Chennai, Nov 19 (ANI): Post Graduate Medical students of Tamil Nadu and House Surgeons Council have threatened to go on a hunger strike in Chennai against the Centre's decision to make rural service for the medical students compulsory.

The medical students today launched a token strike against it.

Recently, Union Health Minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, had announced to table a Bill favouring compulsory rural service for the medical students.

"We want union Health Minister to drop this plan. And we also want the Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to intervene and resolve it as soon as possible," said Sathish Kumar, spokesperson of Tamil Nadu Medical Students and House Surgeons Council.

However, most of villagers are in favour of student doctors serving in rural areas, which they think would improve the medical facility there.

"We don't have doctors here, we have to go for long distance for treatment and if we have student doctors giving treatment for us it would be very helpful for us," said Saraswathi, a village women. (ANI)
--MP

Labels: Chennai, Health

AY: Areva T&D, one of the world's leading transmission and distribution (T&D) companies, is setting up a high voltage manufacturing unit at Padappai near Chennai with a capital outlay of over Rs 100 crore. The company will be the first to manufacture GIS products at the Padappai unit, which would be ready by January 2009. The strategic move demonstrates our commitment to contribute to India's significant electricity needs. It also highlights Areva T&D's technical competence and market consolidation plans in the high-voltage product line, especially circuit breakers for air insulated switchgear (AIS) and gas insulated switchgear (GIS). The unit will manufacture high voltage circuit breakers up to 765 kV, and will be fully equipped to expand the portfolio up to 1,200 kV.

Labels: Business, Chennai

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has come down heavily on the Chennai corporation for its deficient planning in collecting property tax. Incorrect classification of non-residential properties as residential properties or partly residential as residential had resulted in a loss of Rs 41. 79 crores in property tax, the CAG report said. There were as many as 11,042 properties, which were partly non-residential and partly residential as per Chennai Metrowater norms, but were treated as fully residential areas by the corporation for taxation purpose.

Labels: Chennai, News

Chennai, Oct 21 (ANI): Union Shipping and Surface Transport Minister T R Baalu today asserted that the controversial Sethusamudram project would be completed by November 2008, and the first ship that will cross the Adam's bridge would be flagged off by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"The project will be completed in November next year and the first ship will be flagged off by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi," he told reporters here. On Wednesday, Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal had said that the UPA Government would abide by the Supreme Court's verdict on the multi-crore-ship channel project.A fresh row erupted last month after the Central Government filed a statement before the Supreme Court on the project, saying that Hinduism's most important texts are not proof of the existence of Hindu gods.But the Congress party led ruling coalition backtracked on the 'affidavit' the next day and sought three months time from the apex court to file an amended one, following threats of nationwide protests by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Hindu groups have been opposing the 560 million dollar project, saying it would destroy the 'holy' Ram Sethu, a 48-kilometre chain of limestone shoals that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka.According to the Central Government, research has shown that the Ram Setu was a series of sand shoals created by sedimentation, but according to Hindus the narrow link, also known as Adam's Bridge, was built by Lord Rama. The Sethusamudram Project will dredge a channel in a narrow strip of sea between India and Sri Lanka, reducing distances and cutting costs for freight traffic for ships moving from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. Dredging for the project began in 2005, and the channel -- 12 metres deep, 300 metres wide and almost 90 km long -- will provide a crucial link between the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar once completed. (ANI)

Labels: Chennai, News

Chennai, Oct.22 (ANI): At least 100 girls belonging to the scheduled caste and schedule tribe communities from rural areas are being trained for Air-hostesses’ job under a course started by the Tamil Nadu Government in association with the Air Hostess Academy (AHA) here.

Affiliated to the Cambridge University, the Air Hostess Academy has offered two—one-year and two-year diploma courses—for young girls. After completion of the respective course and initial training, the girls will be eligible to become air-hostesses. The job would fetch them a handsome salary. “This is the first time that the Tamil Nadu Government has announced this scheme. It is going on in a very good way.

It is being monitored directly by the ministers and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Dravida Association. They monitor it through personal interactions with students and inspections," said Kannan, the Manager with the Air Hostess Academy in Chennai.

"During last six months, there have been a lot of students who have been placed in the airlines industry also. Nearly 20 students have got the job in the airlines and they have started working for these companies,” Kannan added. The air-hostess course is a part of the Tamil Nadu Government's initiative to provide better opportunities in aviation, travel and hospitality for the girls from rural and tribal communities under the banner of The Adi Dravida Housing and Development Corporation Limited (TAHDCO).

Many students at the Air Hostess Academy opine that the course has instilled confidence in them. "This is really a good step taken by the Tamil Nadu Government. I have got to learn a lot more things and have experienced a lot during this time. I am thankful to the Tamil Nadu Government," added Sowmiya, a student of AHA. "This Academy is teaching a lot of things to us. We are learning international languages like German and we are improving our skills," said Arati Vidya, a student of AHA. Parents of the students are happy, as they believe their daughters will have a better standing in society.

"I wanted my children to have higher studies and take up a good job. They got this with the help of the Tamil Nadu Government. It will add to our family’s prestige. My daughter's lifestyle has changed. It makes me really happy," said Gunashekar, father of Sowmiya. Authorities at the Air Hostess Academy say that the earlier scenario when India had only two operators -- Air India and Indian Airlines-- has drastically changed with 17 more airlines operating 571 daily flights.

As such there is tremendous scope for career as an air hostess. The Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned rupees one lakh for training of each student. Out of the hundred students at AHA, only 10 are from Chennai and the rest hail from interior and rural areas of Trichy, Madurai, Tirunelvali, Coimbatore, Tanjore and Thiruvalur. (ANI)

Labels: Chennai, Education

Chennai, Oct 23 (ANI): Greenpeace activists on Tuesday painted 'Cut Coal Save Climate' on a coal ship in Chennai to raise awareness about the environmental hazards arising out of coal burning.

The activists demanded strong action on the part of the authorities to reduce coal emissions to prevent further environmental damage.

"We need to reduce the increase in temperature levels to as much extent as possible. We need to keep the temperature rise under two degrees Celsius that has come out very clearly in the IPCC report," said Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Greenpeace activist.

Earlier, the activists had scaled a 250-feet smoke stack at the Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant in West Bengal to highlight the same threat.67 per cent of the country's total power is generated via thermal plants. India is the fifth largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world releasing around 1889 Million tonnes of it. (ANI)

Labels: Chennai, Science

Chennai, Oct 23 (ANI): World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand shared the limelight with Indian cricketers at the felicitation ceremony organised by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) here on Monday. Asian Chess Federation President Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifah Al Nahyan presented Anand with a memento, but the world chess champ was more than impressed to be in the company of former Indian cricket skipper Rahul Dravid.“The award was very touching and all in all it is a great reception. It was nice to meet him (Rahul Dravid). I also met other colleagues from sports. Many of my friends came from all over India. It was fantastic," Anand said.Along with Dravid, N. Srinivasan, the treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and former Indian cricketers Krishnamachari Srikanth and W V Raman, members of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association were also present on the occasion.Anand arrived in India on October 15 after winning the global tournament in Mexico City by beating a field that included eight of the world's top ten chess players.Anand, 37, replaced Vladimir Kramnik of Russia as world champion on September 29, winning the tournament on points after tying a match with Hungarian Peter Leko on the 14th day of the contest, which he dominated from the start.The Indian grandmaster had earlier won the World Championship in 2000, but some of the sheen was taken away from that win because the chess world at that time was split between two rival world bodies.This time there was no taking away from his feat as the rival organisations have come under the FIDE.Anand won the world junior title in 1989, becoming India's first Grand Master at the age of 16. (ANI)

Labels: Chennai, Sports

Chennai, Oct.6 (ANI): World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has been rewarded witha cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh for his latest achievement. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi announced the award for Anand. He also announced a total of just under Re one crore for 28 other sportspeople from the state. Anand, who learned the game at age six from his mother because his brothers did not have the patience to play chess with him, won his latest title in New Mexico City earlier this week. Anand became India's junior champion at 13 and at the age of 16, he won the senior title. He was the world's junior champion in 1987 and in 1991 he won the prestigious Reggio Emilia tournament ahead of the Russian masters Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.

In 2000, he became the first Asian to take the world title, but his victory was overshadowed by the chess world's two competing chess titles -- one by the International Federation of Chess and the Professional Association of Chess led by Kasporov.

The stocky, bespectacled Anand divides his time between Madras, the United States and Madrid -- his base for tournaments in Europe.He keeps himself physically fit with daily two-hour workouts, because while mental endurance is important, physical strength "can make the difference," according to Spanish grand master Leontxo Gracia.

During the world championship in Mexico, a marathon of 14 matches, Anand was at the peak of his craft. (ANI with inputs)

Labels: Chennai, Sports