SDE admissions of BU open

The School of Distance Education of the Bharathiar University is admitting students for certain courses for the calendar year 2009.

According to a release from the director of the school, admissions are open for BBA, BCA, B. Sc. Optometrics, MBA – General, Human Resource Management, Information System Management, Marketing Management, Financial Management, MCA and PGDCA.

City students can approach the centre at C.S.I. Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Science, or the School of Distance Education at the university, for applications.They can also approach the spot admission cum learning centres approved by the university for the same.

Students living in other parts of the country can spot the nearest study centre at the university website www.b-u.ac.in. Applications can also be downloaded from the website.

Last date

Last date for submission is May 29. For details, contact 0422-2428216 / 2221766, the release added.

IGIGNOU introduces two diploma courses in engineering

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has introduced two diploma courses in Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering at its Madurai Regional Centre.This was announced through a press release issued by the University.

Classes will be conducted at Nanjappa Polytechnic College in Coimbatore, Seshasayee Institute of Technology in Tiruchi and Latha Madhavan Polytechnic in Madurai.

The candidate should have either passed class 10th with 55 pc marks or passed 10th with ITI to be eligible for admissions. The last date for admission to July session is April 30.

Students can get more details from the IGNOU Regional Centre in Madurai on 0452 2380387.

Doctor wins Silver in Olympics !!

Gastrointestinal surgeon and Director of Gem Hospital in the city C. Palanivelu has won the silver medal at an international Olympics in laparoscopy surgery conducted by the Society of American Gastro Intestinal Endo Surgery and the Japanese Society of Endosurgery.

Brice Gayet of the University of Paris won the gold medal for laparoscopic liver resection and the bronze went to Barry Salky of New York for rectal cancer surgery.Dr. Palanivelu said he missed the gold by a whisker – by just 0.5 points -- in the first-of-its-kind Olympics in surgery. He performed the laparoscopic Whipple operation for pancreatic cancer.

While nine surgeons the world over were short-listed for the finals at Phoenix in the State of Arizona in the U.S., the organisers had screened entries from the outstanding presentations at the previous congresses.After scrutiny the final nine had to make the video presentations of their innovative techniques at Phoenix.

The event had generated a lot of interest among international laparoscopy surgeons and it would be a permanent one. On laparoscopy, Dr. Palanivelu explained that the minimally invasive procedure that was begun in 1990 for gall stone removal was now used in all operations to treat disorders in the digestive system.

Story of SIV ends ...

he Madras High Court on Wednesday permitted the Kolkata-based Fairdeal Supplies to remove the movable properties from SIVIndustries, which is under liquidation.Earlier this month, Fairdeal Supplies, part of Frontline Group emerged as a successful bidder for buying land, building and machinery belonging to SIV Industries, located at Sirumugai Village in Mettupalayam, near Coimbatore.

Then, the Fairdeal made an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 12 crore. The deal materialised after five bidding calls from the Madras High Court. The company’s winning bid was for Rs 101 crore.It is said few days after Fairdeal Supplies made an EMD, Annappuran Steels, a Kerala-based company increased the bid for the same property to Rs 102 crore. The court had given the Kerala company time till Wednesday to pay the total amount, but it failed to make it.

Since, Fairdeal also paid the first installment of Rs 43 crore before April 23, it staked the claim for removal of scrap. "Madras HC passed orders in favour of Fairdeal Supplies to remove machineries from the SIV Industries factory on Wednesday," said sources at Official Liquidator office in Chennai.In all, Fairdeal has paid Rs 55 crore to the court, which is more than the upset price fixed for the plant and machinery (Rs 53 crore). The company plans to dismantle and sell the scrap.

Fairdeal Supplies director Mahesh B Gor told ET that the total quantity of scrap inside the factory is around 60,000 tonnes. "It will take us at least one year to dispose of the scrap," he added.Also, the company’s technical unit has arrived in Coimbatore to study the prospects for setting up a Sponge Iron manufacturing unit at the SIV complex utilising the available scrap.

"We already have Sponge Iron unit in Raigad in Madhya Pradesh and we are looking at the feasibility of setting up a unit in Sirumugai," Mr Gor said.It is also proposed to team up with security equipment manufacturers abroad for manufacturing security equipment products."After clearing the scraps, we plan to set up a unit for manufacturing security equipment. Products like baggage scanner, mail scanner, long-range explosives and narcotic detective devices, wafer tracers and liquid tracers would be manufactured there," Mr Gor said.

He said the 253-acre land parcel has 13-lakh sq ft of buildings and one-fourth of it is enough to start a new business. "We have lot of plans for utilising the remaining space and would finalise them after we complete the takeover of the assets ," Mr Gor added. The company has to pay the remaining Rs 46 crore before June 2009.Currently, one arm of Fairdeal Supplies imports specialty security devices from Canada, US and UK. The company is also the exclusive dealer in India for five products that deal with narcotic explosive detective machines.

The SIV industries, which was engaged in manufacture of viscose fibre is said to be one of the biggest industrial land parcel to come for sale in Coimbatore in recent times.

CBay Systems opened its center !!

Leading global medical transcription (MT) company, CBay Systems plans to scale up its operations in India."We will double theheadcount in India in the next 18 months," said Mr Dinesh Kumar, Director and COO – India Operations, CBay Systems, after inaugurating its captive centre here on Wednesday.Now, it has 3000 captive seats with centres in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Vijayawada.In 2009, the company will be investing Rs 45 crore for creating 1800 new seats. He said the company has just completed two satellite units each in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The new facility on 18,000 sq is located at Rathinam Technopark of Rathinam Techzone Campus, Eachanari. "In three months, the centre entailing an investment of Rs 11 crore will start functioning with 450 seats," Mr Kumar said.CBay plans to hire over 700 people in Coimbatore by December 2009 and reach a strength of 1500 employees over a year. The MT industry has a good presence in Coimbatore, with Spheris India, another large MT company already functioning.

"Coimbatore is hub for MT in South India and the city has very strong MT work force. Also, the proximity to Chennai and Bangalore is an added advantage," he added.Further, the presence of 27 engineering colleges, 72 arts and science colleges and 18 polytechnics in the city has encouraged the company to start its captive centre here. The city already has three established franchisee centres.The company is planning to tap the premium educational institutes in the city for training in medical transcription. "In an effort to induct fresh talent into our company, we will be extending our training program to several educational institutes," said Mr Kumar, adding, the demand for MT keeps increasing despite the global slowdown.Kumar said medical profession is globally recession proof and there is a good market for medical transcription business. "There is no price cut. Whatever contracts that have come for re-negotiations, we have been able to get nominal increase," he said.

The US healthcare outsourcing market is estimated to be US $12 billion and expected to reach around US $ 18 billion by 2010.CBay, which had completed 69.5% acquisition of MedQuist last year provides MT services to 1700 hospitals and a large number of physician practices in the US. It also provides transcription technology and services into the NHS (National Health Service) market in the UK.

Apart from captive centres, the company has franchisee centres spread across 42 centres in India and one each in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Oman and Barbados.Recently, the company tied up with John Keels Group to start a small unit in Sri Lanka. "The Sri Lankan government is keen to promote MT profession," Mr Kumar said.

The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, has given top priority for small millets’ research in the country. This is evident from the increase in the budget allocation of up to Rs. 20 crore in the XI Five Year Plan, S.N. Shukla, Assistant Director General (Food and Forage Crops), ICAR, said here on Saturday.Speaking at the All India Annual Small Millets Workshop organised under the aegis of ICAR and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Mr. Shukla expressed the hope that there was plenty of scope to promote small millets, both at the farmers’ level and the consumers’ level, in the country.

“Though at present nearly 27 per cent yield gap exists in small millets, 50 per cent of that yield gap can be bridged just by replacing the traditional varieties with High Yielding Varieties (HYV) and by adopting modern technologies. In pursuance of this, the All India Co-ordinated Programme (AICP) on Small Millets has released the HYV and modern technologies to the farmers,” Mr. Shukla said.He asked the extension departments to take more efforts to spread the HYV and technologies generated through the AICP to the farmers.

Mr. Shukla was concerned that the volume of Breeder Seed Production of small millets was frustrating. He added that the low demand for small millets among the farming community and their unwillingness to cultivate them were mainly due to the fact that the market price for small millets was very low, making cultivation un-remunerative.

“Therefore, the basic strategy will be to effectively link production of small millets with processing, value addition and ultimately the market. This integration will ensure better profit for farmers. Relaxation in rules and regulations in contract farming will enable more private participation in small millet production,” Mr. Shukla said.P. Santhanakrishnan, acting Vice-Chancellor, TNAU, said reduction in land area, water scarcity, unstable prices, climate change and non-availability of quality seeds were the main limiting factors in small millets’ production.
“Though urbanites are better informed about the nutritional advantages of small millets, consumption is less, which is a matter of concern. Conversion of small millets into alcohol also needs to be looked into. Precision farming technologies need to be developed for increasing the yield. Also, home scientists need to play a key role by developing new delicacies and recipes using small millets, which will attract consumers,” Mr. Santhanakrishnan said.

Artery rupture in brain repaired

Surgeons at the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital here have repaired a ruptured artery in the brain to save a 39-year-old man’s life.G. Chandrasekar of Sulur had consulted his family physician for sudden and severe headache and vomiting.

A computed tomography of the brain revealed a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage – a rupture in the artery.The patient was referred by the physician to the hospital where an angiogram of the brain was done to detect the location of the problem in the right anterior cerebral artery.
A press release from the hospital said the problem was known as aneurysm. It causes bulging of the artery, especially at branching points. When the bulge enlarged, the thin wall of the artery ruptured and blood was released into the sub arachnoid region of the brain. The release said the bleeding caused severe headache, vomiting, seizures and loss of consciousness and was life-threatening.

A team led by neurosurgeon K. Madeswaran performed a craniotomy to access the ruptured area and clip it. The patient was discharged after a two-week stay in the hospital. Chairman of the hospital Nalla G. Palanisamy said cerebral aneurysms were common among smokers.
Early detection was vital to save the life of an affected person.

Trekking Programme Organised !

The National Adventure and Leadership School (NALS) at Coimbatore is organising a eight-day trekking programme in the Himalayas from the base camp at Manali to Beas Kund.A release from NALS here has said that participants will trek from the base camp in Manali which is 7,000 ft above Mean Sea Level to Beas Kund which is 12,500 ft above Mean Sea Level.
Participants would cover a distance of about 50 km.

The pilot trek is being organised during June with a batch strength of about 30 people including two blind persons. A documentary of the event would be produced for raising awareness about prevention and eradication of blindness. The main trek programme would be during September 1 to October 20 and it is estimated that an average of 35 persons would trek each day.

Every participant would be indirectly contributing the cost of three eye surgeries for the poor. For details call 94422-75533 or 0422-2542800. E-mail: enquiry@nals.in. Website: http://www.nals.in/.

Innovation from waste materials

The ever mounting garbage in cities poses a huge problem to civic authorities and public alike but Suresh Vikhash, a designer cum entrepreneur, turns them into laptop bags, stationary and home decors that trash notions of waste. The 22-year old Vikhash, a product designer, started his project as a creative venture aimed at trying to reduce the atrocious amounts of waste generated in the city.

"One of the ways to tackle the issue is to re-use a product thereby increasing its life, which is essentially called upcycling," Vikhash, who graduated from Bangalore-based Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, told PTI. "I was constantly exploring creation of quality products that completely trash the notions of garbage and instead provide utility centered durable products that we believe can easily replace anything you buy in style, design and life."
Raw material used for his products come from all things thrown away - right from tetra packs to chips packets and small bit of cloth.

And the product line is just as diverse, multi-utility laptop bags, sling bags, wallets, stationary items such as pens, pencil boxes, photo frames, files and woven products for home decor using natural fibres, Vikhash said. "You have to see it to believe it and no, nothing smells," Vikhash said as he displayed his products for which many corporate houses, including Wipro, have placed orders.

Cotton lint prices Up

Cotton lint prices ruled firm with good demand from the mills sector, following better yarn demand during the first fortnight of the month, according to South India Cotton Association (SICA).However, the cotton arrivals further slowed in all cotton markets, SICA in its market report for the period, said.

Lint prices rallied upward in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan during the current fortnight, as J-34 Saw ginned was being quoted at Rs 2,280 to Rs 2,450 per maund spot.Prices ruled firm in Gujarat, where Shankar-6 being quoted at Rs 22,300 to Rs 22,800 and V-797 at Rs 16,600 to Rs 17,200 per candy spot.In Madhya Pradesh, MECH-1/H4 ruled at Rs 22,800 per candy spot indicating a firm trend, while prices ranged between Rs 22,000 and Rs 22,700 per candy spot for 28-30 mm staple in Maharashtra.

Prices ruled upward in Andhra Pradesh, where MCU 5 quoting Rs 22,700 to Rs 23,900, while DCH-32 ruled between Rs 29.500 and Rs 32,300 per candy spot in Karnataka, witnessing an upward trend, the report said.Lint prices fiemd up during the period in Tamil Nadu, SICA said.

Handloom products short-listed for national award

Sirumugai, a handloom cluster near Coimbatore, has produced two special silk fabrics that have been short-listed for the national award. One is a 80 inch by 47 inch, brown and maroon-coloured wall hanging of Mahatma Gandhi. And, the other is a 248 inch by 47 inch, blue-coloured saree with Thirukkural verses. K. Prem Kumar, the cluster development executive, told The Hindu that K. Shanmugam, a weaver at Ballepalayam, near Sirumugai, took almost six months to weave the Gandhi piece.

It was made of Ahimsa silk purchased from Hyderabad and pure zari and processed with natural dyes. The wall-hanging showed the Father of the Nation working on the charka. It had smaller depictions of Mahatma Gandhi with other leaders and the Dhandi march. The production cost of the piece was Rs. 47,000.

CII creates awareness ..

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore, and the local chapter of Young Indians are distributing flyers urging people to vote.Ravi Sam, Chairman of the CII, Coimbatore Zone, told ‘ that democracy gave one the right to vote. However, only if the eligible voters exercised their franchise would the democracy work.

All the eligible voters should cast their vote. The flyers were aimed at creating awareness.With the support of about 10 companies, the CII had printed 50,000 flyers and during the last one week distributed almost 40,000. These were given to industrial associations, companies and colleges, targeting places where there was a large pool of eligible voters.

These were also sent to companies in Erode, Tirupur, Salem and the Nilgiris districts.“This is a commitment from the CII to create awareness and there has been good response,” he said.The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, and other trade and industrial bodies here have jointly drafted 10 demands for the development of Coimbatore.These have been printed in English and Tamil and distributed, urging people to place these demands before candidates who come seeking votes.

The pamphlet also says: “Your voice and your vote can make the difference”, “Vote for Vibrant Coimbatore. Voting is Your Duty.”About 50,000 copies were printed and almost all have been distributed.Public should be aware of what they should ask for and the focus should be on development. Not only the candidates and political parties but public should also be aware of the needs of Coimbatore, according to Mahendra Ramdass, president of the chamber.

Individual associations have also printed similar pamphlets, he says.

Paramount plans to fly abroad in 2 yrs

The country's only full business class airline, Paramount Airways, is seriously evaluating plans to launch international services intwo years and has begun talks with aircraft manufacturers to acquire long-range aircraft.

The Coimbatore-based airline had also held discussions with several major international airport operators who were trying to woo the carrier to begin operations from their respective airports.
"We will fly international...but at the right time. We are weighing all options," Paramount Airways Managing Director M Thiagarajan told PTI here, but refused to divulge any further details about the company's plans to fly abroad.

According to its current plans, Paramount plans to launch international services by 2010-11 by when it would have met the legal requirement of having a fleet size of 20 aircraft and five years of flying domestic.Asked which foreign sectors would it prefer to launch operations, he said the airline was studying the situation, but the major markets like the US, Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia would be covered.

He said talks were also on with major aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, for acquisition of long-range planes. Several international airport operators also held discussion with the airline, he said without identifying them.

A solution creates a problem @T.V.Samy road

A couple of months ago, the Coimbatore Corporation met a long-felt need on T.V. Swamy Road (West) at R.S. Puram: it re-laid the pavement more than a foot above the road level in order to prevent vehicles from encroaching space for pedestrians.

But, the solution was provided in such a way that it created a problem for some residents: access to vehicles into their houses was blocked.Earlier, the pavements were only a few inches above the road level and this enabled owners of shops or their employees to park their cars and two-wheelers on it.

The Corporation then hit upon the idea of re-laying the pavement at more than a foot above the road level.With most of the buildings on the road being commercial establishments, the pavement was laid with the conviction that there was no need for access for vehicles into most of these structures. But, the problem that this could create to residential buildings seemed to have been ignored. Normally, when pavements are laid, a gap is provided in front of gates through which vehicles have to pass.

But, this has not been done on T.V. Swamy Road (West).When this problem was pointed out on Thursday, an official source in the civic body contended that there were only commercial establishments on this stretch.The road mostly consists of shops selling readymade garments and footwear.It also has two temples, a departmental store and a sweet stall.But, there are at least three to four houses in the row opposite the temples.A person working as a driver in one of the houses was busy mixing cement with small blue metal on Wednesday.

He heaped the mix at the pavement in an attempt at creating a ramp so that the cars belonging to this house could move in and out of the compound.The driver lamented that for almost two months, an expensive car had to be parked on the road, while another one remained inside the compound because of the pavement becoming a hurdle.

Asked why the residents had not complained to the Corporation, he said they had told the civic body a number of times.But, with no sign of a solution coming from it, they had now decided to help themselves by creating the ramps.

A couple of ago, the Coimbatore Corporation met a long-felt need on T.V. Swamy Road (West) at R.S. Puram: it re-laid the pavement more than a foot above the road level in order to prevent vehicles from encroaching space for pedestrians.

But, the solution was provided in such a way that it created a problem for some residents: access to vehicles into their houses was blocked.Earlier, the pavements were only a few inches above the road level and this enabled owners of shops or their employees to park their cars and two-wheelers on it.

The Corporation then hit upon the idea of re-laying the pavement at more than a foot above the road level.With most of the buildings on the road being commercial establishments, the pavement was laid with the conviction that there was no need for access for vehicles into most of these structures. But, the problem that this could create to residential buildings seemed to have been ignored. Normally, when pavements are laid, a gap is provided in front of gates through which vehicles have to pass.

But, this has not been done on T.V. Swamy Road (West).When this problem was pointed out on Thursday, an official source in the civic body contended that there were only commercial establishments on this stretch.The road mostly consists of shops selling readymade garments and footwear.It also has two temples, a departmental store and a sweet stall.But, there are at least three to four houses in the row opposite the temples.A person working as a driver in one of the houses was busy mixing cement with small blue metal on Wednesday.

He heaped the mix at the pavement in an attempt at creating a ramp so that the cars belonging to this house could move in and out of the compound.The driver lamented that for almost two months, an expensive car had to be parked on the road, while another one remained inside the compound because of the pavement becoming a hurdle.

Asked why the residents had not complained to the Corporation, he said they had told the civic body a number of times.But, with no sign of a solution coming from it, they had now decided to help themselves by creating the ramps.

Bank of India to cover all branches under core banking

Bank of India will cover all its branches under core banking solutions by the end of June this year.

Executive Director of the bank M. Narendra told presspersons here on Sunday that about 95 per cent of its 3,049 branches were already covered under core banking. It had over 500 ATMs and planned to open another 500. The bank had 28 branches abroad, including five representative offices. It had licence to open branches in Doha, Karachi, Madagascar, China, New Zealand, Vietnam, Egypt, etc.

He said that several industrial units had benefited from the special loan restructuring programme. The bank had special branches for micro, small and medium enterprises in 60 clusters and had started SME help centres in 48 zones. “We have done several innovative cluster-related schemes,” he said.

The bank had good response in the corporate segment. It wanted to create a synergy between the MSME and corporate segments and continue its focus on lending to these segments. It also planned to expand its clusters.The bank had implemented its debt swap scheme in 91 villages and declared several of these as money-lender free. It was the lead bank in 48 districts and had introduced biometric cards in one of these. The bank planned to extend it to 11 other lead districts this year.

P.V. Krishna Murthy, Zonal Manager for Coimbatore, said it had 92 branches in 19 districts. The loan outstanding to SMEs was about Rs. 800 crore and nearly 48 per cent of it (about 320 accounts) had been rescheduled or restructured under the special scheme. Meetings were held with entrepreneurs to find out their needs. The bank’s total credit growth in the State in 2008-2009 was about 25 per cent. The bank was giving loans against gold and the amount outstanding under this scheme in this zone was Rs. 140 crore. It had extended Rs. 60 crore loans to self-help groups.

Under the debt waiver scheme for farmers, Rs. 42 crore was waived, he said.

Enriched Eggs launched ..

A city-based company has launched selenium enriched eggs, which were claimed to be of help in fighting diseases like arthiritis pain.

The eggs under the brand name 'super egg,' contain selenium, a natural antioxidant, which was proven to help prevent heart attacks, reduce arthiritis pain and regulate blood sugar levels, Balaji P B of Eggxtra Foods, a sisten concern of Chandra Poultry Farm, said in a release on Sunday.

Selenium enrichment in the egg was made possible by feeding hens with a special diet rich in selenium sources and each egg contained more than 50 per cent of daily selenium requirements.Stating that each superegg is cleaned, graded based on weight and printed with logo and expiry date, Balaji said date is printed on each egg so that consumers get only fresh egg.

The product is available in all the major towns in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, Balaji said.

Children learn about Chandrayaan !

Children climbed down the dais in a row with beaming faces. Each had just received a model of PSLV C-11 rocket from Mylswamy Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan I and II.

At the final of the 13-day Junior Einstein programme organised here by the Rotary Club of Coimbatore East and Sharp Industrial Training Centre on Saturday, Mr. Annadurai addressed the students on “The Physics Behind Chandrayaan-I”. Using the model (which can be dismantled), animation film and slides, for almost an hour he explained the launch of Chandrayaan, its entry into the orbit and purpose and took questions from the young participants.

Astronomy

About 100 children from Coimbatore and Tirupur, studying in classes IV to X, participated in the programme that gave them an exposure in astronomy, electronics, electrical, automobile, aeronautical, medical and space science areas.The animation film gave a detailed note on how the rocket took off from Sriharikotta, went round the Earth, the moon probe impact release, etc.

He urged those interested in space sciences to join the ISRO College.Admission opportunities were bright for those who were among the top 2,000 in the IIT entrance examination. ISRO not only assured them of placement but took care of the entire study expenses.

During the 13 days, the children were taken to a foundry, the Air Force station at Sulur, the fire service station and the Sharp training institute.They were given kits for each session and they had hands-on experience in assembling telescope, junction box, sensors, etc. They also had a session on diabetes, first aid and functioning of the heart.

Coimbatore Election Fever

Noor Mohammed, an automobile dealer, came dressed like a king on horseback to the Coimbatore collectorate to file his nomination for the Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency. On Friday, he had filed nomination for the Pollachi constituency. He had then come to the collectorate riding a bullockcart. Noor vowed to drive out “street dogs” if elected to Parliament. “I have no doubts I will win. I won the ward by-election in Kurichi Municipality in 1997, defeating both the DMK and AIADMK candidates,” says Noor. In his campaign, Noor Mohammed will not take on his rival candidates, but the street dogs which prowl the roads of Pollachi and Coimbatore and pounce on unwitting passersby.

CM @ Coimbatore On May8th

DMK president M Karunanidhi, the party’s star campaigner, will restrict his canvassing to just four election meetings in major cities in Tamil Nadu, the party said on Friday. Karunanidhi, who underwent a spinal cord surgery earlier this year, is confined to a wheel chair and has been advised by doctors not to exert himself. The medical advice effectively means that he cannot embark on a barnstorming campaign the way he used to in the past.

The DMK headquarters said in a release that he would begin his poll campaign with a May Day public meeting in Tiruchi. He will address similar election meetings in Madurai (May 5), Coimbatore (May 8) and Chennai (May 11). Karunanidhi, who will complete 85 years in June, has been the party’s unquestioned campaign star over the years, crisscrossing the state on a long campaign trail, involving both public meetings and street corner meetings in different locations.

The party had a campaign vehicle designed to ensure his comfort and having medical facilities, taking his health condition into account. Even in his campaign for the 2006 Assembly elections, he travelled to several parts of the state, being helped on to the dais by associates. However, after his surgery, he has been advised to avoid such strenuous travelling. There is no word yet on whether Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will come to the state for campaigning. There was speculation that she would address joint meetings with Karunanidhi. However, intelligence officials are believed to have advised against her visiting TN for security reason. Some top state Congress leaders are trying to persuade her to campaign for them, party sources said.

Indian National Road Racing Starts On June

With an aim to promote young talent, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) has lowered the age limit for participants in the 2009 Indian National Road Racing Championship for two wheelers. The championships, which begins on June 6 in Coimbatore, will have the minimum age of 13 years for two categories in the unmodified Group D 130 cc and moped categories. The rest of the categories will follow the old limit of 15 years.

Personality Of The Week

“Most of the people think divorce signifies erosion of values among women. I consider it as evolution,” observes P.K. Saru, psychotherapist and Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst. Saru, 71, is a symbol of fighting women for their rights, against a patriarchal society. “My strength is I apply what I teach in my personal and professional life and have evolved to be the person that I am today,” she proudly asserts. “Women at present are far better educated than in the earlier days. Many of them are employed and hence there is economic emancipation. Besides, there is a cultural change. Most of them are being treated very well by their parents and hence expect an equal treatment from their spouses as well. That is what I call evolution. But when such a response is denied to them, that ultimately ends up in divorce,” she explains.

“I was fortunate not only to be born in an affluent well-educated Muslim family to a judge of the Madras High Court but also to have an understanding mother. I was the only girl from Mapla community to have had college education in the three colleges in Calicut those days. Despite being an orthodox family, I was permitted to graduate in Economics and post-graduate in Psychology. It was a personal tragedy in my marital life that brought about a sea-change and made me what I am at present,” she remarks. She tells G. Satyamurty how she had the courage to move the Kerala High Court and fight an important case for the rights of women, her disillusionment with the functioning of the judiciary and how she turned into a counsellor, her decision to set up a Centre for Holistic Integrated Learning and Development (Child) and also Asha Counselling and Training Services more than a decade ago.

“Though I wanted to become a doctor, it became very difficult to do so as I am coming from a very well known feudal family. Ultimately I even completed the Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst course which is equivalent to doctorate in the US.” Apart from a Law Degree, she has Diplomas in Counselling and is a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming. Now she is a Certified Member of the International Transactional Analysts Association, San Francisco. Besides, she is a visiting faculty to various counselling centres. One of her important community activities is presenting papers on Muslim Personal Law and Empowerment of Women. Apart from being a “globe-trotter“, her major hobby is finding the “family roots”.

As her father Justice Kunhammed Kutty had a stint both as a Sub-Judge and also as District Sessions Judge in Coimbatore for quite some time before being elevated as a Judge to the Madras High Court, she was fond of Coimbatore and ultimately made it her centre of activities. “When I moved the Kerala High court for Muslim women’s rights, I was disillusioned. I found the legal system to be a road block. Justice still is one man’s perception.” Now her life revolves around helping, especially women, who face trauma. “What is required for them is a scientific counselling.”

The CHILD set up under the Asha Trust handles not only marriage-related issues, but also those relating to underachievers among children, those connected with low self-esteem and emotional conflicts of all varieties. She conducts even “therapy marathons” with international psychotherapists for personal growth and development. Similarly she conducts training programmes for International Certification in Transactional Analysis, both in Coimbatore and Bangalore. She organises training programmes on effective parenting, conflict resolution and other interpersonal developmental acreas. She participates in HRD workshops and conducts personality growth programmes and communication skills seminars for schools and colleges. She points out that psychotherapy is slowly becoming popular even in places like Coimbatore. “People are becoming more open. From just one client a week when we started the centre, it is getting three to four clients every day now.” Men should realise the changes especially among women-- culturally, emotionally and economically.

Ms. Saru asserts that the only way out from the current marital conflicts is to understand the “paradigm shift” in the attitude of both the genders and “respect each other. Women have stopped allowing themselves to be taken for granted. Unless both the parties see each other with respect, emotional turmoil will continue.” Ms. Saru points out that nuclear families are under stress. Even as the number of children per family is on the decline, though money is not a problem, the offsprings have no time to take care of their parents. Hence, there is a proliferation of old age homes.

Alzheimer is a disease which is identified in a number of families. “We are handling people who are tackling Alzheimer patients.” She asserts that there are no “problem children. There are only problem parents who expect their children to achieve whatever they could dream of. And their expectations break the children. I believe in providing counselling and psychotherapy only to the parents.” Ms. Saru expresses her deep apprehensions regarding the influence of television on children as this medium affects most of the sensory modes. “I am extremely perturbed to note the morbid violence shown onTV.”

Soluation Became Problem

A ramp created by a resident to create access for vehicles across a high footpath. A couple of ago, the Coimbatore Corporation met a long-felt need on T.V. Swamy Road (West) at R.S. Puram: it re-laid the pavement more than a foot above the road level in order to prevent vehicles from encroaching space for pedestrians. But, the solution was provided in such a way that it created a problem for some residents: access to vehicles into their houses was blocked. Earlier, the pavements were only a few inches above the road level and this enabled owners of shops or their employees to park their cars and two-wheelers on it. The Corporation then hit upon the idea of re-laying the pavement at more than a foot above the road level.

With most of the buildings on the road being commercial establishments, the pavement was laid with the conviction that there was no need for access for vehicles into most of these structures. But, the problem that this could create to residential buildings seemed to have been ignored. Normally, when pavements are laid, a gap is provided in front of gates through which vehicles have to pass. But, this has not been done on T.V. Swamy Road (West). When this problem was pointed out on Thursday, an official source in the civic body contended that there were only commercial establishments on this stretch.

The road mostly consists of shops selling readymade garments and footwear. It also has two temples, a departmental store and a sweet stall. But, there are at least three to four houses in the row opposite the temples. A person working as a driver in one of the houses was busy mixing cement with small blue metal on Wednesday. He heaped the mix at the pavement in an attempt at creating a ramp so that the cars belonging to this house could move in and out of the compound. The driver lamented that for almost two months, an expensive car had to be parked on the road, while another one remained inside the compound because of the pavement becoming a hurdle. Asked why the residents had not complained to the Corporation, he said they had told the civic body a number of times. But, with no sign of a solution coming from it, they had now decided to help themselves by creating the ramps.

Integrated Handloom Cluster Development ProgrammE @ Sirumugai

Sirumugai, near Coimbatore, is one of the 40 handloom clusters in the State covered under the Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Programme. “Each cluster takes need-based activity with government support in the three-year project,” according to Vishwanath Shegaonkar, State Secretary for Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi Department.

The programme was implemented in three clusters – Tiruchi, Kurinjipadi and Tiruvanamalai, in phase one and each centre received Rs. 2 crore. Under the integrated cluster programme, works could be taken up for infrastructure, marketing, loom replacement, new design development and diversification. The activities were done through co-operative societies. Thirty-seven more clusters were identified for phase two and three and each received about Rs. 60 lakh, he said. These included Sirumugai, Tirupur, Palani, Srivilliputhur and Gudiyattam.

K. Prem Kumar, cluster development executive for Sirumugai, told ‘The Hindu’ that the cluster, covering Sirumugai, Ballepalayam and Jadayampalayam panchayats, had 537 beneficiaries, including 341 co-operative society weavers. The weavers made cotton sarees, Kora and cotton silk sarees and pure silk sarees. Currently, about 60 per cent members were involved in silk weaving. During the last one year, the members had gone on exposure visits to Andhra Pradesh and Arani. They had started a yarn depot and achieved Rs. 9 lakh sales. They would be given accessories shortly. It was also proposed to construct a common facility to make weaving preparatory and house the yarn depot.

“When we started the cluster, the weavers were making simple design sarees with small borders,” he said. The weavers used to earn Rs. 200 a day on an average. Now, the wages had gone up to Rs. 250 to Rs. 300. With the help of a designer, several new designs were being tried out. For instance, design themes such as “kolam”, “deepam” and new materials such as jute were incorporated in saree weaving. This fetched higher prices for the products. Marketing was mainly supported by Co-optex. The cost of a saree woven by them now was Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 6,000, he said.

Junior Einstein Programme

Mylswamy Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan I and II, giving away the model of PSLV C-11 rocket to one of the participants of Junior Einstein programme organised in the city by the Rotary Club of Coimbatore East and Sharp Industrial Training Centre. Children climbed down the dais in a row with beaming faces. Each had just received a model of PSLV C-11 rocket from Mylswamy Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan I and II. At the final of the 13-day Junior Einstein programme organised here by the Rotary Club of Coimbatore East and Sharp Industrial Training Centre on Saturday, Mr. Annadurai addressed the students on “The Physics Behind Chandrayaan-I”.

Using the model (which can be dismantled), animation film and slides, for almost an hour he explained the launch of Chandrayaan, its entry into the orbit and purpose and took questions from the young participants. About 100 children from Coimbatore and Tirupur, studying in classes IV to X, participated in the programme that gave them an exposure in astronomy, electronics, electrical, automobile, aeronautical, medical and space science areas. The animation film gave a detailed note on how the rocket took off from Sriharikotta, went round the Earth, the moon probe impact release, etc.

He urged those interested in space sciences to join the ISRO College. Admission opportunities were bright for those who were among the top 2,000 in the IIT entrance examination. ISRO not only assured them of placement but took care of the entire study expenses. During the 13 days, the children were taken to a foundry, the Air Force station at Sulur, the fire service station and the Sharp training institute. They were given kits for each session and they had hands-on experience in assembling telescope, junction box, sensors, etc. They also had a session on diabetes, first aid and functioning of the heart.

BOI Going To Cover All Branches Under Core Banking

Bank of India will cover all its branches under core banking solutions by the end of June this year. Executive Director of the bank M. Narendra told presspersons here on Sunday that about 95 per cent of its 3,049 branches were already covered under core banking. It had over 500 ATMs and planned to open another 500. The bank had 28 branches abroad, including five representative offices. It had licence to open branches in Doha, Karachi, Madagascar, China, New Zealand, Vietnam, Egypt, etc. He said that several industrial units had benefited from the special loan restructuring programme. The bank had special branches for micro, small and medium enterprises in 60 clusters and had started SME help centres in 48 zones. “We have done several innovative cluster-related schemes,” he said.

The bank had good response in the corporate segment. It wanted to create a synergy between the MSME and corporate segments and continue its focus on lending to these segments. It also planned to expand its clusters. The bank had implemented its debt swap scheme in 91 villages and declared several of these as money-lender free. It was the lead bank in 48 districts and had introduced biometric cards in one of these. The bank planned to extend it to 11 other lead districts this year.

P.V. Krishna Murthy, Zonal Manager for Coimbatore, said it had 92 branches in 19 districts. The loan outstanding to SMEs was about Rs. 800 crore and nearly 48 per cent of it (about 320 accounts) had been rescheduled or restructured under the special scheme. Meetings were held with entrepreneurs to find out their needs. The bank’s total credit growth in the State in 2008-2009 was about 25 per cent. The bank was giving loans against gold and the amount outstanding under this scheme in this zone was Rs. 140 crore. It had extended Rs. 60 crore loans to self-help groups. Under the debt waiver scheme for farmers, Rs. 42 crore was waived, he said.

Free Summer Camps @ AU

Avinashilingam University for Women, through the Gandhian Studies’ Centre, will conduct free summer camps at different locations. According to a press release, the camps will comprise classes on personality development, leadership development, painting, handicraft making and educational trips related to Gandhian thoughts. Students studying in VI, VII, VIII and IX standards will be given preference.

Those interested can register their names at the Avinashilingam University for Women, Gandhian Studies’ Centre, Coimbatore– 641043, or call 0422-2440489 / 99444-75342. It will be held at the following venues during the period mentioned: Panchayat Union Middle School, Tholampalayam, from April 28 to May 2. At PU Primary School, Poochiyur, from May 5 to 9. At PU Primary School, Asokapuram, from May 12 to 16. At PU Primary School, Subramaniampalayam, from May 19 to 23. At PU Primary School, Kavundampalayam, from May 26 to 30.

SKCRF Released Dedicated Website

The Senaapathy Kangeyam Cattle Research Foundation, Kangeyam, has launched a movement to protect the indigenous Kangeyam cattle from extinction. According to a release from the foundation, a dedicated website http://www.kangayambull.com/ has also been released for the purpose. The foundation has extended an invitation to the farming community to attend the annual Kannapuram Ther Thiruvizha, scheduled to be held from May 2 to 10.

BU Cancelled Senate Meeting

The Election Commission has directed the Bharathiar University not to convene the senate meeting in view of general elections. According to a release from the Registrar in-charge of the university, the meeting that was scheduled to be held on April 29 stands cancelled.

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Self-immolation in Tiruppur over Sri Lankan Genocide

Showing solidarity for the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils, a 43-year-old man, identified as Subramani alias Banrottimani, set himself on fire at hosiery town Tirupur in Tamil Nadu.

He was seen talking as he was wheeled into a hospital. He died later at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Tamil lawyers backing the LTTE's cause held a demonstration in Coimbatore to vent their anger at the Sri Lankan offensive against the rebels.

"Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa is now engaged in killing Tamil population as Sri Lanka is only a Singhalese country. India is supporting and Sri Lanka is trying to accommodate Singhalese population in the Tamil living areas," Sivasami Tamilan, a protesting lawyer.

"All financial help to Sri Lanka by the Indian Government is used to construct new houses for the Singhalese people. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi is playing drama in Tamil Nadu in the name of Tamil people," added Sivasami.

Indian politicians face pressure to protect Sri Lankan Tamils, who are closely linked to about 60 million Tamils in the state of Tamil Nadu across a narrow strait from Sri Lanka.

But those opposing the LTTE lauded the Sri Lankan Government for trying the crush the rebels.

Meanwhile, MS Bitta, chairman of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front, said in New Delhi before his visit to the Sri Lankan High Commission to laud the Rajpaksa Government for taking on the rebels with iron gloves.

"The Sri Lanka Government has with power shown how to fight terrorism and bullet for bullet. We have to face the challenge. I have come to thank the Sri Lanka Government and have also got an award for the Sri Lankan President. I will also go to Sri Lanka and thank the Sri Lankan President in person," Bitta said.

Railways a dream for CBE !!

Despite being the largest revenue spinner in the Southern Railway after to Chennai, Coimbatore continues to to be neglected in respect of infrastructure, said Railway Passengers Association, Coimbatore. It blamed the politicians and MPs from Tamil Nadu for not improving the train services in the sector.

S. Vaidyanathakrishnan, secretary of the association said that the State Government was not cooperating with the railways in making available the required land to construct buildings for the Salem Divisional Office and staff quarters.It has affected the development works. Line doubling between Coimbatore Junction and Irugur that started in 2002 is yet to be completed, work on the Karur – Salem line, the Coimbatore – Pollachi – Udumalpet - Palani – Dindigul gauge conversion are proceeding at a snail’s pace.

A highly industrial belt known for garment, textile, engineering units besides hospitals and educational institutions require better rail network for accelerating the growth of this region.

The representatives of the people from Kerala have ensured a march over other States by actively participating in the Parliamentary debates. Kerala managed to get the Bangalore – Coimbatore Intercity Express extended up to Ernakulam, the Chennai Egmore – Coimbatore Express up to Mangalore, Tiruchirapalli – Coimbatore Fast Passenger up to Palakkad.

Unfortunately, the long pending demand of Western Tamil Nadu for a night express train continues to be neglected. Railway officials are refusing to extend the Thiruvananthapuram – Palakkad Express up to Coimbatore. Coimbatore is yet to get night trains to Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Rameshwaram and an additional train to Chennai.

Golden Jubilee celebrations of Rao Hospital

Infertility continues to be a major problem affecting a significant section of our society. Contrary to common perception, male infertility accounts for a majority of the overall infertility cases. The advances in the field of assisted reproduction in the last 30 years have helped several couples suffering from infertility have children, president of the National Board of Examinations A. Rajasekaran said here on Sunday.

Inaugurating the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Rao Hospital here, he said the landmark discovery in 1978 by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards of the U.K. that a sperm and an egg could be fused together in a lab successfully revolutionised treatment for infertility.

Former Director of Medical Education Lalitha Ananthasubramaniam switched on the new mammography unit at the hospital. She spoke on the World Health Organisation’s emphasis on prevention of diseases. Stressing early detection or prevention, she said breast cancer was becoming increasingly prevalent. Self-examination was important for women, especially in the 20-39 age group. They should also undergo regular examination by a doctor thereafter. Mammography, which was being routinely done in the West was now being made available in India.

Director of the hospital Asha Rao said that her centre had been focusing on assisted reproduction and endoscopy and had now expanded its services to provide complete healthcare for women. The hospital had been able to bring joy in the form of a child to several couples through assisted reproduction.

Director of the hospital S.R Rao recalled the medical services of its founder Maj. R.S. Rao to Coimbatore in the Fifties when there were very few hospitals in the region. The hospital had continuously expanded its services to serve generations of patients. Breast cancer and cervical cancer together account for over 60 per cent of cancers in women. A vaccine was available now to prevent cervical cancer.

As part of the jubilee celebrations, the hospital launched two initiatives to serve the weaker sections: Project Meera, a breast cancer screening programme and Project Sharada, a cervical cancer prevention programme.

Construction industry seeks speedy approval mechanism

The Builders’ Association of India, Coimbatore Centre, has expressed concern over the delay in getting building plan approvals.It takes one to two years to get approval for a medium-size project (over 2,000 sq.ft). “The construction sector here will disappear if the time taken for approvals is so long,” says an office-bearer of the association.

Outgoing chairman of the association G. Srinivasan and the new chairman D.R. Sekar told presspersons here on Monday that Coimbatore had started losing opportunities as projects were moving out of the city fearing the delay.Four associations related to the construction sector assisted the Corporation for introduction of the Auto DCR system. In this system, plans were prepared using specially developed software and the building plan was submitted in a CD. The local body used the software to verify the plan. The objective was to reduce the time taken for approvals.

The Auto DCR should be extended to the Local Planning Authority and the Directorate of Town and Country Planning. The Auto DCR could also be upgraded to provide all related details to consumers at the click of the mouse. The Government should be pro-active in bringing about transparency in approvals. This would further reduce deviations and violations.There could be emergency projects such as extension of a hospital block or completion of classrooms in an educational institution before the beginning of the academic year. These projects were also getting hit with the delay in the approvals, they said.A nodal agency should be constituted for approvals and it should be within a time frame, Mr. Srinivasan said.

During the last one year, construction activities here were on a down turn and were expected revive by the end of the year. Industrial expansions had almost come to a standstill. Commercial construction had also declined. Only Government infrastructure works and individual residential works were on.Apart from starting the school of construction artisans at Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya here, the association had also tied up with a hospital to provide medical care to workers at a concessional rate.

With increasing awareness among the consumers and the builders, deviations were coming down, safety standards were improving in construction and the quality was also going up.

CCC files case against Ads in Buses

A non-governmental organisation has moved the Madras High court for a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to remove advertisements on the sides and rear of state public transport buses. In a PIL, Coimbatore Cousumer Cause, contended that the advertisements distracted road users and diverted their attention, particularly those in the vehicles following the buses. The advertisements were against the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Act and the State Motor Vehicle rules, it said.

Private buses too had started displaying advertisements, the PIl said.

When the petition came up for hearing, the first bench comprising Chief Justice H L Gokhle and Justice S N Ibrahim Khalifulla directed the government pleader to take instructions from the government and file a counter affidavit, if necessary.

Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangham - No for Byepass !

The Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangham will convene a meeting at Raj Mahal in Chinnamathampalayam to decide on the further course of agitation to drop the proposed Neelambur – Mettuppalayam bypass road project.M.R. Sivasamy, State president of the Sangham told reporters on Wednesday that the Government made a move to establish a SIPCOT Industrial estate in Vellalore, Malumichampatti, Chettipalayam panchayats by acquiring 3,000 acres.

The farming community objected to the move and the district administration dropped the move to establish an industrial estate.Even SIPCOT officials accepted the decision. Now, industries, agriculture and educational institutions function there.

Now, the National Highways authority plans to acquire 5,000 acres of agriculture land and other lands affecting nearly 3,000 buildings for laying a bypass road from Neelambur to Mettuppalayam. The farming community had been opposing the project. Instead the existing Coimbatore – Mettuppalayam road should be widened to a four lane.In any project that involved land acquisition, the decision of the District Administration used to be accepted by the departments concerned.

Whereas, in Neelambur bypass road project, the National Highways was refusing to pay attention to the farmers as well as the district administration, Mr. Sivasamy said.

workshop on story telling

DJ Academy of Designs is organising “Tell me a story”, a workshop on story telling, on April 29 at Mani Higher Secondary School. Children between 7 and 14 years of age are eligible. For registration , contact 98941 32606.

Summer camp by Siruthuli

Siruthuli, a people’s initiative here to conserve water resources, is conducting a free summer camp for school students in the city from April 20 to 25. The camp, with the theme “Teach them young”, is to educate the students on environmental issues.

A press release from the organisation said that over 150 children from 18 schools would be participating in the camp. They would assemble at the V.O.C. Park at 8 a.m. every day and would be briefed on the day’s assignment. The students would be taken to a location where they get to see both the problems and solutions relating to environmental issues.

Activities

On the first day, they would visit Siruthuli’s tree park. They would participate in several activities such as mixing of soil, seed segregations, mother bed preparation, transplanting of saplings and learn about the benefits of native tree species.

On April 21, they would visit the Gass Forest Museum to know of the history of trees. The students would interact with the Conservator of Forests, learn about seed collection and the role of trees in maintaining ecological balance.

Compost yard

The release said “Wealth from Waste” was the theme of the assignment on April 22. The students would visit the compost yard at Vellalore.They would get a first-hand knowledge of the waste generated across the city, ways to reduce waste generation and how wealth could be generated out of garbage.The importance of segregation of waste at source would also be taught to them.

On April 23, the students would hand over paper bags in a door-to-door exercise along with Resident Awareness Association of Coimbatore.

Noyyal

Collecting water samples from River Noyyal to assess contamination levels and a visit to the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History to know of natural habitats of birds and importance of forests were the assignments slated for the next two days.

Industrialists to raise Voice of Kovai !!

For long believed to be soft and not inclined to take on the political class and the babus, industrialists of the Coimbatore region are in a belligerent mood. Ranking next to Chennai in industrial development and contributing Rs 3,500 crore to Central and the State taxes, the Coimbatore region has been feeling neglected, with its claim for better infrastructure, raw material supply, power, etc., ignored.

Thus, some months back, the industry associations here took the uncommon decision of downing shutters for a day and taking out a rally to protest against the steep power cut. Mr Mahendra Ramdas, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, said the continuous process spinning industry has seen a decline in revenue because of the 45-50 per cent power cut. Auto ancillary units and foundries that cater to the export market have also been affected. Knitting units and the pumpset industry reported a 10 per cent drop in revenues last year over the previous year; exports gave them some cushion.

However paradoxical, Mr Ramdas is sure that “this downturn is not going to be an election issue or affect the prospects of any political party. But thankfully for the Government the elections have come in April-May. Had they come in October/November, the impact would have been severe, and the talking point would have been recession than any other issue, especially as the common people would have been badly hit. And, this segment is the real vote bank.”

Mr K. Ilango, President, Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia), put the loss in production suffered by the small/medium units in the Coimbatore region at around Rs 500 crore a month. The region, which exports about Rs 300-400 crore a month, has reported a halving in the performance. The Rs 250-500 crore that was to have come to the Coimbatore region from the Rs 7,000 crore promised the small/medium units in the country, also has not materialised.

Mr Jayakumar Ramdass, President, Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association (SIEMA), Coimbatore, reasons that the workers are more concerned with their daily necessities such as drinking water, and public distribution supplies, and as long as these are available, they may not turn their ire on the political parties.

Mr Jayakumar Ramadass, describing the coming together of 110 trade and industry associations and NGOs in Coimbatore to voice the demand of the people ahead of the polls, says they intend presenting their memorandum on the development needs of the region to all the candidates. Even after the elections, they would continue to put pressure on the elected representatives to fulfill the wishes of the people. Describing the new found belligerence among the trade and industry associations as the ‘new face of Coimbatore’, he said they would bring ‘sustained’ pressure on the politicians and bureaucrats to deliver.

HC orders DVAC probe into robbery by inspector

Not satisfied with the progress in investigation against a police inspector accused of robbing a man of Rs 25 lakh, the Madras high court ordered a probe by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).

Describing it as a peculiar case which required to be investigated by the DVAC, Justice R Regupathi asked the deputy superintendent of police, Kovilpalayam, Coimbatore, to transmit the case diary and other records to the DVAC director. The latter shall, having regard to the seriousness of the allegations made against the accused inspector (under suspension), appoint a competent officer to investigate the charges and conclude the probe as expeditiously as possible.

The judge was passing orders on a petition from E V Vasavan, who said had gone to Coimbatore on December 12, 2008 to Coimbatore with Rs 25 lakh in cash to make a land purchase at Mettupalayam. However, while he was talking to a , Inspector Dhanapalan , Kovilpalayam, forcibly snatched his car key and took the vehicle away with the cash in it, Vasavan said.

The petitioner further alleged that at the police station, the inspector had threatened to foist a case of carrying unaccounted money or carrying counterfeit notes, if he asked for the money back. Vasavan alleged that the inspector and the broker had already conspired to rob him of the money.

However, the inspector could not get away with it, as the SP, DVAC, made an initial probe and informed the DIG, Coimbatore about the inspector's act. The Coimbatore police recovered Rs 4.99 lakh from him. Counsel for the petitioner contended that the investigation was not satisfactory as the probe officer was a superior officer in the same station as the accused inspector. Two other suspects were yet to be arrested and the remaining sum of money was yet to be recovered, he said.

In his order, the judge said there was a wealth of materials to show the inspector had, under the guise of investigation, indulged in robbery while on duty. Even though the DIG had acted with alacrity and commitment in conducting a probe, a lull had set in thereafter. The pace at which the probe was moving was unusually sluggish, he said, and ordered an expeditious investigation by the DVAC.

Rasigan Express @ kovai

"Rasigan Express’, a publicity van of Vijay TV, was received with great fanfare by the residents of K.C. Thottam at Gandhi Park area in the city on Saturday. Though the main activity was to vote for their favourite stars and their movies, the fans of movie stars were busy breaking coconuts, lighting camphor and conducting ‘paalabhisekhams’ to the mini cut-outs of the actors.

The van, that is here to collect votes from people to select nominees under five categories for their annual film awards show – UniverCell Vijay Awards, is in the city for two days.The van is remodelled to accommodate the cut-outs of cine stars on either side. A ladder positioned at the back of the van helps people board it to reach the ballot box. The ballot sheet contains the names of the 118 Tamil movies released in 2008. Five empty boxes are given against five categories, namely, favourite male actor, female actor, director, film and song.

The public should write one name against each category and drop it in the ballot box. It is a secret vote and the identity of the person is not revealed.The awards have been receiving tremendous response in the last three years, according to R. Balachandran, Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Marketing, Vijay TV.Out of the 30-odd categories, five categories are decided by popular votes while the others are selected by a jury comprising Yugi Sethu, Pratap Pothan, Madan and Lizzy Priyadarshan.

The journey of the van that began on April 14 will continue for three weeks and pass through 14 districts.Approximately 2,000 to 4,000 votes are collected every day. Vijay TV expects at least five lakh votes that will help them come out with nominations for the five categories.The nominees will be announced on May 17 and further voting will be requested online, through SMS or media for deciding the finalists.The award function is scheduled to be held on May 31.

“Our Unique Selling Proposition is that we are the only broadcaster to host a cine award. When we saw the response in the first year, not only in terms of the votes but also the turnout to the award function, it made us decide to do it on a regular basis. This is our third year. People are happy with our credibility because we reach out to the people, go to their area and collect votes,” says Mr. Balachandran.