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Tamilnadu News Archive: February 2010President sends Holi greetings to nationSunday, February 28, 2010 | AAPresident Pratibha Patil Saturday conveyed her best wishes to the nation on Holi, the festival of colours, which will be celebrated on March 1. In her message, Patil said: "On the auspicious occasion of Holi, I extend my greetings and good wishes to all fellow citizens." "Holi is a festival of joy, hope and fulfilment in our life. May this festival strengthen fraternal bonds amongst our people and bring peace and prosperity to our nation." Tamil Nadu fishermen sail out for Sri Lankan festivalSunday, February 28, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 27 (IANS) Fishermen from Rameswaram and surrounding areas in Tamil Nadu set sail Saturday for Katchatheevu island in the Palk Strait, which was transferred to Sri Lanka by India, to participate in the two day St. Anthony church festival there. Around 4,000 fishermen and their family members are expected to participate in the two-day festival, held after a gap of four years. The Sri Lanakan government gave its green signal to hold the festival this year with peace returning in the island after the decimation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last year. Keeping with the tradition of celebrating the festival with the participation of fishermen from Rameswaram, Jaffna Bishop Soundaranayakam and chief priest Gnanaprakasam extended an invitation to Ramanathapuram priest Michael Raj. At the boarding point in Rameswaram the Indian fishermen and their family were checked and on the high seas, when they entered the international waters, the boats were checked by the security personnel of Sri Lanka and India. After a gap of 22 years the Sri Lankan government permitted celebration of the festival in 2001. The festival was held till 2005 and when the fight between LTTE and Sri Lankan Army peaked the celebrations was stopped in 2006. India transferred the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974. Rameswaram is some 600 km from Chennai. PM greets nation on Milad-un-NabiSaturday, February 27, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS)Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday greeted the nation on the auspicious occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed. "The universal teachings of love and compassion of Hazrat Mohammad inspire us to work for universal peace and brotherhood," the prime minister said in his message. Nearly 20,000 Gulf students to take CBSE examsSaturday, February 27, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Nearly 20,000 students from the Gulf countries will take the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations starting March 3 at 70 centres, an official release said here Friday. This year, 11,144 students of Class 10 and 7,064 of Class 12, will take the board exams, a CBSE release said. Last year, 10,964 candidates appeared for the Class 10 examinations while 7,476 students took the Class 12 exams. Among the candidates in special categories, 13 are of Class 10 and 14 of Class 12 will appear for examinations. Three helpline centres - Kuwait, Dubai and Doha - are catering to overseas students. As many as 13,311 Class 10 and 8,596 Class 12 students will take the exams in other foreign countries. The Gulf region is home to a 4.5 million-strong Indian diaspora. Stalin, Maran meet Prakash KaratThursday, February 25, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) DMK leaders M.K. Stalin and Dayanidhi Maran Thursday met Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat here, informed sources said. Details of the meeting were not known. The CPI-M had severed ties with the DMK in Tamil Nadu before the Lok Sabha election last year and allied with the AIADMK. DMK sources said Stalin, who is also the Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister, met Karat to condole the death of CPI-M leader W.R. Varadarajan, who was found dead in a lake in Chennai Sunday. Stalin is here to invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inaugurate the new Tamil Nadu assembly complex being constructed in Chennai. Four-corner contest in Tamil Nadu assembly by-pollWednesday, February 24, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 24 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu's Pennagram assembly constituency by-election March 27 will be a four-corner contest with the AIADMK and DMDK announcing their candidates here Wednesday. Tamil Nadu's major opposition party AIADMK announced its Dharmapuri district secretary R. Anbalagan as its candidate for Pennagaram, while actor-turned-politician Vijaykant's DMDK has nominated Kaveryverman as its candidate. They will be crossing swords with the ruling DMK's P.N.P. Inbasekaran, son of Periannan whose death has necessitated the by-poll, and PMK's G.K.M. Tamizhkumaran, son of party president G.K. Mani. Mani successfully contested in 1996 and 2001 state assembly elections from the Pennagaram seat. Pennagaram, meanwhile, is witnessing the electioneering heat with DMK and PMK already trying to woo voters. The PMK was routed in the parliamentary elections held last May as none of its candidates won. This is the first time the PMK is contesting a by-poll, deviating from its earlier policy of terming such elections as a waste of public money. Tamil Nadu gets a fair share from MamataWednesday, February 24, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 24 (IANS) Introduction of new train services, setting up of a sports academy, speeding up of gauge conversion projects and expansion of Integral Coach Factory (ICF) located here are the major announcements relating to Tamil Nadu in the 2010-11 railway budget presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday. The minister also announced taking up of preliminary engineering-cum-traffic survey this year for dedicated freight corridor connecting Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (North-South freight corridor) and South-South (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa). In addition, Banerjee has included Tamil Nadu for building some socially desirable projects which needs the Planning Commission's sanction. As regards the new trains, Banerjee has sanctioned one Duronto, five long distance and three passenger trains. In addition, eight Bharat Teerth trains will connect important tourist places in Tamil Nadu. According to Banerjee, the upsurge in the economy has resulted in "an unprecedented growth of passenger traffic during the last five years resulting in increased requirement of passenger coaches". "While other goods and commodities are readily available in the market, coaches and wagons are not available off the shelf. Our manufacturing capacity is less and we have to plan years in advance," she said. While steps are being taken to set up new coach factories at Rae Bareilly, Kanchrapara and Palakkad, Banerjee said the existing plant of ICF near here will be modernised while a new one will be set up. Currently ICF has a capacity to roll out 1,500 coaches per year. Suburban railway services in Chennai got a boost in the budget with the announcement of new services between Chennai Central-Sullurpeta-Chennai Beach, Chennai Beach-Velachery-Chennai Beach (on the MRTS), Chennai Beach-Tiruttani-Chennai Central, Chennai Central-Arakkonam-Chennai Central. Work on the extension of MRTS Phase II from Velachary to St. Thomas Mount is in progress and targeted for completion by March 2012. Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU) service will be introduced Tirupati-Nellore-Chennai, Salem-Katpadi and Coimbatore-Erode. Banerjee also announced construction of multifunctional complexes at Erode, Nagercoil, Salem, Trichy and Tiruttani. On healthcare, outpatient treatment centres will be set up at Katpadi, Karur, Kumbakonam, Rameswaram, Trichy, Tirunelvelli, Villupuram and Virudhunagar and a secondary level general speciality hospital will be built in Trichy, the minister said. While survey for a new Krishnagiri-Chamrajnagar line will be taken up this year, Banerjee said the new Nagapattinam-Vellankani and Salem-Namakkal lines will be completed soon. Railway budget is curate's egg, says JayalalithaaWednesday, February 24, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 24 (IANS) AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday termed Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's budget as the proverbial curate's egg - good in parts and bad in parts - but also complimented the minister for not hiking passenger fares. Jayalalithaa, in a statement issued here, said Banerjee's assurance that there would be no privatisation of the railways "is reassuring while her call for private participation in funding railway projects is realistic". From Tamil Nadu's point of view, Jayalalithaa termed the budget as a mixed bag. Jayalalithaa welcomed budget announcements relating to modernisation the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambu and plans to set up a second unit, bettering outlay for Metro rail, gauge conversion, and electrification. She also expressed her dismay over the absence of any statement about the Coastal Railway Line between Chennai and Puducherry via Mamallapuram. "The announcement that aspirants taking the Railway Service Commission examinations can do so in regional languages as well would be a great boost to the depressed classes," she said. Chennai-based TexTech firm acquired by French groupTuesday, February 23, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 23 (IANS) French digital and print content management company, $150 million Jouve group has announced the acquisition of the Chennai-based outsourcing firm TexTech for $5.4 million and said it will shift a part of its Madagascar operations to India. "As a de-risk strategy and to avoid disruption in our services to our customers, we plan to shift the English language publishing work from Madagascar to our Indian subsidiary TexTech," said Pierre Vincent Debatte, chief executive of the French firm. TexTech specialises in publishing services for books and e-books and has some 270 people working for it here. The Jouve group intends to add some 100 more people into the Indian company, which logged a revenue of $3.7 million last year. Jayalalithaa wants Tamil Nadu to join dam panelTuesday, February 23, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 22 (IANS) AIADMK General Secretary J.Jayalalithaa Monday urged the Tamil Nadu government to nominate someone who can effectively put across the state's viewpoint on the Mullaperiyar dam case. She condemned the DMK party general council resolution Saturday opposing the apex court's decision to form a five-member committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India A.S.Anand to go into all issues relating to the dam's safety and the water storage level. The court had asked both Tamil Nadu and Kerala, fighting a legal battle over the Mullaperiyar dam, to nominate one technical expert each as members of the panel, while the central government was to nominate two technical experts. The DMK's resolution also urged the Tamil Nadu government not to nominate any member to the apex court committee. Terming the DMK's decision as "wrong", Jayalalithaa contended such an action could add support to Kerala's stand, and noted the apex court has appointed the committee in a case filed by the Tamil Nadu government. Police identify Varadarajan's body, funeral TuesdayTuesday, February 23, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 22 (IANS) Tallying the prints of three fingers, police Monday confirmed that the highly decomposed body recovered from a suburban lake here Feb 13 is that of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader W.R. Varadarajan. On Sunday Varadarajan's foster son could not identify the body as it was in a highly decomposed state. Later, Varadarajan's wife and other family members identified the body. According to city Police Commissioner T. Rajendran, going by the outer and inner wear on it, the body was suspected to be that of Varadarajan's. Speaking to IANS S. Noor Mohamed, member of the CPI-M State Secretariat, said: "We are satisfied with the finger print test report. We are not demanding any more tests. We are planning to hold the funeral Tuesday evening." According to him the party will take the body from the mortuary of the Government Royapettah Hospital and place it at the party headquarters here for public homage. "After 3 p.m. the body will be taken to Kannamapettai crematorium," he said. Speaking to IANS, K. Thyagarajan, superintendent of the Government Royapettah Hospital, said: "We will release the body once the police claim the same. The police informed us that the finger prints tally." According to him, the autopsy was conducted Monday afternoon and samples for DNA test were taken. Varadarajan went missing Feb 11. He left behind an unsigned note that his body be donated for medical research, and his laptops and books to the CPI-M's publication "Theekathir", and the balance in his two bank accounts to the party. As the body is in a decomposed state, Varadarajan's organs could not be harvested nor can his body be used to medical research though this was his last wish. Varadarajan, 64, was a trade union leader and a former legislator. He was stripped of central committee membership of the CPI-M and all party posts earlier this month. Varadarajan, a qualified chartered accountant, quit his Reserve Bank of India (RBI) job, attracted by the communist ideology. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly in 1989 from Villivakkam constituency. Chennai Port to create capacity to facilitate car exportsTuesday, February 23, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 22 (IANS) The Chennai Port Trust has chalked out plans to expand its car parking yards to facilitate car manufacturers in shipping out their small cars to global markets from here. "We have plans to demolish the old buildings in the port and develop those areas as the parking yard for car companies. We are also planning to build a new 'RO-RO' (roll- on-roll-off) berth for easy berthing of car carriers," the trust chairman Subhash Kumar said Monday. Speaking at a function held at the Chennai Port to flag off the one millionth export car of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, he said there were plans to build two multi layered car parking facility with a capacity to park 12,000 cars at the port. "Car exporters can also use the vacant space available in the second container terminal that is currently being under utilised," he added. India's largest car exporter Hyundai Motor India ships out its cars made at its plant near here out of Chennai port. Japanese car company Nissan, which is slated to inaugurate its plant located near here next month, has signed up with Ennore port for exporting around 180,000 cars. Tamil newspaper ransacked in TorontoMonday, February 22, 2010 | AAToronto, Feb 22 (IANS) The office of a prominent Tamil newspaper here was ransacked Saturday night for covering the talks of a local Tamil leader with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Kula Sellathurai, president of the United Tamil Council of Canada and the Canada-India Business Council, had recently met Rajapaksa in Colombo to discuss the Tamil issue and hand over funds raised for the orphans of the war. His talks with the Sri Lankan president were covered in the Uthayan newspaper edited by his friend Logan Logendralingam. The coverage earned the newspaper the ire of many sections of Tamil Canadians. Before the newspaper office was ransacked overnight, the editor got a call from the attackers, chiding him for covering the talks of his friend with the Sri Lankan president. "Your friends went and met the president, now you go and see what happened to your store (office),'' Sellathurai told a local newspaper quoting the attackers telling his editor friend. When the editor reached his office Sunday morning, he was shocked to see its front portion totally smashed. Condemning the attack, Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) leader David Poopalapillai said, "We are against all acts of violence to resolve differences. Everybody has a right to free expression, and we respect that right.'' However, he expressed its strong opposition to any talks with the Sri Lankan president "who is a war criminal declared by many human rights bodies.'' He described the Tamil leader who met the Sri Lankan president as an agent of the Sri Lankan government. "Sellathurai is a stooge of the Sri Lankan government which is trying to divide the Tamils. People like him are falling into the government's trap,'' Poopalapillai said. Missing CPI-M leader's body found in Chennai lakeSunday, February 21, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 21 (IANS) The body of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader W.R. Varadarajan, who was missing since Feb 11, was recovered Sunday from a lake in this Tamil Nadu capital, police said. Varadarajan's foster son could not identify the body as it was in a highly decomposed state. Later, Varadarajan's wife and other family members identified the body. Varadarajan, 64, was a trade union leader and a former legislator. He was stripped of central committee membership of the CPI-M and all party posts earlier this month. Varadarajan went missing Feb 11. He left behind an unsigned note seeking that his body be donated for medical research, donating his laptops and books to the CPI-M's publication "Theekathir", and the balance in his two bank accounts to the party. Police are investigating the cause of death and will hand over the body after conducting DNA tests, an official said. Varadarajan, a qualified chartered accountant, quit his Reserve Bank of India (RBI) job, attracted by the communist ideology. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly in 1989 from Villivakkam constituency. DMK opposes apex court's Mullaperiyar dam panelSaturday, February 20, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 20 (IANS) A day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said that the state had not lost anything in the Mullaperiyar dam case, his party Saturday voiced its opposition to the Supreme Court-constituted five-member committee to review the dam's safety. A resolution passed by the DMK's general council not only opposed the apex court's decision Thursday to form a five member committee headed by former chief justice of India A.S. Anand to go into all issues relating to the dam's safety and the water storage level but also said the state government will not nominate any member to it. The court had asked both Tamil Nadu and Kerala, fighting a legal battle over the Mullaperiyar dam, to nominate one technical expert each as members of the panel, while the central government was to nominate two technical experts. Speaking at the meeting, DMK leader and Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said: "We are not in a position to accept the Supreme Court's decision on the setting of a committee." Addressing the media later, Karunanidhi citing his letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi said: "The central government should intervene in inter-state water disputes to bring about a solution." He said the state's non-participation in the apex court appointed committee will not create any legal problem. "There was no legal problem when Kerala enacted a law to avoid a Supreme Court judgment," he remarked. The DMK's general council meeting, attended by around 1,700 members, also deliberated on 29 resolutions on issues ranging from price rise to the Sri Lankan Tamils' situation. It opposed any hike in fuel prices and in another resolution, urged the central government to take effective steps to stem the increase in prices of essential items by amending the Essential Commodities Act. On the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, the resolution said the central government should prevail upon the island nation's government to ensure devolution of powers to Tamils. The party also called for resettlement of around 250,000 internally displaced persons in the island at the earliest. Another resolution condemned AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa's speech on the sugarcane procurement price issue. One interesting sidelight of the general council meeting was the presence of two AIADMK legislators - Radhakrishnan and Rajendran - sporting the DMK badge. Former AIADMK legislator S.Ve. Shekhar was also present at the meeting. The DMK's executive council had also met earlier in the day. Search launched for missing CPI-M leader in Tamil NaduSaturday, February 20, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 19 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu police as well as Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists are on the look out for senior party leader W.R.Varadarajan, missing since Thursday. Police have registered a missing person complaint after his wife Saraswathi approached them. According to the CPI-M, Varadarajan has been missing since last Thursday and police are looking at various angles, including kidnapping. Varadarajan, a well known trade union leader, was stripped of the party posts recently as a disciplinary action. CPI-M state secretary G.Ramakrishnan met Director General of Police Letika Saran and urged her to locate the missing leader. "There is no news about Varadarajan," Ramakrishnan told IANS. According to police, Varadarajan left two unsigned notes before he disappeared - seeking that his body be donated for medical research, his laptops and books to the CPI-M's publication "Theekathir" and the balance in his two bank accounts to the party. Tamil Nadu bypoll to be held March 27Saturday, February 20, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 19 (IANS) The Election Commission (EC) Friday announced that the bypoll for the Pennagaram assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu will be held March 27. The notification will be issued March 3. The last date for filing of nominations is March 10. While the scrutiny of the nominations will be done March 11, the last day for withdrawal of candidature is March 13 and counting of votes will be held March 30. The holding of the bypoll has generated a lot of political heat, even at the national level, with major political parties charging the EC of a biased attitude. Originally scheduled for Jan 20, the bypoll was postponed to February following representations from the opposition AIADMK, MDMK, PMK, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). The parties contended that the Pongal and Tamil New Year festivals fall during the campaign period and the assembly session would start Jan 6. They also said the poll date had been announced in haste within 21 days of the sitting legislator's death. The postponement necessitated revision of electoral rolls, with Jan 1 as the qualifying date and the completion of 100 percent field verification. EndhiranFriday, February 19, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 19 Superstar Rajnikant, who has teamed up with Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai in Tamil film "Endhiran", says it is expected to hit the screens in July or August. Rajnikant was speaking on one of the costliest films to be made in India -- with a budget of over Rs.125 crore -- after he had visited Chief Minister K. Karunanidhi Thursday to thank him for attending the engagement ceremony of Rajnikant's second daughter Soundarya with industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar. "Endhiran" is directed by Shankar and according to the him more than 90 percent of the movie is complete. A.R. Rahman has composed the music for the film. Nothing lost in Mullaperiyar case: KarunanidhiFriday, February 19, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 19 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Friday said that the state has not lost anything nor has it given anything to Kerala in the Mullaperiyar Dam case that is being heard by the Supreme Court. The chief minister was reacting to the decision of the apex court to form a five member committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand to go into all issues relating to the safety of the dam and the storage level. In a statement issued here, Karunanidhi said: "The Supreme Court under Article 131 has appointed the five member committee, which will analyse the dam safety and its storage level and submit a report to the court in six months time." He said: "The Tamil Nadu government has not given out anything nor is the decision favourable to Kerala." Reacting to the apex court's order, Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Thursday said: "We are delighted by this judgment. We will present more facts before the committee as to why we say that the present dam is unsafe." Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerheads over the dam built under an agreement signed in 1886 between the then Maharaja of Travancore and the British administration. The dam is on the headwaters of the Periyar river in Kerala. According to a 999-year lease agreement signed during the British rule, it is operated by Tamil Nadu. Citing safety concerns, Kerala has been demanding the construction of a new dam, which Tamil Nadu has vehemently opposed while demanding to increase the storage capacity of the existing dam from 136 feet (41.5 m) to 142 feet (43 m) to meet the increasing demand of water for drinking and irrigation. In 2006 the apex court had permitted Tamil Nadu to raise the water level in the dam up to 142 ft after carrying out some repairs. Subsequently, the Kerala Legislature passed the Kerala Irrigation and water Conservation (Amendment) Act 2006 to circumvent the Supreme Court order the legal validity of which is now being contested by Tamil Nadu in the apex court. According to Kerala, the over a century-old dam has outlived its utility and its continued existence on its territory with the raised water level would be a consistent threat to lakhs of people in the state. Reacting to the latest decision of the apex court in setting up of a five member committee, PMK founder S. Ramadoss said: "While the court's decision is to be respected it seems the Supreme Court has let down Tamil Nadu with its decision." The safety of the dam and the environmental concerns were looked into in detail by experts earlier based on which in 2006 the apex court had permitted Tamil Nadu to increase the storage level to 142 ft, he added. He said that the Tamil Nadu chief minister should call an all party meeting to find ways and means to make Kerala understand and stop its "intractable attitude". 'Bollywood better organised than southern film industry' -SadaaThursday, February 18, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) Southern actress Sadaa Sayed, who will be seen in Sangeeth Sivan's spooky thriller "Click", says Bollywood has a better work culture than the southern film industry. "I must say Bollywood is more organised and punctual in comparison to South Indian cinema where the shoots are delayed for no specific reason," Sadaa told IANS over phone from Mumbai. She started her career with Telugu film "Jayam" in 2002. One of her biggest hits was the 2005 Tamil film "Anniyan". But the 26-year-old wanted to start her career with Hindi movies. "I always wanted to start my career with Hindi films, but southern film scripts came my way much earlier and I had no reason to say no. I am a Maharashtrian and language has never been a restriction," she said. Sivan's "Click" is described as a scary, dark and blood-curling film that also stars Shreyas Talpade, Sneha Ullal, Rehan Khan and Chunky Pandey. Releasing Friday, "Click" revolves around a young photographer and his girlfriend. He takes beautiful pictures and when they're printed they hide a secret. Sadaa plays a fashion model who is emotionally dependent on her boyfriend. The actress is fascinated by love stories like "Chandni". "I want to do roles that interest me and I am personally keen to do romantic roles. Love stories interest me a lot. A role where I can show femininity... something like 'Chandni' and 'Chaalbaaz' where the female actresses were given beautiful characters to play," she said. VirudhagiriThursday, February 18, 2010 | AABanner : Captain Cine creations Name of the film : Virudhagiri Main cast : Vijayakanth, Meenakshi and others Music : Sundar C Babu Camera : SK Bhoopaty Producer : LK Sudeesh Director : Vijayakanth                       
Thambikku Intha OoruThursday, February 18, 2010 | AABanner : VK Media Pvt Ltd Name of the film : Thambikku Intha Ooru Main cast : Bharat, Prabhu, Brahmanandam, Vivek and others Music : Dharan Producer's : Saravanan and Bhasakar Director : Badri                    
MaathiyosiThursday, February 18, 2010 | AABanner : PSSR Films Name of the film : Maathiyosi Main cast : Harish,Alex,Gopal,Vishak,Shamu and others Music : Guru Kalyan Camera : Vijay Armstrong Producer : PS Shekar Reddy Director : Nand Parisamy                    
Kulir KalangalThursday, February 18, 2010 | AAName of the film : Kulir Kalangal Main cast: Sukumar, Priyanka Chandra and others Producer's : Vasudevan, P Sridhar and P Girish Director : Remo Shiva                      
Jayalalithaa writes to Manmohan to hike sugarcane pricesThursday, February 18, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 17 (IANS) Taking her demand for remunerative price for sugarcane to the central government, AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to increase the procurement price. On Wednesday, 15 AIADMK MPs delivered Jayalalithaa's letter to theprime minister. In it, she asked the prime minister to take right action that would benefit the people of Tamil Nadu. Citing the central government's constant advice to the states to monitor the prices of essential items while ensuring that the farmers receive their due, Jayalalithaa in her letter said the Tamil Nadu government has failed on both the counts. Though the farmers produce sweet-tasting sugarcane, their lives in the state have turned bitter, the letter noted. "As a result of the state government's warped sugarcane pricing policy, more and more farmers have opted out of their traditional occupation and moved into alien fields," she wrote. Consequently, sugar production, which was 2.1 million tonnes in 2005-06, dropped to 1.6 millon tonnes in 2008-09. "This drastic decrease in production, which is in inverse proportion to demand, is one of the main causes for the multi-fold increase in the price of sugar in the open market, opening the doors for black-marketeers, hoarders and sundry other anti-social elements to exploit the demand and supply situation," the letter notes. In order to avoid the large-scale import of sugar which would lead the sugarcane farmers into debt trap, Jayalalithaa requested the prime minister to increase the fair and remunerative price of sugarcane substantially, and also to impress upon the Tamil Nadu government to increase its support price to Rs.2,500 per tonne. Karunanidhi calls for consensus on fertiliser subsidyWednesday, February 17, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 16 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Tuesday called for political consensus on the issue of nutrient based subsidy (NBS) for fertilisers. "I am also of the view that we need to build a political consensus on this scheme before taking any decision as this scheme would affect a large section of our society," Karunanidhi said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. "It would also be desirable to have views on this new scheme from select state governments with strong agricultural background," he said in the letter. Apprehending runaway fertiliser prices after the introduction of NBS from April 1 onwards, Karunanidhi said: "Any spike in prices would definitely impact usage of fertiliser resulting in shortage of food grains in the country. Moreover, small and medium farmers would be worst hit as they are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood." Urging postponement of the implementation of NBS, Karunanidhi also called for immediate stocking of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and other complex fertilisers for kharif season. Earlier Karunanidhi's son and Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers M.K. Alagiri had written to Mukherjee against NBS as well as increasing the price of urea as it would affect small farmers. Alagiri had wanted both the proposals to be kept on hold for a year. If that happens, it will be the third major economic policy issue on which the central government has back tracked in recent times. The first two reversals were the introduction of marine bill and the proposed changes in the sugarcane pricing. 23,000 voters' addition ordered for Tamil Nadu by-pollTuesday, February 16, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 16 (IANS) The Election Commission (EC) Tuesday said around 23,000 voters have to be included in the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu's Pennagaram assembly constituency, where a by-poll scheduled in January was postponed. Now, the by-poll will be held only after the voters' list is updated. "I am not in a position to say now when the electoral roll will be finally published and the election will be held," state's chief electoral officer (CEO) Naresh Gupta told IANS. The EC is holding a meeting in New Delhi Wednesday about the arrangements for the by-poll. The AIADMK had earlier demanded revision of Pennagaram electoral roll and a probe into large-scale deletion of voters from the roll. AIADMK MPs met Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla in New Delhi Monday and submitted a memorandum asking for a probe for the deletion of 42,000 names from the voters' list in the constituency. On the other hand, MPs from the ruling DMK-Congress-VCK combine met Chawla last Thursday and urged him to hold the by-poll at the earliest. Originally scheduled for Jan 20, the by-poll was postponed to February following representations from the opposition AIADMK, MDMK, PMK, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). These parties contended the Pongal and Tamil New Year festivals fall during the campaign period and the assembly session would start Jan 6. They also said the poll date had been announced in an undue haste within 21 days of the sitting legislator's death. The postponement necessitated revision of electoral rolls with Jan 1 as the qualifying date and the completion of 100 percent field verification. The publication of draft electoral rolls Jan 5 had the opposition party AIADMK up in arms, alleging there was large-scale omission of names, a charge the ruling DMK as well as the Dharmapuri district collector refuted. According to the CEO, had the poll been held in January -- prior to the annual summary revision with Jan 1, 2010, as the qualifying date and the completion of 100 percent field verification -- nearly 23,000 electors wouldn't have been able to exercise their voting right. As many as 32,770 persons had applied for inclusion in the electoral rolls, of whom 19,500 claims were found to be eligible. During the field verification, another 3,394 names were found missing from the voters' list, taking the total number of names to be included to around 23,000. Reacting to the EC's announcement, AIADMK MP V.Maitreyan told IANS: "This clearly proves the electoral roll preparation machinery in the state is under pressure from the ruling DMK party." Alagiri still missing - eludes speaker on pet peeve TamilTuesday, February 16, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS) Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M.K. Alagiri, who was invited by Speaker Meira Kumar to discuss his request to be allowed to answer questions in Tamil, has not yet come to meet her, an official in the speaker's office said here Monday. The budget session of parliament commences Feb 22 and there is an apprehension that if Alagiri continues to remain absent, it will create ruckus in parliament. Alagiri was absent for many days during the budget session and the winter session of parliament last year and the minister's absence had created uproar several times. "He has not come to meet the speaker," the official told IANS. Before the winter session of the Lok Sabha commenced in November last year, Alagiri, said to be miffed over not being allowed to answer questions in Tamil, had written two letters to the speaker requesting her to allow him permission to do so. Meira Kumar told reporters last month that she "requested him to kindly come" to discuss the issue. There was an uproar in Lok Sabha Nov 26 when Alagiri failed to show up even as the issue of shortage of fertilisers and seeds was being discussed in the house. His deputy in the ministry, Srikant Jena gave reply in the house during the discussion. In September too, Alagiri had requested the speaker to allow him to speak in Tamil as he was not fluent in either Hindi or English. Citing precedents, senior Lok Sabha officials had then said that ministers should answer the questions either in English or Hindi as files containing the answers to questions are written in English and Hindi. Earlier, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa also supported Alagiri's request that the Lok Sabha secretariat should extend an 'interpreter service' to him to answer the queries of MPs in Tamil. Jayalalithaa refutes Karunanidhi's charges on cane pricingTuesday, February 16, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 16 (IANS) AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa Tuesday refuted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's charge that her government kept sugarcane prices payable to farmers unaltered till 2004 and only allowed a hike a year later with an eye to assembly elections. The former chief minister said the South India Sugar Mills Association had filed a case in the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court to restrain her government from announcing the state advised price for sugarcane. "It was my government which not only got the restraint order vacated by the Supreme Court in 2004, but also got an order stating that the states can announce their own price for sugarcane," she said in a statement. The federal government fixes what is called the statutory minimum price, while states are allowed to ascertain the state advised price, which is generally higher, and this is what is payable to farmers. Following the apex court's order in 2005, the AIADMK government had announced a state advised price of Rs.1,014 per tonne for sugarcane, against the statutory minimum price of Rs.795 per tonne. The Tamil Nadu chief minister had said Sunday that the previous AIADMK government, for four years, did not announce a higher price for sugarcane than what had been set by the central government. "It was only in 2005 with an eye to elections that the Jayalalithaa government announced higher price for the cane," he said. But Jayalalithaa said it is the DMK government that has not hiked cane prices. Although a higher statutory minimum price of Rs.1,298.40 per tonne was fixed in October, the DMK government continues with the state advised price of Rs.1,437.40 per tonne. She blamed the policies of the previous DMK government (1996-2001) for low sugar output during her rule (2001-2005) and claimed that her government's initiatives had boosted production to 2.14 million tonnes and 2.54 million tonnes in 2005-06 and 2006-07. She said the output has now dropped to 2.14 million tonnes in 2008-09. DMK, AIADMK continue war of words over sugarcane pricingTuesday, February 16, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 14 (IANS) Continuing their war of words on the issue of a remunerative price for sugarcane growers in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi Sunday hit out at AIADMK leader J.Jayalalithaa and her party's agitation over the issue. "The AIADMK government (2001-2005) for four years did not announce a higher price than what the central government had announced for sugarcane purchase. It was only in 2005 with an eye to the elections that the Jayalalithaa government announced higher price for the cane (Rs.1,014 per tonne as against the central government's price of Rs.795 per tonne)," he said. "However, the AIADMK government did not pay that amount and it was only the DMK government that assumed power in 2006 that paid that rate to the cane growers," Karunanidhi added. Jayalalithaa, addressing a gathering of agitating cane growers at Villupuram Saturday, said the AIADMK government had announced a price of Rs.1,014 per tonne in 2005 as against the central government's price of Rs.795 per tonne. According to Karunanidhi, the AIADMK government paid the cane price three months after the central government announced its rate. He said it was the DMK government that announced payment of sugarcane freight charges at Rs.90 per tonne irrespective of the distance and the ownership of the sugar mill - government-run, or owned by a cooperative or private firm. Karunanidhi also refuted Jayalalithaa's charge that the DMK government has reduced the cane price by Rs.80 per tonne the last four years even as the central government had increased the rate by Rs.503 per ton. He said the state government has announced a price of Rs.1,437.40 per tonne for 2009-2010 as against the central government notified price of Rs.1.298.40 per tonne. AIADMK meets CEC over by-poll, discusses 42,000 missing namesTuesday, February 16, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 15 (IANS) Political activity is building up around the Pennagaram assembly by-poll in Tamil Nadu with an AIADMK delegation calling on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Navin Chawla Monday, four days after the DMK-Congress-VCK combine met him to ask for elections at the earliest. With the Election Commission deciding to hold a review meeting Feb 17 on the by-poll -- necessitated by the death of DMK legislator P.N. Periannan, AIADMK's M. Thambidurai led a parliamentarians team to meet the CEC and demand that the constituency's electoral rolls that had omitted 42,000 voters be set right. The MPs said in their memorandum that the 42,000 names in the list published by the Election Commission in 2009 were deleted without any reason. "The procedure for the deletion of voters has been enunciated under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960," the memorandum stated and added that those 42,000 "were eligible to vote in the Pennagaram Assembly Constituency during the 2006 Assembly General Elections and the 2009 Parliamentary General Elections". It said that district officials in Dharmapuri, in which the constituency falls, had been acting hand in glove with the ruling DMK. Last week Thursday, Chawla had received a 25-member delegation of MPs from the DMK-Congress-VCK alliance who said the by-elections should be held at the earliest. Originally scheduled to be held Jan 20 this year, the by-poll was postponed to February by the Election Commission upon the representations from the opposition AIADMK, MDMK, PMK, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). They said the Pongal and Tamil New Year festivals fall during the campaign period and the assembly session would start Jan 6. They also said the Election Commission had declared the poll date in an undue haste within 21 days of Periannan's death. However, the ruling DMK and its ally Congress had opposed the decision. When the electoral rolls were revised in 2010, several political parties had complained to the Election Commission about the omission of thousands of voters from the list. The commission deferred the publication of the final list and asked the chief electoral officer, Tamil Nadu, to take appropriate action. It also asked that the district election officer of Dharmapuri be directed to hold a meeting of the representatives of the political parties to discuss the issue. Based on the chief electoral officer's report and after final publication of the electoral rolls, the poll panel will take a decision on the dates for holding the by-election in Pennagaram. DMK, AIADMK continue war of words over sugarcane pricingSunday, February 14, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 14 (IANS) Continuing their war of words on the issue of a remunerative price for sugarcane growers in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi Sunday hit out at AIADMK leader J.Jayalalithaa and her party's agitation over the issue. "The AIADMK government (2001-2005) for four years did not announce a higher price than what the central government had announced for sugarcane purchase. It was only in 2005 with an eye to the elections that the Jayalalithaa government announced higher price for the cane (Rs.1,014 per tonne as against the central government's price of Rs.795 per tonne)," he said. "However, the AIADMK government did not pay that amount and it was only the DMK government that assumed power in 2006 that paid that rate to the cane growers," Karunanidhi added. Jayalalithaa, addressing a gathering of agitating cane growers at Villupuram Saturday, said the AIADMK government had announced a price of Rs.1,014 per tonne in 2005 as against the central government's price of Rs.795 per tonne. According to Karunanidhi, the AIADMK government paid the cane price three months after the central government announced its rate. He said it was the DMK government that announced payment of sugarcane freight charges at Rs.90 per tonne irrespective of the distance and the ownership of the sugar mill - government-run, or owned by a cooperative or private firm. Karunanidhi also refuted Jayalalithaa's charge that the DMK government has reduced the cane price by Rs.80 per tonne the last four years even as the central government had increased the rate by Rs.503 per ton. He said the state government has announced a price of Rs.1,437.40 per tonne for 2009-2010 as against the central government notified price of Rs.1.298.40 per tonne. Tamil Nadu qualify for Vijay Hazare TrophySunday, February 14, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 14 (IANS) Tamil Nadu assured themselves of the Subbaiah Pillai Trophy cricket when they defeated holders Karnataka by two runs in a thrilling finish in the South Zone one-day tournament, here Sunday. While Tamil Nadu remained unbeaten after four matches, Karnataka suffered their first defeat in four outings, but both qualified for the All-India Vijay Hazare Trophy competition. Tamil Nadu have 19 points as against Karnataka's 15 after four rounds of league and the tournament concludes Tuesday after Monday's rest day. Batting first, Tamil Nadu piled up 316 for eight in 50 overs with all their top-order batsmen, led by opener Abhinav Mukund (89), chipping in with useful scores. In reply, Karnataka shrugged off the early loss of opener Rosen Jonathan as skipper Robin Uthappa (117, 102b, 12x4, 2x6) and Manish Pandey (57) put on 130 runs for the third wicket. However, a middle-order slump put Karnataka behind before Raju Bhatkal (35 not out) and tailenders took the side close to the target but ran out of overs to finish on 314 for nine. Meanwhile, Goa, thanks to a century by opener Amit Yadav (119,95b, 8x4,7x6), displayed plenty of pluck to overcome Hyderabad's total of 310 for seven that included a knock of 121 (117b, 14x4, 3x6) by Akshath Reddy, and win by two wickets while Kerala defeated Andhra by six wickets. Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 316 for 8 in 50 overs (S Anirudha 43, Abhinav Mukund 89, K B Arun Karthick 27, K Shrivasudevadas 65) beat Karnataka 314 for 9 in 50 Overs (Robin Uthappa 117, Manish Pandey 57, Rajoo Bhatkal 35 not out, R Suthesh 3 for 51) by 2 runs. Hyderabad 310 for 7 in 50 overs (Akshath Reddy 121, AT.Rayudu 76, Neeraj Bist 63, Saurabh Bhandekar 3 for 45) lost to Goa 311 for 8 in 48.5 overs (Amit Yadav 119, S Sriram 48, Amol Shindey 3 for 55) by 2 wickets. Andhra 269 for 7 in 50 overs (Y Venugopal Rao 113, V Manoj Sai 44, Y Gnaneswara Rao 67, Prashanth Parameshwaran 3 for 46) lost to Kerala 271 for 4 in 47.4 overs (Abhishek Hegde 42, VA.Jagadeesh 105 not out 105, Robert Fernandez 62 , P Prashanth Not out 41) by 6 wickets. 'Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai' is immatureSaturday, February 13, 2010 | AAFilm: "Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai" Cast: Vishal, Neetu Chandra, Tanushree Dutta, Sarah Jane, Prakash Raj, Santhanam, Mayilsami and Sathyan; Director: Thiru; Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja; Rating:** "Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai" (TVP) is Vishal's attempt at a new genre - that of a light entertainer - after his actions flicks failed to evince much interest. "TVP" could have been a sure-fire entertainer but the director (newcomer Thiru) fails to exploit the plot to make it a smart movie. He has chosen a storyline laced with romance, glamour and fun but has failed to present it in a convincing and interesting manner. Karthik (Vishal), a carefree youth belonging to an upper middle class family, likes having many choices in whatever he does or buys. And he wants to apply the same approach to select his life partner. He wants to love three girls at a time and select the best after interacting with them and knowing them better...It does sound ridiculous. Karthik identifies three girls, fools them, and finally wins their hearts. Tejaswini (Neetu Chandra), a millionaire, Jyothi (Tanushree Dutta), an athlete who hates guys, and Priya (Sarah Jane), a student who wants to avoid an arranged marriage are the girls that fall in Karthik's love trap. The director makes it look so easy that these young woman fall for the guy without any strong reason. The film moves on with the love escapades of the protagonist. But he gets caught by Tejaswini. Agitated at being fooled, she wants revenge by exposing him and his plans. Karthik outsmarts her in every move but finally he learns a lesson the hard way. Director Thiru disappoints in the first half as he fails to make the proceedings look convincing. He takes everything for granted in his pursuit to give Vishal a new image and make an entertaining movie. The way Vishal cons the three girls leaves much to be desired. The dialogues on the ways of women and their integrity in love are highly immature. The narrative gets somewhat interesting after Vishal is exposed but the movie's length in the second half mars the impact. The predictable climax and the silly twist that comes as anti-climax fail to make any impression. Vishal manages to do justice to his role of a casanova. He emotes well in the funny scenes and also flexes his muscles in a couple of sequences. But many of his mannerisms resemble Vijay's acting in certain films. The comedy trio of Santhanam, Mayilsami and Sathyan provide laughter throughout. In fact, the first half would have been rather dull but for these three actors. Neetu stuns with her good looks and impresses with her acting skills. In fact she outsmarts Vishal in many sequences. And she certainly sizzles in the songs. Tanushree Dutta look cute and does try to act. Sarah looks a little fatigued. And veteran actor Prakash Raj has been wasted in this movie. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music passes muster with the title number standing out. Arvind Krishna's cinematography is top class. The unconvincing script and immature presentation have made the potential entertainer an ordinary fare. Murugappa group acquires French firm for 6.8 million eurosSaturday, February 13, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 12 (IANS) The city-based $3.14 billion industrial conglomerate Murugappa group has opened the year 2010 with a French acquisition. The Group company Tube Investments of India Ltd (TII) Friday acquired controlling stake in Sedis Group, which manufactures industrial and engineering class chains at its two plants in France, by buying 77.13 percent stake in its holding company Financiere C10 (FC10) for 6.8 million euros. TII has acquired 75 percent from FC10 and the balance from few other shareholders. As per the deal, the Sedis management will hold the balance stake and be associated with the company for three more years. The turnover of Sedis Group was 37 million euros for the year 2008 and the profit after tax was 1.35 million euros. During the first nine months of calendar year 2009, the revenue was at 21 million euros and the profit after tax was 0.55 million euros. The acquisition will enable TII to access Sedis' superior technologies and make products that are today being imported into the country. Post acquisition, the Sedis board will be reconstituted with three nominees from TII and one from Sedis. Properties worth Rs.3,000 crore on show at Fairpro 2010Saturday, February 13, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 11 (IANS) Around Rs.3,000 crore worth of residential properties at a price ranging from Rs.10 lakh to Rs.8 crore will be on the offer at the third edition of a property fair to be held here from Feb 19. "About 250 residential properties between 550 sq.ft and 5,600 sq.ft from 45 developers will be showcased at Fairpro 2010 that begins on Feb 19 at Chennai Trade Centre," Sandeep Mehta, chairman of Fairpro 2010, told reporters here Thursday. The three-day fair is being organised by the Tamil Nadu chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI). He said 80 percent of the properties fall under the Rs.25 lakh and Rs.35 lakh price band. There will be around 200 ready to occupy apartments that will be on the show as last year's recession had hit the real estate sector badly. According to him the notable aspect of properties showcased in the Fairpro is that they have been cleared by CREDAI's legal due diligence cell so that a buyer is not put to trouble later. Further developers of some projects are offering interest subvention which in turn means a prospective buyer can get a loan at 5.99 percent rate. "The interest rate is valid for two years. All the properties have been approved for housing loans by leading lenders." Poll panel urged to hold Tamil Nadu by-poll soonSaturday, February 13, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 11 (IANS) A delegation of MPs from Tamil Nadu belonging to United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Thursday met Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla in New Delhi and urged him to hold the by-poll for the Pennagaram assembly constituency soon. "Around 25 MPs belonging to DMK, Congress and VCK met Chawla and urged him to hold the election at the earliest. We told him that it is not right to postpone the poll based on wild allegations," DMK MP T.K.S.Elangovan told IANS on phone from New Delhi. According to him, Chawla told the delegation that the Election Commission will take a decision after a review meeting slated on Feb 17 that would consider the report from the state's chief electoral officer (CEO). Originally scheduled to be held on Jan 20 this year, the by-poll was postponed to February by the Election Commission upon the representations from opposition parties - AIADMK, MDMK, PMK, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) - that the Pongal and Tamil New Year festivals falls during the campaign period and the assembly session that would start Jan 6. They also said the Election Commission had declared the poll date in an undue haste within 21 days of the death of sitting legislator P.N. Periannan (DMK). However, the ruling DMK and its ally Congress had opposed the decision. When the electoral rolls were revised in 2010, several political parties made a complaint to the Election Commission about omission of around 30,000 voters from the list. "This is a wild allegation. Officially there have been only 30 complaints about omission from the voters list," Elangovan said. However the commission deferred the publication of the final list and asked the the CEO to verify the complaints and take appropriate action. It also asked CEO to direct District Election Officer, Dharmapuri district to hold a meeting of the representatives of the political parties to discuss the issue. On the basis of the CEO's report, and after final publication of electoral rolls, the poll panel will take a decision on the dates for holding of by-poll in Pennagaram considering issues like school examinations, religious festivals and others. To a question about March and April are exam times, Elangovan said: "It is true. We had requested the Commissioner to hold the poll at an appropriate date before the exam season start." For DMK which has 99 members in the assembly excluding the speaker, winning the Pennagaram seat is important to touch the magic 100 figure. Indians deserve access to pain treatment, says rights bodySaturday, February 13, 2010 | AATiruchirapalli, Feb 12 (IANS) The central government should act urgently to ensure access to pain medications, Human Rights Watch said ahead of a national conference on palliative care here in Tamil Nadu. Hundreds of thousands of Indian patients with cancer and other conditions experience agonizing pain every year because they do not have access to morphine - an inexpensive, safe, and highly effective pain medication. Government drug regulations, lack of training for health care workers, and poor integration of care are the core reasons for the lack of access, Human Rights Watch said. "Each day the government fails to act, more than 2,000 cancer patients in India die in excruciating pain," said Diederik Lohman, senior health and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The government should take decisive action to end the unnecessary suffering." In an October 2009 report, "Unbearable Pain: India's Obligation to Ensure Palliative Care," Human Rights Watch found that many major cancer hospitals in India do not provide patients with morphine though more than 70 percent of their patients are incurable and therefore more likely to require pain treatment and palliative care. Health centers offering services to people living with HIV similarly do not have morphine or doctors trained to prescribe it. Severe pain is a common symptom among cancer patients, particularly during the last stages of the disease. More than one million advanced cancer patients in India experience severe pain every year. In addition, many other patients, including those with HIV, TB or other infections or illness, may face acute or chronic severe pain. AIADMK legislator meets Karunanidhi, slams JayalalithaaSaturday, February 13, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 12 (IANS) In a state where even exchanging pleasantries with opposition party leaders is considered blasphemous, an AIADMK legislator met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and criticised his own party chief J. Jayalalithaa. K. Rajendran met DMK chief Karunanidhi Friday morning and said he had submitted a memorandum to the chief minister to carry out development works in his Jayamkondan constituency. Criticising Jayalalithaa, he said the DMK government has increased the procurement price of sugarcane to Rs.1,550 per tonne as against Rs.775 paid during the former's regime. Present during the meeting were DMK MP and union Minister for Information Technology and Communications A. Raja and Perambalur District DMK secretary S.S. Sivasankar. Rajendran became the second AIADMK legislator to meet Karunanidhi in a week's time petitioning for development projects in their constituencies. Last week, AIADMk legislator L. Radhakrishnan met Karunanidhi and his two sons - Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and union Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister M.K. Alagiri. Sometime back, AIADMK's Tiruchendur legislator Anita Radhakrishnan resigned his post and joined DMK only to be re-elected under the latter's ticket. It was S.V. Shekar, the AIADMK legislator from Mylapore who first started praising Karunanidhi after he was sidelined within the party. He congratulated Stalin on his elevation as the deputy chief minister. Subsequently, he was expelled from the party last July and now he remains an unattached member in the state assembly. The AIADMK has 57 members in the state assembly. Reacting to the latest development, AIADMK's Rajya Sabha member V. Maitreyan told IANS: "The DMK is stooping to lowest levels against all democratic norms and electoral ethics." He said the two legislators have been divested of their party posts but he remained non-committal on the future course of action against them. According to AIADMK sources, the party may not take any further action on the two legislators that may warrant their resignation and a by-poll which the DMK has been winning. "For four years, these MLAs (members of legislative assembly) were silent and didn't make an issue of not being able to speak in the assembly. It is interesting why they are now complaining," remarked an AIADMK leader. According to one view, the two legislators may get DMK nomination in a by-poll if they resign, but not during the assembly elections. Poll panel urged to hold Tamil Nadu by-poll soonThursday, February 11, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 11 (IANS) A delegation of MPs from Tamil Nadu belonging to United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Thursday met Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla in New Delhi and urged him to hold the by-poll for the Pennagaram assembly constituency soon. "Around 25 MPs belonging to DMK, Congress and VCK met Chawla and urged him to hold the election at the earliest. We told him that it is not right to postpone the poll based on wild allegations," DMK MP T.K.S.Elangovan told IANS on phone from New Delhi. According to him, Chawla told the delegation that the Election Commission will take a decision after a review meeting slated on Feb 17 that would consider the report from the state's chief electoral officer (CEO). Originally scheduled to be held on Jan 20 this year, the by-poll was postponed to February by the Election Commission upon the representations from opposition parties - AIADMK, MDMK, PMK, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) - that the Pongal and Tamil New Year festivals falls during the campaign period and the assembly session that would start Jan 6. They also said the Election Commission had declared the poll date in an undue haste within 21 days of the death of sitting legislator P.N. Periannan (DMK). However, the ruling DMK and its ally Congress had opposed the decision. When the electoral rolls were revised in 2010, several political parties made a complaint to the Election Commission about omission of around 30,000 voters from the list. "This is a wild allegation. Officially there have been only 30 complaints about omission from the voters list," Elangovan said. However the commission deferred the publication of the final list and asked the the CEO to verify the complaints and take appropriate action. It also asked CEO to direct District Election Officer, Dharmapuri district to hold a meeting of the representatives of the political parties to discuss the issue. On the basis of the CEO's report, and after final publication of electoral rolls, the poll panel will take a decision on the dates for holding of by-poll in Pennagaram considering issues like school examinations, religious festivals and others. To a question about March and April are exam times, Elangovan said: "It is true. We had requested the Commissioner to hold the poll at an appropriate date before the exam season start." For DMK which has 99 members in the assembly excluding the speaker, winning the Pennagaram seat is important to touch the magic 100 figure. Now degree with diploma in Tamil NaduWednesday, February 10, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 10 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government Wednesday launched a scheme whereby students can pursue simultaneously a diploma in a vocational stream apart from their basic degree course. A total of 3,571 students have enrolled themselves under the educational scheme in various courses. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi wished them luck while launching the scheme, which will help in increasing the employment opportunities of arts and science graduates studying in government colleges. The students will have a diploma or certificate in a vocational course like multimedia, air conditioning technology, web designing, animation and beautician apart from their arts/science degree on passing out from college. As per the scheme, which will be implemented from the ensuing academic year, the government has attached some polytechnic colleges with diploma courses to its colleges. No deliberate delay in Tamil Nadu by-election: poll panelWednesday, February 10, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) There was no deliberate delay in conducting an assembly by-election in Tamil Nadu and a decision on its date will be taken soon, the poll panel said here Wednesday. The Election Commission in a statement rebutted reports in a section of the press that expressed concerns at the delay in conducting the by-election from the Pennagaram assembly constituency in the state. The commission had scheduled the polling for Jan 20 after the seat fell vacant due to death of the sitting member Dec 1, 2009. "However, due to representations from various political parties, the notification was withdrawn as the Pongal festival and the Tamil New Year were falling during the campaign period," the commission said. The election must be held by June 1 to fill the vacancy, according to the law. "For notifying the by-election dates afresh in 2010, the commission had to revise the electoral rolls," the poll panel said. The electoral rolls were prepared but before these could be published political parties complained to the commission that the rolls carried bogus names and that the names of some eligible people were deleted. The commission will now review the progress Feb 17 and after the final publication of the electoral rolls, it will take a decision on the date for the by-election, "keeping in mind all relevant considerations like school examinations, religious festivals", the poll panel said. Tie-up with DMK strong, says CongressWednesday, February 10, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) There were no hiccups in the Congress' alliance with the DMK and there were no possibilities of the party tying up with the AIADMK ahead of elections in the state next year, a party spokesperson said here Wednesday. "Our alliance (with the DMK) is strong," Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told IANS. He clarified that the alliance continued and "there were no hiccups or misunderstanding between the two parties". He also stressed that the DMK was part of the United Progressive Alliance government. Speculation about the future of the Congress-DMK partnership arose after AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa had said in an interview that the people in the Tamil Nadu were very impatient with the DMK and any decision had to be taken by Congress leadership. Chennai police to file charges against Will Heum in 15 daysWednesday, February 10, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 10 (IANS) A charge sheet will be filed against alleged paedophile William Heum within 15 days, police here said Tuesday after the Dutch national was granted bail by a local court. Chennai Police Commissioner T. Rajendran said a strong charge sheet against Heum would be filed in 15 days time. Heum was given bail by a local court as the police had failed to file a chargesheet even after 80 days of having arrested him. The Dutch national, who has been living in India for more than 30 years, will come out of jail in two days time. He was arrested last November on an alert sounded by the Interpol about him uploading child pornographic pictures on the internet. In 2002, Heum was booked for sex offences against children by the Mahabalipuram police near here and was let out on bail. Gamesa to develop two wind farms in Tamil NaduTuesday, February 9, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 9 (IANS) The euro 3.6 billion turnover Spanish wind power group Gamesa is setting up two wind farms in Tamil Nadu with a total capacity of 135 MW, said a top company official. "We are setting up an 85-MW wind farm in Theni and 50-MW farm in Coimbatore. We will install our windmills in these farms on behalf of other investors," Ramesh Kymal, chairman and managing director of the Spanish group's Indian subsidiary Gamesa Wind Turbines, told reporters here Tuesday. According to him, the Theni farm will have around 100 windmills and the Coimbatore farm around 60 units. "The turnkey cost of installing a windmill (cost of machine and erection costs) will be around Rs.6.5 crore," Kymal said. Gorge Calvet Spinatsch, chairman of the Spanish group, said: "Development of wind farms is a key component of our business globally. But we will not be the utility generating the power." According to Kymal, Gamesa's Rs.200-crore Indian plant near here has an annual capacity to make turbines for 500 MW, with each turbine of 850 kilowatt (kW) capacity. The plant will be making nacelle - that houses the gear box and drive train - and the mast while turbines will be imported from Spain initially. Later, Gamesa will localise the components in a phased manner. According to Kymal, the company has started exporting to Sri Lanka. Queried about competition making MW class machines in India when Gamesa is still in kW stage, Kymal said: "Bigger need not be better in Indian conditions. The bigger machines should have proper spares support during the life time of the windmill. Our price per kW is competitive when compared to competition." Two criminals shot dead in Tamil Nadu gunfightTuesday, February 9, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 8 (IANS) Two criminals were shot dead here Monday after they attacked a police team that tried to nab them, authorities said. "The city police got a tip off that Dindugal Pandi and his accomplice Velu were hiding at Panniyur near here. When the police came to nab them, they attacked the team and injured two cops while trying escape," a police officer said. "The police in turn shot dead Pandi and Velu," the police officer said. According to police, several murder and kidnap cases were lodged against Pandi. "The police were on the lookout for him for a long time," the officer added. While the two injured policemen have been admitted to a private hospital, the bodies of the two criminals have been sent to Royapettah Government Hospital here for postmortem examination. Tamil Nadu port projects to be completed in two years: VasanTuesday, February 9, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 8 (IANS) The shipping ministry will extend all help for completion of two important port connectivity projects in Tamil Nadu, said Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan here Monday. Speaking to reporters, Vasan said the road projects -- the Ennore-Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIC) and the 19-km Maduravoyal Elevated Expressway -- will be completed in two years. "The shipping ministry will render all help to the two ports (Chennai and Ennore) for the fast completion of the two projects," he said after attending a review meeting here. The 30 km Ennore-Manali road project, promoted by Chennai Ennore Port Road Co -- a three way joint venture between Chennai Port Trust, Tamil Nadu government and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) -- had hit the block when the project cost went up to Rs.600 crore from the initial estimate of Rs.160 crore made 10 years ago. The Chennai Port Trust had contributed Rs.38 crore as its share. Tamil Nadu to have investment policy for auto sectorMonday, February 8, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 5 (IANS) With investments by automobile units having a multiplier effect in job creation, the Tamil Nadu government will come out with a policy specially for the industry, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said Friday. "The automobile industry is a major employment generator. If the mother automobile plant employs one direct labour, the vendors cumulatively employ eight," Stalin said at the inauguration of auto firm Ford India's new engine plant near here. "Considering the importance of this sector, our government is to formulate an industry-specific sectoral policy for automobiles and components. The draft policy will be finalised within three months," he said. Ford also rolled out its small car Figo Friday. According to Stalin, the total manufacturing capacity in and around the state capital is 1.28 million units of cars annually and 350,000 units of commercial vehicles. "In other words, Chennai will have a capacity to produce three cars every minute and one commercial vehicle every 75 seconds," he said. While Mahindra and Mahindra has decided to locate its new facility in Tamil Nadu, the state already houses major car companies like Ford, Hyundai, BMW, Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi. Stalin also said the state accounted for 32 percent of the country's auto components production capacity. Inaugurating the new engine plant with an annual capacity of 250,000 units and the commercial production of Figo, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi expressed satisfaction at the investment made by Ford and the 6,000 jobs it has created. He said Tamil Nadu has got 16 major automobile and auto component projects involving an outlay of around Rs.27,000 crore. Apart from building a new engine facility, Ford India has doubled its vehicle manufacturing capacity to 200,000 units per annum. According to Ford India's president and managing director Michael Boneham, the company will start exporting Figo and engines to South Africa and Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) countries. Strengthen southern coastal security: StalinMonday, February 8, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) The central government "has not fully realised" the "sensitivity" of India's martime boundary with Sri Lanka and should accord it equal significance as the country's other land and sea borders, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin here Sunday. "The sensitivity of this border with Sri Lanka has not been fully realised. Better co-ordination and exchange of information between various central and state agencies will avert many unsavoury incidents involving our fishermen and the Sri Lankan navy," Stalin said at the internal security meeting here. It is for this reason the entire manpower cost of securing the maritime boundary should be borne by the Indian government, he said. Stalin also opposed the centre's proposal for the blanket transfer to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of all cases relating to fake currency notes, saying this should be in consultation and on a case-to-case basis. In this context, he noted that the National Investigation Agency Act already provides for transfer of important fake currency note cases to National Investigation Agency at the central government's discretion. Stating that Tamil Nadu was not in favour of raising a separate State Industrial Security Force for reasons of sectional recruitment, Stalin said the purpose would be served by the police inculcating professionalism in private security agencies. He also said organised crime in the state was being tackled by the creation of an Organised Crime Intelligence Unit (OICU) with 476 officials. GoripalayamMonday, February 8, 2010 | AAName of the film : Goripalayam Main cast : Vikranth, Ramakrishnan, Raghuvannan, Praksah, Harish, Jagannath, Singampuli, Ravi Mari, Nandha Periyasamy and others Director : Rasu Madhuravan                                        
Kurunila MunnanMonday, February 8, 2010 | AABanner : KRK Film Circuit Name of the film : Kurunila Munnan Main cast : Pradip, Vidya, Jagath and others Music : Johan Producer : Nisha Kennedi Director : Murugayya                        
Asal - ReviewSunday, February 7, 2010 | AAFilm: "Asal"; Cast: Ajit Kumar, Bhavana, Sameera Reddy, Suresh, Prabhu and others; Director: Saran; Music Director: Bharadwaj; Rating: ** It's very difficult to find a story in Ajit's latest offering "Asal". The film is full of sequences like abduction, hero finding his way into the villain's den, brother turning into a villain, competition between heroines to marry hero, Yugi Sethu trying hard to tickle funny bones of the audiences, etc. But one fails to understand what Saran, known as a good scriptwriter, is trying to narrate through the film. The truth is that the film has nothing to offer in terms of story. Saran usually weaves his screenplay around a strong storyline, but falters this time. His Midas Touch is sadly missing from the narrative. Whatever story one could decipher at the end of the movie is this: Sampath, Vicky and Ajit are brothers (Ajit is step brother). Vicky is kidnapped by a Mumbai-based group led by Shetty (Kelly Dorji) and Sampath finds himself in a helpless situation. Ajit, who stays in France, swings into action and returns to Mumbai along with his girlfriend Sara (Sameera) in the guise of a musician. He meets Sulabha (Bhavana), who makes arrangements for Ajit's stay in Mumbai. Sulabha, as could be expected, falls for the handsome man. Ajit completes the mission successfully but he finds new rivals in Sampath and Vikky who try to get rid of him. The reason behind the hatred is their father's assets. According to the will, the huge assets would go to Ajit. Sampath and Vikky cook a nasty plan to grab the assets. Watch the film to find out how Ajit counters them. Saran had almost lost his Midas Touch in his last film "Modhi Vilaiyadu" and has gone worse with the film. Sadly, none of the sequences make for compelling viewing. The romantic sequences are best ignored while the action scenes are predictable. The twist at the interval comes as a surprise, but the script fails to maintain the momentum in the second half. The only scene which is impressive is Bhavana and Sameera's conversation, which has some subtlety and sharpness. Ajit looks stylish but one fails to understand why he wears a deadpan expression throughout the film. His ever-so-serious facial expressions don't help the film. It seems that the "Billa" hangover still refuses to leave Ajit. Sameera looks hot and acts with ease. Bhavana looks cute and handles her role with charm. Prabhu appears in an almost negligible role unlike yesteryear's hero Suresh, who plays a French cop. Music director Bharadwaj, who never disappoints, grossly fails as none of the songs is worth mentioning. Cinematographer Prashanth D. Mishalae has done an excellent job. The usual glitter one would associate with Saran's films is very much here. He has made the film exclusively for Ajit's fans and they won't complain. We too must be grateful to Saran for completing the movie in just a couple of hours' time. Watch it if you are a hardcore Ajit fan. Banner: Sivaji Production Bane of the film : Asal Cast: Ajit, Sameera Reddy, Bhavana, Rajiv Krishna and others Music: Bharadwaj and Y Kinz Producer : Prabhu Director : Saran                                   Forget and forgive Jayaram's comments, says KarunanidhiSaturday, February 6, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 6 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Saturday said people should "forget and forgive" Malayalam actor Jayaram's alleged derogatory remarks about Tamil women. In a statement issued here, Karunanidhi said: "If Jayaram has spoken in a derogatory manner about Tamil women, then it is condemnable. Since he had sought an open and unconditional apology, one can leave this issue, following the principle of Anna (DMK founder C.N. Annadurai) and forget and forgive." The actor, who has acted in scores of Malayalam and Tamil films, lives here with his former actor-wife Parvati. On Friday, Jayaram's house was attacked by a group of people belonging to Naam Thamizhar outfit for his alleged derogatory comments about Tamil women in an interview to a Malayalam channel. Karunanidhi, in his statement, warned that police will not be mute spectators if people take law into their own hands. At the time of attack, the actor's wife, mother, daughter and domestic helps were in the house. They had to lock themselves in a room to escape the mob's fury. Twelve people have been arrested for the attack. Jayaram, who returned to the city Saturday from a shooting schedule, again apologised for his comments which, he said, were made unintentionally. UPA government to be consulted on Nalini's release: KarunanidhiThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 3 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Wednesday said the state administration will take a decision on the premature release of S. Nalini and others convicted for the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi only after consulting the central government. "The Tamil Nadu government cannot decide on its own in respect to releasing life convicts like Nalini. It will take a decision in joint consultation with the central government," Karunanidhi told reporters here. The Prison Advisory Board (PAB) set up by the state government to consider the premature release of 11 life convicts lodged in Vellore prison has submitted its report to the state government. The board has considered the release plea of Nalini, Robert Pyas and Jayakumar convicted for the assassination of Gandhi in 1991. Referring to the issue of rehabilitation and resettlement of Tamils in Sri Lanka, he said that his party DMK will pass a resolution asking the country to fulfil the assurances given earlier on the devolution of powers to the community there. He said the party's executive committee and general council will meet Feb 20 here to discuss the issue. On the issue of Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill, Karunanidhi reiterated his party's opposition to the proposed law. He said Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has given an assurance to his cabinet colleague Dayanidhi Maran that the bill will not be introduced in Parliament. Speaking about the ensuing World Classical Tamil Conference in Coimbatore, Karunanidhi said 4,625 persons have registered for participation, out of which 464 are from overseas. The synopses of 3,401 research papers have been received, he added. 'Not wearing lungi in Tamil Nadu can cost you election'Thursday, February 4, 2010 | AAPanaji, Feb 2 (IANS) Stressing the political importance of preserving and promoting ethnic identity, Congress Rajya Sabha member from Goa Shantaram Naik Tuesday said no one can win an election in Tamil Nadu if he does not wear a 'lungi'. He cited union Home Minister P.Chidambaram's sartorial preference to buttress his argument. "In Tamil Nadu, unless a politician wears a 'lungi' (a wrap-around), he does not get votes. If he (politician) wears a shirt and pants there...he loses," Naik said, adding that even Chidambaram wears a white 'mundu' (wrap-around) regularly, barring some exceptions. Naik, who is also the outgoing president of the All India Konkani Parishad (AIKP), a literary institution established in 1939, said that striking an ethnic cord with the electorate was a key to electoral politics, be it through ethnic attire like the 'lungi' in Tamil Nadu or an ethnic language like Konkani in Goa. "Today politicians in Goa feel that if you do not speak in Konkani, no one will vote for you. That is the general feeling amongst politicians here," Naik said, during the press conference called to announce the 2010 edition of the AIKP, which will feature more than 2,000 litterateurs from the Konkani speaking regions of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. Konkani, an ethnic language of Goa, is also the official language of the state. Seven held for stealing idols in Tamil NaduThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAChennai, Feb 1 (IANS) Seven people, including a pastor, were held in Tamil Nadu for smuggling antique idols, police said Monday. The police retrieved 11 'panchaloha' idols (made of a composite of five metals) valued around Rs.11 crore, said a senior police official. "A special police team arrested three people from a lodge in Periamet area based on a tip-off. The arrested men are Immanuel, Madasamy and Pitchaimani. Police also recovered a Krishna idol made of panchaloha," Additional Director General of Police G. Thilagavathi told reporters. She said the arrested men disclosed that two people - Jagannathan and Velu - stole the idols from the temples in Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai and Vellore districts and passed these on to Immanuel, a pastor. The duo had stolen idols of Krishna, Radha, Rukmani and Ganesh. While they had given the Krishna idol to Immanuel, the remaining were buried near Jagannathan's house to be handed over to Marisamy of Puducherry latter for onward sale. All three - Jagannathan, Velu and Marisamy - have been arrested. Five idols of Mahaveer were recovered from Marisamy, police said. One more person, Gangachalam, was arrested for stealing and selling two idols to Marisamy. India has confirmation of Prabhakaran's death: ChidambaramThursday, February 4, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) India has got official confirmation that Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, wanted for the 1991 killing of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, is dead, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Monday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has received documentary proof of the death of Prabhakaran in May last year, the minister told reporters here. "The CBI has told me that they have received documentation from the government of Sri Lanka confirming the death of Prabhakaran," Chidambaram said while presenting the monthly report of his ministry. He did not elaborate. The remark follows a CBI statement last month, in response to an RTI application, that it was yet to get the death certificate of Prabhakaran, the founder leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Prabhakaran along with his intelligence chief Pottu Amman were declared proclaimed offenders after a LTTE suicide bomber blew up Rajiv Gandhi near Chennai in May 1991. India outlawed the LTTE in August 1992. 'Jai ho' fetches a bouquet of global awards for RahmanThursday, February 4, 2010 | AANew Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) When Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman was composing the song "Jai ho", he didn't envisage that the composition would become such a rage and win him laurels and awards across the globe. The song features in British filmmaker Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire", which is a screen adaptation of Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup's novel "Q & A". The composition in the film has won Rahman the most prestigious international awards including, the Oscars, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Critics Choice Award, The Golden Globe and now the music industry's biggest honour - the Grammys. The song that was penned by lyricist Gulzar and Tanvi Shah, was crooned by Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Vijay Prakash with support from Rahman and Shah. Rahman, who started his career with director Mani Ratnam's 1992 Tamil film "Roja", made his presence felt and has gone up several notches in terms of popularity after the super success of the song "Jai ho". It made Rahman the most successful Indian composer in the global arena. --Indo asian News Service I've never dreamt of winning these awards: RahmanThursday, February 4, 2010 | AALos Angeles, Feb 1 (IANS) Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman, who won two awards at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony here, says he never dreamt of winning honours of this stature. "Insane eh? I never even dreamt about winning all these awards," Rahman posted on his Twitter page after receiving the award. He was honoured for his compositions in Danny Boyle's fairytale drama "Slumdog Millionaire" - he won for the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture and the best motion picture song for "Jai ho", which he shares with lyricist Gulzar and Tanvi Shah. The composition in the film has won Rahman the most prestigious international awards including two Oscars, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe. The singer-composer has thanked a string of people through the micro-blogging site. "I once again want to thank the Almighty, my spiritual Sufi teachers - Ameen Peerullah Malik Sahib, Danny Boyle, Fox, the whole 'Slumdog...' creative team, all the awesome actors in the movie and Resul Pookutty. My whole team, Gulzarji, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Vijay Prakash, my friend and sound engineer the late H. Sridhar.... "My agents Sam Schwartz and Amos Newman, my mentors Mani Ratnam, Shekhar Kapur and Subhash Ghai, and mentor in the west, Andrew Lloyd Webber, folks at id-PR, Allison and Courtney... extraordinary musicians from Chennai and Mumbai, my mother, my father, my sisters and my lovely wife and children... And all my well wishers from the world who keep me going... Jai ho India!" he posted. Rahman started his career with director Mani Ratnam's 1992 Tamil film "Roja" and has never looked back since. India to protect fishermen from Lankan naval attacksThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAChennai, Jan 31 (IANS) India will take necessary steps to protect fishermen from the attacks of Sri Lankan Navy and will ask the island government to look at a political resolution of the problems of Tamils living there, said new National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. Noted Polish scholar on Tamil literature diesThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAWarsaw, Jan 31 (IANS) Joanna Kusio, a noted Polish scholar on Tamil language and literature, was found dead in her apartment. She was 49 and was single. Indian Bank's rural banks brought under core bankingThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAChennai, Jan 30 (IANS) Complying with the central government's stipulation of bringing all the regional rural banks (RRBs) under the core banking solution net (CBS), city based Indian Bank announced Saturday that three such banks sponsored by it have been brought under the CBS. Ban surrogate cigarette ads, Ramadoss urges Tamil NaduThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAChennai, Jan 30 (IANS) Former union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss Saturday urged the Tamil Nadu government to ban all surrogate cigarette advertisements and implement the law banning smoking in public places in right ernest. Venkatprabhu's 'Goa' has nothing much to offerThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAFilm: "Goa"; Cast: Vaibhav, Jai, Premji Amaren, Pia, Sneha and others; Direction: Venkatprabhu: Music Director: Yuvan Shankar Raja: Ratings: ** Venkatprabhu has established himself as filmmaker who can make meaningful films without any big stars. His "Chennai 6000028" featured a host of newcomers and was a runaway hit. It was followed by another hit "Saroja", a travelogue. Both the films inspired Venkat to make another one with little known stars but this time he isn't as good as he was in his last two movies. "Goa", Soundarya Rajnikant's first film as a producer, had a lot of pre-release hype for having sun-soaked beaches of Goa filled with bikini-clad women, Yuvan's enthralling music, Premji's 'strong' character, etc. The film opens with a satirical rendition of the Naattamai (Village Panchayath leader) sequence - a rough and tough Jai and his friends Premji and Vaibhav steal jewellery from the nearby temple and escape to Madurai. They stumble upon a Maduraiite who was about to leave for London after marrying a European woman. They also plan to marry 'foreign women' and settle down abroad. They head for Goa where many foreigners are seen and the rest of the story is all about their expriences there. Merely for the sake of comedy, the gimmicks of the trio could be forgiven. The sequence of events in Goa where the trio get accommodation and unlimited alcohol (everyday) has no logic. More unbelievable is the way they manage to get friendly with 'three' girls and sing duets with them. In short, most of the sequences are ill-conceived. Venkat has probably erred here in his assumption that if the film is youthful and joyful, viewers will ignore faux pas. The characterization of the lead character is most disappointing. Premji, who spoofs at leading Tamil film heroes, Vaibhav, who gets caught by Sneha and an off-colour Jai, fail to create enough ripples. Venkat, who tries to make fun of tested Tamil film formulae, disappoints as he doesn't continue it in the same vein. Premji's 'fighting' irritates. But Sampath and Atvind Krishna as homosexuals bring the roof down with their one-liners. It's noticeable that for the first time homosexuality is being spoken about at length and not getting ridiculed at in a Tamil film. He goes overboard while using the super hit song "Kangal Irandaal" - it would be better if the songs are banned. In the acting department, Sneha and newcomer Piaa played their respective roles admirably well. Premj and Jai too tried to give their best but faulty screenplay marred their performances. Music and cinematography are the saving graces in this otherwise insipid film. Along with the songs, Yuvan has scored amazing background score for the film. The picturization of some songs may embarrass elders while watching it with their children. If you just want to see Goa beaches full of semi-clad women, go for it! 'Tamizh Padam': Entertaining spoof on Tamil moviesThursday, February 4, 2010 | AAFilm: Tamizh Padam; Cast: Shiva, Disha Pandey, Vennira Aadai Murthy, M.S. Baskar, Manobala, Paravai Muniamma and others; Director: C.S. Amudhan; Music Director: Kannan; Rating: **1/2 The film is the 'first-ever' full-length spoof on Tamil movies. The promos of the film gave enough indication about the content. In fact, it was one of the most-awaited movie and enthusiastic movie-goers were eager to watch it. How the film has fared? To some extent, it has turned out to be good. We have seen 'Cho' S. Ramaswamy, S.Ve. Shekhar, Goundamani and Vivek making fun of the tried and tested typical 'Tamil film formulae'. Even on television, many programme poke fun at the way Tamil films are made. "Tamizh Padam" is an extended versions of those TV programmes, to put it mildly. Amudhan roped in a handful of talented actors like Shiva, Shisha, Murthy, Baskar and Muniyamma. When a newborn baby utters actor Vijay's 'punch-dialogues', the audience appreciates the idea behind it. When a 10-year old asks his grandmother when would he be old enough to fight injustice, she tells him to get on the top of a cycle. As the wheels roll on, the the 10-year-old turns into grown up guy within seconds. From the 'entry song' of hero, his 'punchy' dialogues, sequences and dialogues from "Thalapathi", "Apoorva Sagodharargal ", "Anniyan", "Kakka Kakka", "Sivaji", "Mozhi" and the inevitable climax fight sequence at the Binny Mill - nothing has been spared. The appearance of 40 plus actors appearing as college students in Tamil films have been vividly ridiculed too in the movie. Simbu, Vijaya T. Rajendhar and K. Bhagyaraj are not spared either. The film moves at a brisk and interesting pace with sequences imitating the Nattaamai style, the 'eternal' family song and the many unbelievable fight sequences. The song "O Magaseeya" makes fun of the songs that has meaningless words in the name of catchy words. Climax and the sequences preceding that are boring. Working in the film was a cakewalk for Shiva whose character in the film ridicules almost every old and present hero in Tamil movies. Other actors too have done their respective roles nicely. Like a a typical (commercial) film, the heroine has noting to do. Nirav Shah's cinematography is very well indeed. If you want a hearty laugh, go for it! Name of the film : Thamizh Padam Main cast: Siva, Disha Pandey, MS Bhaskar, Venniradai Murthy, Manobala and others Music : Kannan Producer : Dayanidhi Alagiri Director : CS Amudhan                  
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