Archives for 2021

While the property located on Usman Road measures 4,800 sq ft and has a reserve price of Rs 124 crore, the second property located on Ranganathan Street has a reserve price of Rs 46 crore.

NEW DELHI:  Public sector lender Indian Bank has put on sale two immovable properties of Saravana Stores (Gold Palace) at T Nagar in Chennai. 

The bank has issued a notice of sale to recover Rs 288 crore from the jewellery represented by its partners, guarantors and title holders.

While the property located on Usman Road measures 4,800 sq ft and has a reserve price of Rs 124 crore, the second property located on Ranganathan Street has a reserve price of Rs 46 crore.

Both are located in T Nagar, one of the country’s leading commercial hubs. 

In January 2020, Karur Vysya Bank said that the outstanding stood at Rs 162.8 crore. The private sector lender issued a possession notice in which it stated that the borrowers included Saravana Stores Gold Palace Ltd and its guarantors, including Y Pallaku Durai, son of Yogarathinam, Durai’s wife P Sujatha, and son Y P Shiravan.

The bank asked the title holder of Saravana Stores Gold Palace Ltd, Pallaku Durai, to repay the amount mentioned in the notice. After the borrower failed to repay the amount, the bank issued a notice to take possession of the properties.

State-owned Indian Bank recently said its committee of directors has approved raising up to Rs 4,000 crore through share sale.

Shareholders of the bank on March 2 had given approval for the raising equity capital up to Rs 4,000 crore (including premium) through qualified institutions placement (QIP) in one or more tranches, Indian Bank had said in a BSE filing.

Yadav and Kisan Sangharsh Samiti leader Sunilam met Gogoi at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

GUWAHATI: Activist Yogendra Yadav met jailed Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi on Sunday and appealed to the people to defeat the ruling BJP in Assam.

Yadav and Kisan Sangharsh Samiti leader Sunilam met Gogoi at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

“Gogoi has put up 19 candidates in the 86 seats in the first two phases. His goal is to ensure that the BJP is defeated,” Yadav said.

“We have come with one message that the BJP should be ousted for the way it has treated farmers and taken decisions against their interests and welfare,” the Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader said.

Yadav said that he had met Gogoi in jail in February last year and his health condition has deteriorated considerably since then.

“He has been subjected to considerable mental torture and his medical condition has deteriorated but still the ideological clarity, mental resolve and the courage shown by him is a model,” he said.

Yadav alleged that Gogoi has been put in jail to ensure that he cannot interact with the people during the elections.

“This is not a criminal trial but a political trial,” he alleged.

Yadav said that he had not gone to discuss politics but Gogoi was very interested to know how the farmers’ agitation was progressing and was very clear about the urgent need to defeat the BJP.

Sunilam alleged that the way NIA is investigating the cases against Gogoi it appears that they are acting at the behest of the government.

“It is obvious that false cases have been slapped against him to silence peoples’ voice, which he represents, but now that the elections are here, the people of the state must make a decision,” he said.

He appealed to the Congress to reconsider their decision of fielding a candidate against Gogoi.

Sunilam said that he would go to Sibsagar to campaign for Gogoi.

Gogoi was arrested in December 2019 during the protests against CAA in the state and was booked under the stringent UAPA.

He had tested positive for COVID-19 some months back and shifted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital where he is still lodged with a board of doctors monitoring his condition.

Sibsagar goes to the polls in the first phase on March 27 along with 46 other constituencies.

Elections to the 126-member Assam legislative assembly will be held in three phases with 39 constituencies in the second phase on April 1, and 40 in the last phase on April 6.

In rural parts of Karnataka, many households are using LPG only as an emergency option and have not got refills over the last many months.

BENGALURU : The country’s first village that bid goodbye to traditional cooking fuels, like wood, and went smokeless was Vyachakurahalli from Chikkaballapur district in 2015.

But in 2021, six years down the line, thousands of households, especially in rural Karnataka, are contemplating switching back to firewood or coal for cooking and ditching gas stoves as LPG prices have skyrocketed over the last year.

Though a release from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd stated that a 7.3 per cent increase has been seen in overall LPG consumption between December 2020 and February 2021, a reality check by suggests otherwise.

In rural parts of Karnataka, including in Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Chikkaballapur, Chikkamgaluru, Uttara Kannada and other districts, many households are using LPG only as an emergency option and have not got refills over the last many months.

“I have a cylinder at home. It will get over in a couple of weeks and I will not get it refilled as a cylinder costs Rs 980 in our village. Ours is a big family and we cannot afford such a high cost every month. We have shifted back to firewood for cooking,” said Mahantesh Ramappa Hosamani, a Karyakartha, Coolie Karmikara Sangha, at Aihole village of Bagalkot district.

“It is not just our home, but almost every household in our village and those in Hungund taluk have completely stopped using LPG after the price hike,” he added. The cost of the cylinder has gone up by Rs 175 in the last three months, with the price ranging between Rs 800 and Rs 980 in different parts of the state.

“Nothing is Ujjwala, everything is dark here. If essentials like petrol and LPG cylinders become so expensive, how do we survive? With great difficulty, I convinced my family to switch from firewood to LPG stove. But now, we don’t have money to refill cylinders. We can’t fetch firewood and the government won’t give us kerosene. What do we do,” asked Lakshmamma G from Koppal.

Public health doctors warn of dire health consequences because of the use of wood stoves. Dr Sylvia Karpagam said, “Underlying respiratory disease is one of the significant comorbidities leading to poor outcomes in COVID and other respiratory conditions. Women in rural areas are known to suffer from such respiratory diseases as they use smoke-inducing fuels, like firewood.”

Dr Giridhara Babu R, Senior Epidemiologist and public health expert, said using wood or coal stoves is the leading cause of indoor air pollution, affecting the health of women and children in most rural households.

“Price hike in LPG results in many poor people from rural areas and urban slums switching back to traditional sources of fuel. They use stoves without chimneys or proper ventilation. In some places, people also use empty cement bags, paper and other material which increase their health risk. The government should take care of vulnerable sections,” he said.

Also, many villagers said that they have not received the LPG subsidy for many months. “We have not received subsidies under any scheme. We earlier paid Rs 830 per cylinder and got around Rs 180 as a subsidy. But for the last 10 months, we have not received the subsidy,” said Mahantesh, a social activist from HD Kote, Mysuru.

According to a recent study conducted in Koppal by the University of British Columbia, an average rural family needs at least 10 cylinders weighing 14.2 kg to fulfil their cooking needs for a year. But under the Ujjwala scheme, women are availing less than four refills.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti said, “I am aware of the problems being faced by the people. I am in Delhi and will address this issue by speaking to the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.”

Akash Maharia

Jaipur: An army jawan was arrested for allegedly leaking confidential information to a Pakistani agent, an intelligence official said on Sunday.

The 22-year-old jawan, Akash Maharia, is a resident of Sikar district of Rajasthan and is posted in Sikkim.

He came in contact with a Pakistani intelligence agent through social media and shared confidential information with him, the official said. He said the accused was arrested Saturday night following interrogation by intelligence agencies.

New Delhi: Banking operations including cheque clearance across the country got affected on Monday as bankers under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have gone on a nationwide strike to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders.

UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions, had given a strike call for March 15 and 16, and claimed that about 10 lakh bank employees and officers of the banks will participate in the strike.

However, branches of private sector lenders like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank are open as they are not part of the strike.

In the Union Budget presented last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the government’s disinvestment plan.

The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019, and has merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.

According to All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary CH Venkatachalam, services at branch level; cheque clearance; and government transactions have been affected.

Besides, money markets and stock markets are also going to face problems as payments would be impacted, he said.

Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI).

Others are the Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO).

Kancheepuram (TN): Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan’s car was allegedly attacked by a young man late Sunday when the actor-politician was proceeding towards a hotel here after campaigning for the April 6 Assembly polls, a party leader said.

Haasan was not injured in the incident though his vehicle’s windscreen was damaged.

MNM leader and retired IPS officer A G Mourya tweeted that his party chief’s car windscreen was damaged and the man who “attempted to attack” Haasan was handed over to the police.

Mourya said the party would not be scared by such elements. His tweet was retweeted by the official Twitter handle of Makkal Needhi Maiam.

Local television channels aired visuals of a young man, said to be the assailant, being taken away by police personnel for allegedly attacking Haasan’s car.

Police officials could not be reached immediately for a comment.

The youth, reportedly drunk, was allegedly assaulted by some MNM cadres and members of the public. He was later taken to a hospital by the police.

Baghpat: Siding with farmers protesting the Centre’s new agriculture laws, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik here on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah not to offend them.

Speaking at an event in his home district, Malik said if the Centre gives legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, farmers will relent.

The Meghalaya Governor also claimed to have prevented the arrest of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait when he heard rumours about it.

“None of the laws are in favour of farmers. Wherever one goes, there is a lathicharge, Malik said, adding that no one can save the country where farmers and soldiers are not satisfied.

Describing the condition of farmers as bad in the country, Malik said, “They are getting poorer day by day while the salary of government officials and staff increases after every three years. Whatever is sown by a farmer is cheap and whatever he buys is expensive. They do not know how they are becoming poor.”

Apparently referring to Sikh farmers protesting against the laws, Malik said, The Sikh community does back down and forget things even after 300 years. Indira Gandhi (ex-PM) had got the ‘Mahamrityunjay Mantra Jaap’ done after the Operation Blue Star.”

“I belong to a farmer’s family. Hence, I can understand their problems. I will go to any extent to solve the problems of farmers,” he said.