The Hindu Articles

Friday, August 24, 2012

Snapshots from North India

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article3816469.ece

Soldiers and suicides (Malayalam: Sainikarum aatmahatyayum). Editorial, August 23, 2012. Translated by Rasmi Binoy, presented by A Correspondent

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article3816481.ece

Festival fun, finery

the hindu Thiruvathirakali at All Saints' College

the hindu Pookkalam laid at LBS Institute of Technology for Women, Poojappura

Onam is in full swing

College campuses never disappoint when it comes to Onam celebrations. LBS Institute of Technology for Women, Poojappura, had its Onam celebrations on August 23 with games, songs, feasting and lots of fun. A pookkalam contest for different streams in the college set the event rolling. Twelve teams participated in the contest. A Vanchipattu contest followed.

The grand Onasadya was an elaborate affair with 1,250 people enjoying a delectable Onasadya. “This must the biggest Onasadya on our campus. We arranged for a room on the campus with all infrastructure facilities, equipment and utensils and the dishes were prepared there. Unlike previous years, we had three payasams this time,” says an excited Fathima Sasiya M.I., college union chairperson. She adds: “The construction workers on the campus and officials and staff members of all important institutions and offices around our campus were invited.” There was also a tug-of-war contest between the staff members and students, which the latter won.

A major event of the day was the Miss Malayali Manga contest. Ten students who were selected after the preliminary rounds fought it out for the title. The judging panel comprised the staff members. There were three rounds – self-introduction, rapid fire questions, and on-the-spot questions. Vaishnavi of Electronics and Communication Engineering stream won the title.

The surprise event of the day was the Miss/Mrs. Malayali Manga and Mr. Malayali contests for the staff members. “They didn’t know about it. The winners were chosen by a secret ballot among the students. The winners were given a settu-mundu and a dhoti respectively,” Fathima says. Deepu Gopi and Janusha of Computer Science department won the Mr. Malayali and Mrs. Malayali titles respectively. The staff members also presented cultural programmes.

Onam at All Saints’

All Saints’ College had its Onam celebrations with a wide range of programmes. The students designed the pookkalams on the campus. Onam songs, thiruvathirakali and other programmes were held. A Malayali Manga competition was organised in which Anupama, a second year degree student, won the title. Outdoor games such as tug-of-war and uriyadi heightened the festive mood before the students began their Onam holidays.

Keywords: Onam celebrations

More In: Youth | Life & Style | Metroplus

via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/youth/article3816207.ece

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Ex-ADGP seeks transfer of case to CBI

The Madras High Court on Thursday ordered notice on a writ petition by a former Additional Director-General of Police to transfer a case relating to alleged land-grabbing against his family members to the CBI.

Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar said that the notice would be returnable in two weeks.

In the petition, K. Thukkaiandi, who retired as Chief Vigilance Officer, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Chennai, alleged that the authorities were trying to implicate him by coercing witnesses and foist cases by threatening his relatives and those who worked as subordinates during his tenure.

The authorities were going all out to implicate him and wreak vengeance. Since they were not able to move further in the case registered against his wife and daughter by the City Central Crime Branch, they wanted to implicate him. The case pertained to the sale of a property by his wife to Prakash.

Mr. Thukkaiandi said that the authorities were trying to implicate him in this case and two other cases as he “did not oblige high officials” by filing a petition seeking further investigation into the disproportionate wealth case against the Chief Minister, which was pending before the Special Judge, Bangalore.

He said that the investigation, if allowed to be conducted by the State police, would not be fair, impartial and unbiased. He prayed for a direction to transfer the case to the CBI.

Keywords: land grabbing case

Darcis defeats Roddick

American Andy Roddick suffered a third-round loss on Wednesday at the ATP’s Winston-Salem Open, losing 7-6(6), 7-6(3) to Belgium’s Steve Darcis.

Darcis, who made it to the third round of the London Olympics, outlasted fifth-seeded Roddick in a pair of tiebreak sets, at the Wake Forest University facility.

The 28-year-old Darcis, who is ranked 81st in the world, was the last player to make the cut for the main draw.

He next faces second-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.

The hardcourt tournament serves as a warm-up event for next week’s U.S. Open.

Roddick, a former world No. 1 and ex-US Open champion, is struggling heading into the last Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows.

Fourth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Argentina’s David Nalbandian.

Seventh-seeded American Sam Querrey continued his run of good form with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. Querrey will meet Dolgopolov in the quarterfinals.

Wozniacki moves up

Four-time reigning champion Caroline Wozniacki and second seed Petra Kvitova advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA’s New Haven Open with straight-set victories.

Kvitova, last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, easily defeated American Nicole Gibbs, 6-2, 6-4.

She will next face eighth-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova, who crushed China’s Zheng Jie, 6-4, 6-0.

Former world No. 1 Wozniacki, who is seeded third and seeking her fifth straight title at the event, recorded a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson.

Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova won 6-4, 6-1 over German Andrea Petkovic, who has battled injuries for most of the year.

The results: ATP Winston-Salem Open: Third round: Sam Querrey bt Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4; Steve Darcis bt Andy Roddick 7-6(3), 7-6(3); Alexandr Dolgopolov bt David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-4; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6(1), 6-4; Tomas Berdych bt Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-2; David Goffin bt Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(5); John Isner bt Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 6-3; Marcel Granollers bt Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

WTA Texas Open: Quarterfinals: Roberta Vinci bt Chanelle Scheepers 7-6(1), 6-2; Casey Dellacqua bt Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-4; Jelena Jankovic bt Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1; Bojana Jovanovski bt Peng Shuai 6-4, 1-0 (retd.).

WTA New Haven Open: Second round: Caroline Wozniacki bt Sofia Arvidsson 7-6(4), 6-2; Dominika Cibulkova bt Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-1; Lucie Safarova Zheng Jie 6-4, 6-0; Petra Kvitova bt Nicole Gibbs 6-2, 6-4.

Keywords: Winston-Salem Open

Nine clusters of hardware units planned in AP

Firms setting up units will be offered incentives and other facilities

Close on the heels of the hardware policy announced recently, the State government has decided to establish as many as nine clusters of hardware units on fast track mode over an area of 900 acres at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. This is aimed at ensuring the required level of backing to the ever expanding software industry in the State.

The decision, which was taken by Information Technology Minister P. Lakshmaiah, while reviewing pending issues of his department here on Thursday, provided for allotment of 900 acres for the purpose -- 700 acres at Hyderabad and 200 acres in Visakhapatnam.

Speaking to reporters, the Minister said the financial arrangements being made for setting up of these clusters were such that the Centre would contribute Rs. 50 crore towards providing infrastructure facilities each in the clusters. Officials were asked to ground the works immediately pending release of Central funds. The firms which would set up the hardware units would be offered incentives and other facilities in tune with the present industrial policy.

Animation/gaming centre

He said an international animation and gaming centre would also be set up over an extent of 25 acres at Hyderabad. The DPR for this was expected to be ready in a month when the works would be commenced by the APIIC accordingly. A workshop with participation by world animation leaders like Manchester Media City and Dubai Media City would be held soon to rope in partners for the venture.

IT incubation centres

Five IT incubation centres were being set up tier II and III towns/cities -- two at Visakhapatnam and one each at Tirupati, Kakinada and Warangal. The APIIC was asked to invite the tenders to implement the project.

Mr. Lakshmaiah said steps would be taken soon to overcome pending issues in the past seven years relating to the expansion projects of Wipro, Infosys, Polaris, CA, TCS and Info Tech.

Keywords: hardware units

Railway tracks claim student’s life

The Hindu Vignesh

TOPICS

disaster and accident accident (general)

Walking along the railway tracks while talking on his mobile phone cost an 18-year-old student his life in Chetpet on Thursday morning.

The accident took place around 9.30 a.m. behind the college, when the victim M. Vignesh, a first-year student of Pachaiyappa’s college, disembarked from the EMU train at Nungambakkam and was walking along the tracks to reach the college. An EMU train headed towards Chennai Beach knocked him down and he was injured badly, Government Railway Police sources said.

Students of the college, who get off the train at Nungambakkam and Chetpet railway stations, often walk along the tracks, taking the shorter route to reach the hostel. “The hostel is located in between the stations so it is easy to walk the 100 metres by the tracks and jump a wall to enter the campus,” said Mahesh Kumar, an evening scholar of the college.

According to a professor of the college, Vignesh was talking on the phone and some of his college mates walking a few metres behind him spotted the train and shouted out to him, but he was unable to react in time.

The students rushed Vignesh in an autorickshaw to a private hospital on Harrington Road, Chetpet, but he died on the way, he added.

Vignesh’s body was taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where a post-mortem was conducted. His body was handed over to relatives on Thursday evening.

Vignesh, a day scholar, was residing in Saidapet with his sister and family and commuted to college by EMU. He is a native of Marakkanam, where his parents Manivannan and Amudha are farmers.

Keywords: railway accident