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NATIONAL DAILY VOL. XXXII NO. 326

FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R

H CHENNAI H MONDAY 3.11.2014 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS TUESDAY 4.11.2014 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H Regd. No., TN/CC(S) Dn. / 223 / 12-14, RNI No: 33810 / 82

New beginning D

isgruntled senior Congress leader and former Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan today announced that he is floating a new party after he chose to quit the Congress. A large number of Vasan loyalists from across Tamilnadu descended on Chennai to participate in a meeting, which was convened to announce this decision. All the roads leading to the meeting venue were dotted with festoons, placards and banners, hailing Vasan to herald a new beginning and lead them for the future. He said the name of the party and its flag would be announced at a mega rally planned in Tiruchi soon. In New Delhi, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today invited main parties -- BJP, Congress and AAP -- for talks, kick-starting fresh efforts to install an elected government and will take a final decision soon to end the eight-month- long political uncertainty in Delhi. Sources in the LG’s office said a ‘final decision’ on the political situation is likely to be taken at the earliest based on views of the three political parties. Jung first invited BJP for talks on whether it is interested in taking a shot at the power, being the single largest party in the Assembly. The Mudgal Committee filed its final report in probe against N Srinivasan and others in IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal in Supreme Court. The Supreme Court to take cognisance of the report on 10 November.

VASAN FLOATS NEW PARTY q Aims to bring back Kamaraj rule q Name, flag to be revealed in Tiruchi soon

NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Formally announcing his parting of ways from the Congress, former Union Minister and its senior leader G K Vasan today declared that he and his followers were floating a new party. He will, however, unveil the new party’s name and flag at a public meeting to be held in Trichy in a few days. Speaking to reporters at a crowded press conference after a two-hourmeeting his supporters at the New Woodlands Hotel here, he said the new party would functon with the aim of ‘Valamana Thamizhagam, Valimaiyana Bharatham’ (Wealthy Tamilnadu, Strong India), a slogan introduced by his father G K Moopanar while floating Tamil Maanila Congress when he broke away from the Congress in 1996. ‘The new party will function with the blessings of late leaders Kamaraj and Moopanar and will strive to bring Kamaraj rule in Tamilnadu,’ he said. Stating that the party would fulfil the wishes of people in the State, he said ‘honesty, integrity and cleanliness’ would be its core principles. ‘Interests of majority, minority, poor and downtrodden will be protected. Development of youth and women will get special focus,’ he said, adding that priority would be given to the

MAKING WAVES

Don’t be a prodigal son, says EVKS NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Minutes after former Union Minister G K Vasan formally announcing his exit from the Congress and his decision to float a new party, TNCC president E V K S Elangovan today urged him not to leave the party. Addressing mediapersons at Sathyamurthy Bhavan, Elangovan, said, ‘as the State Congress president, I request Vasan not to leave the party. Don’t become a prodigal son. Come back to Congress. You have not announced the name of your party so still there is time. Please come back to Congress.’ Elangovan also appealed to Vasan saying Congress was heartbroken. ‘We still wish Vasan is with us. We request him not to launch a new party. We are a big family. Its not correct that Vasan has left us at this time of crisis. We want you to be in Congress. We are upset. All of us here want you to come back.’ Senior leaders K V Thangkabalu, S Thirunavukkarasar and others were present with Elangovan.

Former Union Minister G K Vasan addressing supporters announcing his decision to form a new party. Photo: K VIJAY ANAND

G K Vasan standing on a car and waving hands at his supporters in Chennai today. Photo: M SRINIVASAN issues faced by Tamilnadu. ‘This is a beginning of the path of victory,’ according to Vasan, who said though the policy of his and Congress are the same, the way to achieve it would be different. There is an expectation among the people of Tamilnadu for a change in politics. We will be that change, Vasan said. The former Shipping Minister said many senior leaders were supporting him. He however did not mention

History repeats itself after 18 years NT Bureau Chenani, Nov 3: Former Union Minister G K Vasan was expected to revive his father’s party, the Tamil Maanila Congress, but but sources say that the new party will mostly probably have a different name. Tamil Maanila Congress was formed in 1996 by in G K Moopanar, protesting against the AICC’s then decision to align with the AIADMK during the polls. One of Moopanar’s biggest supporters then was former Union Finance P Chidambaram, who had left the Congress to join Moopanar’s Tamil Maanila Congress Much has changed since 1996, Chidambaram and Moopanar had a fallout in 2001 and Chidambaram went ahead to form Congress Jananayaka Peravai. In 2002, TMC lead by Moopanar’s son G K Vasan merged with the Congress, Chidambaram and his party followed suit in 2004. They may have gone back to the parent party, but Vasan and Chidambaram have always been wary of each other. Congress in Tamilnadu has always been divided into camps, the prominent ones being the Chidambaram and Vasan camp. Vasan’s move to form a new party will come as a severe blow to the already shattered Congress in the State. Though he was the Union Shipping Minister during the UPA II regime, Vasan’s influence had been waning, his relation with Rahul Gandhi had reportedly turned sour over the past few months. The Congress State unit and the AICC had actively marginalised the Vasan camp, the last stroke was perhaps the decision to remove Kamraj and Moopanar’s pictures from party membership cards. Vasan loyalist B S Gnanadesikan’s resignation as the TNCC President was a clear enough indication that Vasan had perhaps made up his mind to revive his father’s party.

their names, stating that it was not his style of politics. Extending wishes once again to EVKS Elangovan for getting appointed as Tamilnadu Congress Committee president, Vasan said many in that party requested him to stay in Congress. ‘My thanks to them,’ he said. Vasan stated, ‘We want to be an alternative in Tamilnadu politics. We will fulfil the vision of Kamaraj and we want to lead the State.’ Vasan, who merged the TMC with the Congress after the demise of his father, noted that he was in the Congress for 14

years. ‘Though the party ignored interests of its workers and people in Tamilnadu for a long time, I did not want to create any convenience to the leadership’, he said, adding that his represetations to the high command in various issues affecting the State were not taken into notice. The consultation meeting and press conference from Vasan came two days after he met the media in the city and said he would announce his future course of action today (3 November).

MLAs, senior leaders back Vasan Sitting MLAs Pattukottai Rengarajan and Killiyur John Jacob, senior leades B S Gnanadesikan, Peter Alphonse, Charubala Thondaiman, Muktha Srinivasan, Covai Thangam, Dr ESS Raman, Rani Venkatesan, Yuvaraja and others were present at the supporters meeting of Vasan. As many as 28 district presidents in Tamlnadu are said to be with Vasan.

Shower show resumes after a lull q Trough of low pressure likely to bring more rain to city, State NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: After a lull of a few days, the rain show has resumed in Chennai and heavy downpour overnight in various parts of the city, has already had an effect. Traffic snarls were reported in some areas while trees were uprooted in a few places. The city has been experiencing rainfall ranging from moderate to heavy for the past two days and a trough of low pressure over South Bay is the reason for the rain in many parts of the State. However, the trough is not likely to concentrate into a depression, said a Met Department official here. The weather forecast for the city is that the sky will remain cloudy and a few spells of thundershowers, heavy at times, were in store. The maximum and minimum temperature would be around 30 and 25 degree Celsius respectively. In Chennai, places like Vepery, Egmore, Moolakadai, Kolathur, Mylapore and Guindy received heavy showers. Madurai and Srivilliputhur recorded the highest with 13 cm each followed by Sivakasi which received around 11 cm rain. The showers on Sunday evening saw some areas go under a sheet of water, causing numerous vehicles to break down and blocking traffic on many streets. Many people reportedly fell off their bikes when their vehicles sank into potholes hidden by the stagnant water. Though the Met office didn’t issue severe weather warnings, it said the trough is capable of bringing showers and gusty winds for the next few days. Fishermen were advised to keep off the sea for today as strong winds from northeasterly direction were blowing along the coasts of Tamilnadu at a speed of 45-55 kmph’. ‘The condition of Arcot Road, the arterial link from Kodambakkam and Vada-

FREE FLOWING

Heavy downpour left a stretch at Arcot Road in Vadapalani water-logged. Photo: KV palani to Porur has been bad and at many places the top layer has been worn off due to water stagnation. Pedestrians were put to risk as electricity cables lay hidden beneath sheets of water in Saligramam and may other areas’, said Mohan, a resident of Alapakkam. While rains battered several stretches, the poorly-maintained stormwater drains aggravated the woes of residents in many areas.’ Many areas in T Nagar face the problem of drainage clogging and water logging. Though the Corporation authorities are trying to rectify it, the main reason is that there are no proper outlets along the roadsides to let out the rainwater, said Valli, a resident of T Nagar.

IPL scandal: Mudgal panel submits final report q Next hearing in Supreme Court on 10 Nov q All eyes will be on BCCI AGM New Delhi, Nov 3: The Supreme Court-appointed probe commission headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal submitted its final report to the apex court on the allegations of spotfixing in the Indian Premier League’s season 6 betting and spot-fixing scandal today. The Supreme Court will take cognizance of the Mudgal committee report that was submitted in a sealed envelope on IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal on 10 November. Cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were three prominent IPL cricketers arrested on allegations of spot-fixing while former CSK ‘Team Principal’ Gurunath Meiyappan and Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh were behind the bars on allegations of betting during the sixth edition of the cash-rich league. They are all

out on bail. N Srinivasan had to step down as the BCCI president due to his involvement with CSK, one of the franchises under the radar, though he was nominated as the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman. The committee, comprising justice Mudgal, additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao, advocate Nilay Dutta, deputy director general of police (Narcotics Control Bureau) BB Mishra and former India captain Sourav Ganguly, got together in the capital as the final draft of the report was being prepared. The report was be submitted almost six months after the apex court had asked Indian Police Service officer BB Mishra and the police departments in Delhi, Mumbai

and Chennai to assist the investigation. The Supreme Court had then felt the need to dig deeper for information on the scam after the Mudgal panel’s preliminary report had mentioned the names of 13 important cricket officials and players in a sealed envelope, against whom allegations ranging from corruption to conflict of interest had been made. Mishra, assisted by a team of police investigators in the last few months, has had extensive interactions with top players, including Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, agents of cricketers and Board of Control of Cricket in India functionaries. They were questioned about IPL Season Six, their corporate partnerships, business inter-

ests and power wielded by franchise officials. Dhoni was specifically asked about Gurunath Meiyappan’s role in the IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of ICC chairman Srinivasan, was arrested over allegations of betting on IPL games. Aided by fresh evidence, the final report is expected to confirm that Meiyappan was an important Chennai Super Kings (CSK) official and that he was involved in betting during 2013 IPL. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) annual general meeting is scheduled to be held on 20 November. The outcome of the Mudgal Committee report is expected to have an impact on the voting pattern and on Srinivasan’s future as a cricket administrator.

2 MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2014

City

Centre

Chitlapakkam to be powered-up oltage uctuation issues will be a thing of the past for residents of Chitlapakkam and nearby areas as a sub-station is set to be commissioned soon. The locality is said to get a substation with a power output of 16mA, to mitigate voltage problems that is persisting in the area. According to ofcials, the facility will be handed over to a private contractor, who will be involved in the execution. The facility, besides generating power, will receive supply from neighbouring substations located in Radha Nagar. Similarly, new sub-stations are proposed to be constructed at various localities including Madhavaram Leather Estate, Tiruvottiyur, RV Nagar, Kolathur, Korattur, Manali, McNichols Road, Vaigai Colony in Anna Nagar, Ezhil Nagar and in space allotted by multistorey apartments on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Mudichur and Tirumangalam. About the new facility, a resident of Chitlapakkam, Usha Ramakrishnan says, ‘Voltage problem in the locality was continuing even after summer season. The inadequate number of transformers and substations are the main reasons. With this new facility, power crisis will be ended.’

TWIT PICK

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

New sub-station to come in locality

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CHENNAI

Frequent voltage uctuation and power outages left residents a frustrated lot and the new facility is expected to stablise the electricity supply scenario in A sub-station is need of the hour to put an end to power crises in the neighbourhood. Chitlapakkam

All of us talk n only talk wen faced wid such crisis.. den v get busy wid r lives..v hve vry short memory n authories tke an advantage of dis

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.”

‘Fluctuation takes a toll on the night. Most of the homes now electrical appliances that are utilised pushing their nights under the ACs at homes. Especially, t h e chillness’, points Swaminthan, a adverse effect can resident of Medavakkam. be seen on Meanwhile residents M A refrigerators are worried about the BAR M A T and air improper maintenance conditioners’, of transformers in the Tambaram says Thirumalai, a resident of neighbourhood. Priyanka, a Mudichur. resident of East Tambaram says,’ ‘The available infrastructure can Sparks spewing out of transformer only cater to the 90’s population. gives a nightmare to many. They But the present situation is are poorly maintained with wild completely different. The residents bushes giving way inside these ratio has increased and also the boxes. A spark can trigger re comfort level. The appliances like accident in the locality’. — NT Bureau ACs utilises more current, which are mainly used by residents in

- Elbert Hubbard

Khushbu Sundar @khushsundar

Villivakkam station needs an upgrade

RESTRICTED ACCESS Residents seek steps to improve facilities at the railway station.

W

ith the number of people Surendiran, chairman, Welfare taking trains at Villivakkam Association Rajaji Nagar Civic to reach various places including Exnora, Villivakkam. Many residents of this locality Central (Moore Market Complex), there is a need to upgrade the work in ofces across the city and infrastructure at the station here, they prefer to take the local train to reach their destinations faster, felt passengers. Also, passengers wanted the said Shanmugam, a resident of the neighbourhood. Railways to take steps Reaching Central to tackle late running late means a of trains, delay in which has AM further K K reaching ofce, a cascading IVA VILL said Surendiran. It is effect. said that around 100 services are Construction of additional p l a t f o r m s operated between Villivakkam and for local trains a t Central each day and only about Moore Market Complex, and three platforms are available at separate lines towards Beach Moore Market Complex which Station, Central Station and remain full most of the time. Local trains are made to wait at Gummidipoondi could be the solution to reduce delays, said Basin Bridge Junction till platforms are available at MMC, said Nutan

s have ther debri ering ion and o hind , ad ro Construct e th s a part of edestrian occupied ment of p the move s. st ri and moto

Photo: K VIJAY ANAND

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Prasad, a resident of Villivakkam and a government employee. President of Rajaji Nagar Association M R Krishnan said there was another reason for late arrival at Central. He said trains are held up at Vyasarpadi station, where services from Beach Station, Central Station and Gummidipoondi converge. There aren’t enough tracks and thus EMUs have to wait. He said it would be better if the authorities take steps to lay dedicated lines for the local trains so that they are not delayed and passengers don’t suffer. Moreover, some passengers felt that the platforms at Villivakkam could be extended and better facilities be provided for them. — NT Bureau

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MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2014

Region

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3

Spiritual programme NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: International Society for Krishna Consciouness (ISKCON), Chennai Chapter is conducting free spiritual programme for women at Anna Nagar on Saturdays. The programme deals with bhajans, kirtans, recital of Bhagavad Gita slokas, aarati and distribution of prasadam. The programme which commences today, will be held at No 122/6, AL Block, Third Street, 12th Main Road, Anna Nagar West. For details, call 9790797967.

Competitions for children NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Asana Andiappan Cultural Academy is conducting competitions like fancy dress, drawing, colouring, singing, speech for children. Competitions will be held on 9 November for senior and super senior category. For details, call 8754269423.

Spoken English course NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Dr H K LakshmanRao, retired professor in management will conduct free crash programmes on spoken English, Tamil and Kannada from today. For further details contact 9381036989 or email [email protected].

HAPPY TO HELP

q Rescuing mishap victims: Recent SC order, a boost for ‘good Samaritans’ NAOMI NICHOLAS Chennai, Nov 3: On 29 October, the Supreme Court passed an order, which would protect good Samaritans — those helping road accident victims — from undergoing cumbersome legal procedures. Further, the apex court directed the Central government to pass it within three months. The SC bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and RF Nariman passed the watershed order after a petition filed by an NGO, saveLife Foundation in 2012. This has garnered mixed reaction from the public. It is claimed that a good number of victims, irrespective of major or minor mishaps, are left without help at the spot, in the fear of legal procedures. Talking to News Today about the SC order, Sijo Joseph, who is working with International Justice

What SC said? In the ruling, the Apex Court said: ‘We direct the Ministry (Road Transport and Highways) in consultation with Law Ministry to issue necessary directions with regard to the protection of Good Samaritans until appropriate legislation is made by the Legislature.’ Mission (IJM), welcomes the same. He noted that earlier an individual’s willingness to help was regulated through such legal procedures in the past. ‘Hereafter, the public will not be hesitant to help accident victims. This move will also change the outlook of private hospitals and police towards accident cases’, he adds. A police official said that the city has

witnessed a plenty of deaths because victim(s) were taken to hospital late. ‘Onlookers capture video(s) of the accident scene on their phone and there are instances where victims are robbed, especially in remote areas or on the highways. However, the city has an efficient ‘108’ and help arrives within minutes’, he said.

Elaborating on the apex court order, an advocate, E Murugesan, said, ‘The ‘good Samaritan’ is often called for court proceedings as an ‘eyewitness’. Two cases will be filed in court, one for negligence and action case to bring offenders to books or a policy claiming case. Either of which the eyewitness are required for a tes-

Award for RKM school teacher Villivakkam MLA J C D Prabhakar at a grievance meeting recently.

New post office, sub-station in Villivakkam soon NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: In an effort to redress the grievances of people, Villivakkam MLA J C D Prabhakar organised a meeting with officials of various departments at SIDCO Nagar, during which residents aired their woes. Central Chennai MP S R Vijayakumar, Ward Councillor Vasantha, officials from Metrowater, Electricity Board, Corporation, officebearers of welfare associations, civic Exnora and large number of public attended the public in the presence of Prabhakar. Speaking at the meet, Prabhakar said such meetings would usher in transparency and also strengthen people’s faith in the govaernment, he said. The Central Chennai assured the residents a post office would be established from his MP local area development fund soon in the locality soon. People complained frequent power fluctuation and failure and said that during the rainy season, cables snapped often and the problems were attended to immediately due stagnation of rain water on the road. To this, Prabhakar said, ‘For the first time in Tamilnadu, Electricity Board would provide aerial bunched cable (ABC) instead of four overhead wires and underground cable. This will solve the problem of overhead cables and the fault can be rectified immediately. The safe and shock proof aerial bunched ABC would be installed in Sidco Nagar soon.’ According to TNEB Divisional Engineer, ‘The new, modern aerial bunched cables would be installed at Sidco Nagar of Villivakkam constituency. The focus was more on the lack of water supply, leaking drainages and laying of new sewage lines. A group of women from the area told the MLA that they did not receive any water supply. Immediately, the query was transferred to Metrowater officials, who assured that they would look into the issue. Regarding complaint on street light problem a Corportion official said ‘The problem will be addressed in seven days,’ the MLA told the women and added that they could approach him again if it was delayed further. Prabhakar assured them early solution for issues like lack of blue metal roads or parks besides issues like water and sanitation. The MLA said that a new sub-station is being constructed Ayanavaram and power fluctuations in the area will be resolved with the installation of transformers in 52 places. With regard to complaints from people in Villivakkam that they had to travel two to three km to pay EB bills, Prabhakar said he had taken an initiative to open a payment office in Sidco Nagar.

NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Lions Club of Central Madras and Exnora Greater Chennai presented the ‘Spirit of Service’ Award to G Vasundara, a Telugu teacher of Sri RKM Sarada Vidyalaya Girls Higher Secondary School for for her excellent service to Society A press note said the award was presented to Vasundara for her dedicated, innovative, totally involved, service for the cause of education and also for creating awareness on clean and green environment, general knowledge on functioning of various government institutions, lifestyle of physically challenged/ visually impaired persons through many NSS camps for over two decades and thereby paving the way for creating responsible young citizens. President of Lions Club of Central Madras G N Venkat Rajaram presented the award to Vasundara in the presence of K Meena, headmistress, Sri RKM Sarada Vidyalaya and Lions Club

RKM School teacher G Vasundara receiving the award from president of Lions Club of Central Madras G N Venkat Rajaram at a function held recently. members including Andal Rajaram, S N Hari Narayanan, Exnora Greater Chennai president R Govindaraj and secretary Anand Laxman. Vasundara is a PG teacher (Telugu) at RKM Sarada Vidyalaya Girls Higher Secondary School and resident of Trustpuram.

She has been instrumental in conducting several social projects for the benefit of a large number of underprivileged and downtrodden people and various environmental related projects like tree planting activities and create awareness.

Healthcare programme NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Vijayganga Speciality Care is conducting a series of health educational programmes, titled ‘Doctor Public Society’. The first programme on the topic - ‘Beauty of human creation’ will be conducted on 8 November from 4 to 5 pm by G S Kailash at Vijayganga Speciality Care, 16/32, Bhimasena Gardens, Mylapore. Registration is free. For details contact 044-24996685, 7299078999.

Free music classes NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Radha Krishnamurthy of Sangita Alayam School, Anna Nagar will conduct free classes for women on devotional music from Mukundamala Stothram by Kulasekara Alwar. The classes which commence on 6 November will be held at plot no. 2657, Y- Block, Ninth Street, 12th Main Road, Anna Nagar. For information, call 26282708.

RISKY RIDE

The award winners at TiECON 2014 including R Dinesh of TVS Logistics and G Rajendran of GRT group.

A tribute to entrepreneurs NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: A slew of entrepreneurs were honoured at TiECON Chennai 2014 held here recently, Also, TiE Chennai announced the winners for different categories which included Lifetime Achievement Award for G Rajendran of GRT group and ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ to Uvaraj and Kanni Uvaraj of Poorvika; Next Generation Entrepreneur of the Year to R Dinesh of TVS Logistics and Extraordinary Entrepreneur of the Year to Vellayan Subbiah (Cholamandalam Finance). The other awardees: Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year: Radha Daga (Triguni Foods); Social Entrepreneur of the Year: Dr Jayashree Vencatesan (CareEarth Trust); Sailakshmi (Ekam Foundation); Best TiE Associate Member Entrepreneur of the Year: Raja Varatharaju (Syona Cosmetics). The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented by C V Sankar, who is Industries Secretary and chairman of TiECON Awards Jury. Lakshmi Narayanan, president, TiE Chennai said, ‘TiE Chennai will continue to be a significant platform for young entrepreneurs to build their careers.’ Speaking on the occasion, Sankar said, ‘Young minds always make a remarkable difference in any society. Tamilnadu stands second in the country in terms of the Gross State Domestic Product. With a huge manufacturing and services sector, the government’s ‘Vision 2023’ Document provides a doable road map for boosting the State’s economy.

Madhubani painting workshop for kids

The damaged road at Rangarajapuram flyover, West Mambalam, puts safety of motorists at stake.

NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Sundaram Finance organised a twohour ‘Madhubani’ painting workshop as part of the ‘Weekend at the Park’ series at Nageswara Rao Park in Mylapore recently. According to a press release, 25 children took part in the workshop, intended at discovering young artistes. ‘Weekend at the Park’ is a quarterly activity organised at the park, to encourage children to come out of the confines and interact with natural environment.

Members of the public are hesitant to help accident victims due to the fear of being drawn into legal issues, but the apex court ruling will encourage (people) to try and extend assistance, say lawyers and social activists timony. The case is taken as per the recordings of the local police. Now they will have to write reports, excluding the ‘good Samaritan.’ This will not affect any legal procedure in any away. It is an encouragement to help.’

MDIS School to hold meet in city NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), Singapore’s oldest, not-for-profit professional institute for lifelong learning, will be in Chennai on 7 and 8 November, to announce admissions to its 18-month comprehensive undergraduate programme under the School of Media and Communications. A press note said the programme, offered in association with Oklahoma City University, US, on its successful completion awards students with the Bachelor of Arts (in Liberal Studies with concentration in Mass Communications). MDIS has been offering Singapore’s first American-style Liberal Arts Mass Communications programme since 1992. The release said MDIS will be travelling to Coimbatore (5 and 6 November) and Chennai to share with students and parents about the relevance of media and mass communication studies in today’s world and emerging opportunities in the industry. MDIS will be organising a workshop on ‘Media in Today’s World’ in Chennai. The workshops will be followed by a seminar on ‘The Next Wave of Mass Communications’. The seminar will have eminent guests on its panel, including Professor Karlie Harmon, Director of International Mass Communications Programmes, Oklahoma City University, Kavitha Ganesh, former Dean, School of Communication and Media Studies, MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Dr Nirmala Prasad, former principal, MOP Vaishnav College for Women and others.

NT photographer bereaved NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Thangamani, mother of News Today photographer B Anand, passed away here Sunday morning. She was 77 and is survived by son Anand and daughter B Usha. Thangamani was suffering from health Thangamani problems for the past some time and her end came at 9.15 am Sunday. She is wife of late B S Mani. The last rites were performed Sunday evening.

Blend

4 MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2014 WHAT NEWS TODAY PRINTS IS NEWS THAT COUNTS

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Cyber reality

o classified information was compromised. There was no evidence of any damage to the computer systems. Officials said that it caused ‘inconvenience’. Yet, the recent cyber attack made news, largely because where it was targeted - at the White House. Even as some security experts pointed fingers at Russian hackers, it was evident that the US Government was embarrassed, and it has reasons to be. This cyber attack is not the first audacious success of hackers, purported to be Russian. They have spied on NATO and the Ukrainian Government, and also hit a bank, compromising information linked to 83 million accounts. There is also the worry that the attack on the network of one of the most prominent institutions in the world may have been designed to test the vulnerabilities of the system, as a precursor to further such probes and possible assaults. If so, it may have triggered the opposite reaction, since it has obviously led to a further buttressing of security procedures and protocols. While the White House is a prominent target, its open networks do not enjoy the same level of security as its classified networks do. The Department of Homeland Security said separately that it would be increasing the security measures placed on several federal buildings located in Washington and in major cities in America after terrorist organisations continue to make threats and the recent terrorist attack on the Parliament of Canada. There has been an increase in the activities of hackers from Russia recently, including the massive cyberattack that JPMorgan Chase revealed targeted 76 million households. While the method of the attack and its motive remains unclear, reports reveal that intelligence officials for the United States believe that the perpetrators of the attack were from Russia. The hackers, which were able to extract names and contact details of account holders in JPMorgan, are also believed to have ‘at least loose connections’ with Russian government officials. A group of Russian hackers, dubbed the Sandworm Team, have also recently been exposed for taking advantage of the vulnerability in the Windows operating system that has allowed the team to carry out cyberespionage on both organizations and countries, including NATO, Ukraine, and other foreign governments. Elsewhere, in a cyber security report, a coalition of security companies, led by Novetta, identified a sophisticated group dubbed ‘Axiom’ that has directed cyber-espionage against companies, governments, journalists, and pro-democracy groups for the past six years. The report alleges Axiom is ‘part of the Chinese Intelligence Apparatus’ and explains that the Novetta-led coalition performed ‘the first ever-private sponsored interdiction against a sophisticated state sponsored advanced threat group.’ The report, coupled with ongoing discussion about ‘hacking back’ by victims of cyber intrusions, show the extent to which private actors are increasingly playing government-like roles in the cybersecurity arena. What happened there is also a warning to other nations, including India, which has fared poorly whenever it has been targeted through cyber attacks. Indian networks are notoriously porous, and there have been a number of significant breaches, some of which have been reported from time to time. The all-pervasiveness of the internet is now an accepted reality of our lives. It is the conduit of our most sensitive information, and for this very reason we have to ensure that we take proper steps to safeguard our interests. Hackers, whatever their origins, backers or causes, cause harm largely by exploiting human weaknesses, be it security lapses or design flaws in software. Being mindful and aware of their activities and sharing information about such attacks with other affected parties will go a long way in thwarting their designs.

Voice

Mail

Time for change Sir, There was a proposal to upgrade Tambaram Municipality a while ago, however, it failed to materialise. In the wake of rapid development, merging areas like Pallavaram, Chrompet and Tambaram into the Chennai City would bring a lot of benefits. It must be said that the municipalities which are administering the above areas are not able to meet the ever increasing needs of the people. The laying of new roads or the repairing of the existing roads are totally substandard and the supply of drinking water to the public in the above areas is bad. Earlier when the Corporation limits were extended up to Meenambakkam, many of the small towns which were run by municipalities or the panchayaths were also brought in to the corporation limits. If these areas are merged with the Corporation, they would develop faster and the needs of the public including water supply can be easily addressed by the civic body. K NARAYANAN NARAYANAN,, Chrompet Chrompet..   

Action needed Sir, Driving half the nail into a coffin and going for tea is very dangerous. So is leaving an under-construction flyover halfway. I am talking about the one in Nerkundram, off Mugappair East and on the way to Poonamallee, which is posing a grave danger to motorists, as nearly three feet of road on both the sides of pillars are broken, bumpy and uneven. The demand of the hour is either to remove the pillars and make the road even, or complete the flyover construction. K PRADEEP PRADEEP,, Mugappair Mugappair..   

Noise pollution Sir, Sri Saibaba temple on Venkatesa Agraharam Street is located in a residential locality. Of late the temple authorities are starting temple rituals as early as 5 am. The chantings of mantras are loud because of the speakers. This is affecting the studies of students and activities of residents and senior citizens residing around. We have requested them to reduce the volume of the speakers but they have not responded favourably. RAMAN,, Mylapore RAMAN

ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO : The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032. or e-mail to : [email protected] / [email protected]

CHENNAI

When kiss ended in chaos Kerala campaign fizzles out as cops swing into action

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he muchhyped ‘kiss of love’ campaign to protest against growing moral policing has fizzled out after the police rounded up 50-odd activists who were planning to march towards Marine Drive, the venue of the event. The police detained the organisers and sympathisers, including women, even before they could reach the venue of the symbolic protest against moral policing. Just as the march began at around 4pm, the police team led by DCP (Law and Order), R Nishantini, took the organisers and sympathisers into custody and bundled them into a police van as they raised slogans against moral policing. Though the organisers had claimed that 5,000 activists would take part in the event many prokiss activists backed out at the eleventh hour fearing violence. Since morning many anti-kiss drive activists had swarmed Marine Drive and assembled at vantage points insisting that they won’t allow the event come what may. The police resorted to a mild lathi-charge to

disperse the crowd that attacked two motor-cyle borne pro-kiss activists. At least eight protesters and media personnel were injured in the ensuing scuffle. Traffic was disrupted for more than two hours. Despite the police arresting them minutes before their march to the venue, pro-kiss activists

claimed that their campaign was a run-away hit. ‘We succeeded in sending a strong message throughout the country that moral policing is worse than voyeurism. We got unprecedented support from many quarters. It is a strong warning to moral police,’ said N Nandini, one of the activists. Earlier, protesters on Sunday blocked roads leading to Kochi’s Marine Drive, the venue for ‘Kiss of Love’ - a mass-kissing campaign against alleged moral policing by right-wing groups.

Hundreds of Indians in the Kerala found an unusual way to protest against what they believe is moral policing by right wing conservative groups in the state The port city remained tense with suspected members of the Shiv Sena, Samastha Sunni Students Federation and other activist groups saying they would not let the event take place. Around 1,000 policemen were deployed to prevent any untoward incident as those supporting the drive planned to march to the venue by 5:00pm.

50 taken into preventive custody At least 50 protesters were taken into preventive custody on Sunday as they tried to march to the Marine Drive grounds in Kochi, venue of the symbolic ‘Kiss of Love’ protest against moral policing. Organisers and sympathisers tried to take out a march from Ernakulam Law College to the venue, but were prevented from doing so. About 50 people were taken into custody. Holding placards and raising slogans against moral policing, the protestors were bundled into a police van. A strong police contingent was posted at the Marine Drive Grounds to keep a lookout for potential trouble makers. The organisers had expected nearly 1,000 people to turn up for the event, but the media hype generated saw the area overflowing with

people, curious to see the unique protest and those against the event. In a last minute change, the organisers tried to take out a march from the Ernakulam Law College at around 4.30 pm to reach the Marine Drive grounds, when they were stopped by police and taken into custody. The programme scheduled earlier was that the event would be held at the grounds at 5 pm. Those against the ‘Kiss Fest’, including Shiv Sena, district unit of Kerala Students Union and a Muslim outfit took out marches against the event, organised by ‘Free Thinkers’, a group of Facebook users against a moral policing incident at Kozhikode.

Smooching scandals in politics Politicians have also been embroiled in such scandals. In 2006, during her first term as Rajasthan’s chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, eschewed the Indian politician’s greeting of choice - the namaste gesture that involves a gentle bow while pressing the hands together close to the chest -and instead air-kissed Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Biocon’s billionaire founder, at a World Economic Forum event in Delhi. In all likelihood, it would have passed off as an uneventful moment had the Indian media not run a picture shot at an angle that made it appear as if the two had locked lips, with Raje’s political opponents using it as an opportunity to call for her resignation.

The cinema connect What’s in a kiss? The campaign Kiss of Love went viral on social media in India with more than 7,000 people registering for its Facebook event which was held at Marine Grounds in Kochi on Sunday. The idea was simple - kiss to express the freedom to love. The campaign, mostly lead and organised by young people over social media, received support of several student groups across the country including IIT-Bombay as well as activists. Many people posted their pictures on Facebook with the symbolic act of kissing their loved ones. Two petitions were filed in the Kerala High Court but the court did not interfere after the state government assured that action would be taken against any illegal activities. Counter demonstrations were also held in the city.

Over the past century, cinema has played a key role in breaking down barriers in terms of sexual expression in India. The 1929 silent film A Throw of Dice contained Indian cinema’s first on-screen kiss and four years later in Karma Karma,, actress Devika Rani locked lips with actor Himanshu Rai, who was her husband in real life, in an encounter that lasts for four minutes. By the 1950s, however, kissing scenes dried up after they were discouraged by Indian film censors. This led moviemakers to cut to scenes of snowy mountain peaks or colourful meadows seconds before the lips of on-screen lovers met. Things began to loosen up again in the 1990s and today, lip-locking has returned to Bollywood where it is commonplace, as India continues to experience huge social change as the tide of globalisation and urbanization rises. But in the real world, film stars continue to be criticized if they don’t abide by India’s unwritten rules against open intimacy. There was uproar when in 2007, Hollywood actor Richard Gere took actress Shilpa Shetty in his arms and planted several kisses on her cheek at an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi. The incident resulted in countrywide protests in which demonstrators burnt effigies of the stars and shouted slogans calling for the death of Shetty. In 1980, tempers flared when then aspiring Bollywood actress Padmini Kolhapure gave Prince Charles a peck on the cheek, and again in 1993, when a kiss was exchanged between Nelson Mandela and actress Shabana Azmi.

History of kiss in India Many in the country, including India’s so-called moral police often men from ultra-conservative religious groups seeking to enforce their traditions sometimes through violence and intimidation - assert that kissing in public is a Western import. Although no one can say for certain where kissing comes from, some researchers who have looked at its origin and spread, trace it back to India.  The earliest reference to kissing-like behavior comes from the Vedas, Sanskrit scriptures that informed Hinduism, Buddhism and the Jain religion, around 3,500 years ago, according to Vaughn Bryant, an anthropologist at Texas A&M University who specializes in the history of the kiss.  Around half a century later, affectionate mouth-to-mouth kissing was first described in the Hindu epic, the ‘Mahabharata’.  From India, academics who have studied it say, kissing spread slowly to other parts of the world after Alexander the Great and his army conquered parts of Punjab in northern India in 326 BC.

Why then is India, which also gave the world the Kama Sutra, the ancient sex guide which details various types of kisses, so averse to public displays of affection today? Even handholding between men and women in public is rare

Trigger for a bigger revolution? On one side are youth fighting for a society free of ugly suspicions. And on the other a conservative society that brands any public display of affection as improper, even uncouth. After the ‘liberation movement’ in Marine Drive the positions seem to have hardened. In that sense, the battle has only begun. The protest, which has been dubbed ‘Kiss of Love’, should in fact be seen as the launchpad of a larger cultural movement to shake the society of its misplaced puritanism. It is up to the youth to take the revolution forward. Social media could be their most potent weapon.

Kochi protest against the kiss of love. I had earlier called this protest Kerala’s pink chaddi moment. Remember how the social media campaign against Mangalore pub attacks

resulted in moral police chief Pramod Muthalick of Sri Ram Sena getting drowned under a sea of pink underwear. The Kozhikode incident was worse. A private channel was a co-conspirator. So when the regular media is a perpetrator, where can the answer come except from social media. Even the ‘Kiss of Love’ protest is beside the point. The larger issue that needs to be addressed is what is now commonly known as moral policing, the tendency to take law into one’s hands, to unabashedly interfere in the life of others.

Enterprise

CHENNAI

AUTO METER Yamaha domestic sales rise 5% New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI): Yamaha Motor India on Sunday reported five per cent increase in domestic two-wheeler sales at 54,362 units in October. It had sold 51,808 units in the same month last year. Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt Ltd vice president (sales & marketing) Roy Kurian said, ‘The incessant growth reinforces our belief in our business and strategic outlook. The recent launches and innovative customer-connect programmes helped garner major sales for us and we certainly hope this sales trend will continue in the coming months as well’.



Hero sales decline 8.05% New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI): Hero MotoCorp on Sunday reported 8.05 per cent decline in its sales in October to 5,75,056 units. The company had sold 6,25,420 units of two-wheelers in October 2013. The company said it clocked sales of over 10 lakh two-wheelers during the 37-day festive period, which started on 25 September and lasted until 31 October 2014. Hero MotoCorp said it has lined a total investment of over Rs 5,000 crore across the globe, including manufacturing plants in Colombia and Bangladesh, and the new plants coming up at Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh and the Hero Global Centre for Research & Design at Kukas in Rajasthan.



 PM to review schemes of Electronics & IT dept New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will to review progress of various schemes run by the Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) on 5 November. The Prime Minister will review the progress of schemes such as software technology parks, expansion of the BPO sector to Tier-II and -III cities being implemented under DeitY, and tax issues faced by the IT-ITeS sector especially the small and medium enterprises, an official source said. Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad met senior officials last week to review the status of various schemes as well as chalk out a future road map, the source added. The minister also asked officials to come back with plans on a revenue viability model and expansion of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme in Eastern India.

 Country third among BRICS nations while that of South Africa touched $1.06 trillion. In the case of India, the total value of assets held by financial institutions in 2013 was the lowest as compared to the preceding two years. In 2012, the same stood at $2.90 trillion which was higher than $2.83 trillion recorded in 2011. According to the FSB, the figures may differ from similar statistics published by national/regional authorities due to differences in definitions. These statistics are part of its recently released Global Shadow Banking Monitoring Report 2014. In the report that covers many countries, financial institutions have been classified into as many as seven categories. With regard to India, the maximum amount of assets to the tune of $1.68 trillion were held by

Mauritius assured on bilateral tax treaty Port Louis, Nov 3 (PTI): India on Sunday told Mauritius that it will not take any decisions that will ‘adversely impact’ bilateral relations while reassuring the country that amendments to the bilateral tax treaty would be made only after considering the legitimate interests of both sides. This was conveyed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her meetings with top leadership of Mauritius including President Rajkeswur Purryag and Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam. She assured them that ‘India was in the process of reviewing the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and will not do anything to that will adversely impact the island nation’s ties with India’, official sources said. Swaraj, who is here on a three-day visit, also said that enhanced bilateral relations between the two countries will benefit people-to-people contacts. She recalled that the first batch of Indians had arrived in Mauritius on 2 November, 1834. Earlier, terming the India-Mauritius double taxation avoidance convention an important agreement between the two countries, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said both countries would ensure that their ‘legitimate interests’ would be secured in any new agreement. ‘Discussions on this are an ongoing issue and once these are ready and there is agreement between the two countries, we will then move to the next step of amending it. We have an agreed format in which all issues on this matter are being discussed.

5

DeitY time for Modi

Financial cos’ assets touch $2.8 trillion New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI): The total value of assets held by India’s financial institutions touched nearly $2.8 trillion, the third largest among BRICS nations, in 2013, says a report. Way ahead, neighbouring China’s financial institutions held assets to the tune of $34.43 trillion last year, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) has said. BRICS grouping constitutes Brazil, Russia India, China and South Africa. As per the figures compiled by the FSB, the value of assets of financial institutions in India touched $2.79 trillion last year. After China, among BRICS nations, Brazil is at the second spot with such assets worth $4.91 trillion. Russia’s financial institutions held assets to the tune of $2.75 trillion

MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2014

‘banks’ last year. Broader category of deposit-taking institutions are referred to as ‘banks’ in this report. Among others, ‘Other Financial Intermediaries (OFIs) held assets to the tune of $335.1 billion while those of insurance companies stood at $310.8 billion. A global grouping, FSB has been established to co-ordinate work of national financial authorities and international standard setting bodies to promote effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies. Going by its report, global shadow banking assets climbed by $5 trillion to $75 trillion last year, with euro area and the US accounting for one-third of the total. Broadly, shadow banking refers to credit intermediation involving entities and activities outside of the regular banking system.

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad met senior officials last week to review the status of various schemes as well as chalk out a future road map As the Secton 10 A of ‘He (Prasad) has also Income Tax has been told officials to come out withdrawn from 31 with schemes to popularMarch, 2011, the IT-ITeS ise BPO centres in Tier II sector especially the and -III cities in the counsmall and medium entertry as well as to encourprises have been facing age corporate India to inmultiple challenges and crease its involvement in the department is in the rural areas under Digital process of formulating India’, a government ofschemes to promote the ficial said. Narendra Modi sector. Besides, presenting DeThe official said that DeitY is also itY’s status, Prasad will also present before the Prime Minister various actively promoting Software Techschemes that can help in expansion nology Parks of India (STPI) to encourage promote and boost softof Digital India, the official added. One of the issues that has been ware Exports from India. So far, STPI have over four lakh flagged by DeitY is that of income sq. ft of incubation space across tax on the IT-ITeS sector.

Srikalahasthi Pipes posts profit NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Srikalahasthi Pipes Limited (Formerly Lanco Industries Ltd) recently declared its results for the second quarter ended 30 September, 2014. According to a press release, the profit before tax (PBT) for the quarter ended 30 September 2014 is Rs 1832.08 lakh as against Rs 1284.25 lakh in the previous quarter ended 30 June 2014. The cumulative PAT for the half year ended 30 September, 2014 is Rs 3117.52 lakh. Director G S Rathi, informed that the company has successfully completed commissioning and synchronization of its 132 KV Sub-Station which will provide stable and quality power supply. The company’s expansion program of Rs 100 crore for creating the balancing facilities is as per schedule and the company is hopeful of completing the project during last quarter of the current financial year. This will increase the company’s Ductile Iron Pipe production by 50000 MT per annum.

WhatsApp Indian user base crosses 70 mn Mumbai, Nov 3 (PTI): Mobile messenger service WhatsApp’s user base in India has grown to 70 million active-users, which is over a 10th of its global users, its business head Neeraj Arora said on Sunday. ‘We have 70 million active-users here who use the application at least once a month’, Arora, a vicepresident with WhatsApp, said at the fifth annual INK Conference here. He said the total userbase for the company, which was bought by Facebook in a blockbuster $19-billion deal earlier this year, is 600 million. With over a 10th of the users from the country, India is one of the biggest markets for WhatsApp, he said, adding connecting billions of people in markets like India and Brazil is the aim of the company. Arora, an alumnus of IIT-Delhi and ISB Hyderabad, said WhatsApp will

‘Google, Apple are most in-demand employers’ New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI): Google is the world’s most sought after employer in the world, followed by Apple and Unilever in the second and third places, respectively, according to a report by professional networking site LinkedIn. The ‘World’s 100 Most InDemand Employers: 2014’ was based on billions of interactions from LinkedIn’s over 300 million members. No Indian company made it to the coveted list, however, a significant number of them do have their presence in the country. The list was dominated by American companies with as many as 63 ‘in-demand’ companies were headquartered in the US. Moreover, eight of the top 10 most sought after employers in the world are US based. Besides Google, Apple and Unilever, other companies in the top 10 list include Microsoft (fourth), Facebook (fifth), Amazon (sixth), Procter & Gamble (seventh), GE (eighth), Nestle (ninth) and PepsiCo (10th). A sector-wise analysis showed that the top three sec-

the country and is planning to construct additional 10 lakh square feet of space to promote innovation, research & development and IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) creation. Besides, the minister has also instructed officials to create a scheme to promote setting up of BPO centres in tier II and III cities so that this can lead to more job creation and development of other areas. ‘Another issue that has been discussed is to encourage the corporate sector to invest in rural areas under the Digital India programme so that the hinterlands can have broadband connectivity’, the official said. DeitY is the supervising agency for Digital India and will advise the government on policy issues and strategic interventions necessary for accelerating the implementation of Digital India Programme across Central and State government ministries/departments.

tors that dominated the list include technology, telecom and media; followed by retail and consumer products and oil and energy. As per the LinkedIn survey, around 15 per cent of in demand companies have fewer than 5,000 employees. The employee count for each company was based on the number of member profiles on LinkedIn associated with the company. As per the report the top three smallest companies by number of employees are Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with 1,622 employees, Airbnb (1,836) and Netflix (1,906). In order to calculate the winners LinkedIn analysed over 10 billion data points between members and companies and compared the data with surveys of thousands of members to determine a company’s ‘familiarity and engagement score’. ‘The analysis also weighted member actions like viewing employee profiles, visiting Company Pages and following companies’, LinkedIn said.

continue to hold a distinct identity even after the takeover by Facebook and will not get merged with the social networking giant. He said WhatsApp, which has only 80 employees, will benefit through learnings from the social networking giant. Arora, who first heard of WhatsApp as a business development executive for the Internet search giant Google and later joined as its business head, said it took two years to stitch the $19 billion deal announced this April. Interestingly, Arora said he would have paid a fraction of the sum to buy WhatsApp three years back. It would have been in ‘low tens of million’ dollars, he said stressing that the company has grown a lot since then. Arora said the user-base has doubled to 600 million from the 30 million when he joined three years ago.

‘India can become top steel consumer’ Mumbai, Nov 3 (PTI): India’s steel demand is expected to rise by 4-5 per cent this year and will touch 15 per cent CAGR after FY17 as the country has the potential to emerge as the second largest steel consuming market after China during FY15-20, Deutsche Bank said in its research report. With expectations of the new government’s thrust on jump starting stalled projects initially followed by pushing large flagship projects, including the freight and industrial corridors, it is expected that India will begin moving back on the path of materials intensive growth by the end of this year. ‘We expect steel demand to rise by 4-5 per cent this year as against average of two per cent over FY13-14, eight per cent in FY16 and a 15 per cent CAGR after FY17 when policy initiatives of the new government begin to impact materials demand, meaningfully.

Black money: Swiss banks mull anticipatory measures  Few institutions possible ‘partners in crime’  Suspected lapses under scanner Berne/New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI): As probe into suspected black money stashed abroad by Indians gathers steam, banks in Switzerland are running from pillar to post to safeguard their interest while some are also considering financial provisions in their books for possible penal actions and legal costs. At the same time, banks are also lobbying with the Swiss government to insist on putting in place necessary measures in their information-exchange and administrative assistance frameworks with India for safeguarding the interest of banking institutions during the subsequent prosecution and other legal or regulatory proceedings in the black money cases. Sources, however, said that the role of some banks, as also that of certain bankers, has already come under scanner for acting in concert with the suspected black

Money matters As per Swiss National Bank’s latest data, the total money held by Indians in Swiss banks stood at over Rs 14,000 crore as on December 2013, up by nearly 42 per cent from a year ago. money hoarders and also for making ‘safe haven’ promises for their funds. The suspected lapses on the part of at least three large European banks, including two from Switzerland itself and the third having a significant presence in the Alpine nation, are also being probed for allegedly facilitating re-routing funds of certain Indian corporate houses back into their listed companies as foreign investments. Capital market watchdog SEBI is probing at least three large

global banks and many Indian companies for alleged round tripping of funds by way of multi-layered transactions, while the regulatory noose has further tightened in these cases with involvement of other regulatory and enforcement agencies. Such transactions are suspected to have taken place in case of 15-20 Indian companies, a senior official said, but refused to disclose their names as also that of the banks saying it might impede the investigations. Some portfolio managers at some banks, which have a significant presence in the Indian

financial markets, could have helped clients route money back into the country as foreign funds using investment vehicles across jurisdictions. So far, the focus of this S u p r e m e Court monitored probe has mainly remained on the persons and entities from India suspected to have stashed illicit wealth in overseas locations including Swiss banks. However, as the probe moves further, including by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) with two former Supreme Court judges as Chairman and Vice-Chairman

FinMin defends govt stand Lashing out at those, including the Congress party, who want the government to make names of black money holders public, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said unauthorised disclosure of such names can sabotage investigation and benefit the guilty. ‘An unauthorised disclosure of information is fraught with both investigation and economic consequences. They can sabotage the investigation. They can attract sanctions in the form of withholding taxes’, he said in a Facebook post on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that all efforts would be made to bring back black money stashed abroad. along with members from various investigative and regulatory agencies, the banks are turning wary about possible action against them going ahead. Senior executives at various banks, including three large ones headquartered in Switzerland and the Swiss units of some major European banks, said that they are considering making financial provisions as anticipatory measures

to deal with any action involving them in India’s black money probe. The banks are also said to be lobbying with the Swiss government that it should ask the Indian authorities to put in place a ‘settlement’ mechanism to deal with the suspected entities, including the banks and their customers, before seeking any assistance in its black money probe.

Sports

6 MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2014

US GP winner Hamilton in sight of world title

Stupid Smalling cost us match: Van Gaal London, Nov 3: Louis van Gaal branded Chris Smalling ‘stupid’ for picking up a second yellow card that reduced Manchester United to 10 men and contributed to their 1-0 derby defeat, sealed by Sergio Agüero’s winner at the Etihad Stadium. The game was scoreless when Smalling upended James Milner after 39 minutes causing the referee, Michael Oliver, to book him again, the first caution having arrived when the defender attempted to prevent Joe Hart clearing the ball upfield. United now have 13 points from 10 games, their poorest return since the same point of the 1986-87 campaign. Of Smalling, Van Gaal said: ‘The sending off is not one of those things. As a player you have to control your aggression. I didn’t see the first yellow but the second you know as a player you have a yellow, so you have to handle it differently. I said that to the players. In the derby you have to be careful. The second yellow card was stupid. You cannot do what he has done with the second yellow card. That is not very smart. What can I say? ‘(The sending off) had a big influence on our opponent but also ourselves. Despite having 10 men we played better in the second half than the first and that is because of the willpower of the team. We created a lot of chances, they fought until the last moment, but City had a very good goalkeeper. We are very close but we have to improve.’

CHENNAI

q Rosberg vows to mount challenge in Brazil, Abu Dhabi Lewis Hamilton

Austin, Nov 3: Lewis Hamilton took a big step towards a second Formula One world championship on Sunday with his 10th win of the season in a US Grand Prix that saw Mercedes equal the record for one-two finishes. The Briton stretched his lead over team mate Nico Rosberg to 24 points with two races and a maximum of 75 points remaining, a gap that guarantees the title chase will go down to the final round in Abu Dhabi whatever happens in Brazil. ‘It’s been an incredible run. This whole season has been incredible really,’ said Hamilton after his fifth win in succession. Rosberg led from pole position but Hamilton saw his chance and grabbed it when the German went wide into turn 12 on the 24th of 56 laps. Hamilton went through on the inside, forcing his team mate onto the runoff on the exit in an emphatic move that left no room for reply and summed up the confidence and momentum he carried into the race. ‘I was quite a bit back but I felt very confident, there was a big headwind

Kohli pleased with pace show Cuttack, Nov 3 (PTI): As fast bowlers are expected to dominate on the bouncy pitches in Australia and New Zealand during the World Cup, India skipper Virat Kohli was pleased to see Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav getting into the groove during the series-opener against Sri Lanka, here yesterday. Comeback-man Ishant and Yadav troubled the Virat Kohli Lankan batsmen while the India batsmen scored heavily, posting a mammoth 363 for five. ‘It was great to see some pace unleashed by India and it will be helpful in Australia. Great to see them hitting the line and lengths and bowl according to the field placements,’ Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony. Asked about his decision to take an early power-play, Kohli said he was confident that move will pay off. ‘Taking the responsibility of leading a young side, I like it and it excites me, especially with the World Cup coming up. Taking the Powerplay early worked well today. I bounced the idea off Duncan when I was sitting next to him because both batsmen were well set,’ he said. On fast bowler Varun Aaron’s injury, Kohli said he did not want to take risk so he let him leave the field. ‘Aaron struggled after the fourth over and I don’t know the extent of his injury. I didn’t want to take a chance and asked him to rest,’ Kohli said. Aaron could bowl only 25 balls in yesterday’s match. India opener Ajinkya Rahane was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 111 off 108 balls. It was his second ODI hundred. ‘Both my hundreds are equally important. The first 10 overs were slightly challenging but later on it got really easy for us. Shikhar and I really enjoyed batting in the middle,’ he said. Asked about his role as an opener, he said, ‘The team asked me to open so I was happy to open. I’m just thinking of this series right now. We’ve started really well and will take one game at a time.’

Racking it up Only Michael Schumacher (91), Prost (51), Senna (41) and Sebastian Vettel (39) have more career Grands Prix victories than Hamilton (32), who now has the same number as great rival Fernando Alonso . into 12, and I just felt like I was waiting for the moment really, to just be just close enough to throw it up the inside,’ said Hamilton. ‘And that’s what I did.’ A dejected Rosberg told former champion Mario Andretti in a podium interview, with a sea of fans spilling onto the track below in the Texas sunshine, that losing again to his team mate ‘kind of sucks.’ ‘It took too long for me to find my rhythm. Once Lewis got by I found my rhythm but it was too late,’ he said. The pair finished 4.3 seconds apart to equal McLaren’s 1988 record, set by Alain Prost and the late Ayrton Senna, of 10 one-two finishes in a

their team both titles. Hamilton has 316 points to Rosberg’s 292. Behind the top three, Williams pulled further away from Ferrari in the constructors’ championship already won by Mercedes with fourth and fifth places for Brazilian Felipe Massa and Finland’s Valtteri Bottas respectively. Without a slow pitstop, that allowed Ricciardo to get ahead, Massa might have been on the podium. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was sixth and Red Bull’s Vettel, the quadruple champion and last year’s winner who started from the pit lane due to an engine penalty, took seventh after making up seven places in the last seven laps. McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen was eighth. Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne finished ninth for Toro Rosso but was demoted to 10th after a five second penalty was applied for forcing Lotus’s Romain Grosjean off the road. That elevated Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado to ninth for Lotus, his

Paris, Nov 3: Novak Djokovic bolstered his hopes of holding on to his world number status until the end of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic to retain the Paris Masters title on Sunday. The top seeded Serb, who did not drop a set in Bercy on his way to a third title there, tamed seventh seed Raonic’s

first points of the season. Sauber’s hopes of a first point of a nightmare season, after Adrian Sutil had qualified 10th, disappeared when the German was shunted out on the first lap by Force India’s Sergio Perez, who also hit Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari. The incident, with the wrecked Sauber left stranded and thousands of Mexican fans disappointed to see Perez retire, brought out the safety car for two laps as marshals cleared debris strewn across the track.

Wozniacki happy to finish NY marathon

In elite list

the better one. ‘I was more satisfied with Baba (Aparajith)’s wicket as he was set and was nudging the ball into the gaps for ones and twos. He didn’t read my delivery,’ said Chawla. ‘We always knew that if we get a few wickets first up, it will be difficult for a new batsman to get set. That’s why Pankaj’s spell in the morning was very important. He got Dinesh (Karthik) out in both innings,’ the Central skipper said. Another spinner Ali Murtaza said that after being hit for a few runs by Ramaswamy Prasanna, his gameplan was to bowl as Chawla straight as possible. ‘My plan was to bowl straight as the ball was keeping low. It was difficult to bowl to Rahul as he was in such great form but we knew that we could get the others out. We believed that we could win today,’ said Murtaza.

1. L Hamilton 316 pts, 2. Nico Rosberg 292, 3. Daniel Ricciardo 214, 4. Valtteri Bottas 155, 5. Sebastian Vettel 149, 6. Fernando Alonso 149, 7. Jenson Button 94, 8. Felipe Massa 83, 9. Nico Huelkenberg 76, 10. Kevin Magnussen 53.

Nov. 9-16 in London, where Djokovic will be favourite to secure the world number one spot for 2014 after he more than doubled his points lead over Roger Federer. ‘I see it better now than one week ago, that’s for sure. It helps

With the win in Paris on Sunday, Djokovic recorded his 600th career win and joined a band of active players with 600+ victories. The list: 1. R Federer (991) 2. R Nadal (706) 3. L Hewitt (611) 4. D Ferrer (602) 5. N Djokovic (600). serve throughout a one-sided encounter. ‘I played the best match of the entire week today when it was most needed,’ Djokovic, who has yet to win the French Open at nearby Roland Garros, told a news conference. His 600th career win extended Djokovic’s unbeaten indoors run to 27 and gave him his 20th Masters title while Raonic, who will have to do more than serve big if he wants to climb higher up the ladder, lost his second Masters. Both players will be taking part in the ATP World Tour Finals from

Race for the top

Caroline Wozniacki

Nole closer to sealing top spot

Chawla savours ‘memorable’ Duleep Trophy win New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI): The Duleep Trophy final was Central Zone skipper Piyush Chawla’s 100th first-class match and the thrilling nine-run win was termed by the UP leg-spinner as one of the ‘most memorable wins’ in his career. ‘At the age of 26 (25 years 313 days), I have completed 100 first-class matches and this win is certainly one of the most memorable wins in my first-class career,’ Chawla said after the match. He praised K L Rahul for his effort stating that ‘He (Rahul) was in a league of his own in this match. For us, Robin’s innings was also crucial. But you can’t compare the three Piyush centuries in this match. I believe the turning point in this game was keeping the first-innings lead down to 103,’ Chawla said. Chawla bowled a couple of lovely deliveries in both innings to get Rahul and Baba Aparajith out. According to him, the dismissal of Aparajith was

season -- even if there were fewer races back in those days. Hamilton is only the third driver and first non-German, after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, to win 10 races in a single season. He is the third Briton, after Jim Clark and Nigel Mansell, to win five in a row and is now also his country’s most successful in terms of wins with 32. ‘It is such a privilege to represent my country and to be top of the drivers’ standings. The car was great today,’ said the race winner. Hamilton’s second victory in Austin came six years to the day since he won his first world title in Brazil in 2008 but he will have to wait until Nov. 23 now to know if he is to be champion again thanks to the novelty of double points for the final race. Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished third for Red Bull in a result that mathematically ruled him out of a title battle that is now a straight duel between the Mercedes drivers and guarantees

that I won the title in Bercy, that I’m playing well, and that I’m feeling good about myself on the court playing indoors,’ said Djokovic. If he performs at the O2 Arena like he did in Paris there appears little doubt he will top the year-end standings for the third time in his career. Djokovic stole his opponent’s first service game as he raced to a 3-0 lead against a nervy Raonic. ‘He neutralised my serve well. Even when I was able to open him on the backhand side, he was moving really well. He was always getting two

Novak Djokovic

hands on it,’ Raonic explained. ‘It just elevated a certain pressure or demand of having to serve close to the lines, which weighs on your shoulders when the guy is playing as well as he did today.’

Petkovic finishes season with win

Gayle hopes SA tour will go ahead Johannesburg, Nov 3 (AFP): Star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle said that he was hopeful a tour to South Africa would go ahead despite a pay dispute. The West Indies cut short a tour to India last month, refusing to play the last of five one-day internationals (ODIs), a Twenty20 (T20) match and three Tests over a cash row between players and officials. There have been fears in South Africa that the West Indies would not come this December, or that officials would have to send a second-string side shorn of crowdpullers like Gayle. ‘Hopefully the dispute can be resolved and we will play against South Africa,’ Gayle said as he helped the Highveld Lions win a South African T20 Challenge firstround match in Johannesburg.

New York, Nov 3: Caroline Wozniacki says she’s pleased she beat her goal in the New York City Marathon, especially since her training routine included late nights and attending a sporting event on the eve of the run. ‘I’ve done everything you are not supposed to do before a marathon,’ said the 24-year old Wozniacki. ‘I had a Halloween party three days ago and came back at like 4:00 in the morning. ‘I’ve been really busy. Last night, I actually didn’t have much of a dinner because I went to the (New York) Rangers game. You are supposed to load up on carbs, but I didn’t have too much time for that.’

Andrea Petkovic

Sofia, Nov 3: Fourth-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany rallied to defeat third-seeded Flavia Pennetta 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 Sunday in the final of the season-ending Tournament of Champions, clinching her third WTA title of the year. Pennetta started aggressively and the Italian broke Petkovic’s serve three times to win the opening set in just 35 minutes. Petkovic staged a comeback in the second set thanks to her booming serve. The German earned the only break of the set in the first game and held on to level the match. She then broke Pennetta’s serve at 3-3 in the deciding set and cruised from there. ‘I am very happy to win the title at the end of this long season,’ Petkovic said. ‘I dedicate my victory to my dad (and coach Zoran Petkovic.)’ The 27-year-old Bosnian-born Petkovic is set to rise to No. 14 when the WTA rankings are updated on Monday.

Mixed Bag

CHENNAI

AIADMK gives Rs 3 lakh to 32 more supporters NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: AIADMK office-bearers today handed over demand draft of Rs three lakh each to families of 32 people who committed suicide after party supremo J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a disproportionate assets case recently. It may be recalled that AIADMK office-bearers provided relief to 34 such families on Saturday. As many as 219 supporters committed suicide after Jayalalithaa’s conviction. As soon as she reached Chennai on bail, Jayalalithaa announced Rs three lakh each to their families. On Saturday, AIADMK office-bearers handed over demand drafts of Rs three lakh each to the families of 34 supporters. Today, they presented cheques to 32 more such families. While announcing the aid in a statement, Jayalalithaa had said, ‘I am confident that I will come out triumphant crossing all challenges with divine help’. ‘Therefore, I kindly request the people of Tamilnadu not to resort to such extreme measures,’ she added.



Mentally-ill man hacks vendor at Selaiyur NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: In a shocking incident, a mentallyill man brutally killed a butcher near Tambaram last evening. According to police sources, the victim, Antony Sami (65) who noticed a man sleeping outside his shop in Selaiyur woke him up. However, the allegedly deranged man, Bhagwan Singh (30) from West Bengal hit Antony with a sharp object. As Antony fell, his head was smashed with a stone. Police said, the victim died on the spot, while Bhagwan did not attempt to flee. Meanwhile, Antony’s wife Baby Theresa who was searching for him, reached the shop to find him in a pool of blood. The Selaiyur police arrived at the spot and shifted his body to Chrompet Government Hospital. Bhagwan was taken to a mental health care center for treatment.



 All eyes on rain ahead of high-voltage contest

NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Chennaiyin FC will take on the formidable Atletico de Kolkata in a top of the table clash in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here tomorrow. Captain Luis Garcia is expected to be back to spearhead Atletico de Kolkata’s challenge as they gear up for Chennaiyin FC’s challenge. Atletico de Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC occupy the top two spots in the points table. While Kolkata have three wins and two draws from five games, the Chennai franchise have three victories and a loss in four matches. Kolkata were held to a draw by Kerala Blasters in their last game while Chennai will be high on confidence after registering a commanding

5-1 win over Mumbai City FC in their last match. Kolkata will also miss the services of in-form striker Fikru Teferra as he had been handed out a two-match suspension by the the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on disciplinary grounds. Chennaiyin FC have won all their three matches so far at the Nehru stadium here and their marquee manager-cum-captain Marco Materrazi will be very keen to get the better of the tournament’s top team on the familiar home turf. Against Mumbai City FC, the 2006 World Cup winner Materrazi took the field for the first time in the ISL and the home side controlled for most part of the match, often creating openings by applying pressure on the wings. Elano, the tournament’s highest

scorer at the moment, and John Mendoza capitalised on these openings to destroy the opponents. Up against Garcia’s ATK, who also have Spaniard Borja Fernandez as a defensive midfielder, it would not be as easy as it was against Mumbai for the likes of Elano and Mendoza to regularly foray into the danger zone. Five-time English Premier League winner with Manchester United, Mikael Silvestre of France will bolster Chennaiyin’s defence alongside compatriot Bernard Mendy. The visitors are fit and fresh after coming off a eight-day gap. ATK also have Indian football stars such as Climax Lawrence, Mohammed Rafi, Sanju Pradhan, N Mohanraj and Kingshuk Debnath. The city has been witnessing frequent spells of rain in the past couple of days and fans would be hoping showers stay away on match day. (Match starts at 7 pm IST)

NT Bureau

 Lt Governor to meet parties to find a way out New Delhi, Nov 3: In a bid to end the stalemate over government formation in the national capital, Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung is set to meet representatives of the Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress and the BJP later today, to finalise whether any of the parties would like to form the government or whether the Assembly should be dissolved, paving the way for fresh polls. If a consensus is arrived at, fresh elections could be as early as February next year. Earlier on Monday, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay and party leader Harsh Vardhan met Jung informally and are reported to have clarified that their party was not interested in forming the government and were ready for fresh polls.

‘I realised that it was indeed my story ‘Muthakudi’ with minor adjustments. Not knowing what to do, I took the issue to the court who surprisingly dismissed the case. Hence, I have taken the issue to the High Court hoping for justice’, he adds However, the Murugadoss camp dismissed his charges as baseless. The issue has let loose a debate on the vulnerability of writers in the absence of legal contracts and non-disclosure agreements. The system today operates purely on trust, say industry sources. Meanwhile, putting an end to the issue, Tamil Film Directors Association president Vikraman has announced that henceforth assistant directors can register their stories with Directors Association themselves. It will help them fight complaints of plagiarism in a big way.

Najeeb Jung Last week, the Supreme Court slammed both the Centre and LG Najeeb Jung for delaying government formation in the state saying it was the democractic right of the people of Delhi to have an elected government in place. In its affidavit, the Union government had told the Supreme Court that

Noted actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar passes away Mumbai, Nov 3 (PTI): Veteran Bollywood actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who essayed villainous and comic roles with equal ease and gave powerful performances in Ardh Satya and Sadak, died here today after battling lung infection. Amrapukar, who was 64, died at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital here. Sadashiv Amarapurkar was suffering from Interstitial Lung Disease and passed away peacefully at 2.45 am, his daughter Rima Amrapurkar said. The body of Amrapukar will be kept at Bhaidas Auditorium, Vile Parle west today to enable people to pay their last respects. Amrapukar’s last rites will be performed at his native place in Ahmednagar district tomorrow, Rima said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bollywood fraternity took to Twitter to condole the death of Amrapukar. We will remember Sadashiv Amrapurkar as a versatile actor, popular across generations. RIP. My deepest condolences to his family, Modi tweeted. (Obit on page 8)

Chennaiyin FC’s Jean-Eudes Maurice at a training session.

69 Kumbakonam temples to be renovated

Will stalemate in Delhi end?

Assn to the rescue of asst directors

NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: At a time when the Tamil flm industry was going gaga over bumper opening of Vijay-starrer Kaththi, an online interview of an assistant filmmaker N Gopi claiming that A R Murugadoss stole his script for the movie has let loose a debate on the issue of plagiarism. In the interview, Gopi alleged that his story was stolen from him by Murugaodss. A case has been filed against the director by Gopi. Says Gopi, ‘After writing the story, I narrated it to the producer-cum- director Vishwas Sundar, who was accompanied by a man named Jagan. After hearing the story, Vishwas told me that he currently is not in a position to bring the story alive on-screen. But, Jagan who expressed his interest in the story said that he will arrange a meeting with producer-director Murugadoss who will be able to give life to the story’. ‘I met and naratted the story to him. But only when Kaththi was released,

7

Chennaiyin FC vs ATK in table toppers clash

Kaththi: Cut, copy & paste?  Directors

MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2014

President Pranab Mukherjee had allowed Jung to invite the single-largest party to form government. ‘In a democracy, President’s Rule can’t go on forever. LG should have taken decision on government formation at the earliest and should not have taken five months time. We have given you enough time and nothing much has happened so far,’ a SC bench told Additional Solicitor General PS Narsimha, further questioning whether ‘the ruling party (BJP) has the numbers to form government.’ The Supreme Court then gave the Delhi LG time till 11 November to finalise government formation else it would admit AAP’s petition seeking dissolution of the Assembly and thereby going in for fresh polls.

Kumbakonam, Nov 3: The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department will soon renovate 69 temples at Kumbakonam, at a cost of Rs 12 crore. An official release here stated that former Tamilnadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa made an announcement in this regard under Rule 110 of the Assembly. As per the announcement, the renovation works will be carried out in connection with Mahamaham, which will take place in February 2016. The temples include Kasi Vishwanathaswamy Temple and Sodasa Mahalingaswamy Temple. Also, 16 Sivalinga idols situated near Mahamaha Kulam will be renovated at a cost of Rs 19.38 lakh. Meanwhile, a 100-year old Mukundeswarar Mandapam located inside Sodasa Mahalingaswamy temple was crashed down in the recent rains. Likewise, Jayaveera Anjaneryar Temple Mandapam also faced a similar situation, where the work was initiated recently.

Toll up in Wagah border blast Jammu, Nov 3: India tightened security after a blast took place at Pakistan’s side of Wagah Border on Sunday even as the toll went up to 60. Ashok Kumar, IG, BSF was quoted by a news agency as saying, ‘Our side is safe, we are alert, have increased our security and are in constant touch with district officials and State police.’ There will be no beating retreat ceremony at Wagah border for three days at the request of Pakistan, sources said.

Gadkari lays foundation for terminal at Ennore NT Bureau Chennai, Nov 3: Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari today laid the foundation stone for Adani Ennore Container Terminal Project at Kamarajar Port. He also visited berths and viewed various developmental activities of the port and interacted with port users. Chairman and Managing Director of Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL) M A Bhaskarachar also handed over the dividend cheque for Rs 64 crore to the Union Minister and Rs 32 crore to Chennai Port Trust for the year 2013-14 during the visit. The proposed container terminal would have 1.40 million TEUS capacity and its cost is Rs 1270 crore. KPL Board in the meeting held on 14 February has approved to award the project to selected bidder, Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone Limited at a revenue share of 37 per

‘India will take firm steps’ Responding to queries about the death sentence handed to India fishermen in Sri Lanka, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said it was a serious issue and added that the Centre will take it up in a strong manner with the Island government.

Nitin Gadkari cent which was obtained through competitive bidding. The project envisages 730 metres

length of berth in first two phases with 14 metres draft which can handle biggest container ships available at present. The first phase is expected to be completed with in a period of 27 months. It is expected to commission the project much before the scheduled date and the likely date is June 2016. A backup area of 36.5 ha has also been allotted. Required facilities will be provided to connect to the Railway network and also dredging at berths. Director (operations) Sanjay Kumar and other senior officials of the port were present. About the Ram Sethu project, Gadkari said they would study various alternatives before taking up the work.

In-form Rahul, a strong contender for Oz tour Mumbai, Nov 3 (PTI): Karnataka’s in-form young opener K L Rahul has staked a strong claim for inclusion in India’s Test squad to Australia which is to be picked here tomorrow by the five-man selection committee headed by Sandeep Patil. The two centuries (185 and 130) he hit for South Zone, albeit in a losing cause, in the Duleep Trophy final against Central Zone could not have come at a better time for the 23-year-old Bengaluru-born batsman. The selectors are bound to give a serious thought of including this Karnataka youngster as the third opener in the squad behind first-choice Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan - who did the duty in the first two Tests of the series that India lost to England last season. Rahul is expected to be included as the reserve opener in place of the experienced 33-year-old Gautam Gambhir who looked out of sorts and failed to cross 20 in his four innings when included in place of Dhawan in the last two Tests in England. Rahul, however, could face some competition from his teammate Robin Uthappa who scored a ton against East Zone in the same competition but failed to prosper in the summit clash at Delhi. The selectors would also deliberate on the choice of the second wicket keeper between Wriddhiman Saha, who was the reserve keeper In England, and Namaj Ojha who replaced the former midway through the tour after Saha was injured.

SPORTS PLUS

Ojha has forced his way into reckoning after scoring a double hundred in the Duleep Trophy game against North Zone but did not do well with the bat in the final against South. Saha, on the other hand, is keeping wickets in the absence of the rested Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the ODI series in progress against Sri Lanka and seems to hold the edge. The selectors are bound to think long and hard at the bowling combination and it will depend on whether they opt for a smaller squad or a jumbo squad of 18 that they picked for England. The five-man panel is bound to choose a battery of pace bowlers for the bouncy wickets in Australia but injuries to Mohammed Shami and Varun Aaron, the former before the start of the ODI series against Lanka and the latter in yesterday’s opener in Cuttack, has queered the pitch a bit. Both should make the squad if the medical opinion states they will be fit from the beginning of the tour for which the Indian squad is set to depart on 21 November. Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar would spearhead the attack, and Stuart Binny is expected to be picked as the pace bowling all-rounder, as was the case in England, especially after picking up seven wickets in the Duleep game against East. The Bengaluru bowler missed the Duleep final after he was named in the squad for the one-day warm-up game against the visiting Sri Lanka team here.

3 NOVEMBER 2014 8 MONDAY

, CHENNAI

Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / 470 / 12-14

NEGATIVE roles were his positive T

G

GVM’s pat for Ajith

autham Vasudev Menon is busy shooting for Yennai Arindhaal starring Ajith. The movie stars Trisha, Anushka and Arun Vijay in key roles. Music is by Harris Jayaraj. Meanwhile the first look posters caught the admiration of all and expectations run sky-high among his fans. The director, says, ‘Ajith’s character in will be an emotional one and he has lived that character of Sathya Dev’. Shooting is fast nearing completion and plans are on to release the movie in January. — NT Bureau

he demise of veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who essayed villainous and comic roles with equal ease and gave powerful performances in Ardh Satya and Sadak, has shocked Bollywood film fraternity. Amitabh Bachchan, who is currently shooting his upcoming film Piku in Kolkata, said the actor was close to his heart. Waking up in Kolkata to the sad news of the passing away of Sadasiv Amrapurkar.. A colleague and a gifted talent.. Prayers! When a colleague suddenly passes away there is a sudden vacuum, of times spent together, of acknowledgement of their work.. Bachchan posted on Twitter. Amrapukar played iconic character roles including as a ruthless eunuch in Sadak, a villain in Ardh Satya and a selfish father in Ishq with an effortless ease. Ardh Satya was Amrapukar’s debut Hindi film in 1983. His other works included Aankhen, Ishq, Coolie No. 1 and Gupt: The Hidden Truth. Ironically, while he would instill fear with his negative roles on-screen, the actor was a true gentleman in real life and was involved in many social activities. He later shifted his focus on Marathi movies. Amrapurkar was last seen on the big screen in 2012 film Bombay Talkies. He had become selective and was more into social work in the last few years. Right from his younger days, Amrapurkar was into acting and was part of several plays in school and college. He was a trained singer but was advised that his highly nasal baritone would prevent him from achieving fame - so at the age of 21, Sadashiv migrated to theatre and the stage.

He acted in more than 50 plays and also began to act in minor roles in Marathi cinema until in 1979. In 1981-82, Amrapurkar acted in a Marathi stage play Hands-Up! alongside stage actors Avinash Masurekar and Bhakti Barve-Inamdar. This play was a super-hit and Amrapurkar was noticed by director Govind Nihalani who was searching for an artiste to play the central negative character in his movie Ardh Satya. Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar recalled his experience with Amrapurkar in his debut film Trishakti in 1999. Saddened to hear about the demise of #SadashivAmrapurkar. An effortless actor, Sadashivji had his own style and always brought something unique to the table. We have lost a genuine human being. RIP, Bhandarkar tweeted. Kher, who shared screen space with the late actor in 1993 film Meherbaan, said, I am so saddened to know about the demise of a fine human being and a wonderful actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar. He was a kind and a learned man. RIP.’ Mahesh Bhatt, who gave him one of the finest roles of his career in Sadak, said, ‘I had heard that he was keeping well from quite a sometime. But his was a sudden end. I remember him very fondly. He contributed to my blockbuster Sadak

Sadashiv Amrapurkar

Waking up in Kolkata to the sad news of the passing away of Sadasiv Amrapurkar.. A colleague and a gifted talent.. Prayers! When a colleague suddenly passes away there is a sudden vacuum, of times spent together, of acknowledgement of their work.. Bachchan posted on Twitter. in a very big way... He was a solid rooted person and had a clean political ideology.’ Director Kunal Kohli remembers the actor for portrayal of a ruthless eunuch in Sadak. “SadashivAmrapurkar’s portrayal of Maharani in Sadak rates as one of the best by a villain ever in Hindi cinema RIP.” Actor-turned-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt said he was the one of the most ‘relevant’ villain after Amjad Khan’s powerful portrayal of Gabbar Singh (Sholay). Sadashiv Amrapurkar, the most relevant villain after Gabbar Singh is gone... Reminds me yet again that life is too short. Love hard. Love more, she said — PTI

Vijay Sethupathi and Jayaprakash in Pannaiyarum Padminiyum

Jayam Ravi, Hansika in Romeo & Juliet

Romance at its best When is Valeba Raja releasing?

T

he Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya team sans Power Star, is back with a movie titled Valeba Raja. Buzz is that the movie would be out this November itself. Touted to be a physcologial humour, the movie is directed by Sai Gokul Ramanath. It stars Santhanam, Sethu, and Vishakha Singh. Nushrat Bharucha, Jayaprakash, Devadarshini and Chitra Lakshmanan are also part of the cast. Music director Radhan, who has earlier composed for the Telugu film Andala Rakshasi, and Loganathan, who shot the acclaimed Malayalam film Ustad Hotel form part of the project. — NT Bureau

‘Romeo and Juliet were legendary lovers. But my characters are a modern day take on them’, says debutant filmmaker Lakshmanan, who is wielding the megaphone for a movie titled after the great romantic characters. Jayam Ravi and Hansika play lead roles. He says, ‘Ravi has the classic loverboy looks and personality which will be showcased to the maximum in my film. In fact, he plays a different character from his other films, that of a six-pack specialist gym coach. Hansika is usually seen as a loving doll or a beauty queen, but here she has the acting potential of a Simran or Jothika, which has not been fully tapped. She plays an air hostess. It will be an important film for both of them’. Soundarrajan of Maattraan fame has cranked the camera and D Imman has composed music. — NT Bureau

Pannaiyarum... to be screened at IFFK

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n assorted bouquet of Indian films will be screened at the coming 19th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). The seven films in the Indian Cinema Now section are two Bengali, three Hindi, one Marathi and Tamil each. The Tamil film selected for screening at the festival is the maiden venture of Arun Kumar - Pannaiyarum Padminiyum that featured Vijay Sethupathi and Jayaprakash in the lead roles. It tells the poignant tale of a fading landlord and his relationship with a car. — NT Bureau

A still from Valeba Raja

Dhanush

Dhanush’s cameo in Vai Raja Vai

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ctor Dhanush’s wife Soundarya is directing Vai Raja Vai. Sources say that Dhanush has played a cameo in the film, produced by AGS Entertainments. Vai Raja Vai features Gautham Karthik, Tapasee Pannu and Priya Anand in lead roles. Viveks plays a prominent character in the film. Music is by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Shooting for the movie is completed. — NT Bureau

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