Indian navy felicitate shooters !

he Indian Navy on Thursday felicitated ace shooters Omkar Singh and Harpreet Singh, who won gold medals in the recently concluded XIXth Commonwealth Games, in a ceremony held at INS Agrani base station in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore city.

Harpreet Singh, who was in high spirits on the occasion, said that he is now sweating hard to bag more medals for India in the upcoming Asian Games, which is scheduled to take place in China's Guangzhou city from November 12 to 27.

"Now I am focusing on the forthcoming Asian Games. I am preparing well and hoping to win medal also," said Harpreet Singh.

Omkar Singh said that the gold medals won by him at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, have encouraged many people, who are now showing immense interest in sport of shooting.

"Now a lot of guys and the family members and the children and even old people, who are having some power to hold the pistol have become interested in shooting," said Omkar Singh.

Both the gold medallists believe that India still lacks stars in the sport of shooting and the Central Government should therefore build more shooting ranges and provide better infrastructure to support such players

Voters strength goes up by 9%

The number voters in Coimbatore District has gone up by nine per cent following admission of 1,68, 135 applications (Form 6 for inclusion of names in electoral rolls) out of the total of 1,80,730 forms (excluding the other applications such as form 7, 8 and 8 A) submitted during the revision exercise, said Collector P. Umanath on Friday.

Prior to the revision, the electorate strength in the district was 18,81,516 and with the inclusion of nine per cent claims the total electorate strength has increased to 20,49,651. Mr. Umanath released the supplementary final electoral rolls for the 10 Assembly segments in the district. While all the districts in the State released the list on September 15, it was delayed by two days in respect of Coimbatore and Tirupur district owing to technical problems.

The Collector said that electors' database for the Assembly segments in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts remained common. Tirupur was earlier part of the composite Coimbatore district.

The massive transfer of data caused server problems and two days time was sought from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer for resolving the same. As many as 879 applications under Form Number 7 for removal of names were received and 804 of them were admitted.

As many as 6,482 Form 8 were received for amendments in voter rolls such as photograph and address change, the authorities admitted as many as 4,926 forms. Of the 4,140 Form 8 A received for change of address within the constituency 1,036 forms were entertained.

The photo voters' list will be on display for the public at the corporation office and taluk offices and RDO offices in the district from Monday (September 20).

Of the inclusion of names in the rolls, Kavundampalayam and Coimbatore North Assembly constituencies witnessed a highest inclusion of 29,420 and 22,779 voters respectively and Valparai witnessed the lowest inclusion of 8,286.

There had not been any bulk or en-masse submission of applications for inclusion since the Election Commission has warned against such practices and there was no bulk rejection of forms as well, Mr. Umanath said.

The numbers of new voters in the other Assembly segments are as follows: Mettupalayam 14,408, Sulur 16,376, Thondamuthur 19,282, Coimbatore South 13,611, Singanallur 18,256, Kinathukkadavu 16,302, and Pollachi 11,904.

Nuts 'n' Spices plansto enter cbe !

Nuts 'n' Spices, the Chennai-based chain of grocery stores, is planing to launch its first store in Coimbatore post Diwali. This would be the company's first store outside Chennai, where it currently operates 15 stores.

Confirming the development to ImagesFood, Sunil Sanklecha, founder and managing director, Nuts ‘n' Spices, said, “The store will be spread over an area of 1,500 sq ft, with a merchandise mix of 4,000 SKUs.”

The product portfolio of Nuts 'n' Spices – founded in 1999 – includes a range of dry fruits, spices, tea, beverages, mouth fresheners, sugar-free products, imported food products, frozen foods and snacks.

உலகத் தமிழ் செம்மொழி மாநாடு - 5 நாள் நிகழ்ச்சி நிரல்

23ம் தேதி - நாள்: 1

காலை :

தொடக்க விழா கோவை மாநாட்டு அரங்கில் 23-ந்தேதி காலை 10.30 மணிக்கு நடக்கிறது. முதல்வர் கருணாநிதி தலைமை தாங்குகிறார். துணை முதல்வர் மு.க. ஸ்டாலின் வரவேற்று பேசுகிறார்.

குடியரசுத் தலைவர் பிரதீபா பட்டீல் மாநாட்டை தொடங்கி வைத்து, “கலைஞர் மு. கருணாநிதி செம்மொழி தமிழ் விருதை” பின்லாந்தைச் சேர்ந்த பேராசிரியர் அஸ்கோ பர்போலாவுக்கு வழங்குகிறார். தமிழக ஆளுநர் பர்னாலா மாநாட்டு சிறப்பு மலரை வெளியிடுகிறார். அமைச்சர் அன்பழகன் தகுதியுரை நிகழ்த்துகிறார்.

பேராசிரியர் ஜார்ஜ் ஹார்ட் (அமெரிக்கா), வா.செ. குழந்தைசாமி, கா. சிவத்தம்பி (இலங்கை) ஆகியோர் வாழ்த்தி பேசுகிறார்கள். தலைமை செயலாளர் ஸ்ரீபதி நன்றி கூறுகிறார்.

மாலை:

பிரமாண்டப் பேரணி
23-ந்தேதி மாலை 4 மணிக்கு உலகத்தமிழ் செம்மொழி மாநாட்டு பேரணி நடைபெறுகிறது. இது கோவை வ.உ.சி. மைதானத்தில் தொடங்கி, அவினாசி சாலை வழியாக சென்று மாநாட்டு வளாகத்தை அடைகிறது.
“இனியவை நாற்பது” என்ற தலைப்பில் இந்த பேரணி நடைபெறுகிறது. இதில் இலக்கியம், கலை, வரலாறு ஆகியவற்றை நினைவூட்டும் அலங்கார வண்டிகள், கலை நிகழ்ச்சிகள் இடம் பெறுகின்றன.

24ம் தேதி - நாள்: 2
காலை:
மாற்றுத் திறனாளிகளின் கலை நிகழ்ச்சி
24-ந்தேதி காலை 10.30 மணிக்கு லாரன்ஸ் குழுவின் மாற்று திறனாளிகள் வழங்கும் கலை நிகழ்ச்சிகள் இடம் பெறுகிறது. பகல் 12 மணிக்கு பொது கண்காட்சியை மத்திய அமைச்சர் மு.க. அழகிரி திறந்து வைக்கிறார். மலேசிய மந்திரி சுப்பிரமணியம் சிறப்பு விருந்தினராக பங்கேற்கிறார்.
புத்தக கண்காட்சியை ஜி.கே. வாசன் திறந்து வைக்கிறார். மாலத்தீவு அமைச்சர் அகமது நசீர் சிறப்பு விருந்தினராக கலந்து கொள்கிறார். இணைய தள கண்காட்சியும் திறக்கப்படுகிறது.

அப்துல் ரகுமான் தலைமையில் கவியரங்கம்
பிற்பகல் 2.30 மணிக்கு “புதியதோர் உலகம் செய்வோம்” என்ற தலைப்பில் கவியரங்கம் நடக்கிறது. கவிஞர் அப்துல் ரகுமான் தலைமை தாங்குகிறார். வ.மு. சேதுராமன், பொன்னடியான், ஆண்டாள் பிரியதர்சினி, வின்சென்ட் சின்னத்துரை, கவிதை பித்தன் உள்பட பலர் பங்கேற்கிறார்கள்.

மாலை 4 மணிக்கு “சமயம் வளர்த்த தமிழ்” என்ற தலைப்பில் கருத்தரங்கம் நடக்கிறது. இதற்கு சுந்தரலிங்க சாமியடிகளார் தலைமை தாங்குகிறார். பேராயர் சின்னப்பா, ஸ்ரீபால், சாரதாநம்பி ஆரூரான், காதர் மொய்தீன் உள்பட பலர் பேசுகிறார்கள். இரவு முதல்-அமைச்சர் கருணாநிதி எழுதிய “போர் வாளும் பூவிதழும் நாட்டிய நிகழ்ச்சியை பத்மா சுப்பிரமணியம் குழுவினர் வழங்குகிறார்கள். நடனம், நாடகம், இசை நிகழ்ச்சிகளும் இடம் பெறுகின்றன.

25ம் தேதி - நாள்: 3

காலை:

கிளம்பிற்று காண் தமிழ்ச் சிங்க கூட்டம்
காலை 10 மணிக்கு “கிளம்பிற்று காண் தமிழ்ச்சிங்க கூட்டம்” என்ற தலைப்பில் கவியரங்கம் நடக்கிறது. கவிஞர் வைரமுத்து தலைமை தாங்குகிறார். ஈரோடு தமிழன்பன், தமிழச்சி தங்கபாண்டியன் உள்பட பலர் கவிதை படைக்கிறார்கள்.

11.30 மணிக்கு “தமிழர் வாழ்வோடு பெரிதும் சார்ந்திருப்பது சங்க இலக்கியமே, இடைக்கால இலக்கியமே, இன்றைய இலக்கியமே என்ற தலைப்பில் பட்டிமன்றம் நடக்கிறது. சோ. சத்தியசீலன் நடுவராக பங்கேற்கிறார். குமரி அனந்தன் உள்பட பலர் பேசுகிறார்கள்.

25ம் தேதி கருணாநிதி தலைமையில் கருத்தரங்கம்
மாலை 4 மணிக்கு “எங்கும் தமிழ் எதிலும் தமிழ்” என்ற தலைப்பில் சிறப்பு கருத்தரங்கம் நடக்கிறது. இதற்கு முதல்வர் கருணாநிதி தலைமை தாங்குகிறார்.

இதில் தங்கபாலு, சீத்தாராம் யெச்சூரி எம்.பி., கி. வீரமணி, டாக்டர் ராமதாஸ், இல. கணேசன், டி. ராஜா எம்.பி., ஆர்.எம். வீரப்பன், திருமாவளவன், ஸ்ரீதர் வாண்டையார், காதர் மொய்தீன், ஜெகன்மூர்த்தி, செல்லமுத்து, தாவூத் மியாகான், திருப்பூர் அல்தாப், சந்தானம் பஷீர் அகமது ஆகியோர் கலந்து கொள்கிறார்கள். இதையடுத்து கலை நிகழ்ச்சிகள் இடம் பெறுகின்றன.

26ம் தேதி - நாள்: 4

காலை

வாலி தலைமையில் கவியரங்கம்
26-ந்தேதி “தமிழுக்கும் அமுதென்று பேர்” என்ற தலைப்பில் கவியரங்கம் நடக்கிறது. இதற்கு கவிஞர் வாலி தலைமை தாங்குகிறார். கவிஞர்கள் மு. மேத்தா, பா. விஜய் உள்பட பலர் பங்கேற்கிறார்கள்.

அடுத்து வா.செ. குழந்தைசாமி தலைமையில் “செம்மொழி தகுதி” என்ற தலைமையில் கருத்தரங்கம் நடக்கிறது. குன்றக்குடி பொன்னம்பல அடிகளார் உள்பட பலர் பேசுகிறார்கள். இதையடுத்து க.ப. அறவாணன் தலைமையில் “கடல் கடந்த தமிழும் தமிழரும்” என்ற தலைப்பில் கருத்தரங்கம் நடக்கிறது.
நடிகை ரோகினியின் நாட்டிய நாடகம்

மாலை 4.30 மணிக்கு சாலமன் பாப்பையா நடுவராக பங்கேற்கும் பட்டிமன்றம் “தமிழ் வளர்க்கும் பெரும் பொறுப்பு வெள்ளித் திரைக்கே, சின்னத்திரைக்கே, அச்சுத்துறைக்கே” என்ற தலைப்பில் நடக்கிறது. இதில் பாரதிராஜா, நடிகர் சந்திரசேகர், லியோனி, எஸ்.வி. சேகர், நக்கீரன் கோபால் உள்பட பலர் பங்கேற்கிறார்கள். இரவு கொடிசியா வளாகத்தில் நடிகை ரோகிணி நடிக்கும் “பாஞ்சாலி சபதம்” நாடகம் நடக்கிறது.

27ம் தேதி - நாள்: 5

நிறைவு
காலை :27-ந்தேதி காலை 10 மணிக்கு “வித்தாக விளங்கும் மொழி” என்ற தலைப்பில் நடைபெறும் கருத்தரங்கத்துக்கு நடிகர் சிவக்குமார் தலைமை தாங்குகிறார். சுப. வீரபாண்டியன், திருச்சி செல்வேந்திரன், ஜெகத்கஸ்பார் உள்பட பலர் பங்கேற்கிறார்கள். இதையடுத்து கலை நிகழ்ச்சிகள் இடம் பெறுகின்றன.

பிரணாப் தலைமையில் நிறைவு விழா

மாலை 4 மணிக்கு மாநாட்டு நிறைவு விழா நடக்கிறது. மத்திய அமைச்சர் பிரணாப் முகர்ஜி தலைமை தாங்குகிறார். ப. சிதம்பரம் முன்னிலை வகிக்கிறார். சிறப்பு தபால் தலையை மத்திய அமைச்சர் ராசா வெளியிடுகிறார்.

முதல்வர் கருணாநிதி, “சிறந்த தமிழ் மென் பொருளை உருவாக் கியதற்கான “கணியன் பூங்குன்றனார்” விருது வழங்கி மாநாட்டு நிறைவுரை ஆற்றுகிறார். முன்னதாக தலைமை செயலாளர் ஸ்ரீபதி வரவேற்கிறார்.

முடிவில் உலகத்தமிழ் செம்மொழி மாநாட்டு தனி அதிகாரி அலாவுதீன் நன்றி கூறுகிறார்.

‘Manage the present industrial scenario well’

Speakers at the Young Leaders Global Conclave 2010 on Saturday said that if India’s past industrial scenario can be considered ‘good’, to make the future ‘beautiful’, the present scenario should be managed well.Speakers Arvind Kaul, Chief Executive of Vestas and Manickam Ramaswami, Chairman of Loyal Textiles made this observation and spoke on ‘What should young leaders do to achieve this’ at the plenary session I held at PSG College of Technology.

Addressing students, Mr. Kaul recalled his student days and said now youngsters are more independent, take decisions on their own and are able to decide the path they want to choose unlike in the past when decisions were made by parents and elders in the family.Calling upon students to have a vision and clarity to achieve their goal, he stressed the importance of team work and the need for sharpening communication and presentation skills. The country needs good leaders to move forward in its growth path.

“Life may not be smooth, but my experience outside India has showed that Indians manage pressures much better than others”.“Indians learn the hard way, but have risen to great heights,” Mr. Kaul said and advised the students to make sure that they understand what job they were looking for, before jumping the gun.Mr. Ramaswami, on the other hand, took the students through the current politico-economic situation.

Asking the students to visualise a truly developed India, free from poverty and hunger, excellent education and infrastructure, he said “to support this, a rapid pace of growth, a transformation in the real sense is necessary.’” He pointed out that to achieve 8-9 per cent growth in GDP, industry and services would have to grow 12 – 13 per cent. “Country needs a sustained growth rate with a good tax regime. It is a delicate balance, but not impossible,” Mr. Ramaswami said, before adding “we have strengths, but the system is highly corrupt.”

Highlighting the strengths, he said “human resource is our greatest strength, followed by a stable government. Mobilisation of resources would therefore not be an issue. The weak point though is our infrastructure and logistics cost,” observed Mr. Ramaswami.

He urged the students to tap the domestic market opportunities both in the manufacturing and services sector. “One should use imagination and change the style of lobbying by being more creative. Don’t ape the West. Instead rediscover the indigenous Indian concepts and come out with compatible solution.”

Consumer body opposes ‘illegal, excess bus fare’

Coimbatore Consumer Cause has “strongly opposed” the strategy of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation in collecting more revenue against the interests of the people, by introducing over 200 semi-low-floor buses.These buses, flagged off recently, collect “exorbitant and illegal excess fare” more than twice that of the ordinary fare, it was pointed out.

In a memorandum to the Chief Minister, the Secretary of CCC, K. Kathirmathiyon said that the Chief Minister had said that despite severe financial constraints to the Transport Department the Government never wanted to increase the bus fare since 2001.It is a fact that the bus fare is lower compared to that in many other States.

It is a policy decision taken by the Government in the interest of the people.But unfortunately TNSTC officials were collecting “excess bus fare” from the people in recent days by adopting different “unethical, illegal and unfair methods”.By mere replacement of existing vehicles, they had started collecting more than double the regular fare.As on date more than 200 buses are already collecting such “illegal fare”.

By merely claiming the buses as ‘Deluxe’, fare collected is close to 250 per cent more.If buses were to be operated as ‘Luxury’, permit for the same has to be obtained from Regional Transport Authority (RTA) for the same.

Replacement

The Regional Transport Officers had said that they had not issued any new permit for the buses and all the buses were only replacement for old vehicles and only ordinary permits were issued for those buses.If the same irregularity had been done by a private operator, the permits would have been cancelled.Unfortunately this unethical practice is being adopted by TNSTC buses and hence officials are not taking any action on the same.

As per the Motor Vehicle Rules the buses have to be operated as per the condition of the permit issued.Many old buses are being regularly replaced with new ones, both by TNSTC and by private operators.But now TNSTC is in the habit of claiming all the new buses as ‘Luxury’ for the sake of collecting excess fare.

In such case, private operators might also start claiming luxury fare since they too have new buses.The people are totally against the action of TNSTC, since their interests are affected.The association had been continuously representing the matter for the last two years.The issue has emerged as widespread agitation because more buses were named as semi low floor and luxury buses.

Coimbatore Consumer Cause had specifically pointed out that the officials were not bothered about the disrepute caused to the Government.The Government could verify the complaint by calling for a white paper from all Regional Transport Officers and District Collectors (Regional Transport Authorities) in respect of the “illegal excess fare” being collected now. Coimbatore Consumer Cause has urged the Chief Minister to intervene and stop this practice.

Trial run on New Irugur - N.cbe Track !!

To check track stability of the newly-laid second railway line on the Coimbatore North – Pilamedu – Irugur section, a loco trial run was conducted on Wednesday.The single line between Irugur and Coimbatore North had been a major bottleneck leading to increased pathway congestion.As a result, all along the Southern Railway administration was handling some of the important trains on the Kerala – Chennai sector via Podanur and Irugur sections skipping Coimbatore Junction, which had been a major revenue spinner next only to Chennai in the Southern Railway.

The single line bottleneck not only led to trains skipping Coimbatore Junction but also hampered timely operation of trains departing from and arriving at Coimbatore Junction. During peak hours, there had been instances of trains being held up at Junction.Hence, the second line had been a major demand for several years. Initiated about two decades ago, the project is almost nearing completion. While lines had been laid, connecting them at a few places and installation of new manual signal points and linking them to stations are pending.

The authorities hope to complete the same within another 45 to 60 days, so that the second line could become fully operational.Only a couple of days ago, the authorities constructed a local trial run on the Coimbatore Junction – Podanur second line.On Wednesday, the loco trial run was initiated from Coimbatore Junction and it covered a distance of 6.7 km from Coimbatore North to Pilamedu and another 4.8 km from Irugur – Pilamedu. The loco trial run was specifically for the Pilamedu – Irugur section.

The Deputy Chief Engineer, Construction, Rajagopal, Pilamedu Station Inspector Thomas and a couple of other officials supervised the trial run.Authorities plan to complete even the other remaining works so that the entire stretch of the second line from Irugur – Pilamedu – Coimbatore North – Coimbatore Junction and Podanur could be put into use well ahead of the World Classical Tamil Conference in June 2010 thereby ensuring timely operation of trains besides handling more trains without facing pathway congestion.

Traffic diversions in city today

In view of the ISKCON Jagannath Yatra to be taken out in the city on Saturday (January 16) from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., the city police have planned to enforce certain diversions in traffic.

A release from City Police Commissioner P. Sivanandi said that vehicles entering City from Palakkad Road, Pollachi Road via Ukkadam should enter at Ukkadam Junction and not Oppanakkara Street, the vehicles should either take the Valankulam Rail Over Bridge or the Perur Bypass Road and proceed further.With Vincent Road having been made one way, vehicles should not enter Vincent Road from Ukkadam side. Vehicles and heavy vehicles from Avanashi Road flyover and Lanka Corner going to Palakkad Road/Pollachi Road should take the Goods Shed Road, Big Bazaar Street, Vincent Road and Ukkadam.

Buses could be operated on the usual route to reach Ukkadam Bus Stand.However, they should not enter Raja Theatre, Judka Corner (Oppanakkara Street) to reach Vysial Street.Vehicles from Old Flyover bound for Thadagam Road, Mettuppalayam Road should not enter Sukrawarpet Street instead should take the Brooke Bond Road.Vehicles from Mettuppalayam Road, especially trucks and mini cargo vehicles, should take the Brooke Bond Road near Chintamani and proceed via Old Flyover.

Vehicles from Thadagam Road bound for Palakkad Road and light vehicles should go via Ponniahrajapuram, Chokkampudur, Shivalaya Theatre Junction, Perur Bypass Road and Ukkadam.Vehicles from Perur side for reaching Palakkad Road should take the Perur Bypass Road and reach Ukkadam.Vehicles to other places should take the Shivalaya Theatre Junction, Chokkampudur, Ponniahrajapuram and go via Thadagam Road and Gandhi Park.

Truck traffic would remain banned from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. as usual.People are requested to co-operate with the police in managing the traffic situation.

New fire tenders for Coimbatore Airport

The Coimbatore Airport on Wednesday received the first ROSCNBAUR, International AG Austria, Air Field Crash Fire Tender costing Rs 3.35 crore. Two more will reach in a day or two, Airport Director M.R. Vasudeva said. Mr.Vasudeva told that the airport has conventional fire tenders that could throw the jet up to 60 m. ROSCNBAUR could throw a jet up to 90 m with pressure measuring up to 10 Bar.

Air crash Fire Tender could carry 10,000 to 12,000 litres of water and 1,500 litres of foam. It could accelerate from 0 to 80 kmph in just less than 30 seconds. The vehicle could spray the extinguishing medium at 4,500 litres a minute.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) inducted these vehicles first in 2007-08 and at present there are 15 vehicles.

AAI would have 55 such fully computerised vehicles in airports across the country by May 2010.

Power cabels t go underground !!

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has started work on Avinashi Road and Tiruchi Road here to shift overhead cables underground.

Chief Engineer of the Board C. Thangavel told that the work, covering a total of 36 km, would be completed by the end of March. Mr. Thangavel said that starting near the Uppilipalayam flyover, the underground cables would be laid on the entire stretch of Avinashi Road, till the Neelambur bypass.

For Tiruchi Road, the cables would pass through the Collectorate Road and the Government Hospital Road from the Uppilipalayam flyover and continue through Tiruchi Road till the L & T Bypass.

Route divided

The estimated cost for the work was Rs. 52 crore. He said the entire route was divided into stretches of about one-and-a-half km each and tendering process was going on.For some stretches the bidders had been selected and they had started work. The board was co-ordinating with all the other Departments.

There might be power disruptions while switching over to the underground cables. The consumers would be informed in advance, he said.An official of the board added that on Tiruchi Road, the board was working in co-ordination with the National Highways that was carrying out widening and strengthening of NH 69, a part of which passed through Coimbatore.Thus, the road would not be dug up again to lay the underground cables.

On both Avinashi Road and the Tiruchi Road the underground cables would be given protective covers using concrete slabs so that the cables would not be damaged when the roads would be re-laid.

Eclipse Watch !!

The Coimbatore Astronomy Club and Perk’s School have organised a viewing of solar eclipse for January 15 on the school grounds.

For details, contact the club on the following phone numbers: 97904-57568 and 98434-25945.

Army recruitment announcement

The Indian Army has announced recruitment of junior commissioned officers in the Army as religious teacher in various categories.

The basic eligibility is that candidates should not be below 27 years or over 34 years as on July 12.For various categories, the educational qualifications differ. Shortlisted candidates would be have to undergo a written examination on March 14.

For further details norms, categories of posts, educational qualifications, the interested candidates could approach the nearest Headquarters Recruiting Zone. For candidates in Tamil Nadu, the Recruiting Zone Headquarters is at Fort St. George, Chennai. Last date for receipt of filled in applications is January 23 (Saturday), a release from the Indian Army-Recruitment Headquarters Zone said.

SIEMA to develop ‘Made in Coimbatore’ brand

During the next six months, the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association (SIEMA) will promote the “Made in Coimbatore” brand for pumpsets made here.

President of the Association Jayakumar Ramdass told the SIEMA would organise a meeting here in January on Geographical Indication. The Association was trying to get GI for pumpsets made here as the city had a substantial market share. Subsequently, the SIEMA proposed to develop a common logo that would indicate that the products were made in Coimbatore and draft a set of standards for these products. The Association would hold talks with 15 to 20 leading pumpset manufacturers here and encourage them to use the logo.

Mr. Ramdass said Coimbatore pumpsets were known for quality and efficiency and through the common branding, the image of the products made here would improve.He said that during the last one year, the domestic market for pumpsets had been positive. Coimbatore manufactured mainly agricultural and domestic pumpsets. The stimulus package given by the government to farmers provided them with liquidity and they were able to spend on pumpsets. The reduction of Excise Duty from eight per cent to four per cent also brought down the prices.

With a good market, the sale of pumpsets from Coimbatore went up by nearly 20 per cent during the last one year.However, the market might not remain buoyant in 2010 because of the erratic monsoon and the poor power situation in almost all the States. Some of the States had banned borewells temporarily because of the power shortage.The high interest rates were also having an impact on the bottomline of the units.He said the Union Government should continue the stimulus packages to help the industries stabilise with a good market. In Tamil Nadu, shortage of skilled manpower was another area of concern. The State Government should immediately improve the industrial training institutes and establish new institutes.

Copenhagen summit: City students express solidarity

In a bid to create awareness on climate change and express solidarity with the Copenhagen summit, environmental engineering students of Park College of Technology held a candlelight vigil from 6.30 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. at the college entrance on December 12.

According to a pamphlet released by the college, global warming was the biggest threat to living species. Scientists say a further rise of 3 to 4 degrees centigrade would ravage the planet.The Copenhagen Climate Change Summit is an important event where 192 countries are taking part.

The summit aims to bring together the rich and developing countries to fight climate change.Lights went off in all Park institutions during the period to support the event.More than 400 students took part in the vigil.

Awareness campaign for TNSTC drivers

The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation(TNSTC), Coimbatore, conducted a road safety awareness campaign for its 300 drivers recently.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic), N. Kamini said that such an interface was essential for fostering a cordial relationship between the TNSTC and the police department. She exhorted the need for sensitising the drivers to ply the buses without any distraction.She assured the drivers that measures were being initiated to remove encroachments on the roads to ensure a congestion-free driving experience.She also pointed out that the response for the enfocement of the compulsory helmet rule was overwhelming. This would help in reducing the number of fatal accidents especially the ones involving TNSTC buses.

Ms. Kamini urged the bus crew not to encourage foot-board travel and use of cellular phones while riding and driving.The TNSTC crew should adhere to the new six lane system of traffic being implemented on Avanashi Road to ease the flow of traffic.The police personnel had also been instructed to record observations such as whether an accident was caused by drunken driving, whether the driver was using cell phone at the time of accident and also whether the motorist was wearing a helmet or not.

Database

This would help in formulating a database on the nature and cause of accidents and evolve policies and enforce rules accordingly.Managing Director of TNSTC, G. Balraj, General Manager K. Choundramouli and Senior Divisional Manager (HR), A. Rajendran spoke.

Botanical garden: soil samples taken

Preliminary works for setting up a botanical garden on the jail premises began on Tuesday with the Agriculture Department officials taking soil samples for laboratory examinations.A team of staff members from the Agriculture Department deputed by Joint Director of Agriculture, L. Shankara Raj, took soil samples.

Officials said that soil samples would be sent for laboratory examinations and recommendations would be made on the kind of species that could be planted. Nutrient requirements and fertilizer inputs that are required for bringing up a botanical garden would be identified. A ground water table study too would be conducted. The officials have also planned to take up a detailed/retail study by digging up pits and take soil samples for ascertaining the finer aspects of the soil condition.

NASSCOM to help police ..

National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) will provide the capacity needed for police personnel to investigate cyber crime cases, said Pratap Reddy, Advisor, Cyber Security- NASSCOM, on Monday.Mr. Reddy, an IPS officer in the rank of IGP with Karnataka cadre on deputation with NASSCOM, was speaking at a seminar organised by NASSCOM here.The workshop is part of an awareness campaign taken up by NASSCOM under the banner Cyber Safe Tamil Nadu.

The objective is to turn the police force into a well-equipped one so that they will be in a position to act against cyber criminals who prey upon people in order to defraud them.Online trading frauds, misuse of credit cards/ debit cards and hacking online banking accounts belong to the category of “misdeeds on the Net”.In cyber crime, the offender could be anywhere in the world and this is one of the aspects that need to be taken into consideration in the beginning.

Course

The crash course on cybercrime may not turn police personnel into experts but could provide them with the basic knowledge to understand complaints and seek the help of cyber crime cell for investigations.

Jargon such as theft of data and theft of source code should not baffle police fficers.Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore Rural, N. Kannan, said that cyber crime was a challenge to the police and general public.Considering the recruitment pattern based on qualification, the police force was far superior.The need of the hour was to equip the force with the latest technologies.

One in every eight was a victim of identity theft, a cyber crime takes place once in three seconds, 1.72 lakh computers are losing control every day, and hackers account for 19 million which is larger than the size of a combined army of the world.He asked police officers to learn the new modus operandi of crimes bytech savvy criminals and said that there was no end to the process of learning.Proceeds from cybercrime are estimated to be more than that from illegal drug trade.Financial losses were mostly reported except where people feared a loss of face. But invasion into privacy were not always reported to the authorities.He asked police officers to register cases and encourage people to register complaints.

Ashok Bhaktavatchalam, Managing Director, KGISL, said that the magnitude of cyber crime was always underplayed. Companies are susceptible to huge levels of loss.K. Purushottaman, Regional Director of NASSCOM gave an introduction.

Pratap Reddy later told reporters that after Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Thane, cyber labs are coming up at Chennai and Hyderabad.The amendment to the Information Technology Act has done a lot of good deal thereby making it easily enforceable in a bid to render justice to the victims, he added.

YES plus from 5th Jan

Art of Living – Coimbatore Chapter is organising a unique programme - YES Plus (Youth Empowerment and Skills Workshop)- for youth in the age group of 18 to 30 years from January 5 to 10 at Venkatalakshmi Kalyana Mandapam on Tiruchi Road.

The programme includes practical sessions on entrepreneurial skills, maximising individual potential and physical, mental and emotional health.

For participants reaching before December 20, there would be early bird offer and discounts. Course on week days (January 5 to 8) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., weekend (January 9 and 10 ) full day session. For registrations, contact Arjun at 94875-06774, Saravana at 99422-35592 and Elango at 94431-26774.

Training for women

he Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Avinashilingam University for Women, is starting a new batch of a number of courses shortly.

According to a release, following will be the courses: herbal beauty therapy, spoken Hindi, spoken English (all three months); advanced facial techniques, embroidery and painting, basic computer applications ( all two months); soft toy creation (15 days), paper bag making , artificial flower making, hair styles, artificial jewellery making, masala powder making, soups and salads, bakery techniques, nutritious fast foods, bouquet making, herbal cosmetic preparation and gift articles making (all one week). Those interested may contact K. Vasantha, Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Avinashilingam University for Women, Coimbatore 641 043. Ph: 0422-2449715.

Youth urged to become entrepreneurs

Youth should be entrepreneurial and strive to become job givers and not job seekers, Kiran Bedi, former Indian Police Service officer and recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, said here on Saturday.

Speaking at a three-day youth convention organised by the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, she said that by 2020, India would be the youngest country with a large number of youth. This was a challenge as there would be abundance of energy. Even today, India needed about 450 million jobs. The government sector offered only 20 million jobs and the private sector generated just 10 million jobs. In such a situation, to meet the jobs needs, youth should become job givers. The financial institutions, educational institutions and government should work together for this.

Education should give not only knowledge and information but it should also train a person in human values. It was important to have the intelligence quotient working with the emotional quotient, she said. Youth should be prepared to serve and work for society. Students should receive education of the head, heart and hand, she said.

They should develop a positive attitude, start believing in oneself and be caring (ABC of Life).

They should not give room for even small mistakes in life. She urged the students to weed out corruption. Youth should not accept or give dowry.They also had certain responsibilities as citizens. Students should be enlightened, know about their right to information and exercise the Rule 49-O if they do not like a candidate contesting in the election, she said.