Jaya announces 20% bonus, ex gratia for PSU staff

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NATIONAL DAILY
VOL. XXXIII NO. 325
8
FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R
SUNDAY 1.11.2015 (EVENING)
Lankan Navy
arrests five more
TN fishermen
Rameswaram, Nov 1 (PTI):
Sri Lankan Navy arrested five Tamilnadu fishermen today and seized
their boat on charges of crossing the
International Maritime Boundary Line
and fishing in their waters.
Rameswaram fishermen Association President S Emirit said the fishermen were fishing near Katchatheevu
islet when the navy personnel arrested them.
The navy had on 2 October arrested
seven fishermen who went for fishing in the sea from here while on 10
October, 19 fishermen hailing from
Nagapattinam were arrested. Again in
13 October, 24 fishermen from Rameswaram have been arrested. Nine
more fishermen from Nagapattinam
have been apprehended the next day.
Similarly, 34 fishermen have been
arrested on 27 October 27 on charges
of fishing in Sri Lankan waters. Expressing shock over these arrests,
Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
had written letters on various occasions to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi urging him to take up the arrest
of the state’s fishermen with Sri Lanka
and sought their release.
H OTHER STATIONS MONDAY 2.11.2015 (MORNING) H 8
PAGES Rs. 4.00
H Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82
Fast & furious
t least 12 people were killed in the Somali capital
today after Shebab gunmen used a vehicle packed
with explosives to blast their way inside a hotel, police said.
The Al-Qaeda linked Shebab claimed responsibility
for the dawn attack at the Sahafi hotel, which is popular
with members of parliament, government employees and
businessmen.
The Shebab said they were still fighting security forces,
but African Union soldiers, battling alongside government
troops, said they had taken control of the building.
Attackers exploded a car bomb to gain entry before going
inside... we have reports of 12 dead, policeman Abdulrahid
Dahir said.
Meanwhile, Tamilnadu government today announced
a 20 per cent festival bonus for its 3.76 lakh employees.
The government allotted Rs 242.41 crore for bonus and
ex-gratia to 3,76,464 of its employees. The government’s
said measure will help the public sector employees celebrate Deepavali in a grand manner, Jayalalithaa said in
a statement.
Elsewhere, the Syrian government’s biggest international
backers and opponents plunged into negotiations today
over a long-sought compromise to help end a 4 and-ahalf year civil war and potentially ease President Bashar
Assad out of power.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was hopeful
of finding a path forward.
Jaya announces 20% bonus,
ex gratia for PSU staff
q Total of 3,76,464 employees to be benefited
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today
announced a Deepavali bonus of
Rs 242.41 crore to the 3.77 lakh
employees of the State Public Sector
Undertakings (PSUs).
In a statement here, the Chief Minister said the employees of the Tamilnadu Electricity Board, State-owned
Transport Corporations, Tamilnadu
Civil Supplies Corporation, Tamilnadu Forest Plantation Corporation,
Tamilnadu Tea Plantation Corporation, sugar mills in the Cooperative
and Public Sectors, Tamilnadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation will
get 20 per cent bonus (8.33 per cent
bonus and 11.67 per cent ex-gratia).
‘Workers are the backbone for a
nation’s economic development.
Their growth will only usher allround prosperity of the nation. The
hard labour of work force is essential in increasing yield,’ the Chief
Minister said and added, ‘In due
recognition of their coontibution, I
have ordered for a bonus and exgratia to those working in various
PSUs for this Deepavali which will
give them greater enthusiasm’.
‘All eligible employees of the
Cooperative societies will get 8.33
per cent bonus and 1.67 per cent
ex-gratia while the employees of
the profit-making Cooperative societies will get 20 per cent bonus’,
the Chief Minister said. ‘Workers
‘Workers are the
backbone for a nation’s
economic development.
Their growth will
only usher all-round
prosperity of the nation.
The hard labour of work
force is essential in
increasing yield’
under contract basis working with
the Tamilnadu Electricity Board
will get Rs 2,000, temporary
workers of the Tamilnadu Civil
Supplies Corporation and workers
of Central Cooperative Societies
Sale of toor dhal in
subsidised price begins
HAPPY NEWS
q People throng co-op
and Amudham stores
People buying toor dhal at a TUCS shop in Triplicane today.
‘Eve-teasing violates
woman’s right to life’
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Eve-teasing and stalking violate
women’s right to life and liberty and
are a menace which makes them feel
unsafe, a Delhi court has observed.
The court also observed that eveteasing and stalking are a ridiculous
form of enjoyment for men but physical and mental torture for women.
It said a large percentage of Indian
women have faced or are facing this
menace and they find themselves
vulnerable to threat of eve-teasing
everywhere, be it a public transport
system, public place, shopping mall
or multiplex.
Metropolitan magistrate Susheel
Bala Dagar’s observation came
while holding 22-year-old Rajesh,
a resident of Sultan Puri in north
west Delhi, guilty of stalking a girl
and uttering words, making gestures
intended to insult her modesty and
sentenced him to three months in jail.
Eve-teasing has become a menace
in the society due to which women
feel unsafe and nervous to move out
alone. Eve-teasing is a typical social
crime which violates the right to life
and liberty of the women in the metropolitan cities, the court said.
It said eve-teasing and stalking violate a woman’s right to live with dig-
Photo: A R JAYAKUMAR
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
People thronged co-operative
stores and Amudham stores across
the State today as Tamilnadu government kickstarted sale of toor
dhal at subsidised price.
It is sold in half-kg and one-kg
packs at Rs 55 and Rs 110, respectively.
It may be recalled that the Tamilnadu government had ordered the
sale of toor dhal at subsidised rate
from today through 91 co-operative
stores in Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy
and Coimbatore.
All the stores will function from 9
am to 8 pm to meet the rush.
The Tamilnadu government has
already sent a circular in this regard
on the sale of subsidised dhal. To
manage the price rise, the Centre
had decided to import 5,000 metric
tonnes of toor dhal. Of this, Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa requested
the Centre to allocate 500 metric
tonnes to the State. Accordingly,
500 metric tonnes of toor dhal has
been received at Chennai port.
Tamilnadu Dhal Manufacturers
Association has already decided
to sell the imported toor dhal for
Rs 133-135 per kg. Due to this, the
retail price will hold at Rs 145 per
kg, which is currently around Rs
180 per kg.
Experts doubt IS
claim on Russian airbus
q Investigators recover black boxes
nity and the convict must be awarded
such a sentence which discourages
the other like minded people of the
society from doing such offences.
Acts of stalking, passing lewd
remarks and gestures, brushing
against the woman’s body and
passing vulgar comments are
some of the things which women in
metropolitan cities face all the time
and what exactly happens simply
depends upon the opportunity which
the perverts gets,’ the magistrate
said.
Men who indulge in such enjoyment do not seem to realise how
a woman may be affected by their
comments and acts. These men
feel it right to show their attention
and aggression towards women.
They rather feel validated by acting
sexually and aggressively towards
women.
Cairo, Nov 1 (PTI):
International investigators today
began probing the crash of a Russian Airbus plane in Egypt’s Sinai
Peninsula that killed all the 224
people on board as black boxes
were recovered and sent for analysis amid claims
by an Islamic State-affiliate group
that it downed the jet.
The Islamic State-affiliate group
in Egypt, which is waging a deadly
insurgency in the Sinai, claimed it
downed the plane in the mountainous area of the Sinai Peninsula but
Cairo and Moscow both rejected
the claim.
Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif
Ismail said experts had confirmed
that the militants could not down
a plane at the 30,000 feet while
Russian Transport Minister Maxim
Sokolov said the claim cannot be
considered accurate.
Mohamed Samir, Egypt’s army
spokesman, also disputed the
claim, saying, ‘They can put out
whatever statements they want
but there is no proof at this point
that terrorists were responsible for
this plane crash. We will know the
true reasons when the Civil Aviation Authority in coordination with
Russian authorities completes its
investigation. But the army sees no
authenticity to the claims.’
Russian and French investigators have joined the Egyptian-led
probe into one of the deadliest Airbus incidents of the past decade,
along with experts from the avia-
tion giant, which is headquartered
in France.
The plane’s black boxes have
been found and sent for analysis,
officials said.
Investigators said they were
checking fuel samples from the
last refuelling stop, in the Russian
city of Samara, and have focused
on the possibility that a technical
failure could have caused the
18-year-old plane to crash, killing 217 passengers, including 17
children, and seven crew members.
A spokesman said investigators
were questioning people who
were involved in preparing the
aircraft and its crew and were
carrying out searches at Moscow’s
Domodedovo airport where the
airline that operated the plane was
based.
A criminal case had been opened
against Kogalymavia for violation
of rules of flight and preparation
for them.
and District Cooperative Societies
who do not come under the Bonus
Act will be given Rs 1,500 as exgratia. Workers of the primary
cooperative societies who do not
come under the Bonus Act will get
Rs 1,200 as ex-gratia’, the Chief
Minister said.
The C and D employees of Tamilnadu Text Book Society will also
be getting 8.33 per cent bonus
and 11.67 per cent ex-gratia, she
added.
A sum of Rs 242.41 crore as bonus and ex-gratia will benefit 3.77
lakh employees of the State Public
Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the
release said.
Four students
killed
in road mishap
NT Bureau
Chennai Nov 1:
Four college students died when
the car in which they were travelling
fell from a bridge near Kalpakkam
yesterday.
The police identified the deceased
as Jeeva (18) and Sundar (18) of
Madhavaram, while Shankaran alias
Patrick (18) Aswin (17), residents of
Perambur. Two others who sustained
injuries are undergoing treatment at a
private hospital, the police said.
The victims and their friends went to
Kovalam and were planning to travel
to Puducherri. Due to heavy rain, they
reportedly changed their plan and returned to Chennai.
While they reached Vengambakkam
bridge near Kalpakkam, the driver of
vehicle in which they were travelling
lost control the smashed on the wall of
the bridge and the car nosedived. The
crash was so severe that four students
died on the spot. People working near
the accident site rushed to the rescue
of the injured and informed the police.
Bodies of the victims were sent to
Chengalpet government hospital for
postmortem.
ED to issue final
notices in
IPL cases
New Delhi, Nov 1:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED)
is preparing to serve final penalty
notices in close to a dozen alleged
forex violation cases against former
IPL Chairman Lalit Modi and others
as part of its wide-ranging probe in
the alleged financial irregularities in
various editions of the T-20 cricket
extravaganza.
The agency, which is awaiting the
formal notification of a red corner
notice against Modi under its money
laundering probe, is also expected
to request the Home and External
Affairs ministries to press for his
extradition.
Sources said the agency’s investigation in about 11-12 cases, out of
the total 16, against Modi and others
under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is at an advance
stage and final show cause notices
are expected to be issued soon.
They said the adjudication proceedings under FEMA are being finalised
in these cases as the statements
and versions of the accused and
their lawyers have been recorded,
while in some cases, they are about
to get over.
City
2 SUNDAY
1 NOVEMBER 2015
Centre
CHENNAI
His goals are different
q Neighbourhood veteran motivates many in sports
A
BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL
Cement roads have come up at
GKM Colony in Perambur much
to the relief of the residents and
motorists in the locality.
Photo: R THIYAGARAJAN
New housing complex
in Vyasarpadi
A
q Residents welcome Slum Clearance Board’s plan
good news for residents of Perambur as Chennai Metropolitan
Development Authority (CMDA) has
approved the plans of Slum Clearance Board to build a multi-storey
building at Vyasarpadi Moorthinger
Street. This scheme involves demolishing the existing structure and
building a new complex.
This project was submitted to
CMDA in April 2013, but the permission was sanctioned recently. This
apartment will be equipped with a
community hall, commercial complex and a gym.
‘We are happy that this project has
been approved. It has been shelved
for a long time. Now we just hope
that the construction work is executed fast,’ says Dharmalingam, a
resident of the area.
‘Though we were sure that one day
this project would be approved the
time lapse made many feel anxious.
This will come to benefit many and
we are looking
forward to its completion,’ says Jyothiarasu, a longtime resident of
Moorthinger Salai.
‘The only
UR
MB
thing I
RA
PE
was worried while
vacating from my
place was whether
I will get an apartment or not. Although delayed,
The
I understand that
we will be able to
apartment
come back once
complex will be equipped
the new apartment comes up.
I am looking forward to see the
with a community hall,
new building and be able to live
commercial complex
in the new place,’ says Sumathi,,
a senior citizen and a resident of
and a gym
Slum Clearance Board.
— NT Bureau
eau
t 60, S Sekar is an active sportsman
and one among the few from the city
who has taken the game of football to another level.
A resident of Thiruvengada Nagar, Sekar
has a long tryst with sports. It began with
his student days in Sir Theagaraya College,
when he was chosen as a goal keeper as
part of the Madras University team in 1975.
Even when he was employed with the
State Bank of India, he did not let his passion rest.
‘Those days, the banks gained popularity by sending their employees to sports
events.’
S Sekar
Sekar has participated in Vittal trophy,
Federation cup, Stafford cup, Durand cup
and so on. Whenever he was invited for a
neighbourhood event, he would definitely be
there as a guide or as a guest. His quest is
to impart knowledge of the game to a yearnevery football player.
ing person.
Apart from football, Sekar has served as the Indian
Sekhar has had his moments in court, both winhockey coordinator for South Asian Federaning and losing, and he talks about the retion (SAF) games in 1995.
R
sponsibility of being the goal keeper. ‘If
U
TT
A
Currently, Sekar is a coach for the Madras
B
a team loses a match the goal keeper
AM
Medical
College students. He is also instrumenwill be much criticised, but I look fortal
in
forming
many clubs such as the Chennai Vetward to the joy in the news letters going with t h e
erans Club, United Veterans Club and Royapuram
headline, ‘Sekar saves the day’.’
Veterans Club. He also helps out schools to conduct
‘In 1984, former Chief Minister M G Ramachantournaments and coaching camps in the neighbourdran was at the old Nehru stadium at Periamet to
hood.
inaugurate the newly installed flood lights. I was
Sekar can be contacted at 9444213644.
there along with the team for the Santhosh trophy
— NT Bureau
between Tamilnadu and Gujarat. We were advised
not to talk to the Chief Minister as per the protocol,
but we couldn’t hold ourselves back and requested
for a photograph,’ he recalls.
The team subsequently got a picture with him, with
MGR fondly placing his hand on Sekar’s shoulder.
Thinking of this moment still makes him ecstatic.
For every footballer, the dream is to qualify for
World Cup, says Sekar. With India failing to qualify,
Sekar decided to at least witness the glorious moment in 2006 in Germany with few friends.
‘It wore a festive look, I saw Ronaldo playing live
and Messi was an upcoming player then. Every
house was adorned with flags of different countries,’
he says, adding that it was a must experience for
‘I saw Ronaldo
playing live and Messi
was an upcoming
player then. Every
house was adorned
with flags of different
countries’
TV TODAY
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Around Town
CHENNAI
SUNDAY
1 NOVEMBER 2015
3
Wilde ways of a
Chennai suburban train
Participants at the walk against Psoriasis at Chrompet in recently.
Walkathon to create
awareness on Psoriasis
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov1:
The management, staff and students of Sree Balaji Medical College
and Bharath University, conducted
a walkathon to mark the 11th World
Psoriasis Day at Chrompet recently.
According to a press release, the
walkathon was part of the International Psoriasis Conference (IPC)
held in the college premises and
partnered by the Indian Society of
Teledermatology (INSTED).
The conference, first of its kind in
the country, attracted speakers from
London, Paris and Philippines. The
walkathon that spanned a distance of
a kilometre was flagged off by noted
cardiologist V Chockalingam and
Bharath University founder-Chancellor S Jagathrakshagan.
‘IPC was tightly packed with
scientific deliberations aimed at
threadbare discussion on Psoriasis
which is now so common and is
notorious for its attendant complications, notably the cardiovascular
system,’ said professor Jayakar
Thomas, the organising chairman
of the conference.
MP SARAVANAN
Oscar Wilde was a great man. He once said, ‘I
never travel without my diary. One should always
have something sensational to read in the train.’
But his words will not fit if we travel by the suburban trains of Chennai. The sensational experience
starts the second a train stops at the platform.
Since jumping queues is a national pastime, we
rush into the train. The first people who welcome
us are guys who stand at the doorway.
We can often find these dwarapalakas in every
coach. They have no qualms about blocking the
passage of any passenger, be it 100-year-old man
or handicapped person who has lost both legs.
No matter the worst of bad words or dirtiest insults
the passengers throw at them for their behaviour,
they manage to hang on. For some of them, standing near the door is a fetish.
For some others, hanging on to the steel bar near
the door is an obsession: they hold on to it tightly
as though it has magical powers.
Once we somehow manage to get past these
men, a new species of mankind will be found. The
movers or pushers. No matter how much space we
give them to adjust ourselves in the already-packed
coach, this set will always push other commuters
for more and more space. They end up stamping
other’s feet and kicking others’ butt turning the entire
coach into a circus.
Even as we adjust to such people, we are joined
by a new sort of people known as the seat-grabbers.
‘Where is it? Where is it? I will find it and sit on it,’
is the motto of these men.
Their eyes scan like robotic machines. The
minute they find a vacant seat, they race
towards it like Usain
Bolt. Their face will
ISRO’s GSAT-15 to
be launched 10 Nov
q Will provide C, Ku-band telecommunications,
navigation services to India
Chennai, Nov 1 (PTI):
ISRO’s latest communication satellite
GSAT-15 is all set to be launched on
10 November from French Guiana on
board Ariane 5.
The Indian space agency, as part
of augmenting telecommunication
services, had earlier launched communication satellites GSAT 14 and
GSAT 6, respectively.
GSAT 14 was launched in January
2014 while GSAT 6 on GSLV in August 2015.
‘In its 10th mission, scientists at Arianespace recently integrated GSAT-15
satellite with the launcher (Ariane 5)’,
Arianespace said in a statement.
Preparations for Arianespace’s sixth
heavy-lift mission have advanced into
payload integration phase with GSAT15 satellite making its first contact with
the launch vehicle, it said.
GSAT-15, developed by ISRO, would
provide C- and Ku-band telecom-
munications and navigation services
to India. It will have a lift off mass of
3,164.5 kgs. ‘Flight VA227 (Ariane 5)
is set for a November 10 lift
off. It will mark Arianespace’s 10th
launch this year’, it said.
GSAT-15 would be launched along
IndianOil conducts
contests for students
q Over 300 prizes given as part of
Vigilance Awareness Week
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov1:
Students from over 30 city schools
and colleges participated in the painting, slogan and essay competitions
conducted by IndianOil, Southern
Regional Office, as part of Vigilance
Awareness Week 2015.
According to a press release, the
competitions were conducted based
on the theme ‘Preventive Vigilance
as a tool for good governance’. A
total of 1,355 entries were received,
of which 56 per cent were entries
for paintings and 30 per cent for
essays. The competitions were
conducted under three categories
- students studying from class five
to eight, class nine to twelve and
college students.
Tamilnadu Civil Supplies ADGP K
Radhakrishnan distributed over
300 prizes to students in presence
of IndianOil General Manager (IC),
Regional Services, Southern Region,
A Pandian.
IndianOil General Manager (HR)
S Senthil Kumar, General Manager
(Vigilance) M Ullas Kamath and senior officials participated.
Tamilnadu Civil Supplies ADGP K Radhakrishnan distributed prizes
to students who took part in various competitions conducted as part
of Vigilance Awareness Week 2015 by IndianOil in Chennai recently.
IndianOil General Manager (IC), Regional Services, Southern Region,
A Pandian and senior officials are present.
with Arabsat-6B, set up by the Arab
League Inter-governmental Organisation. Arabsat will be launched to provide telecommunications and television
broadcast services for Middle East
and African region. The mission life of
GSAT-15 will be 12 years.
3 city colleges
qualifyfor
eco-marathon final
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
Three city college teams have
qualified for the third and final phase
of Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia
2016. A total of 16 teams from India
have qualified.
A press note said the annual competition challenges engineering students to build vehicles of the future
that can cover maximum distance
in least amount of energy. Student
teams are aiming to beat the current
Asia record of 1,572 km on a litre.
A public festival celebrating innovative thinking and future mobility,
Shell Eco-marathon will be held at
Manila, Philippines between 3 and
6 March 2016.
According to Yasmine Hilton,
chairman, Shell Companies in
India, ‘Shell Eco-Marathon can
equip students with valuable and
practical hands-on experience and
also prepares them to be the next
generation of automotive innovators. It is very impressive that 16
Indian teams from across regions
have moved to the final phase.’
The Chennai teams that have
qualifi ed for phase III are: Team
Eco Titans, VIT University (Chennai); Infi eon Supermileage, SRM
University and Prayuth, MNM Jain
Engineering College.
The competing vehicle entries will
be put to the final test in a specially
designed street circuit at the Luneta
Park located at the heart of Manila
in the Philippines.
glow like a 1,000 watts bulb once they grab the seat.
Others not as athletic, throw the towel in (literally)
or handkerchief through the window. Since we can’t
win against this breed of champions, we are forced
to stand in the company of passengers who have
obnoxious habits.
Finally, when one gets a vacant seat, we can
notice a new form of garbage that is only found on
Indian trains - the most famous ‘groundnut husk’
- both on and under the seats. Isn’t it strange that
after eating peanuts that increase memory power,
people ‘forget’ to get rid of the husks?
We can also find piles of half-eaten oranges,
sweet lime, bananas, etc., along with the peanut
husks.
After cleaning the mess, you
breathe a sigh of relief and sit
on the seat. But just then a fellow
passenger would ask, ‘Nungambakkam eppo varum?; ‘What is the time?’; ‘Can
you please move a little?’
Some of the questions will
be easy to
answer, while others
will
test your patience:
‘How to go to Red
Hills after getting down at
Beach station?’;
‘ D o
you
have change for Rs 100?’; ‘Can I borrow your
newspaper?’
Some of the fellow passengers also take too
much advantage while having a conversation and
end up asking annoying questions: ‘What is your
salary?’; ‘Where does your wife work?’
Now for the background music. On any train
heading to or from Beach station or Arakkonam,
there will always be a bunch of people singing
cinema or devotional songs. They can be nicknamed the Blind ‘Beatles’ or Differently-abled
‘ABBA’ of Chennai suburb trains.
This group often has male/female singers who
may be the SPB of Sevvapettai or Madonna of
Mambalam.
The funniest part is they are
only visible the minute the train
starts moving and not only grab
one’s attention but also wake
up the snoring passenger who missed his station.
Another group of people who definitely amuse
talk only politics. The gurus sit on the seats like
a great sage who has just landed from the Himalayas or Tiruvannamalai.
The speech ranges from national policy making to the Greek economic crisis, from monsoon
weather to external affairs; and from WTO to
Nobel prize. These wise men know it all.
Listening to their lectures, one can even
submit 12 sets of papers for a PhD (Political
Science) degree. But sometimes, arguments
do break out, leading to a scene straight out of
a Tamil news channel programme.
Travelling on a suburban train is not just an art:
it tests one’s patience and teaches vital lessons in
survival.
‘Strokes, if identified
early can be cured’
q Awareness meet held at Kauvery Hospital
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
Identifying stroke symptoms and
seeking emergency hospital care
can help the patient avoid surgical intervention. Certain types
of strokes, if identified
quickly, can be cured
just by medicine. These
facts were highlighted
at an awareness meet
held to commemorate
the World Stroke Day
at Kauvery Hospital,
Alwarpet recently.
According to a press
release, the awareness
meet was conducted by
renowned neurologist
and neurosurgeon Dr Prithika Chary
and her emergency stroke unit team.
Stroke is a life-threatening condition
which affects the brain with very little
warning and, if not treated quickly can
lead to long-term disability, coma and
death. But, according to Dr Prithika
Chary, if someone around can identify the symptoms and get emergency medical help, the risks can be
mitigated. In fact, for certain types of
strokes, if the patient is brought in and
treated within four hours, through an
intravenous procedure called thrombolysis, he or she can potentially
make full recovery.
Women aged more
than 50 are at a higher
risk of stroke compared to men, particularly so if they have
other conditions like
hypertension and diabetes and are menopausal. Both in men
and women, alcohol
consumption and
smoking increase the
risk of stroke combined with above conditions.
Under the guidance and supervision of Dr Prithika Chary, assisted
by Dr Bhuvaneswari, a renowned
neurologist, Kauvery Hospital has
formed a quick response ICU Stroke
Unit, including neurosurgeon Dr
Balamurali and a team of doctors
and nurses from different specialties.
Jallikattu photo
expo from tomorrow
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
Jallikattu or the Indian bull taming sport,
had been
an integral
part of the
life of the
people of
Tamilnadu.
It requires
the bravest of the brave to take on
the well-fed and well-bred bull, tame
him and win laurels and the people’s
hearts.
J Suresh, a photojournalist is organising a comprehensive and productive
photography exhibition ‘Veera Vilayattu’ at Lalit Kala Akademi, Greams
Road here from 2 to 8 November,
according to a press release.
Actor Kamal Haasan will inaugurate
the exhibition tomorrow at 10.30 am.
On other days, the exhibition is
opened from 10 am to 8 pm.
The exhibition will showcase Jallikattu in all its glory and bravery
and dedicates to salute the beast
and the brave, as well as the people
who loved and treated the animal as
a precious member of their family,
and those who thronged the rustic
venues every year to celebrate the
ultimate showcasing of courage and
sportsmanship.
‘Give kids time to
know what they need’
q Jawahar Vidyalaya primary dept celebrates 49th Annual Day
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov1:
Identify the talent in children and
channelise them to reach great
heights in life, said Bhaktavatsalam
Vidyashram senior principal and CEO
Margarette Davidraj.
She was speaking at the 49th Annual Day celebrations of the primary
department of Jawahar Vidyalaya
Senior Secondary School at Mahodaya Auditorium, Ashok Nagar, on
Friday.
Children are intelligent, they have
the innate talent to learn things by
themselves; all we need to do is
give them enough time to know what
they require and do the needful. Encourage children and give them the
freedom to study the subject they
like, instead of forcing the little ones
to master certain subjects, she said.
She further said if learning levels
in children are to be good, one must
allow them to take subjects of their
choice. They can learn on their own
and all they need is guidance from us.
Let us give them the guidance they
need, she surged.
The senior principal said working mothers, nuclear families have
altered society these days, posing
their own challenges in parenting and
schooling of children. However, tak-
Bhaktavatsalam Vidyashram senior principal and CEO Margarette Davidraj giving away prizes to students who won in various competitions,
during the 49th Annual Day celebrations of the primary department of
Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School at Mahodaya Auditorium,
Ashok Nagar, in Chennai, on Friday. The school’s senior secondary
principal Alice Jeevan and higher secondary principal Shyamala
Jaishankar are present.
ing time off to spend it with little ones
could help overcome many of these
challenges, she said confidently.
Margarette also gave away prizes
to students who won various competitions.
Stree Seva Mandir president M
Natarajan, Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior
Secondary School principal Alice
Jeevan and Jawahar Higher Secondary School principal Shyamala Jaishankar were among those present.
Blend
4 SUNDAY
1 NOVEMBER 2015
WORLD
China makes ends meet
CHENNAI
DOWN THE WEEKLY LANE HEALTH Today
TAKING STOCK
Intestinal worms
boost immune system
China abandoned its decades-old one-child policy to
confront a looming slump in the economy’s workforce
that it is probably powerless to prevent, analysts say.
All couples will be allowed to have two children, China’s official Xinhua news agency announced as the
Communist Party brought an end to decades of strict,
sometimes harsh enforcement of the rule.
But there are serious doubts that Chinese couples
want more children. And even if they did, it would
take at least 15 years before their offspring were old
enough to have an impact on the greying workforce.
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa holding a review meeting at Kodanadu camp office with
Ministers and top officials. Higher Education Minister P Palaniappan and Chief Secretary
K Gnanadesikan are among those present.
US to support Syrian opposition
Kamal Haasan meets
Raj Thackeray
STATE
The United States ramped up its support for Syria’s
opposition with a pledge of nearly USD 100 million in
fresh aid. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat described the timing of the departure of Syrian President
Bashar Assad and the withdrawal of foreign fighters
as top sticking points to finding a lasting resolution
to the civil war in Syria. Deputy Secretary of State
Antony Blinken announced the additional assistance
at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the
Gulf island nation of Bahrain, where discussion of
Syria dominated the gathering of mostly Western and
Arab officials. The American promise of cash, which
it says brings to nearly USD 500 million the amount
it has pledged to the opposition since 2012, came a
day after the US announced it was intensifying its fight
against the Islamic State group in Syria with the deployment of up to 50 special operations troops.
NATION
2 ex-bankers convicted
in stock market scam
A special court has convicted two former bank officials for cheating, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds in the 1992 Harshad Mehta
stock market scam after observing that the accused
persons’ acts can be termed as ‘anti-national’. Justice
Roshan Dalvi, presiding over a special court set up
to conduct trial of offences relating to Transactions in
Securities Act on October 29 convicted M S Srinivasan, the then Chief Manager of Funds Management
Cell (FMC) of the State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) and
R Sitaraman who was then bank officer in the securities division of State Bank of India (SBI). The duo has
been convicted under various sections of the IPC for
criminal breach of trust by a public servant and under
the Prevention of Corruption Act for dishonestly and
fraudulently misappropriating funds of SBS and SBI.
CM pays floral tribute
to Thevar’s portrait
Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
paid floral tributes to the portrait of freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga
Thevar on the occasion of his 108th birth
anniversary.
Jayalalithaa offered flower petals to the
specially decorated portrait at the Camp
office at Kodanadu in nearby Nilgiris district, official sources said.
CITY
Modi’s new ‘mantra’ to
‘achieve new heights’
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
pitched for ‘Ek
Bharat,
Shresth
Bharat’ on the
140th birth anniversary of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel.
Addressing
the
nation, the Prime
Minister
said,
‘unity, peace and
harmony was the
first condition for
India to achieve
new heights of development.’ ‘Unity is our biggest
strength... We have to move forward with the mantra
of unity, peace and harmony,’ he asserted at an event
marking the 140th birth anniversary of Patel, against
the backdrop of protests by artistes, writers and scientists over alleged ‘rising intolerance’ after the Dadri
lynching, beef row and other incidents. Modi also
used the occasion to take a dig at dynastic politics,
saying it had become a bane of our politics and recalled that Patel never promoted any family member
in political life.
Actor Kamal Haasan, who is currently in
Mumbai for MAMI International Film Festival, chose to call on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief and nephew of
Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, Raj
Thackeray at his residence in Kunj area
in the city. The sudden meeting between
the two surprised many in the industry.
However, sources close to the actor said
that it was just a courtesy call. Both discussed about Indian cinema during the
25 minute meeting. Raj Thackeray was
busy campaigning for Kalyan-Dombivilli
municipal elections for the past few days.
In spite his hectic schedule, he spent time
with Kamal Haasan. It may be recalled
that Kamal much recently called on spiritualist Sri Sri Ravishankar in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, Kamal’s Thoongavanam is
getting ready for release this Deepavali.
Directed by his erstwhile assistant Rajesh
M Selva, the movie stars Trisha, Prakashraj in prominent characters.
Man found dead on
Ennore High Road
Actor Vivek’s son
passes away
Popular Tamil comedian Vivek’s 13-yearold son has died following brain fever, family
sources said.
Prasanna Kumar was admitted to a city hospital for brain fever where he had been undergoing treatment for the last 40 days, sources
close to the family said.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa expressed grief
over the death. In a condolence message to
Vivek, Jayalalithaa said that she was grieved
to know about his son’s death.
‘While this is an irreparable loss, I pray Lord
Almighty to give you the strength to overcome
this grief...,’ she said.
A man was
found
dead
with head injuries at Ennore
High
Road.
According to police sources,
Arumugam
(55), a resident of Netaji
Nagar, stepped out of his house last
Thursday. His family grew worried as
he did not return hours later. The family
was informed by patrolling police that his
body has been found with injuries on the
Ennore High Road.
The police said, they are yet to confirm if
he was assaulted to death or run over by
a vehicle or if he tripped and hurt himself.
His body was shifted to Stanley Medical
College and Hospital.
The R K Nagar Police registered a case.
BUSINESS
SPORTS
Keep up good work: IMF to India
‘YSCA, a cradle for cricket in Chennai’
India needs to take further policy action to
support external and fiscal stability in coming years and should focus on revenue-side
measures and adopt additional structural reforms to sustain its strong growth, the IMF
said on Friday.
Observing that favorable policies and increased political certainty following 2014
election strengthened India’s economic activity, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, ‘Since 2013, reductions
in spending have fostered some improvement in the fiscal deficit, and the
current account deficit has narrowed considerably more than expected’.
Speakers at the 59th anniversary celebrations of the T Nagar-based Young
Stars Cricket Association (YSCA) heaped praise on the yeoman service
rendered by it and its founder M S Gurumurthy in nurturing talent in the city.
Participating in the event held at Krishnaswamy Kalyana Mandapam, T
Nagar, former Executive Director of Indian Oil Corporation and Chief Operating Officer of Aim for Seva K R Suresh Kumar, recalled the services of
YSCA in T Nagar since its inception as countless people in the locality were
trained by the association. He praised the founder (Gurumurthy), who gave
his heart and soul for the game and trained each and every student with
a lot of dedication. The 59th anniversary is just a number and Gurumurthy
had a huge role to play in unearthing new talent, he added.
Smooth take-off into troubled skies
The draft civil aviation policy received mixed response from the industry
with most of the airlines describing it as ‘progressive’ even as lack of clarity
on the fate of 5/20 norm came under criticism from some quarters. Describing the revised draft policy released by the government as ‘pretty progressive’, SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said the focus on regional connectivity
is good for domestic aviation sector. Some procedural problems are also
being addressed. IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said the policy is broadly
progressive and setting of low cost airports would help bring more cost
efficiency in the aviation sector. AirAsia India CEO and managing director
Mittu Chandilya said it was surprising to see the lack of clarity and progress
on 5/20 norm.
2 new IPL teams in Dec
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
has informed IPL franchises during a meeting in Delhi on Wednesday that the two new
teams would be unveiled by the first half of
December. According to reports, BCCI had
told the franchise officials that terms and
conditions for the bid document would be
finalised at the board’s annual general meeting in Mumbai on November 9. IPL chairman
Rajiv Shukla, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur and IPL COO Sundar Raman
met chief executives and co-owners of franchises.
LONDON:
Researchers have discovered how intestinal worm infections cross-talk
with gut bacteria to help boost the immune system.
Intestinal worms infect over 2 billion people across the world, mostly children, in areas with poor sanitation.
But despite causing serious health problems, worms can actually help the
immune system of its host as an indirect way of protecting themselves,
researchers said.
Intestinal worms belong to a larger family of helminths, which are large
multicellular parasites that can cause chronic infections in their hosts.
Because of their long co-evolution with mammals, helminths have developed a close relationship with their host’s immune systems, to the point
that they can regulate the host’s immune system in beneficial ways.
For example, helminths can ameliorate diseases such as allergic asthma.
However, very little is known about how helminths modulate the immune
system.
Nicola Harris at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland
has now shown that the anti-inflammatory activity of intestinal helminths
involves ‘cross-talk’ with an unexpected agent: the gut’s bacteria, also
known as the ‘microbiome.’
In this study, the researchers looked at the effects of helminths that infect
pigs.
‘Anti-inflammatory
activity of intestinal
helminths involves
‘cross-talk’ with an
unexpected agent:
the gut’s bacteria,
also known as the
‘microbiome’
After chronic infection with the helminths, they discovered that the animals’
metabolism had been changed drastically; specifically, they produced increased levels of a class of fats in the gut called ‘short-chain fatty acids.’
These fatty acids are produced by the microbiome, and can activate a
family of receptors that in turn influence the immune system.
The receptors are also known to contribute to certain functions - and malfunctions - of the colon, and are even involved in modulating allergic airway disease.
This is exactly what the researchers found when they also monitored cells
in the immune system of mice that had been infected with a helminth.
Like the pigs, the mice showed an increased production of short-chain
fatty acids.
Further testing showed that these acted on the same receptors to influence specific immune cells. In short, the researchers uncovered a clear
link between worm infection, microbiome, and the immune system.
The work highlights the microbiome as a new pathway through which
helminths could influence the immune function of the host.
The work is published in the journal Immunity.
Simple device could
spell end of toilet paper
NEW YORK:
An Indian-origin entrepreneur in US has developed a simple device that
can fit your toilet seat and do away with the need of ‘barbaric’ toilet paper
rolls.
‘All over the world - in Europe, Asia, the Middle East - people use bidets.
Using toilet paper to clean your butt is barbaric!’ said Miki Agrawal, CEO
and Co-Founder of
THINX, which develops period underwear for women.
Tushy is a bidet
product that can
fit onto the seat
of most American
toilets, and does
not need additional
electricity or plumbing to operate.
‘It shoots a precise
spray of water exactly where you need it, and leaves you feeling clean and refreshed,’
Canadian born Agrawal told ‘Forbes’ magazine.
It promises easy installation within 10 minutes, to clean far better than
toilet papers and save trees and water in the process.
About 27,000 trees get chopped down every day to make toilet paper and
producing one roll requires 37 gallons of water, according to the product
website.
‘It
shoots a
precise spray of
water exactly where
you need it, and leaves
you feeling clean and
refreshed,’ Canadian
born Agrawal
said
Enterprise
CHENNAI
‘Foreign investors
keen on govt bonds’
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Facing challenges in meeting the
disinvestment target, the Department
of Disinvestment believes that foreign
investors are showing preference
for government bonds over the PSU
stocks on offer.
Government has mopped up Rs
12,700 crore in the first half of the current fiscal, highest recorded in the past
seven years despite volatile market
conditions. However, it has a long way
to go to achieve the budgeted target of
Rs 69,500 crore for the full fiscal.
‘DoD has been able to do well
despite adverse market conditions.
Also, the general preference of overseas investors appears to be for fixed
income instruments like government
bonds and financial sector stocks,’
said a government official, adding
that ‘DoD is having to make extra efforts to get foreign investors into PSU
disinvestment programme.’
During auctions of G-Secs, government bonds have been subscribed
multiple times, given the huge interest among foreign investors, while
the demand for corporate bonds has
been less. The government has a
pipeline of over a dozen PSUs for
stake sale which includes RINL,
NMDC, SAIL, Coal India, BHEL,
OIL and ONGC, MMTC, Nalco and
Hindustan Copper.
q Companies to hike headcount, says report
Admitting that disinvestment is a
challenge mainly on account of global problems, Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley had recently said the ‘metal
stocks are not doing particularly well,
and metal was a large part of kitty that
we had planned for this year. I don’t
think it makes sense divesting at a
time when prices are low.’
Minister of State for Finance Jayant
Sinha too said that disinvestment
process is challenging because of
global commodities slowdown and
many identified PSUs are from this
space. ‘Whether it is Coal India or
OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies)
and so on. They are impacted by
global commodity prices.’
Overall, officials maintain that there
is a lot of interest in India which has
been described as a bright spot by
the IMF, officials said, adding that
overseas roadshows usually generate lot of interest especially in infrastructure and banking sector.
Mumbai, Nov 1 (PTI):
As the Indian economy keeps up
its escalating growth trajectory, the
job market also looks very positive
as 76 per cent companies surveyed
are planning to increase headcount
in the next one year, says a report.
‘About 76 per cent companies surveyed said they expect to increase
headcount in the next 12 months as
the Indian economy is at its escalating growth trajectory,’ Michael Page’s
2015-2016 India Salary and Employment Outlook has said.
The report has surveyed 240 employers from market-leading multinational companies (MNCs) and
small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) across all major industry
sectors. ‘Our specialist approach
with dedicated teams of recruitment professionals, combined with
expert commentary drawn from our
extensive involvement with senior
executives, gives us an in-depth
perspective into each industry sector.
Overall, the Indian market continues to grow, with strong confidence
aq ICICI Bank differs on the issue
NPPA caps
price of 18
formulations packs
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Pharma pricing authority NPPA
has capped prices of 18 formulations packs, including anti- diabetic
Metformin HCl tablets, anti-bacterial
Ceftriaxone Sodium injection packs
and devices among others.
The prices have also been fixed/
revised for hormone releasing IUD,
ondansetron HCl orally disintegrating strip, Metformin HCl tablets,
Cefaclass injection pack among
others.
The prices of the 18
formulation packs have been fixed/
revised under Drug Price Control
Order (DPCO), 2013, the National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
said in a statement.
Drug firms such as Cipla, Alembic
Pharma and Unichem Laboratories
will be impacted by the government’s move for prices fixation and
revision.
5
India’s job market
looks positive
SBI chief wants
teaser loans back
Mumbai, Nov 1 (PTI):
The two top lenders -- State Bank
of India and ICICI Bank -- are not
the same page when it comes to reintroducing the controversial ‘teaser
loans’ which were shelved four
years ago as the regulator flagged
asset quality issues.
Pitching for the reintroduction, SBI
Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya
has said, ‘I still believe there is a
place for teaser loans mainly because when people take loans in
initial days, they need some leeway.
But as time passes, a higher EMI
does not pinch much as their salaries
go up that can service a higher EMI.’
However, the largest private lender,
ICICI Bank, which has a high exposure to home loans, is not open to
the idea, saying standard rates are
better. ‘We’ve always been preferring
standard rates over enticing options
as in the former, the customer is
aware from day one what the rate is,’
said ICICI Bank Executive Director
Rajiv Sabharwal.
‘We believe that offering standard
SUNDAY
1 NOVEMBER 2015
rates where rates remain uniform
throughout the life of a loan is a much
better proposition.’
Both were speaking to reporters on
the sidelines of an industry event in
the city over the weekend. Teaser
home loans are offered at a fixed low
rate of interest in initial years and are
then adjusted to a higher floating rate
for the remaining tenure.
SBI and other lenders had withdrawn such loans in 2011 after the
then Reserve Bank governor D Subbarao expressed concern that such
loans may pose a possible risk to
asset quality.
Not exactly happy with the terminology, Bhattacharya makes it a point to
clarify that teaser loans are actually
differentiated EMIs, or step-up loans,
where the lender charges EMIs at
lower rates initially and then restores
it to higher rates.
The objective of the scheme started
by her predecessor O P Bhatt in late
2011, she said, was to help fresh
home loan borrowers get some
breathing space in initial years as
they would have exhausted their
resources while buying the new
property.
This is the second time that Bhattacharya has batted for reintroduction
of teaser loans. ‘I am told that real
estate stock is at a two-year high
and I was thinking if it is possible to
reintroduce teaser loans once again,
given the fact that this is one of the
portfolios where NPAs are the lowest,’ Bhattacharya had apparently
told Governor Raghuram Rajan at
an event in August.
Gold imports dip
45.6% in Sept
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
After recording a sharp rise in August, gold imports dipped 45.62 per cent to
$2.05 billion in September, a development that will help check the country’s
Current Account Deficit (CAD).
The sliding prices of the yellow metal is one
of the reasons for the plunge in imports. The
prices are declining in both global and domestic
markets.
The gold imports stood at $3.78 billion in
September 2014.
This year, the imports of the yellow metal were
up 62.2 per cent and 140 per cent in July and
August, respectively. The contraction in imports
helped in narrowing the trade deficit to $10.47 billion in September.
India is the largest importer of gold in the world. The imports mainly cater to
the demand of jewellery industry. However, in the recent past, large imports
of the precious metal have also widened the CAD, which occurs when value
of import of goods and services is more than exports.
In 2014-15, gold was the third largest commodity imported in India after
crude oil and electronic items. During that fiscal, the country’s imports stood
at $34.32 billion. The CAD in 2014-15 shrank to 1.3 per cent of GDP ($27.5
billion) from 1.7 per cent ($32.4 billion) in 2013-14.
Facebook to help BSNL
q To set up 100 wi-fi hotspots in rural India
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Boosting the government’s ambitious ‘Digital
India’ drive, social media giant Facebook has
come forward to facilitate state-run BSNL in setting up 100 wi-fi sites in rural areas of western
and southern India.
Facebook will spend Rs 5 crore per annum
for sponsoring these 100 wi-fi hotspots in the
country.
‘Facebook has partnered with us to sponsor
100 wi-fi hotspots in villages across west and
southern India. They will pay Rs 5 lakh for BSNL bandwidth for each hotspot per annum,’ BSNL Chairman & MD
Anupam Shrivastava told PTI.
The hotspots are being set up by BSNL selected vendor
Quad Zen.
‘We have already set up 25 hotspots under
the agreement. Facebook is only sponsoring
them and not taking any revenue share. Quad
Zen will set up these hotspots and handle sales.
There is revenue share model between BSNL
and Quad Zen,’ Shrivastava said.
When contacted, Facebook spokesperson
said, ‘We don’t have any comments at this
point of time.’
The agreement between Facebook and BSNL is for
three years and it can be further extended for two more
years, he said.
‘There has been a distinct move towards aptitude-based
hiring. Hiring managers are now evaluating candidates
purely on their own merit and abilities, regardless of how
their experience stacks up, which is very uncharacteristic and
does not align with traditional hiring practices in India’
bolstered by high levels of investment,’ Michael Page India Senior MD
Sebastien Hampartzoumian told PTI.
A potential candidate’s decision to
accept a new role is usually influenced by brand reputation, career
progression and international opportunity, he said.
Millennials in particular expect a
clear path of career progression that
includes opportunities for development, overseas secondment and
promotion, he added.
‘A favourable online presence, especially on social media platforms,
will help accelerate talent acquisition
as Indian employees further heighten
their engagement levels online,’ he
pointed out.
Good news for
pet-lovers
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
Mars International, a pet food
manufacturer yesterday announced
the launch of the International brand
‘Eukanuba’ in Chennai yesterday.
Speaking at the launch directorcorporate affairs, Mars India said,’
Mars is driven by the passion of
service, pet care and responsible
pet ownership. We believe that pets
make our world better and our vision
is to make a better world for them.’
He added that brand is well established brand and is trusted by pet
owners’ across the world. ‘It has
wider portfolio in terms of variants,
texture and flavours for special needs
of the pets.’
Three variants are available in sizes
of 1kg, 3kg and 15kg, which is available in all metros across all major
cities in India.
According to the company, Eukanuba helps proving high quality nutrition
for a peak physical performance and
specialised formula to make puppies
more trainable.
Eukanuba has a wide portfolio that
caters to unique pet needs for maintaining healthy activity levels, shiny
radiant coat, strong lean muscles,
proper functioning of the digestive
fact and stronger bones and dental
protection.
He said an interesting trend observed while conducting this survey
was the apparent modernisation of
the Human Resources (HR) function in the country. ‘There has been
a distinct move towards aptitudebased
hiring. Hiring managers are now
evaluating candidates purely on
their own merit and abilities, regardless of how their experience stacks
up, which is very uncharacteristic
and does not align with traditional
hiring practices in India,’ he added.
The report further said that emerging sectors such as e-commerce,
healthcare and infrastructure have
infected the market with the right
kind of enthusiasm. It said now the
companies are concentrating their
efforts to retain high-performing employees with exorbitant counter offers
to stem talent loss.
About 60 per cent of respondents
use ‘recognition and rewards’ as a
top talent retention method, the report
said.
To achieve this, 62 per cent
of the respondents intend to pay out
10-15 per cent salary hikes in the
next 12 months for the purpose.
It also found that 61 per cent offer
flexible working hours as a work and
life balance facilitator. About 52 per
cent claim that ‘Analytics and Big
Data’ is the most sought-after skill,
followed by Financial and Product
Control and Regulatory reporting,
it added.
India Post collects
Rs 800 cr from CoD
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Emerging as a leading distribution
channel for the e-commerce sector,
India Post collected over Rs 800 crore
through cash-on-delivery (CoD) facility and is looking to further strengthen
its position in the
segment by starting a pilot service
for same-day delivery.
The Postal department has also
earned around
Rs 70-80 crore
through speed
post in the year
2014-15 from e-commerce business.
‘Since the introduction of CoD facility,
the Department of Post has collected
more than Rs 800 crore and remitted
to customers,’ an official said.
In order to generate more business,
the postal department is reviewing its
service features to attract more number
of e-commerce customers, the official
further said.
‘As part of this exercise, the Department of Posts has started pilot
for same/next day delivery in identified cities for identified PIN codes.
A national account facility has also
been introduced under Speed Post,’
he added.
The CoD facility was launched in
December 2013 to cater to the needs
of customers and benefits from the
growing e-commerce market.
The CoD has
emerged as one
of the most sought
after services for
e-commerce entities. Customers in
the country tend
to prefer CoD as
the online payment modes are
yet to catch up
in many parts of the country while
many people are not comfortable
with advance payments for products
purchased online.
The initiatives taken by the department for parcel segment have resulted in revenue of Rs 105.51 crore
in 2014-15.
With dwindling letter or document
traffic, the department is focusing on
the fast-growing parcel segment and
various measures have been taken to
modernise the department under the
Digital India initiative.
IOC eyes 5-10 % stake
in Vankor oilfield
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Hot on the heels of OVL’s $1.27
billion deal to buy stake in Vankor
oilfield of Russia, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has expressed
interest in taking 5-10 per cent stake
in the Rosneft-operated field.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas
arm of state-owned Oil and Natural
Gas Corp (ONGC), had on September 4 agreed to buy 15 per cent
stake in Russia’s second biggest
oil field of Vankor from Rosneft for
$1.268 billion.
While the OVL deal is yet to be
closed, IOC has expressed its interest in take in stake in Vankor field,
sources with direct knowledge of
the development said.
Besides IOC, Oil India Ltd (OIL)
and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd
(BPCL) too are interested in picking
a stake in Vankor, they said.
IOC has dashed off a letter to
Rosneft with an offer to buy 5-10
per cent stake in Vankor on same
terms as of the OVL deal.
Sources said that originally OVL
was negotiating to buy 25 per cent
stake in Vankorneft, the developer
of the Vankor oil and gas condensate field in Turukhansky district
of Krasnoyak Territory in Russia.
But Rosneft was willing to give
no more than 10 per cent. A 10
per cent stake would not have
given OVL a position on board of
Vankorneft and so the Indian firm
pressed hard and got a higher
15 per cent interest with right to
nominate two board member.
The field, which has recoverable reserves of 2.5 billion barrels,
will give OVL 3.3 million tonnes
per annum of oil production.
Rosneft, Russia’s national oil
company, holds 100 per cent
stake in Vankorneft. Acquisition
by OVL is subject to relevant
board, government and regulatory approvals and is expected to
be completed by 2016-mid, they
said. This will be the fourth biggest acquisition by OVL. It had in
2013 paid $4.125 billion for a 16
per cent stake in Mozambique’s
offshore Rovuma Area 1, which
holds as much as 75 Trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
In 2009, it had bought Russiafocused Imperial Energy for $2.1
billion. Prior to that, it had in
2001 paid $1.7 billion for a 20 per
cent interest in the Sakhalin-1
oil and gas field off Russia’s far
eastern coast.
‘Domestic air traffic to soar’
Mumbai, Nov 1(PTI):
The number of air travellers in the country
is slated to rise more than threefold to 218
million by 2025 from 70 million in 2015 and
each metro requires a second greenfield
airport to handle the traffic, a report says.
According to the report commissioned by
Vistara airline and conducted by industry
body CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation), aviation can contribute 5 per cent
to the country’s GDP or USD 250 billion
by 2025. This would mean the existing
airports in the metros would not be able
to meet the rising demand.
By the turn of 2015, international traffic
to the country would be 120 million, up
from 51 million, the report said, adding
that this would further jump to 254 million
by 2035, while the domestic load would
stand at 527 million by 2035. Similarly,
the report pegs the fleet strength to rise
more than threefold to 1,084 by 2025
from 394 in 2015 and further to 2,564
by 2035.
6 SUNDAY
1 NOVEMBER 2015
Sports
CHENNAI
Federer, Nadal enter finals
First on-court meeting since January 2014
on-
Roger Federer
Basel, Nov 1:
Roger Federer will face Rafael
Nadal in a final for the first time in 2
1/2 years on Sunday.
The tennis greats both had straightsets wins Saturday to set up a Swiss
Indoors title match that is their first
court
meeting since
January 2014,
and first final since May
2013.
For extra emotion, the
34th chapter in their
great rivalry is at Federer’s hometown tournament where Nadal
has never faced the local hero, who
was once a ball boy here.
‘It’s fantastic for the fans, for the
tournament ... and for both of us,’
said the top-seeded Federer, after
easing to a 6-3, 6-4 win against
Yuki wins another title,
set to re-enter top-100
Pune, Nov 1 (PTI):
Yuki Bhambri fashioned an impressive if not dominating win to clinch his
second title of the season with a 6-2
7-6(4) defeat of second seed Evgeny
Donskoy in the final of the USD 50,000
KPIT-MSLTA Challenger, here.
It was the best serving day of the
tournament for Yuki, ranked 105, as
he lost only two points on his serve to
quickly wrap up the first set and that
set the tone of the match.
Donskoy’s game was littered with
errors and it only aided Yuki, who collected 80 points for his effort and is not
Yuki Bhambri
only set to re-enter the top-100 but will
stay there for good number of weeks.
Yuki has been very consistent in the last three months as he won title in Shanghai,
ended runner-up in Taiwan and reached semifinals in Tashkent and Vancouver.
It was fifth career-title for Yuki at Challenger level and first time he has won
two Challengers in a single season. He won one each in 2014, 2013 and 2012.
I got better with my serves with each passing day. Serve definitely bailed me
out and when I serve well, I will always have chance to win, no matter who
the opponent is, Yuki said after the match.
Asked if Donskoy’s errors played a big role in the outcome of the match, Yuki
offered commiserations for the Russian. The ball just flies here. It’s difficult
to control the ball and that’s why there were more hit and misses. When you
play a semifinal at ATP 250 and then play a Challenger first round, motivation level could be tough. But the guy has played exceedingly well, he said.
‘It’s fantastic for the fans, for the
tournament ... and for both of us,’
said the top-seeded Federer, after
easing to a 6-3, 6-4 win against
unseeded American Jack Sock in
the semifinals’
unseeded American Jack Sock
in the semifinals. ‘Today I was in
control so I feel like I have a good
shot tomorrow.’
Earlier, the third-seeded Nadal played
his best tennis of the week in beating
Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 7-6 (7).
‘It’s another final against an amazing player,’ said Nadal, adding he was
excited about ‘an opportunity to play
a match that is special.’
Still, Nadal knows he is not favored
by the surface he will find Sunday.
Federer is a six-time winner at Basel
while just one of Nadal’s 67 career
titles was on indoor hard courts - in
Madrid in 2005.
‘It’s a long time ago, you probably
forget it,’ Nadal quipped to reporters. ‘I don’t have the ideal opponent
to win again, but I won on grass (in
Stuttgart) after a couple of years
without winning.’
Federer cautioned against underestimating Nadal, who has endured
several injuries since their rivalry
peaked in the last decade.
‘I think he has played pretty well
(here),’’ said the 34-year-old Federer,
noting with disdain ‘the rumors that
he can’t play tennis anymore at the
beginning of the week.’
After three straight three-set matches at Basel, Nadal finally got a more
straightforward win Saturday though
his problem holding serve early in
sets continued.
Nadal dropped the opening game
each time to Gasquet, and seemed
in trouble trailing 4-3 in the first set
when he called for the trainer at a
changeover.
Returning with tape below his right
knee, Nadal quickly recovered and
broke Gasquet’s serve twice to take
the first set, clinching it with a fierce
forehand topspin passing shot.
I had one scary moment but then
it’s fine,’ said Nadal. ‘I am happy with
the way the knee answers after that.’
Gasquet needed seven break points to
take a 1-0 lead in the second, and Nadal
leveled when the fifth-seeded Frenchman served for the set leading 5-4.
Qatar Classic: Joshana
outclasses top seed
Doha, Nov 1 (PTI):
Joshana Chinappa registered one of
the biggest upsets of the PSA World
Tour season as she stunned World
No.1 Raneem El Welily of Egypt in
the first round of the Qatar Classic
Squash Championship here.
The Indian national champion,
ranked World No. 20, took just 37
minutes to outplay the top seeded
Egyptian 11-9 11-6 4-11 11-9.
However, it was curtains for Dipika
Pallikal, seeded 13th, as she went
down 5-11 7-11 7-11 in only 26 minutes to another Egyptian Yathreb
Adel, who will now face Joshana in
the second round to the tournament.
Joshana, who had defeated World
No.10 Annie Au in straight games
at the Delaware Investments US
Open just two weeks ago, came
into the second PSA World Series
tournament of the season in form
and shot out of the blocks to establish an early two-game lead over an
out-of-sorts El Welily.
Joshana Chinappa
The 26-year-old from Alexandria’s
performance was littered with errors as
she struggled to find any consistency.
Kerala, Chennai settle for draw
Kochi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Kerala Blasters missed a crucial
second-half penalty kick and had to
settle for a 1-1 draw against rivals
Chennaiyin FC in the Hero Indian
Super League football here.
Chennaiyin FC had taken the lead
through Elano Blumer’s spot kick in
the 34th minute and Chris Dagnall
drew level for the hosts 15 seconds
after play restarted in the second session. Kerala Blasters won a penalty
in the 52nd minute but Josue Prieto’s
low attempt was kept away by Chennaiyin FC goalkeeper Karanjit Singh.
Chennaiyin FC surged ahead with
only their second shot on target in the
first session. The goal came through
the boots of Elano from a penalty
after Sandesh Jhingan brought down
Stiven Mendoza inside the box, even
though the Colombian striker had no
chance of reaching the cross.
Elano does not make mistakes from
the spot and the Brazilian made no
mistake by sending Kerala Blasters
goalkeeper Stephen Bywater the
wrong way.
Kerala Blasters had to wait till the
second session to draw level. In fact,
they took 15 seconds in the
second session to score the
equaliser when Dagnall rushed
ahead of his marker to head a
cross from Saumik Dey.
The hosts had plenty of chances to kill the game as a contest
particularly after they had restored parity.
Two of their chances came
from free-kicks with the 61st
minute attempt the closest they came
to taking the lead for the first time.
A free-kick from Josue saw Dagnall
head the ball but goalkeeper Karanjit
did exceptionally well to palm the ball
away. The ball, though, did not go too
far and Jhingan, who was nearby,
saw his resultant attempt slightly off
the target.
Kiwis make rugby history
Wellington, Nov 1:
New Zealand rugby fans across
the country on Sunday celebrated
a thrilling 34-17 win over arch-rival
Australia in the Rugby World Cup
final at Twickenham, becoming the
first side to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.
The All Blacks were cruising 21-3
early in the second half before Ben
Smith`s yellow card opened the door
for Australia, who got back to within
four points with tries by David Pocock
and Tuvita Kuridrani.
But flyhalf Dan Carter, who missed
most of the 2011 tournament through
injury, stepped up with an exquisite
drop goal and a 50-metre penalty to
put the result beyond doubt.
All Blacks fans crammed into
bars in the capital Wellington, with
runners competing in the Auckland
Marathon enjoying the match pre
race on a big screen.
Captain Richie McCaw became
the first man to lift the Rugby World
Cup twice. Of his 148 test appearances, an all-time record, he has
celebrated victory on a remarkable
131 occasions and suffered defeat
only 15 times.
This is not the first time but it is the
last time but he deserves it, said one
fan carrying a poster of McCaw, who
is expected to retire from the game.
Rafael Nadal
However, man of the match flyhalf
Dan Carter drew special praise in his
last outing in an All Blacks shirt, with
one man enjoying his cool drop kick
late in the game.
I knew as soon as he struck there
it was going over man. Go the All
Blacks, what a win.’
Excited fans drove through Auckland city centre, honking their horns
and waving flags to celebrate a record
breaking third world cup title.
Another chance was missed by
Mohammad Rafi who headed wide
a Peter Ramage cross from the left.
There was no better chance than
the penalty in the 51st minute. Ramage was adjudged to have been
brought down by Mailson Alves
inside the danger zone and the
referee quickly pointed to the spot.
Josue stepped up to take the penalty but Karanjit guessed correctly
and saved the attempt by diving
full-length to his left.
At the other end, Elano got closest to goal with a curling effort that
Bywater did well to keep away.
Kerala Blasters had to change
their strategy for the last 15 minutes
after Bruno Perone was sent off for
a challenge on Mendoza.
A costly error on 9-8 in the fourth
game, when she was on course to
level the match, allowed Joshana
I deserved a
farewell game: Sehwag
Pak spinner
Bilal Asif’s action
cleared by ICC
Dubai, Nov 1 (PTI):
Pakistan off-spinner Bilal Asif’s bowling
action has been cleared by the ICC after
it was found to be within the legal limits.
The bowling action of the 30-yearold spinner was reported as suspect
during the third ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare on 3 October. Asif
underwent a biomechanical test in
Chennai on 19 October.
At the assessment (in Chennai),
it was revealed that the amount of
elbow extension in all of Asif’s deliveries was well within the 15-degree
level of tolerance permitted under
the ICC regulations, an ICC said in
a statement yesterday. Asif is set to
make his Test debut against England
in the third and final Test, which gets
underway in Sharjah today.
back into the game and the 29-yearold Indian pounced, taking the next
two points, and the match, to record
one of the biggest victories of her
career.
This is by far the best win of my
career- it doesn’t get any better than
beating the player at the top of the
world rankings, said Joshana.
I’ve played Raneem many times
before so to get out to a 2-0 lead was
huge and really gave me hope. With a
player of her quality you can never be
sure, she’s World No.1 for a reason
and she can come back from any
position even when not at her best,
so I’m really happy to come through.
I’ve not been looking at my rankings
or anything like that of late and
I think that’s showing through in
my game. I’m more relaxed on court
and it’s paying off at the moment,’
she said.
Hopefully I can keep my momentum
going now and take that into my next
match and see how far I can go.’
Virender Shewag
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Virender Shewag, who has recently called time on his glorious
international cricket career, says
the sadness of being deprived of a
farewell game shall always remain
in his mind.
Had the selectors told me that they
were going to drop me, I could have
requested them to allow me to play
my last Test in Delhi and then announce my retirement, but they did
not give me that opportunity.
A sort of sadness shall always
remain in my mind that I was not
allowed to retire while playing, but
anyway, it’s all a part of life for a
sportsman, who, while playing,
never realises when he should
retire, but he starts thinking about
it when he is dropped, Sehwag told
India TV’s show ‘Aap Ki Aadalat’.
The explosive batsman made 23
Test centuries and 15 tons in ODIs.
I would like to ask: Should not
a player who has played 12 to 13
years for his country, deserves a
farewell match?
On organisers planning to give
him a farewell during the forthcoming Test in Delhi between India and
South Africa starting 3 December,
Sehwag said: ‘If that is so, it will be
good. If BCCI cannot organise, at
least DDCA should do. It’s not a
question of me alone, every player
who retires should get a farewell.’
The former opener said there
should be fixed criteria for selection
of players, whether senior or junior.
If a player fails to perform in four or
five consecutive matches, he should
be dropped irrespective of whether
he is a senior or a junior player, he
said. Sehwag recounted an incident
involving Australian player Michael
Clarke.
I and Sachin were batting in Australia. Michael Clarke had been
inducted fresh. He was frequently
telling Sachin ‘you’re too old, you
can’t field, you can’t do this, you
can’t do that’. I went up to Clarke
and asked his age. He said, 23. I
told him Tendulkar has made more
centuries than your age’.
The 37-year-old further said, ‘Had
India played two more Test series
against Pakistan, I could have
completed 10,000 Test runs. I have
made 8,586 Test runs. We stopped
playing home series or away series
against Pakistan since 2006.
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
SUNDAY
1 NOVEMBER 2015
7
‘Education without
teachers unimaginable’
SC expresses displeasure over situtation in Telangana
A student receiving degree certificate from Accenture Pvt Ltd account lead
(HR Client) N Vivekanandan at the graduation day of T S Narayanaswami
College of Arts & Science at Navalur near Chennai recently.
279 students
get degrees
TSN College conducts graduation day
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
A total of 279 students received degrees at the graduation day ceremony held
at T S Narayanaswami College of Arts and Science at Navalur here recently.
According to a press release, Accenture Pvt Ltd account lead (HR Client)
N Vivekanandan was the chief guest. He gave away degrees to students.
G Mahidass of MSc CST secured first rank and M Rubiya Shahana of MSc
Bio Chemistry secured eighth rank in the Madras University examinations.
Navalur Panchayat president V Raghu, India Cements vice president (Education and Training) S Venkataraman, college principal R Gayathri and vice
principal K T Hema participated. The college is promoted by India Cements
Educational Society
People in Bihar
see NDA as ray
of hope: PM
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
With the fourth round of polling
underway in Bihar, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi today said the atmosphere is for change and NDA
has a ray of hope.
‘Atmosphere in Bihar indicates
people want change. People are
seeing NDA as a ray of hope. Will
campaign in Madhubani, Madhepura & Katihar,’ he tweeted.
The Prime Minister has been
campaigning vigorously in Bihar.
Voting in the fourth phase of
assembly elections, involving 55
Assembly constituencies, is underway. The polls to the 243-member
Bihar Assembly started on 12
October. The fifth and final round
of elections will be held on 5 November.
The counting of votes will be held
on 8 November.
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
Education without teachers is unimaginable like existence of an
individual in an atmosphere without
oxygen, the Supreme Court has said
while voicing displeasure over lack of
teachers in Telangana.
‘We are of the sanguine view that
school education would become
extinct without teachers and giving
temptation to the students to come
to school to play is nothing but an
unacceptable apology for education’.
‘We say so as imparting of education without teachers is absolutely
inconceivable like existence in an
atmosphere sans oxygen is unthinkable,’ a bench comprising justices
Dipak Misra and P C Pant said after
perusing an affidavit filed by the Telangana government.
The affidavit filed by the Telangana
Chief Secretary said some of the
schools in the state were functioning
without teachers as educators were
opting only for urban areas and better
connected villages.
‘Keeping in view the said situation,
instructions have been issued that
while transferring any teacher, if any
school is left without any teacher,
the district educational officer shall
issue necessary orders to the effect that the junior most teacher will
come back and work in the school
from where he/she was relieved until
alternate arrangements are made,’
the affidavit said.
It also said the state government
after going through latest student
enrolment figures has decided to fill
7,974 vacancies by engaging vidya
volunteers or academic instructors to
overcome the problem of shortage of
teachers which has been completed
in all the schools.
To this the bench said, ‘We do not
intend to say that we are really perplexed about the assertions made,
but we cannot refrain ourselves from
saying that it is quite surprising that
a state is thinking of imparting education with such adhocism by engaging
vidya volunteers/academic instructors. We have been also apprised that
they have been engaged
for a period of six months. This is a
state of absolute adhocism which can
never be appreciated,’ the court said.
Noting the state of affairs, the apex
court directed the State government
to commence the process of appointment of teachers in primary schools
within three weeks. The bench also
ordered the Secretary (Primary Education) of Telangana to file an affidavit
regarding progress in the
commencement of appointment
process and also indicate as to how
long it will take to fill up the vacant
posts of teachers. The observation
came while the court was hearing
a petition filed by J K Raju, seeking
a direction for providing toilet and
drinking water facilities in the states’
schools.
Retd paramilitary staff
to protest tomorrow
Demand OROP and other privileges
New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI):
After military veterans, retired paramilitary officials will now hold a
‘dharna’ here tomorrow demanding
One Rank One Pension (OROP)
benefits and other privileges under
the ex-servicemen category.
An association of former officials
of forces like CRPF, BSF, ITBP,
CISF and SSB will hold the sit-in at
Jantar Mantar for implementation of
their demands which they say have
been in the waiting for the last over
a decade. ‘Our major demands to
the government are the granting of
OROP to paramilitary veterans like
military personnel, exemption of serving troops from contributory pension
scheme and extending full benefits to
these forces under the ex-servicemen
category’.
‘The ‘dharna’ and protest will begin
on 2 November at 10 am at Jantar
Mantar,’ national general secretary
of the All India Central Paramilitary
Forces and Ex-servicemen Welfare
Association P S Nair said.
He said the association has already
sent a memorandum to the government in this regard and failing to get
any reply they have decided to begin
the protest here. ‘The country can-
Setback for Anand as
game ends in draw
Bilbao (Spain), Nov 1 (PTI):
Defending champion Viswanathan
Anand’s quest to retain the crown
suffered a decisive setback after he
played out a draw with American
Wesley So in the fifth and penultimate round of the Bilbao Masters
Final Chess Tournament here.
After suffering a shock defeat at the
hands of Dutchman Anish Giri in the
previous round, Anand tried hard but
could not break the solid defences of
Wesley who continues to share the
lead along with Giri.
‘We are of the sanguine view that
school education would become
extinct without teachers and giving
temptation to the students to come to
school to play is nothing but an
unacceptable apology for education’
In the other game of the day Giri
was held to a draw by Liren Ding of
China. With just one round remaining, Giri and Wesley have seven
points apiece while Ding and Anand
are on four points each under the
soccer-like scoring system in place
here. The two leaders clash in the
fi nal round to determine the new
champion.
Anand started with the English
opening in a must-win situation with
white and got the complexities he
was looking for in the symmetrical
setup employed by Wesley. The
middle game was wild with Anand
opting to concentrate on gaining
more space while Wesley’s knights
operated ominously to keep white’s
advances in check.
Anand castled on the
22nd move and by this
time the Filipino-turned
American had enough
counter play. The Queens
got traded on the 29th turn and
it was soon a rook and pawns
endgame on board.
not sleep peacefully even for a day
without the paramilitary forces. There
is no proper rehabilitation ensured
for these forces.We need the support of the government and public
in bettering the lives of these men
and women who are on job 24x7 in
hard working conditions,’ Nair said,
adding the defence and paramilitary
forces should be kept on equal footing while granting service benefits.
The association claims to have support of a maximum number of state
chapters in this regard and has met
senior government leadership in this
context earlier.
SLC governing
body election
in January
Colombo, Nov 1 (PTI):
The elections to appoint officebearers to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)
will be held in the first week of
January, Sports Minister Dayasiri
Jayasekera has said.
The SLC has been run since
March this year by an interim
committee appointed by the
government. The ICC
has taken exception
to this and demanded
that democratically
elected governing body
be appointed with minimum delay.
Film actor Mohan Ram distributing clothes to the underprivileged for
Deepavali at a function organised by Sri Bala Vinayakar Seva Trust at
Sri Bala Vinayakar Temple, Bharani Colony, Saligramam in Chennai
today.
Former West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan, Consul-General of
Japan in Chennai, Seiji Baba, retired IAS officer B S Raghavan at
the releasing the first policy paper of Centre For Japanese Studies
organised by Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in
Chennai on Saturday.
RSB Transmissions vice president (Group Quality) G Krishnasami with
the winners of the contest ‘Quiz on Japan’ organised by ABK- AOTS
DOSOKAI in Chennai on Saturday.
Guatemala film festival in Chennai
q To be screened at Russian Centre of Science and Culture from tomorrow
NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 1:
Indo-Cine Appreciation Foundation in association with Embassy of
Guatemala, New Delhi is organising
Guatemala film festival at
Russian Centre of Science and
Culture here for two days from
tomorrow.
For details contact - 2821 2652.
SYNOPSIS Pol (2011)
Where the Roads End (2004)
Life hasn’t been the same for Pol since her mother died eight years
ago. Her father, a Russian émigré, hasn’t spoken to Pol in years and
both might be sent back to Russia. She is not the only one with problems: her best friend Flaco is being chased by schoolmate Bambú for
drawing his sister naked. Pol and Flaco hide from Bambú and his gang
in a nearby college campus where she loses her father’s ID. There,
they will meet a wild and quirky cast of characters as they search for
the missing document.
The doctor Raul Zamora goes on a
trip from the city to a remote town in the
lake Atitlán where this two parallel worlds
converge between the ‘Naturals’ and the
‘Ladinos’. Zamora won’t take long before
falling in love with Maria Xahil, a ‘Natural’,
causing in the rest of the town and the
villages a dilemma between the different communities. It’s a panoramic vision of the abuse of power, repression and racism that collide in this diverse
society surrounded by the calm of nature. The adventure of Zamora and
Maria will have a turning point marked by the personal interest and conflicts
of each separated worlds.
Where The Sun is Born - Donde
Nace El Sol (2013)
THE SCHEDULE
2 NOVEMBER:
POL
Director: Rodolfo Espinosa at 6 pm.
The Journey of One American
School Bus
Dir: Mark Kendall at 7.15 pm.
3 NOVEMBER:
Donde Nace El Sol
Dir: Elias Jimenez at 6 pm.
Where the Roads End
Dir: Carlos Garcia Agraz at 7.30 pm.
The Journey of One American School Bus (2012)
Every day dozens of decommissioned school buses leave the United States on a southward migration that carries
them to Guatemala, where they are repaired, repainted, and resurrected as the brightly-coloured camionetas that bring
the vast majority of Guatemalans to work each day. Since 2006, nearly 1,000 camioneta drivers and fare-collectors
have been murdered for either refusing or being unable to pay the extortion money demanded by local Guatemalan
gangs. LA CAMIONETA follows one such bus on its transformative journey: a journey between North and South, between life and death, and through an unfolding collection of moments, people, and places that serve to quietly remind
us of the interconnected worlds in which we live.
Where the Sun is Born tells the story of the Maya People through four stories
which allude to important moments in its history over the course of the last
half millenium. The central protagonist in all these stories is young woman
named Maya who witnesses the invasion of her homeland and must run away
to survive. Then living a nomadic existence as a refugee across the centuries
she experiences the sufferings of her people resulting from the loss of her
ancestral lands and increasingly her cultural traditions.
8 SUNDAY
1 NOVEMBER 2015
, CHENNAI
Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17
A fun horror ride
(Goosebumps)
T
Jack Black is at his best here, as
an obsessed dad and a person who
has begun to love the world around
him which he had earlier hated
here are not many horror films that children
and adults can sit back, relax and enjoy
watching. There are not many movies, either,
based on books which do justice. Based on R L
Stines’ children’s book series, Goosebumps is
scary just to the right measure.
A teenager, Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette)
moves into Madison (fictional town) with his mother
Gale. He befriends a pretty girl next door, Hannah
(Odeya Rush), who lives with her over protective
and temperamental father.
In an attempt to save Hannah from a suspected
house arrest, Zach, and his nerdy friend Champ
(Ryan Lee) sneak into her house through a basement finding their way through cobwebs and bear
traps.
On the living room shelf, Champ is thrilled to find
the collection of Goosebumps manuscripts which
are locked. A huge snowman comes out the book
after Zach unlocks one of it. Hannah, Champ and
Zach are chased by the snowman and later confined back to the book by Hannah’s father.
As it turns out, the father is R L Stine indeed
played brilliantly by Jack Black. (The movie actually has author Stine making an appearance on
screen in the climax.)
The father claims that he had a horrible childhood, confined in a room due to his allergies, with
other children mocking him and throwing stones
at his windows.
In order to take revenge, he began writing stories
about monsters and created evil friends, who later
turned real. He used them to take revenge on the
bullies. Stine later locked these characters away
in leather-bound books.
The movie is peppered with good humour and
graphics.
The series of adventures continue with Stine’s
alter ego and his most wreck-causing creation
Slappy unleashes the remaining monsters from
Vijay to join
hands with Hari?
There were reports in a section of press that Vijay
after completing Atlee’s film will be teaming up with
SJ Suryah, and more recently, with Bharathan who
earlier directed Azhagiya Tamizh Magan.
However sources close to the actor say, Vijay will
be teaming up with director Hari for the first time in
a movie which will be produced by Vijaya Vauhini
productions. Hari is presently busy with Singham 3
starring Suriya.
NT Bureau
From Kaaka
Muai to Kutrame
Thandanai
National Award winning Kaaka
Muttai made it to several film
festivals before hitting Indian
screens, and its director Manikandan says he hopes to follow
a similar route with his second
film Kutrame Thandanai.
Kutrame Thandanai, a crime
drama, will have its India premiere on Saturday at the 17th
Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival
in Mumbai.
The film next goes to the International Film Festival of Kerala.
We’ve also applied to a few
others including Rotterdam, and
are waiting to hear from them,’
Manikandan said in an interview
to a news agency.
Unlike Kaaka Muttai, this film
won’t wait to complete its festival run.
If we happen to find someone
ready to release our film, we’d go
ahead and do it,’ he said.
With the success of Kaaka Muttai, Manikandan had caught the
attention of several international
buyers and this has benefitted
his second directorial.
A few investors have inquired
about Kutrame Thandanai. I
hope to find an international distributor for the film soon, he said.
The film stars Vidharth and
Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead
roles.
NT Bureau
the books. Gnomes, a giant praying mantis, a
horrifying werewolf and all sorts of ugly monsters
are after the creator and the kids.
As the movie is a celebration of all of Stine’s
horror characters in a single frame, his regular
readers would be thrilled.
Jack Black is at his best here, as an obsessed
dad and a person who has begun to love the world
around him which he had earlier hated.
By now, Zach had developed feelings for Hannah, but he soon discovers that she is not real, just
a character Stine made to get over the loneliness
in his life.
It also takes several digs at cliches in most films,
though it has its own handful moments of tried and
tested scenes.
Each scene has suspense playing on it, but then
we realise it is the Stine element where the good
definitely outdoes evil.
NAOMI N
Welcome
back Simran
Simran is all set to make a comeback and interestingly and it will be
through a film that is to be produced by her husband Deepak Bagga.
Sources say that the movie would have humour, romance and action.
Simran will be playing the lead in this film which is to be directed by
Gowri Shankar.
Says Simran, ‘The fact that this film will be from my home production
has enhanced my comfort level and made it an ideal choice to make my
re-entry. My husband and I went through a lot of scripts before finalising
on science fiction.’
‘We will be releasing the first look of the film in another 20 days and will
begin shooting for the film by December’.
NT Bureau
Radhika Apte to join
Kabali sets from Dec
Shooting for Rajinikanth’s Kabali is on in Malaysia. Buz is that scenes
involving Rajini and Dhanshikaa are being shot.
We are planning to shoot in Malaysia for more than one month. Radhika
Apte will join us on December’, says a source close to the team Kabali.
Reportedly, Radhika Apte will be seen as Rajinikanth’s wife in the film.
Ranjith of Madras fame is directing the film and Santhosh Narayanan
is scoring the music. Kalaipuli S Thanu, producer of the film is planning
to release the film for Tamil New Year.
NT Bureau
A
director’s job is a big one. We have to
be ready to make all sacrifices, have
lot of patience to make a movie and
release it, says director Ramesh Venkatraman
of Dewdrop Pictures. However he is quite clear
that Andhadhi, his debut movie is not his last .
‘I only think of what my next film is going to be
about and not on whether I am going to stay or
quit’, he states.
Ramesh a post graduate in computer info systems was working in Boston when he developed
an interest in direction. I was a member of the
Hindu Mission Association at Boston. We used
to stage theatre plays. I was a part of the organising group and soon my interests turned to
directing plays. I soon became ery interested in
the field and after three years packed my bags
and came back to Chennai to pursue my
interest. I did a course in film making and
direction, worked in a few short films and advertisements with Rajeev Menon and as assistant
director in my friend’s project. Manirathinam’s
movies are one of my favourites but it was
Ayirathil Oruvan of Selvaraghavan that inspired
me to get into movies’, recalls Ramesh.
Andhadhi is a story of how an IPS officer helps
a NRI, who is into producing solar energy, to
cross hurdles in his business.
‘Through this film I have created an awareness
about the need for establishment of solar power
plants and also brought out some features of
the Indian police service. I have also shown
how a wife is treated in a political family. The
pre-production research for the material took me
one and half years, shooting for the film took 25
days and post production 8 months. There is no
comedy or item dances. It has a slight commercial touch only and the best part is it got a clean
chit from the censors,’ explains the resident of
Balakrishna street, Royapettah.
Ramesh states that Andhadhi was the result
of his wish to do something different from
commercial cinema. Nevertheless he says that
he has an idea of doing a commercial film to
cover that group of audience, but not to make
money. Ramesh next venture will be based on
mythology.
V PADMASINI
First look of
Siddharth’s
film is out
The first look of Siddharth starrer Jil Jung Juck was out last
evening. It look was released
by director Karthik Subbaraj in
his twitter account. It has now
become viral.
The movie is inspired by a
famous comedy dialogue of
Vadivelu in Kadhalan. The movie
is produced by Siddharth’s Etaki
Films. The film is supposedly a
romantic comedy with Siddharth
in the lead and directed by newcomer Ram Vaidya.
NT Bureau
Bitten by the
film bug
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