IHG Plans Hotel In Coimbatore

UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) on Monday said it plans to open 20 hotels in India with over 5,000 rooms under its different brands, including the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, as a part of its strategy to strengthen presence in the country. The world's largest hotel group with the most number of rooms, is developing 14 new-look Holiday Inn hotels with more than 3,700 rooms, which are scheduled to open over the next three years in 11 cities nationwide.

Developing 14 new-look Holiday Inn hotels with more than 3,700 rooms

"India is an important market for IHG, where both domestic and international traffic is increasing and new travel segments are opening up. In the Indian hotel business, the greatest opportunity for growth is in the mid-scale segment, in which Holiday Inn has a leading position," IHG Asia Pacific Chief Executive Peter Gowers said in a statement. IHG, with an existing portfolio of 13 hotels in India, including five Holiday Inn hotels, is also developing hotels under the InterContinental and Crowne Plaza brand names besides Holiday Inn. It, however, did not disclose any investments for the planned expansion in the country.

Gowers said Holiday Inn accounts for almost three quarters of the company's new developments in India. Three of the Holiday Inn hotels will be located in Bangalore, with the remaining in Delhi, Dehradun, Cochin, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.

Research Centre To Study Chinese Culture

The Bharathiar University in Tamil Nadu has announced it will set up a research centre in May for Indian students to study Chinese culture. The university, based in this textile town, decided to name the centre after the Chinese philosopher Confucius, G. Thiruvasagam, vice-chancellor of Bharathiar University who has just returned from a ten-day China visit, said Monday.

Set up a research centre in May for Indian students

“Confucius has had a great influence on the Chinese education system and lifestyle and our university wants to set up the Confucius Centre for Indian scholars to get better acquainted with his teachings,” he said. The Confucius Centre “will allow students here to study the contribution made by Confucius to philosophy and world culture”, Thiruvasagam added. The centre will be supported by the Chinese government. The university has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s Huaihua University, which will provide a professor and two lecturers to support the centre.

The university also announced that influenced by the Chinese education system, it will increase the number of short-term and vocational courses it offers. Minimum attendance will no longer be compulsory for students but teachers will be judged by a student assessment process.

31.03.2008.

CPM Slams Supportes Of Free Tibet

Asserting that Tibet was an integral part of China, the CPI(M) on Monday attacked BJP and NDA convenor George Fernandes for supporting its separation asking whether he would support similar demands in Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland. Pointing out that the central government had consistently taken the position that Tibet was part of China, party General Secretary Prakash Karat told a press conference in Coimbatore “some Indian politicians are toeing the line of certain Western powers like the US which would lead to the break-up of larger states in the name of human rights or rights of ethnic minorities.

Tibet was an integral part of China, the CPI(M)

“The BJP has come out with a statement attacking the government position while the NDA Convenor has gone further than that. Those who wish to join this chorus (of separation) do disservice to India also. Will they support the demand for a free Nagaland or a free Jammu and Kashmir?” he said. Noting that the government from the beginning has held the position of “upholding the one-China principle”, Karat said it has never recognised Taiwan as a separate country.

“The government has reiterated this stand even now.” The CPI(M) leader said even the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had maintained in writing that the Tibetan Autonomous Region was part of China. “That is the correct position.” “We want a dialogue between the Chinese government and the representatives of the Dalai Lama. Beijing has already said it is willing to hold talks provided the Dalai Lama does not want to go out of the framework of a united China. ... We have also seen statements by the Dalai Lama asking for autonomy within China,” he said.

31.03.2008.

News From CPI Congress

Mounting pressure on the government to act fast to control prices, the CPI(M) on Monday demanded withdrawal of a legislation which would allow FDI in the commodities market and warned that the Left would oppose the Bill if it was brought to Parliament. "The government takes some measures with the right hand and does something else with the left. If they are really interested in bringing down prices, they should first withdraw the Forward Contract Regulation Amendment Bill," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters here.

If they are really interested in bringing down prices, they should first withdraw the Forward Contract Regulation Amendment Bill

"We have already told the government that we cannot support the Bill in Parliament. We are going to oppose it if it is brought. ... The bill will not pass. The ordinance will have to lapse because we won't support FDI in the commodities market," he said. The CPI(M) had yesterday set a deadline of April 15 for the UPA Government to take urgent measures to check prices and threatened to launch a nation-wide agitation. Karat, however, said his party was in consultation with other Left parties and other parties for a joint agitational programme.

"Any party can join us, barring the NDA," he said, adding that he had spoken to TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu and told him that the programme would be finalised after the Party Congress. Referring to the price situation, he said two weeks before the Budget Session, government issued the Forward Contract Regulation Ordinance to allow FDI and foreign ownership in the commodities market. "When large amounts of foreign capital comes to speculate in the commodities market, it can be imagined how this will fuel prices," he said.

31.03.2008.

Insurance Employees Observed Strike

Members of the Joint Action Committee of Public Sector General Insurance Employees, Coimbatore, observed a one-hour walkout strike and staged a demonstration in front of the divisional office recently. The agitators sought promotions that had not taken place for the last four years, improvement in staff welfare matters, end to arbitrary transfers and mobility policy, restoration of compassionate ground appointments and yet another chance to opt for the 1995 pension scheme. Coimbatore branch secretary K.S. Venkatasubramaniam and general secretary S.V. Shankar warned the management that the agitation would be intensified if the demands were not met.

31.03.2008.

Textile Commissioner Identified 5 clusters

The Regional Office of the Textile Commissioner here has identified five clusters to focus on.According to the officer in-charge, D. Bandyopadhyay, Somanur, Palladam, Tiruchengode, Erode and Rajapalayam are some of the textile hubs in this region and these have been identified for the programme. The ministry has a number of schemes and programmes to develop the sector.

The Regional Office of the Textile Commissioner here plans to organise door-to-door programmes on technical textiles

With the cluster programme, officers will create awareness on these programmes and help the textile units benefit. These clusters have units that are into weaving, spinning and processing. Though the units are aware of the Government initiatives, the aim is to revive the cluster approach and help the units make better use of the schemes. Officers have been trained at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute in Ahmedabad for this. This will be a continuous programme, he says. The officers will create awareness on technical textiles too.

Mr. Bandyopadhyay says that a number of entrepreneurs, especially the young ones, are evincing interest in technical textiles. The Central Government would soon come out with a technology mission for technical textiles and identify the South India Textile Research Association as one of the centres of excellence for this. These would give a boost to investments in technical textiles.

The Regional Office of the Textile Commissioner here plans to organise door-to-door programmes on technical textiles. The aim is to help the entrepreneurs know about technology and market potential for these specialised products and invest in these segments.

31.03.2008.

BU Will Work For Courses In Tamil

Bharathiar University will work towards offering its undergraduate and post-graduate courses in the Tamil medium of instruction, its Vice-Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam said here on Sunday. Addressing presspersons, he said all courses of the university and its affiliated colleges would be introduced in the vernacular language. “It will run alongside those in English. This proposal is basically aimed at mitigating the fear of the English language that deters many students from pursuing higher education.”

His recent visit to the universities and colleges in China along with a team of college secretaries and principals had the Vice-Chancellor come up with such a proposal

His recent visit to the universities and colleges in China along with a team of college secretaries and principals had the Vice-Chancellor come up with such a proposal. “The strength of the Chinese students lies in the fact that they learn the subjects in their mother tongue. Language is not a barrier for learning the subject. English is learnt as a language.” Justifying the introduction of Tamil as the medium of instruction, he said, “When there are so many job opportunities in our State, why should we insist on learning English to get better jobs outside. We are cheating ourselves by believing that knowledge of English is the only factor that determines good placements.”

Later speaking , he said the State Government was already in the process of preparing certain textbooks in Tamil. “We will have to get all the textbooks ready for the proposal to take off soon. This is one of the efforts to increase access to higher education, employable education and also enrichment of the local language.” Referring to the statistics released by the State Government that 78 per cent of students completing their Plus Two were from the Tamil medium, he said the stimulus to study in Tamil would urge such students to take up higher education.

In the coming academic year, the Vice-Chancellor proposed to set up a committee comprising representatives – working or retired – from various departments to bring out at least 20 textbooks. “There is a misconception that only conventional subjects can be offered in Tamil. This is a myth that should be busted. All science subjects and even latest specialised subjects like nanotechnology should be offered in the vernacular language. Also, we will appeal to the Information Technology organisations to help prepare computer language in Tamil. Everything will be done to ensure that Tamil medium students do not have any apprehensions in selecting any course,” the Vice-Chancellor added.

The university would also start training-oriented diploma programmes in its colleges. It would be offered both in English and Tamil. “Skilled students should not be forced to extend their study period to three years when they can do it with a six-month or one-year diploma programme,” Mr. Thiruvasagam said.

31.03.2008.

Electroplaters Form Industrial Park

The Coimbatore District Electroplaters’ Association has formed an industrial park on 10 acres at Kurumbapalayam, near Koilpalayam here. Its president S. Balakrishnan told The Hindu that of its 80 members, 69 would start units at the park. Most of these were small and tiny units that undertook surface coating of components for larger engineering units. The park would have new projects, shifting of some of the existing units and ventures by electroplating equipment manufacturers and chemical traders.

The participants had invested about Rs. 10 crore totally

The participants had invested about Rs. 10 crore totally (including land and building) and established common facilities such as roads, drainage pipes and streetlights. Nearly 90 per cent works were over for individual buildings. All of them would go in for individual effluent treatment plant since electroplating was classified as highly polluting units. They had also applied for electricity connection and were expecting a separate sub-station to cater to their power needs.

The effluent treatment plants would be established by the end of next month. And, power supply was likely to be provided in two or three months. “All these works are expected to get over by the end of June and the units will start functioning at the parks after that,” he said. Initially, about 35 units would start operations at the park. The monthly turnover from these units would be over Rs. 10 lakhs.

The association had earmarked space for sludge storage, vehicle parking and laboratory too. Though the association initially proposed to establish a common effluent treatment plant, it later decided that the units would have individual plants. The units had adopted a cluster approach to establish these common facilities. The association was now exploring various avenues to obtain assistance from the State and Central Governments for this project.

31.03.2008.

MP Leads Agitation Of Residents

Victims living on surplus lands as declared by the Land Ceiling Act, led by Coimbatore MP K. Subbarayan, staging a demonstration at Ondipudur on Sunday demanding withdrawal of ban on registration of their properties. Hundreds of residents living in layouts, declared as surplus lands under the Land Ceiling Act, staged a demonstration in front of the office of Village administration officer on Trichy Road at Ondipudur on Sunday morning. It was led by Member of Parliament, Coimbatore, K. Subbarayan.

Hundreds of residents living in layouts, declared as surplus lands under the Land Ceiling Act

Victims of the Act had originally announced a plan to stage a fast. Following denial of police permission and persuasion by the authorities, Mr. Subbarayan announced that they would stage a demonstration for two hours to draw the attention of the Government. He is planning to meet Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin along with representatives of the residents on April 2. President of the association of victims residing in ‘surplus lands’ R. Mohan told that they had purchased these house sites in 1985 and the Government under the Land Ceiling Act had declared these as surplus lands in 1999.

He said the residents, mostly middle income group families who were workers of various textile mills, had purchased these lands 23 years ago and were living here in nearly 3,000 houses in 93 layouts. With textile mills turning defunct these workers were left with only these houses bought with their hard-earned money. The authorities have imposed a ban on registration and re-registrations of these lands. They even refused to accept development and regularisation charges. Mr. Mohan said this ‘administrative lapse’ had resulted in many families not being able to sell their assets or avail loans.

There were even cases of attempts to commit suicides, he said. The residents had even staged a protest by hoisting black flags atop their houses on August 29, 2007. Now, they are pinning hopes on MP’s scheduled meeting with the Local Administration Minister on April 2. They expect an announcement exempting these lands from the category of surplus lands.

31.03.2008.

Smuggled Liquor Seized

A police officer looking at the liquor bottles smuggled from Goa seized by the City Prohibition Enforcement Wing personnel in an operation on Saturday night. Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW) police personnel from Coimbatore City Police on Saturday night arrested a person and seized 156 bottles of excise duty evaded liquor bottles smuggled from Kerala.

Teams raided his house and found nearly 144 bottles of liquor concealed in aluminium tins

On instructions from Commissioner of Police, K.C. Mahali and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), S. Rajendran, the police stepped up drive across the city to combat prohibition related offences. Under the direct supervision of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police V. Rathinasabapathy and Assistant Commissioner of Police K. Sunderraj vehicle checks were conducted across the city and one of the teams led by Inspector Arumugam intercepted Shyam Prasad (33) of Pappanaickenpudur on Lawley Road in R.S. Puram. He was found in possession of 12 excise duty evaded liquor bottles from Goa.

Based on interrogation, the teams raided his house and found nearly 144 bottles of liquor concealed in aluminium tins. Interrogations revealed that liquor sold at cheap rate in Goa used to be smuggled across to Calicut by rail. From there the accused reportedly sourced them to Coimbatore. It is learnt that the bottles purchased at Rs. 70 to Rs. 90 used to be sold at a 100 per cent premium.

31.03.2008.

Ramadoss In Coimbatore

PMK founder leader S. Ramadoss receiving petitions from farmers at a meeting convened by All Farmers’ Associations in the city on Sunday. The founder leader of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, S. Ramadoss, on Sunday criticised the politicians for their 50 years’ lip service in hailing agriculture as the backbone.

Ramadoss, on Sunday criticised the politicians for their 50 years’ lip service in hailing agriculture

He was addressing a meeting of the all farmers’ association convened for discussing issues involved in the wake of Tamil Nadu Housing Board’s move to acquire agricultural lands. Dr. Ramadoss said the sector remained neglected and ignored. “The recent loan waiver announced in the Union Budget was only an attempt to sprinkle water to save agriculture from becoming extinct. This is neither adequate nor a permanent solution,” he said.

He said that the word acquisition should be removed from usage, especially acquisition of agricultural lands for highways, airports and special economic zones and industrial estates. Such a trend would affect nation’s food security. He said that PMK would mobilise farmers across the State and organise a massive agitation in April to draw the attention of the Government. PMK legislator G.K. Mani said time has come for fighting to protect the interests of the farming community cutting across political party lines. Mr. Ramadoss received more than 1,000 petitions from those affected by acquisition and likely to be affected by the proposed acquisition.

The meeting adopted 46 resolutions and the notable among them included: ban on import of agricultural produces that were available in India and export of agricultural produces before meeting the domestic demand, ensuring reasonable procurement price for agricultural produces, nationalisation and inter-linking of rivers, conservation of water bodies, total implementation of prohibition in the state, inclusion of milk and fruits in noon-meal scheme, removal of palm and coconut toddy from the list of liquor, enforcement of prohibition, enforcement of a strict ban on plastics to protect nature, realistic social security schemes for all sections of the people, creation of a separate portfolio and minister for irrigation as practiced in the southern States besides expediting the pending Inter-State water sharing irrigation schemes.

31.03.2008.

Schizophrenia - Information By KMCH Dr

Early detection of schizophrenia can avoid hospitalisation and drastically reduce medication, says D.Srinivasan, Consultant Psychiatrist, Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital. While awareness on general physical illnesses has gone up, the awareness on mental illnesses are still abysmally low. “There is an urgent need to create awareness about schizophrenia as the number of cases that go undiagnosed is increasing,” he says.

There is an urgent need to create awareness about schizophrenia

The Department of Psychiatry of KMCH was planning to organise a general mental health awareness camp with special focus on schizophrenia in May. It also plans to run a series of programmes on mental health. “In the last 10 years, the awareness we have been able to create on diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and cardiovascular diseases is phenomenal. But, the same has not happened in the case of mental illnesses,” Dr. Srinivasan adds. An illness caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, schizophrenia can be treated if identified early. However, the lack of awareness is not just among the illiterate rural masses, but also among those who are well educated and has had exposure to the outside world.

Within a week of illness, if the patient’s family members are able to identify the earliest symptoms of schizophrenia, the treatment can be stopped within a year and complete cure is possible. But, if it goes undetected for over three to four years, it can lead to life long medication. Also, counselling alone will not help people who are suffering from the disease. On the contrary, it can even aggravate the patient’s condition. It needs proper and timely medication. Some of the common symptoms that most patients manifest during the early stages of disease are excessive sleep or sleeplessness, over-reacting to normal criticism, peculiar use of words or odd language structure, excessive writing without meaning, being reclusive and secretive and extreme reactions to criticism.

Though heredity plays a role, the disease is more likely to affect people who have a schizoid personality (withdrawn and incapable of social relationship). Stress too can only precipitate schizophrenia in people who are genetically predisposed to the disease. The disease affects men, women and adolescents in the same way. The earliest age of reported schizophrenia is 15 years. Social stigma and resistance from the public in seeking psychiatric help are factors that prevent patients from getting immediate medical help.

31.03.2008.

Seized Vehicles Removed From Collectorate

District Collector V. Palanikumar (left) on Saturday directing the officials to remove the seized vehicles from the Collectorate premises to the respective enforcement agency offices to create more parking and movement space and (right) one of the vehicles being removed on Sunday.

The Collectorate premises will now become more spacious

The Collectorate premises will now become more spacious, thanks to the District Collector for directing officials to remove the seized vehicles parked here. On Sunday, the officials began removing the vehicles to the respective enforcement agency offices. Collector V. Palanikumar on Saturday inspected all the departments and the entire Collectorate premises to assess the facilities available for the visiting public. On seeing the vehicles around the Collectorate building, Mr. Palanikumar said that the vehicles seized for smuggling contraband (especially rice meant for supply under Public Distribution System) should not be parked on the premises.

He pointed out that the vehicles parked without any protection from rain or shine had turned out to be iron scrap. Besides, there was no space for the visitors to park their vehicles and the lack of movement space had made the premises congested. Whenever Ministers or higher officials conduct review meetings or during the grievances day programmes for the public and farmers, the Collectorate premises turned jam-packed. Mr. Palanikumar asked District Revenue Officer S. Prabhakaran to tell the enforcement agencies to remove the vehicles to their offices. The Collector exhorted the officials to have a dustbin for every department and a system of collecting garbage every morning to keep the premises clean. He also asked the officials to clear the heaps of garbage at various places.

31.03.2008.

Free and Open Source Software - Workshop

The School of Information Technology and Science and the Department of Bio-informatics of the G.R. Damodaran College of Science will jointly organise a two-day workshop on “Free and Open Source Software” on April 2 and 3. The workshop will have resource persons from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

For registration, contact B. Thiagarajan on 99449-44356.

31.03.2008.

Request From Disabled Persons

Over 100 employed persons with disabilities have requested the UDIS Forum, a network assisting persons with disabilities in finding jobs, to organise pre-employment training courses. They were participating in a meeting organised by the Forum.

Forum would organise a workshop for representatives of industries in Coimbatore

A parents’ group was also formed, which would meet on the last Saturday of every month to plan and implement self-employment opportunities The Forum would organise a workshop for representatives of industries in Coimbatore to sensitise them to the abilities of persons with disabilities.

31.03.2008.

Milk Producers Needs Special Price

The Coimbatore District Milk Producers Welfare Association has urged the District Collector and Special Officer of the Coimbatore District Co-operative Milk Producers Union to provide special incentive in procurement price to the dairy farmers during the dry season. Patron S.R. Rajagopal and secretary K.S. Balachandar, in a memorandum, said that the demand for milk was high in Kerala. As there was huge gap between the demand and availability, Kerala was sourcing milk from neighbouring States even at a higher price.

There was huge gap between the demand and availability

As a result, milk producers in Coimbatore were not willing to sell milk at a lesser price to the co-operative union. For the last three years, the Coimbatore union was netting profit ranging from Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 3 crore on an average and given the recent hike in the milk price, the profit margin was likely to even double. Hence in exercise of the special powers delegated to the unions in 2000, the association urged the Collector to provide special incentive in procurement price for the period from October to August (considered the dry period wherein milk production was expected to decline).

The association suggested that an additional Re 1 per litre could be provided for the milk procured from October to March and 50 paise per litre from April to August. They sought the payment to be disbursed with retrospective effect from 2006-07. They also demanded adulteration detection kits for milk chilling plants, village milk procurement centres and co-operative unions. While procuring milk from dairy farmers the unions were subjecting the milk to thorough quality checks.

Similarly, even the milk sold by private firms should be checked and stringent action initiated against deterioration in standards. The memorandum also pleaded job permanency and time scale pay for 2,000 odd employees in the village milk procurement centres who were working on consolidated pay for the last 10 years. For filling up the vacancies in the milk producers union, priority could be accorded to skilled workers employed on temporary basis in village milk producers associations and procurement centres. They also appealed to the State Government to bring in the Central Model Co-operative Act as legislation for conducting elections to the co-operative milk unions.

31.03.2008.

Devi Ahilya Bai Award To Sakthi Masala Director

Mrs Santhi Duraisamy, Director of Sakthi Masala Pvt Ltd, has been awarded the Stree Sakthi Puraskar (Devi Ahilya Bai award) by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, for her role in administration and her contribution towards rural women employment, particularly for the physically challenged women, for 2006.

Her role in administration and her contribution towards rural women employment,particularly for the physically challenged women

The award was given to her by Mrs Sonia Gandhi, UPA Chairperson, at a function held in New Delhi on March 8, according to a communication from Sakthi Masala. The citation of the award has noted that Mrs Santhi, studied up to sixth standard and beginning as a housewife, took to small-time turmeric trade 30 years ago along with her husband. Her enthusiastic participation and perseverance had led to transforming the trade into a brand-owner of the most popular ‘Sakthi Masala’.

What started off with Rs 10,000 investment has grown into a corporate entity with an annual turnover of Rs 91.72 crore (as on March 2005) by the Sakthi group. Today about 23% of Sakthi Masala’s total employees are physically challenged. Mrs Santhi, who is associated with several social service activities and voluntary bodies, also runs Shakti Rehabilitation Centre in Erode which is exclusively involved in treating and training the disabled children, the citation added.

30.03.2008.

Jaipur Gems Opens Shop

Jaipur Gems has opened its store in Coimbatore, the third in the country, after Mumbai and Chennai. “We have not just established our presence here but brought the Jaipur feel,” the Director, Mr Mithun Sacheti, told. The company has taken an old building on lease, revamped the interiors to the likes of a palace environment and showcased its jewellery range in thematic style. “In Chennai, we created ‘levels’ to have this effect,” Mr Sacheti said, without disclosing details about the outlay for establishing each of these exclusive outlets.

We have not just established our presence here but brought the Jaipur feel

The company plans to spread its wings into Hyderabad soon. It has already narrowed down a location and is expecting to throw it open before the end of 2008. Asked if Jaipur Gems is on an expansion spree Mr Sacheti said “We are not looking at rapid expansion because of constraints on the production side.” About 280 people are engaged in manufacturing the jewellery, set to exquisite design. Each piece is handmade and set to trend, with a touch of tradition to match the style. Mr Sacheti is himself a designer and product of the Gemmological Institute of America. “Intrinsic craftsmanship, stunning designs and stones — sourced from different parts of the world, with an eye for detail and design has been our forte,” he said.

30.03.2008.

Egg-Less Desserts' Festival

The Residency, Coimbatore, has for the first time initiated a month-long `egg-less desserts' festival. Egg-less cakes, according to Chef Ashok, has been in demand especially after the incidence of the bird-flu. "We therefore decided on the `egg-less dessert' theme."

It plans to offer four different flavours of cheese cakes, six varieties of pie and eight tortes.

30.03.2008.

Hacker Kitchen's Opened Showroom At Kovai

Hacker Kitchen, the high-end European modular kitchen makers from Germany, has opened its showroom in Coimbatore. Kanu Kitchen Kulture, the company’s Indian franchisee, which has its own showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai for Hacker Kitchen, is planning to set up a few more franchisee showrooms including one in Kochi (in June), Hyderabad and Ludhiana.

Hacker kitchen ranges being 100% customised is made available in 10-12 weeks

Hacker kitchen ranges being 100% customised is made available in 10-12 weeks from the time of finalising the orders as the entire unit is imported from Hacker’s production plant in Germany. The German kitchen maker has about 160 kitchen options. The price range starts from Rs 3 lakh (for 8ft by 10 ft kitchen size), Mr Mukesh Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, Kanu Kitchen, said.

30.03.2008.

TNAU Guideing Puducherry's Precision Farming

Puducherry chief Minister N Rangasamy on Friday presented a tax-free budget of Rs 3,333.24 crore for 2008-2009. Rangasamy, who holds the finance portfolio, told the state Assembly the gross estimate included Rs 1,750 crore for plan expenditure and Rs 1,553.40 crore for non-plan expenditure, besides Rs 29.84 crore under central sponsored schemes. He said the central grant would be Rs 703.05 crore, while Rs 1,225.79 crore would be by way of loan from various sources and Rs 1,404.40 crore would be from the own resources of the union territory.

Precision farming might be taken up in around 1,000 hectares over five years

The government has introduced precision farming to drastically reduce input cost and enhance farm income through better yields. He said precision farming might be taken up in around 1,000 hectares over five years, for which Rs 2 crore had been earmarked. The outlay would be raised depending on the utilisation of funds. The scheme would be implemented with the guidance of the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore, he said. Procedures would be simplified to sanction loans to small and marginal farmers through cooperative institutions, he said. Rs 20 crore would be released in 2008-2009 by the state cooperative bank.

The interest rate for loans released by village cooperative agricultural credit societies to farmers would be reduced from 7% to 4%. The state cooperative housing federation would disburse Rs 30 crore worth loans in 2008-2009 to benefit around 1000 members. As many as 21,500 families under the below poverty line have been covered under the free supply of cooking gas cylinders after the scheme was implemented during 2005-2006.

Co-optex Planning Design Studio At Coimbatore

Imagine touring the length and breadth of India in a couple of hours. While this would seem rather far-fetched, what does seem feasible is a tour of handloom fabrics woven by weavers across the country. Pashmina shawls from Kashmir, Banasari silk from Uttar Pradesh, Bengali cotton from West Bengal, Kota saris from Rajasthan and printed towels from Puducherry—one comes across all this and more at the National Handloom Expo-2008. The two-week fair, organised by the development commissioner of handlooms under the ministry of textiles, kicked off in the city at the Co-optex exhibition grounds in Chennai. Co-optex is the apex body of the Tamil Nadu handloom weavers co-operative society.

Co-optex International is planning to set up computerised design studios

“It’s a forum to encourage the weavers. Compared to 100 stalls last year, we have 125 participating in this edition,” said Ms MP Nirmala, special officer and managing director, Co-optex. The fair generated sales of Rs 3.12 crore last year. “The first week last year garnered sales of Rs 20-30 lakh. We expect the figure to go up to Rs 50 lakh this year,” Ms Nirmala added. Co-optex officials believe, that innovation in material and design intervention can help handloom weavers cope with competition from the power looms. One of the initiatives is marketing ‘eco-friendly’ attire procured from the under-privileged communities in the state. “We are promoting garments made of organic cotton, which we procure from the ‘Lambadi’ tribals in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu.

The demand for such material, is going up, both in the domestic and export market,” said Ms Nirmala said. The apex body’s export division, Co-optex International is planning to set up computerised design studios at Chennai, Thanjavur and Coimbatore at a cost of Rs 1.2 crore.

30.03.2008.

IIM Soon At Coimbatore

In A bid to give an impetus to the higher education sector, government on Friday decided to establish four new IITs and six IIMs in various states besides upgrading some of the state universities to the status of central universities. While the new IITs would be located in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh (Indore), Gujarat and Punjab, the IIMs would come up in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Uttarakhand and Haryana. These new institutions would be part of the eight IITs and seven IIMs proposed to be set up during the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

Government has already announced establishment of four IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh and one IIM at Shillong. The location of the new higher education institutions has been approved by prime minister Manmohan Singh, HRD Minister Arjun Singh told the media. In addition, he said the government proposed to convert the Institute of Technology of the Banaras Hindu University into an IIT. Admission to this institute was already based on the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination. Singh said that under the 11th Five-Year Plan about 14 universities with world class standards and 16 universities in states which do not have a central university at present will be established.

Singh said the establishment of new IITs, IIMs and central universities was subject to state governments offering adequate land at suitable locations and free of cost. The 14 central universities aiming at world class standards would be located in Pune, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Mysore, Visakhapatnam, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Patna, Bhopal, Kochi, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Greater Noida and Guwahati. The locations have been decided keeping in mind the connectivity and the infrastructure which such universities would need, he said.

30.03.2008.

IBM,Microsoft,Oracle And SAP Eyes Coimbatore

Smart, Growing and wired — these are the apt adjectives to describe the small and medium business (SMB) segments in India. With high concentration of SMBs, Coimbatore has become the choice destination for IT giants like Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and SAP to market their enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools and set their cash registers ringing. Coimbatore is home to nearly 30,000 SMBs, mainly engaged in engineering, auto components, textiles and now IT and ITeS sectors. Microsoft India, which recently opened its office in the city, has adopted a hub and spoke business model to tap the texcity and the adjoining centres.

Coimbatore has become the choice destination for IT giants like Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and SAP

S Balaji, director (sales), hoped it will provide a considerable fillip to IT adoption by local businesses. Earlier in 2007, Microsoft India identified Tirupur as one of the clusters under its Project Vikas for information communication technology (ICT) solutions and applications. IBM too marked its presence last year in the city. Without disclosing the numbers, Ramesh Narasimhan, director (SMB), IBM India, said, “Coimbatore, a strong manufacturing and resource hub for many industries, will be an important market for IBM”. Some businesses that have adopted IT solutions recently include KGISL, Shanthi Gears, Suguna Poultry, Pricol, Xenos Technologies, Precot Meridian, LG Balakrishnan & Bros, Super Spinning Mills, among others.

Germany-based SAP is said to have added over 1,500 new customers in the last 12 months taking its customer base to 2,300. With this new landmark, SAP India claims to have achieved a strong foothold in the SMB market. “We have been working closely with Indian SMEs over the years to understand their business needs and growth aspirations. Tier-2 cities are now waking up to an economic boom and we know that the SMEs want an enterprise technology solution that not only incorporates industry best-practices into their organisation but also acts as their foundation for competitive differentiation,” said Mr Nagaraj Bhargava, vice-president (marketing), SAP Indian sub-continent.

How do these IT tools help in the functioning of an organisation? A Venkatesan, senior vice-president of Pricol feels that with a synchronised business process through SAP his company is eliminating redundancies, minimising departmental conflicts and controlling costs thus saving a lot of time. According to Access Markets International Partners (AMIP), a market research firm, the IT penetration in SMBs is very low and their IT spends in the past have been less than 2% of their turnover. But now, as they align businesses to global needs, they are looking at IT solutions for a wide range of applications — from backing up data, networking to streamlining supply chains and automating customer handling. For IT companies this means entering newer geographies/verticals and for SMBs it is a means of staying competitive.

30.03.2008.

Staff Strength Is Inadequate

Officials of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission wing at the Coimbatore Corporation have said that the number of staff provided now was inadequate for the implementation of the Pilloor Phase II drinking water scheme. The officials told the Council on Thursday that compared to the Phase I scheme implemented some years ago, the new one was woefully short of the engineers required to monitor the execution of the project.

The Phase I scheme was implemented with two Superintending Engineers, eight Executive Engineers, 24 Assistant Executive Engineers and 42 engineers at various other levels.

But, the mission wing at the Corporation now had only one Superintending Engineer, two Executive Engineers and four Assistant Executive Engineers. Assistant Engineers and Junior Engineers had not been posted. The officials said the Council would have to move a resolution requesting the Government for the allocation of more staff.

By pointing at the shortage of staff, they indicated that this would make the implementation of the scheme very difficult. Member of various parties in the Corporation Council have opposed any move for a steep hike in Property Tax. When the Council recorded a Government Order for the revision of the tax rates, the councillors cautioned the civic body against a steep hike. Some of them pointed out that the guidelines issued by the Government had stated clearly that the rates such as 25 per cent or 100 per cent were only the upper ceiling for various categories and not the fixed percentage of hike.

For instance, the increase for residential buildings should not exceed 25 per cent. It was not as if the hike should be 25 per cent. The increase could be of any rate up to this figure. Therefore, there should not be any huge increase that could place a huge burden on the people, the members said. The councillors also wanted the Corporation to work out affordable rates of increase and place in the Council for its approval. Though tax increase was a statutory obligation on the part of the Corporation, there was a provision for the civic body to fix rates up to the ceiling fixed by the Government, they said.

30.03.2008.

Convocation Of TNCE

There was a time when population was considered a burden on the economy of the country. But, now the vast resource of skilled manpower is a boon to the economic development of the country, R.C. Swami, Vice-President of L&T Infotech, Chennai, said here on Saturday. Delivering the convocation address at the Tamil Nadu College of Engineering, he said that the country’s rich manpower resource was the main requirement for it to achieve economic progress.

There has been a dramatic improvement in the literacy rate in the country

“There has been a dramatic improvement in the literacy rate in the country. India has also achieved good progress in the field of Information Technology. The progress has been such that it is being regarded as a global player in the field of IT,” Mr. Swami said. He said that the country was becoming a reckoning factor in the global atmosphere. “Hence, young graduates should cultivate a winning attitude to achieve greater heights in life by overcoming hurdles. Be passionate and innovative.” He asked them to give importance to subjects such as civil engineering, architecture and bio-technology. P.V. Ravi, college Secretary, and T.N. Palaniswami, Chairman, spoke.

30.03.2008.

Lighting Ceremony

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan, Chancellor of the Avinashilingam University for Women T.K. Shanmuganandam, and Vice-Chancellor Saroja Prabhakaran at the Lighting Ceremony for the outgoing students at the university in the city on Friday. “Women should be given equal opportunities. They should not be denied the opportunity to education or employment on the basis of their gender,” Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said here on Friday.

Women should be given equal opportunities

Inaugurating the “Lighting Ceremony” at the Avinashilingam University, she said despite women having proven their worth in all the avenues considered as men’s forte, empowerment had not touched the lives of all women. They were still being marginalised and discriminated against, she lamented. Ms. Jagadeesan asked the outgoing students to take up the cause for such women to whom justice was not delivered. She advised them to seek employment in the areas of their choice. “Empowering a woman leads to empowerment of society,” she said. The job market in India had brought about a lot of opportunities for employment.

Many were not able to make use of these owing to poor communication skills. Strengthening communication skills was of primary importance. The founder of the university, T.S. Avinashilingam Chettiar, was a visionary who believed in education of women and he translated the dream of many a poet and nationalist of the time into a reality. He stood for providing equal opportunities to women.

She advised the girls to have nutritious food and refrain from having junk food and aerated drinks. Girls, especially in colleges, were increasingly becoming addicted to junk food, she observed. Excessive consumption of aerated drinks and such unhealthy foods could lead even to infertility among women, she said. T.K. Shanmuganandam, Chancellor, and Saroja Prabhakaran, Vice Chancellor, spoke.

Awareness Programme On “Fostering Innovations”

TANSTIA – FNF Service Centre, a collaborative venture between Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association, Chennai, and Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Germany, will organise an awareness programme on “Fostering Innovations” for the small and tiny units on

April 4 at Hotel Thai, State Bank Road.

According to a release from the centre, innovative ideas from small entrepreneurs would be considered if they were socially viable. The ideas, however, should have the potential to meet at least one basic human need such as water, health, sanitation, food, shelter, energy, or dairy. The proposed innovation should be either environment friendly, or be useful to the poor.

30.03.2008.

RTO Telephone No Changed

The new telephone numbers of the Deputy Transport Commissioner and Regional Transport Officer (North) are respectively 0422 2244441 and 0422 2248449. The fax number is 2248300, according to a release here.

MKU's Contact Classes

The Directorate of Distance Education of Madurai Kamaraj University will organise

contact classes for undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate courses at Perks Matriculation School

in Uppilipalayam on March 29 and 30. Similarly, admissions for the undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma, post-graduate diploma, certificate, MBA and MCA correspondence courses are underway and applications are available at the admission centre at the Perks Matriculation School, a release from the Director, Saba Vadivelu, said. Candidates could submit their filled in application forms and avail themselves of their admission cards and text books.

30.03.2008.

Corp's Women's Day Celebration Now ??

Mayor R Venkatachalam addressing the members of women self-help groups at the International Women’s Day celebrations organised by the Coimbatore Corporation under the Golden Jubilee Urban Self Employment Programme on Friday.

Women should make use of various government schemes and projects to achieve self-reliance, Mayor R. Venkatachalam said here on Friday. He was speaking at a function organised by the Corporation to mark the Golden Jubilee Urban Self Employment Promotion Scheme. Deputy Mayor N. Karthik asked women to take the initiative and the civic body would stand by them in all their endeavours. P. Nachimuthu, Chairman of the Corporation Health Committee; S. Asokan, General Manager of District Industries Centre; P.T. Kalaiselvan, District Lead Bank Manager; City Health Officer, M. Thangaraj; and Assistant City Health Officer, P. Aruna; among others spoke.

30.03.2008.

Karunya Univ Signs MoU

Stevan Franklin, Vice-President, Research, University of Saskatchewan, Canada (second right), exchanging an MoU with Paul P. Appasamy, Vice-Chancellor of Karunya University (second left), at the university in the city on Wednesday. Karunya University signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Sasketchewan, Canada, here on Wednesday, to establish academic linkages and contacts between the two.

Exchange of faculty and joint programmes in research and development would also be part of the MoU.

According to a university release, the MoU would facilitate exchange of students, organisation of study visits and training, participation in bachelors’ masters’ and doctoral courses, recognition of academic credits, guidance and supervision of students’ theses and project works. Exchange of faculty and joint programmes in research and development would also be part of the MoU.

Eco Frendly Award

Chris Gibson, Director of British Council, South India (right), and District Collector V. Palanikumar, (fourth right) with the recipients of the Eco Award at a function in the city on Thursday. Individual efforts that make little changes will have a huge impact on climate change, according to Chris Gibson, Director of British Council, South India.

Most Eco-friendly home: Leelavathi Gopikrishna

Presenting the Eco Awards, constituted by the Residents’ Awareness Association of Coimbatore and the Association of British Scholars, Coimbatore Chapter, here on Thursday he said that one-third of worldwide green house gas emissions came from energy used in buildings. Science and technology would show ways to mitigate effects of climate change. “But, we the people make the difference.” He said, “We can have legislations but they are of little use until we implement them.”

It only needed thinking and effort by individuals to make the difference. Climate change was an important issue for all. “If we all make little changes we will have huge impact,” he said. District Collector V. Palanikumar said there were many rules and laws to check deforestation. Only people’s participation would help in successful implementation of these. “We have to give a safe world to posterity,” he said. The award-winning buildings were: Most Eco-friendly home: Leelavathi Gopikrishna, 340/2A, Sri Balaji Nagar, Thaneerpandal, Peelamedu, Coimbatore; Most Eco-friendly office: Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatti; Most Eco-friendly gated community: Soundaryam – Santhosham Comfort and Retirement Home, Pachapalayam, Siruvani Main Road. Apart from these, “worthy of mention” awards were also presented to buildings with special eco-friendly features.

30.03.2008.

MoU Signed

GKD Institute for Technological Resources, Arasur, has signed a co-operation agreement with Siemens for conducting courses on Computerised Numerically Controlled Machine Programming and Mechatronics. The course is designed to include the latest technology in the field of CNC so that the candidates undergoing training are equipped with the current developments in the industry.

The institute has been conducting the CII-sponsored programmes for girls and boys.

‘Job Quest ‘08’

Solvers India will organise a career counselling and placement event ‘Job Quest ‘08’ on March 29 and 30 at the Ramakrishna Kalyana Mandapam. According to a release from the organisers, nearly 20 recruiters will participate in the event. More than 15,000 candidates from affiliated colleges of the Bharathiar University are expected to attend. Graduates and professionals are also expected at the event.

More than 2,000 job openings would be filled.

30.03.2008.

Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights

Patents and Intellectual Property are the strongest assets that a corporation can own. It should shield its ideas, products, algorithms, processes and inventions from copycats, R. Radhakrishnan, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University, Coimbatore, said here on Wednesday. Inaugurating a workshop on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) at the Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, jointly organised by the college and the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights of the university, he said that though the percentage of patent filings in India seemed to be high, the actual number of patent filings was pretty small when compared to other countries.

In the recent past, 2004-05 saw the maximum number of patent filings in India, Which was to the tune of 17,446

“People need to be educated about the patent filing process. The significance of intellectual property and patents needs to be highlighted and the process of searching and applying for a patent should be made easy to encourage more people to file,” the Vice-Chancellor said. He said India ranked third among the developing countries with 686 patent applications in 2006. Of the applications originated in India, Maharashtra accounted for the maximum number, followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

In the recent past, 2004-05 saw the maximum number of patent filings in India, which was to the tune of 17,446. Explaining the process of filing a patent, he said it fell under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. The world’s largest patent applicants were from the United State of America, Japan and Germany. Together these three countries accounted for 57 per cent of the worldwide patent filings. S. Subramanian, Principal of the college, and S. Balasubramanian, director of the centre, spoke.

30.03.2008.

Bannari Amman & Brandot's Garment Unit

Coimbatore-based Bannari Amman Group and Brandot International Ltd. of the U.S. have formed a joint venture garment unit, Bannari Amman Apparel (BAA).

The Rs. 80-crore unit on a 30-acre site at Ozahiyur, near Chennai, is a 50:50 joint venture.

It will provide ‘design to deliver’ solution for men and women intimate apparel for speciality brands and retailers of the U.S. and the European Union. The products will be pre-dominantly for exports and the raw materials are sourced from the domestic market, according to V. S. Ganesh, Chief Executive Officer of BAA.

At present producing about 15,000 pieces a day, the company plans to scale up production to three million pieces a month in a year and a half. The plant was inaugurated on Thursday. According to a release from BAA, employing nearly 900 people now, the company will increase the number of employed to 4,500 by 2012. It has projected cumulative sales of $100 million over the next three years. It has implemented lean manufacturing and introduced concepts such as standup modular manufacturing systems with a single piece flow.

30.03.2008.

Oppertunity For Ex-Servicemen

The Chennai South Regional Office of the Directorate of Ex-servicemen Welfare is looking for candidates to be recruited as apprentice development officers. A release said ex-servicemen who fulfil the necessary eligibility criteria can apply for the positions. Those with a degree in MBA and a diploma in marketing will be given preference. The applications should be accompanied by a demand draft of Rs. 250 drawn in favour of Life Insurance Corporation of India, payable at New Delhi. SC/ST candidates need not attach the demand draft.

The The last date for receipt of applications is April 9.

For details, contact the Ex-servicemen Welfare, Coimbatore.

Disabled Guide Released Soon

A guide for the disabled brought out by Lions Club 324 B1 district will be released on April 3 at Gujarati Samaj. A release from Lions District president, K.V. Shah, said that the guide would have details relating to Government approved rehabilitation centres, industrial centres for the visually challenged, rehabilitation centres for hearing and speech impaired, old age homes, orphanages, home for the destitute, adoption centres for children, their organisational structure, membership and action plan.

30.03.2008.

Educational Expo 2008

Students getting counselled at the Visit Educational Expo 2008 at the Rajasthani Sangh in Coimbatore. Nearly 35 colleges from in and around Coimbatore have made their presence felt at the third edition of the “Visit Educational Expo 2008” that began on Friday at the Rajasthani Sangh. Jointly organised by UTV Universal and Outreach, an event management company, the expo has more than 60 stalls where students and parents are given counselling as to the various kinds of courses the colleges offer.

Nearly 35 colleges from in and around Coimbatore have made their presence

In addition to the engineering and arts and science colleges, there are also business schools, tuition centres, an air hostess training institute, and animation training centres, which have stalls at the expo. For those looking to pursue higher studies, there are the local universities – Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Anna University and Avinashiligam University for Women, where they can get an idea of the latest courses they can pick based on their undergraduate degree.

Counselling seminars are being held continuously, an hour for each subject. Subject experts from the colleges are there to explain what each subject entails, its pros and cons and job prospects. J. Adhavraj, Managing Partner of Outreach, says, “Every year students have to go from college to college to get to know the course and fee details. This expo has brought representatives of many colleges under one roof so that students can prepare themselves with the required information. Once the results are out they can straight away go for admission without wasting any time.” Along with many college and course brochures, students get a free career guide containing the location and phone numbers of colleges.

30.03.2008.

CPI Congress Started

Nadaswaram and thavil artists performing at the inaugural of the CPI(M)’s 19th Congress in Coimbatore on Saturday. Days before the 19th congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) began here on Saturday, the city was being decked up for the high-profile, week-long political meet.

Over the past few days, CPI (M) flags and banners with portraits of party leaders were being installed at all major traffic intersections. On the big day on Saturday, all major roundabouts and arterial roads in the city had prepared themselves to accord a “red welcome” to the delegates, including representatives from Communist parties of two dozen countries. The main Avanashi Road that leads to the venue was decked up with colourful arches.

city was being decked up for the high-profile, week-long political meet

The traditional red look, the colour associated with the Left parties and working class struggles and movements, was predominant. Red flags and banners hailing “Workers of the World Unite,” were plastered at the venue, S.N.R Auditorium premises, which has been rechristened Anil Biswas Nagar. Big photographs of the nine members of the first Polit Bureau in their heydays were put up right at the decorated entrance. All main roads of Coimbatore had posters and banners that lent a festive touch to the congress. Prominent leaders, whose portraits appeared in the banners put up at vantage points, included party general secretary Prakash Karat, and Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury. Decorative arches bore the pictures of stalwarts Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Jyoti Basu. At some places, portraits of EMS Namboodiripad, A.K. Gopalan and Chittabrata Mazumdar were put up.

Party volunteers, including councillors of the local municipal corporation, lined up on the road leading to the venue. Donning red shirts and khaki trousers, they not only provided a protective outer ring near the dais but also guided delegates and mediapersons to their places. The inaugural session took off with a floral welcome by schoolchildren and performance by a choir group. A nadaswaram troupe provided the musical touch. Homage was paid to the martyrs of the party. Delegates reserved their cheers and applause for 11 guests of honour, two of them in their 90s, who were called on the stage for felicitation. As many as 52 delegates belonging to 26 fraternal organisations from 24 countries were felicitated by the CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat.

30.03.2008.

Corp Stepped Up Disconnection Of Water Supply

With hardly two days to go for the fiscal year to end, the Corporation authorities have stepped up disconnection of water supply lines for default in remittance of property tax. The drive for disconnecting water supply lines commenced during the third week of March. The authorities have so far disconnected pipelines to 110 premises for default in tax remittance. On Saturday, the officials led by Assistant Commissioners R. Prabhakaran (Revenue) and R. Sugumar (East) resorted to the disconnection of water supply line of a private hospital at Pappanaickenpalayam for reported default in remittance of tax arrears to the tune of Rs. 1.10 crore.

Disconnection of water supply line of a private hospital at Pappanaickenpalayam for reported default in remittance of tax

The hospital management gave a cheque for Rs. 29 lakh under protest. The officials clarified that the hospital management was citing a High Court order of 1989 (wherein the court had stated that if the hospital was a charitable organisation then the tax slabs should be revised) and resisting the payment of tax as well as disconnection. The hospital added too many new constructions over the last 20 years and the tax arrears had accumulated to Rs. 1.10 crore. The Corporation has decided to issue fresh notices for assessing the tax to be paid by the hospital, especially in the wake of the new constructions.

The authorities said that they had realised Rs. 32 crore out of total property tax of Rs. 44 crore. Of the tax arrears of Rs. 48 lakh, the officials said that more than Rs. 24 lakh had already been realised. They said that within the next few days, the drive would be stepped up to realise the maximum tax arrears as well as the current tax demand.

30.03.2008.

BJP Protested CPI

BJP workers squatting on Huzur Road in Coimbatore being removed by the police on Saturday. Tense moments prevailed on Huzur Road in front of Red Cross Society buildings on Saturday when BJP workers staged a demonstration and later squatted on the road with black flags in protest against the visit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders to the city.

Tense moments prevailed on Huzur Road in front of Red Cross Society buildings on Saturday when BJP workers staged a demonstration

The BJP State Observer, S.R. Seghar, had called for a demonstration opposing the visit of the Kerala Chief Minister, V.S. Achuthanandan, and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The agitators accused the CPI (M) of adopting double standards on national and international issues. They criticised the Kerala Chief Minister for the violence at Kannur and betraying the interests of Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar dam issue.

They flayed the West Bengal Chief Minister for the Nandigram violence and for supporting industrialists. The cadres also questioned the CPI (M) for staging agitations opposing the Central and State Government schemes after having supported the decisions of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Democratic Progressive Alliance Government in the State. Even as the demonstration was going on, a section of the crowd resorted to a black flag agitation and when the police tried to prevent it, the cadre squatted on the road causing commotion. The police removed about 150 activists.
30.03.2008.

Spl Trains From Meetupalayam To Ooty

In order to clear extra rush of traffic during summer period of April to June, special trains will be run between Mettupalayam and Udagamandalam from March 29 to June eight. Train No.0670 will start from Mettupalayam at 9 AM daily to reach Udagamandalam at 1.50 PM, while in return direction, train No.0669 will depart at 12.15 PM from Udagamandalam to reach Mettupalayam at 3.50 PM, a southern railways press release said today.

Trains will not (not) run for one day on April 25 due to operational reasons, it said.

Similarly, the railways will run a daily special train No. 0668, which would start at 3.15 PM from Coonoor to reach Udagamandalam at 4 PM, the release said. The first service of these special trains will be on March 29 and the last service on June eight, the release said.

28.03.2008.

New Hotel Management College

Good Shepherd International School at nearby Udhagamandalam (Ooty), today launched a three-year programme of Bachelor's Degree of International Business (BIB) in Hotel and Tourism Management from Cesar Ritz College, Switzerland. All the students will study at the new Good Shepherd College of Hotel Management for the first two years and complete a six month industrial training as stipulated by the curriculum of Ritz College, Dr P C Thomas, Principal of the School told reporters here.

Students will proceed to Switzerland, for their final year of studies

On successful completion of the two-year programme, students will proceed to Switzerland, for their final year of studies, which will be followed by a paid industrial training of 22 weeks in order to get international exposure, he said. There was large employment opportunities for hotel managers, as 35 five-star hotels are to be constructed in India in the next two years, he said adding the programme aimed at creating the new managers and leaders of a booming hotel and tourism industry. The curriculum focuses on practical as well as theoretical subjects like culinary studies, food service studies and operations, wine and beverage, restaurant showmanship and gastronomy, Thomas said.

28.03.2008.

The 'Living Legends' Of CPI-M Missing At Coimbatore

At the venue of the 19th congress of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in Coimbatore, it will be business as usual - except that a sprightly Jyoti Basu in his spotless white dhoti and kurta will not take the red salute.Neither will his friend and comrade of decades, Harkishen Singh Surjeet, who five years ago handed over charge of the party to his junior colleague Prakash Karat at the 18th party congress in New Delhi.Their absence, in many ways, is like turning the last page of a chapter of Communist history, going back to the days when the party was born with Basu and Surjeet among its founder members. That was 1964.

Their absence, in many ways, is like turning the last page of a chapter of Communist history

Today both the 'living legends', as the CPI-M would like to describe them, are physically too weak to travel down to Coimbatore, the venue of the 19th congress, and sit through the seven-day deliberations.Two years ago, Basu, now 93, gave up the post of West Bengal's chief minister. Now he wants to quit his position as a member of the politburo, the CPI-M's highest decision-making body.'But we want to benefit from his experience. It is unlikely that the party will accept Basu's request,' said Hanan Mollah, CPI-M central committee member and Lok Sabha MP. Left Front chairperson and CPI-M state secretary Biman Bose said the same.

Basu was too important to lose as a politburo member. Karat, the party's general secretary, rushed to Kolkata as soon as he got a whiff of Basu's wish to coax the ailing patriarch to stay on.Surjeet, 92, too, continues to remain in the politburo, even though he has not been able to attend any meeting for a long time. Insiders in the CPI-M, a Stalinist party that shuns flexibility, said Surjeet and Basu were bound not only by decades of struggle, but also by a common perception of Indian politics. They were bound by the fact that till recently both were always in a desperate minority within the CPI-M. In 1996, when Basu missed becoming the first Communist prime minister of India by a whisker because his party shot down the proposal, it was defeat for not only Basu but also Surjeet.

Then general secretary of the party Surjeet confided to a senior Left leader that the younger generation of comrades in the CPI-M, steeped in Stalinism, do not know what India and its politics is all about. The Surjeet-Basu duo, post Babri Masjid demolition, got the CPI-M to jettison its twin-danger politics of tarring the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the same brush. The CPI-M, at last, recognised the BJP as its 'main political adversary'.Just when the tenure of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is drawing to a close, two of its main architects who worked on the party to lend its support to the Congress to keep the BJP out, will be missing from the CPI-M's marathon brain-storming session beginning Saturday.