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328 bonded labourers rescued from brick kiln in Tamil Nadu

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brick kiln

Chennai: A raid by authorities rescued 328 bonded labourers, including 106 children, from a brick kiln in Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu.

The labourers rescued hail from Odisha and were allegedly made to work for 12 hours per day on a salary of Rs 20, officials said.

The raid was conducted by a district administration team led by revenue official S Jayachandran on Saturday based on inputs from an NGO, International Justice Mission, about the plight of the labourers.

Those have been provided Rs 1,000 each by the district administration which has requested the Southern Railway to attach three extra bogies in a train to send them to Odisha this evening, Jayachandran told PTI.

According to a bonded labourer, they were promised salaries of Rs 350-Rs 400 per day for construction work taken up at Pudhukuppam in Thiruvallur district.

“But, we were working (in the brick kiln) here on a mere salary of Rs 20 per day for 12 hours,” another bonded labourer said.

“We had to work for long hours. Most of us were not allowed to access basic food and toilet facilities,” the labourer said.

He claimed that some of the labourers were working for several months. Some of the rescued children were below the age of 15, he added.

The owner of the brick kiln, who had employed the labourers, is absconding and a case has been registered, an official said.

(PTI)

TMC in WB; BJP in Assam; AIADMK in TN; LDF in Kerala

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West Bengal Tamil Nadu

New Delhi: The BJP appears to have stormed Assam unseating Congress which also looks like losing Kerala as incumbent TMC and AIADMK are cruising comfortably to retain power in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

In the Union Territory of Puducherry, Congress-DMK alliance was ahead in the 30-member assembly closely followed by AINRC headed by Chief Minister and former Congressman N Rangaswamy.

Assam is on the road to making history with BJP set to get its first government in the North East by dislodging Congress which has been in power for three consecutive terms.

The saffron party was leading in 73 of the 126 seats while the ruling Congress was trailing far behind at 33. The ADUF led by Badaruddin Ajmal was ahead in 13 seats. ‘Others’ were leading in eight seats.

In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC maintained its hold against an unlikely alliance of CPI(M) and Congress and her look like bettering its last election performance. The TMC was ahead in 216 seats out of total 294. The Left parties are leading in 30 and Congress in 37 while BJP was ahead in 9 seats.

As per trends, J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK appears to be winning Tamil Nadu for a straight second term, bucking the tradition since 1989 when a ruling party has not returned to power. AIADMK’s performance has also disproved several exit poll predictions which had tipped the DMK-Congress alliance to come to power.

The AIADMK was leading in 126 seats while DMK-Congress alliance was ahead in 91 seats. While the third front of parties headed by DMDK’s Vijaykant failed to make any impact, the PMK which contested all the 234 seats could lead only in seven seats.

In Kerala, the Left Front was well on the road to dislodge Congress from power keeping up the tradition of voting out the incumbent government. The Left Democratic Front was ahead in 88 of the 140 seats while the ruling UDF was behind at 50.

According to trends, BJP may make a maiden entry in the state with the party said to be leading in one seat.

In Puducherry, the Congress-DMK alliance was leading in 13 of the 30 seats. The ruling AINRC was leading in 12 seats while AIADMK was ahead in two seats.

(Agencies)

Assembly polls for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry begin

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polls

Chennai: With the Election Commission having made elaborate arrangements for free and fair voting, assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry began on Monday amid tight security.

In Tamil Nadu, 233 seats would go to polls, with voting for Aravakurichi constituency having been deferred.

Kerala would see polling for its 140 seats assembly. In Puducherry, 30 seats would go for polls.

The polling started at 7 a.m. and would end at 6 p.m.

All non-sensitive booths would have a policeman each for providing security and central paramilitary force personnel would give security cover for the sensitive and hypersensitive booths.

Meanwhile, the election authorities are bracing for the possibility of unusual rains today.

An unseasonal low pressure area has formed over the South West Bay of Bengal and adjoining Srilanka, that is set to bring heavy to rather very heavy rainfall from today for two days in many places in the state, especially in southern and coastal districts, as predicted by the Meteorological Department in Chennai.

The Election Commission has made additional efforts in the polling booths to provide cover for the voters to come and exercise their franchise without getting drenched in the possible rain.

In another development, the AIADMK and the DMK had, through email, responded to the show-cause notices issued by the Election Commission about the violation of its guidelines on promises of freebies as made in the manifestos of the two parties.

The notices were issued seeking clarification on the ways and means of fulfilling the promises of the huge dole outs by the two parties.

The Income Tax officials had asked the authorities in Tirupur to move the three trucks carrying Rs. 570 crore to the chest of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Coimbatore for issuing search warrant under the IT Act for further probe.

The sleuths of the tax body along with the team of officials delegated by the Election Commission are probing the transfer of the huge sum from Coimbatore.

The bank claimed that it was a normal transfer of cash, though the investigators say original documents to substantiate the transfer were lacking. The three trucks were detained by the Election Commission flying squad near Tirupur.

The Election Commission introduced many innovative measures during this election in Tamil Nadu, including getting booth slips through the helpline number 1950 in electronic mode, knowing the queue status before polling booths through smart phone apps and getting navigation help through Google maps to locate the booths by the voters by feeding their election identity card number in the apps.

For the first time in the electoral history of India, more than 1.64 crore voters made a pledge on last Tuesday that they would not accept or give money for voting, as money power in election is a big menace in the region.

Thousands of youth volunteers at grass-root levels are also being pressed into service to help the election authorities to ensure ethical voting and to remind people to come out and exercise their franchise today.

The Kerala Government has made elaborate arrangements for smooth and peaceful conduct of polls.

In all, 2.56 crore electors including 1.33 crore females are expected to cast votes.

A total of 1, 203 candidates including 109 females are in the fray. There are 21,646 polling booths across the state.

Special arrangements have been made for sensitive and vulnerable polling stations, especially in Kannur district.

Over 9 lakh voters will exercise their franchise in Puducherry today. Voting will take place in 930 polling stations spread over four regions of the Union Territory.

5,382 officials are deputed for polling duties. Over 6,000 police personnel including the central para military forces will provide security for assembly polls.

Meanwhile, the Election Department introduced a mobile application which would give all information regarding today’s poll to voters. The app would provide details of EPIC Cards, polling booth location, constituency-wise voters list and even the number of voters in queue at any polling station at a given time.

The Commission has identified 148 polling stations and deployed micro observers and Central forces for additional security.

(ANI)

DMK, Congress join hands for Tamil Nadu assembly polls

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Congress-DMK

Chennai: Congress and DMK today entered into an alliance to face the coming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, joining hands after three years.

Senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad met DMK president M Karunanidhi at his residence and announced the tie-up with the regional party which he described as “the most dependable partner”.

Azad told reporters after meeting the DMK patriarch here that issues such as seat sharing and being part of the DMK led government were not a priority now and that the main goal was to ensure that DMK comes to power.

He said that the election would be fought under the DMK leadership and put on Karunanidhi’s party the responsibility of roping in more constituents into this alliance, including DMDK.

As to what had changed between 2016 and 2013 when DMK snapped ties accusing the Congress of betraying Sri Lankan Tamils, Azad said that there were “compulsions and pressures” in politics and that the two parties had won elections together in the past also.

The DMK-Congress split had also come against the backdrop of the arrests of former Union Minister A Raja and Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, a Rajya Sabha MP, in the alleged spectrum allocation scam.

Congress had contested the last Lok Sabha elections on its own and had drawn a blank. It had contested the last Assembly elections along with DMK but secured just five seats. Assembly strength in the state is 234.

Congress is out of power in the key southern state for nearly five decades and has generally been aligning with either of the Dravidian party- DMK or AIADMK. It has contested alone too but without much success.

(PTI)

TN floods: CM seeks Rs 25,912 crore for restoration work

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chennai-floods

Chennai: With the unprecedented deluge leaving a trail of destruction and devastation in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today sought Central assistance of Rs 25,912 crore towards restoration, saying it was ‘difficult’ for state Government to meet the costs, especially after suffering ‘huge loss’ of Central tax devolution.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said her government was committed to rebuilding infrastructure and reducing the distress caused to people due to floods by providing ‘gratuitous relief’ for affected families.

“These costs are very large and it is very difficult for the Government of Tamil Nadu to meet the cost, particularly after the huge loss of Central tax devolution and transfers suffered by the state consequent on the 14th Finance Commission’s recommendations,” she said.

The CM recalled that her government had earlier submitted a memorandum totalling the losses suffered at Rs 8,481 crore in November, following which a Central team had also visited Tamil Nadu to make on-spot assessment.

However, the “fourth and most severe spell” of rainfall was received after the team’s visit, she said,referring to the heavy downpour on December 1,which resulted in severe flooding of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts even as Cuddalore had also been affected.

“We have now prepared the supplementary memorandum which reflects damages caused during the fourth spell of rainfall and the consequent floods in the first week of December 2015.

Tamil Nadu immediately needs an additional sum of Rs 17,431.51 crore for temporary and permanent restoration,” she said.

With the government now preparing a supplementary memorandum the state will need a total sum of Rs 25,912.45 crore, including the earlier Rs 8,481 crore, for relief and restoration efforts, she told Modi.

“I request you to kindly instruct the Ministry of Home Affairs and the other concerned Ministries to expeditiously consider our two memoranda for assistance on account of flood damages and devastation and release the necessary funds at the earliest to meet the state government’s requirement of Rs 25,912.45 crore,” she urged Modi.

Referring to her plea for an immediate release of Rs 2,000 crore made with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Sunday “to sustain the vigour of restoration operations”, she urged the Prime Minister to instruct the Finance Ministry to expedite its release.

(Agencies)

Siddaramaiah announces Rs. 5-crore aid to flood-hit Tamil Nadu

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siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday announced Rs.5 crore for relief and rescue operations in flood-hit Chennai.

“As a humanitarian gesture, we are also rushing relief materials to Chennai for the people affected by flood waters,” an official told sources after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in New Delhi the Rs.5-crore aid to Tamil Nadu.

With air, rail and road connectivity to Chennai disrupted, flights, trains and bus services from Bengaluru were cancelled for the next two days.

Though Chennai is about 350 km away to the southeast of Bengaluru, there is heavy movement of people and goods between the two state capitals, with a dozen flights and trains and about 100 buses operating daily.

As the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal continued to batter Chennai, dark clouds and chilly winds gripped Bengaluru since Monday, with forecast of rains and thundershowers this week.

In a related development, prayers and rituals were performed in temples in the city to appease rain gods for sparing Chennai from further rains, as thousands of people, especially the Tamil-speaking community, with relatives reside in both cities.

(Agencies)

Rains, floods kill 269 in Tamil Nadu, 54 in Andhra

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tn-floods

New Delhi: The heaviest rains in Tamil Nadu in over a century and floods have claimed 269 lives, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, describing the situation as “alarming”.

 

The minister also told the Lok Sabha that 54 people had been killed in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and two in Puducherry.

“There are no two opinions that the situation in Tamil Nadu is alarming. It is not an exaggeration to say that Chennai has turned into an island,” Singh said.

Singh said all highways leading to Chennai were closed for the past two days.

Chennai, he said, had received torrential rains, and the meteorological department has predicted more rains in the next two-three days.

Singh said 30 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and seven columns of the army were engaged in relief and rescue work. The navy had also deployed boats and divers.

He said the central government would provide all necessary assistance sought by the Tamil Nadu government.

Singh said the Tamil Nadu government had demanded Rs.8,480.93 crore for flood destruction and Rs.940 crore had been released as immediate relief.

(Agencies)

Heavy rain disrupts normal life again in Tamil Nadu & Puducherry

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Heavy rain Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Heavy rainfall inundated parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, and Puducherry on Tuesday, severely affecting daily life. The weather office also forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall for Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and neighbouring Puducherry on Wednesday, reported PTI.

A holiday has been declared on Tuesday for educational institutions in these districts as well as in Puducherry. In Chennai, the rain resulted in water-logging in several areas, while flight operations were also hit due to the inclement weather conditions.

Chennai Collector E Sundaravalli said there was a possibility of increasing discharge of excess water from Chembarambakkam lake, a key reservoir which provides drinking water to the city, into Adyar river. With the discharge likely to go up, the collector asked residents living along the banks of Adyar river to move to safer areas.

(Agencies)

Centre sanctions Rs.939 crore for Tamil Nadu

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Tamil Nadu rain

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government on Monday sanctioned immediate release of Rs.939 crore to Tamil Nadu as flood relief assistance.

Modi took the decision to help Tamil Nadu “assist it in dealing with the situation arising from the floods”, an official statement here said.

The sanction followed a request from the Tamil Nadu government.

A central government team is also being deputed to Tamil Nadu to assess the destruction caused by the torrential rains and floods. Further action will be taken after the team submits its report.

(Agencies)

Muslim students forced to drink ‘Nilavembu’ during Ramadan in Trichy school

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Nilavembu

Chennai: A communal tension prevailed at Holy Redeemer Higher Secondary School in Trichy in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday after the teachers forced the Muslim students observing the Ramadan fast to drink nilavembu extract.

Nilavembu extract is provided to school children in Trichy as it will improve their immunity and protect them from diseases like dengue. It is an initiative of the Trichy City Corporation.

On Tuesday the management and teachers of Holy Redeemer reportedly asked the Muslim students to break their fast and consume Nilavembu in the school. When the Muslim students refused to drink, the teachers allegedly warned them and forced to drink the extract.

Following the incident, around 100 Muslim families assembled on the school campus and raised slogans at the management. The school is situated on the premises of a church and run by a Christian organization.

Soon some members of the Christian community reached the spot and shouted slogans against Muslims. As tension prevailed, police personnel were deployed in the area.

The issue was solved at a peace meeting attended by deputy commissioner of police Saroj Kumar Thakur, district Jamaat Organisation secretary Mohammed Sharif and school correspondent Fr Amalraj S, among others.

“We have given them assurance that the extract would not be administered to Muslim children during the fast period,” Fr Amalraj said.

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