthe woman was stabbed to death by unidentified people 12 hours before. The body was placed aboard the train somewhere between Kalwa and Kalyan, when it stopped at a signal.

"We have formed six police teams to identity the deceased and trace the next of kin or other relatives. The team will visit every police station in the Thane district and Navi Mumbai as well as the slum colony that has mushroomed along the railway tracks between Kalwa and Kalyan to inquire about any woman with similar descriptions, who is missing." added Sardar.

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Minor girl sexually exploited by nearly 100 people in Kerala

Kochi:  Police teams have been sent to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and various parts of Kerala to nab at least 70 persons for the alleged sexual exploitation of a 14-year old girl in connivance with her father.

The action came after the girl revealed to police about her sexual exploitation, including by her own father, police said.

The child is being treated for venereal diseases at a government hospital here. According to the police who believe that 100-odd persons might be involved in the case, 29 had been arrested in recent days.

The girl told police that her father, who used to do odd roles in Malayalam films, first exploited her and then let many others in the industry and outside to do the same.

Hailing from Paravoor in Ernakulam district, the girl had revealed to a close relative about her plight following which a police complaint was filed some three months ago.

Police said 71 accused are absconding and five squads have been formed to trace them.

The victim had named some persons and a few more have to be identified, Crime Branch SP S Surendran told PTI today.

'We are collecting the details of the accused. There is no information about involvement of politicians,' he said.

Police had arrested a Tamil Nadu PWD contractor two days ago. His car which was used to transport the girl to his farm house had been seized.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/minor-girl-sexually-exploited-by-nearly-100-people-in-kerala-113230?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NdtvNews-Cities+%28NDTV+News+-+Cities%29&utm_content=Google+International&cp

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Anna Salai flyovers proposal shelved

The two flyovers proposed on Anna Salai with funds from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) last year have been shelved. 

The CMDA had sanctioned Rs.100 crore for the piling work of the project and the Highways Department was expected to start the work on the two facilities by August 2010.

The Highways department also conducted a traffic survey at eight traffic intersections after objections were raised over locating the elevated roads on a stretch where a Metro Rail corridor was already taking shape.

However, after repeated inter-departmental consultations, the last of which was conducted six months ago, the project has received no official go-ahead and has been dropped, a senior Highways Department official said.

One of the proposed flyovers was 1.9 km long between the P.Orr & Sons showroom and the Spencer Plaza junction. 

The other flyover was proposed to be 2.9 km long, from Anna Arivalayam in Teynampet to the CIT Nagar First Main Road junction near Saidapet.

Since the flyovers were supposed to come above the underground metro rail tunnels, there was a narrow time window within which the piling work should have been completed.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited has already commenced soil testing work along Anna Salai.

Installation of the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) is under way and full-fledged underground tunnelling is expected to begin within six months.

In such a scenario, “it is too late” to implement the flyover project, a senior government official said.

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