2 3 6 Periodical monitoring of all projects:CM Stalin ...

RNI No. 30540/77CB/005/2021-23 Regd No.TN/WR/CB/005/WPP/2018-20 Founder Editor : A.E. Solomon Appadurai . Editor: M.N.Sudhan Appadurai . Vol.44 - No. 141. Pages 6 . Rs. 5.00

Plans are not just announcementsPeriodical monitoring of all projects:CM Stalin

Chief Minister MK Stalin launched a scheme in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai today to provide a monthly stipend of Rs.1000 for the priests and Archakas of

temples coming under the ‘One pooja every day’ (oru kaala poojai) scheme in

Tamil Nadu.

31.

22.

Breezy and pleasant with clouds and sun

Mostly cloudy

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Waterlogging in several parts of Delhi as rain lashes city

Farmers demand opening of paddy tradingcomplex

Corporation employees go door-to-door to issue vaccination tokens

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If any man serve me, let him follow me - john 12.26

OUTSTATION Sunday, September 12 , 2021 cOImbATOre Saturday, September 11 , 2021

chANdIgArh, Sep 11 (pTI)

The Haryana government on Saturday ordered a probe into last month's clash between farmers and police and sent the IAS officer at the centre of a row between the two sides on leave. Following this, the farmers said they would call off their protest outside the Karnal district headquarters.The probe will be conducted by a retired judge, Haryana Additional Chief Secretary

Devender Singh told the media in Karnal. The probe will be completed within a month and former SDM Ayush Sinha will remain on leave during the time, Singh added.Farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni, who was also part of the press conference, said they would now call off their sit-in outside the Karnal district headquarters.The farmers had been demanding the suspension of Sinha, who was caught on tape allegedly

telling policemen to "break the heads" of farmers if they cross the line. About 10 protesters were hurt in the clash with police in Karnal on August 28 when they tried to march towards the venue of a BJP meeting.Devender Singh also announced that jobs would be given to two family members of a farmer, who the protesters claimed had died after he was injured during the lathicharge. This allegation was earlier by the administration.

Karnal standoff ends: haryana govt orders probe into Aug 28 incident, farmers call off sit-in

New delhI, Sep 11 (pTI)

Marriages can be registered in the virtual presence of parties, the Delhi High Court has ruled, saying that in the present times, citizens cannot be prevented from exercising their rights because of a rigid interpretation of law which calls for "personal presence".

Hearing a plea by a US-based Indian couple seeking to register their marriage here through video conferencing, Justice Rekha Palli opined that not treating physical presence as a mandatory requirement would also encourages parties to easily get their marriages registered.

"I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the term 'personal appearance' in Clause 4 of the Registration Order has to be read to include presence secured through Video Conferencing.

Any other interpretation, would not only frustrate the very purpose of this beneficial legislation, but, it would also undermine the use of this important and easily

accessible tool of Video Conferencing," the judge said in her order dated September 9.She said the Delhi (Compulsory Registration of Marriage) Order, 2014 is welfare legislation, promulgated at the instance the Supreme Court to encourage the registration of marriages.

"The insistence of physical appearance even when their personal appearance can be easily secured through video conferencing, will definitely make it more cumbersome for parties to come forward for

the registration of marriages. This will negate the very purpose of enactment of the Registration Order and cannot be permitted," the order further reads.

The court allowed the couple to mark their "personal appearance" before the Registering Authority through video conferencing after submitting their application for the registration of marriage through their counsel/Power of Attorney Holder in physical form alongwith copies of all supporting documents duly notarized, either by the notary

public in the United States of America or by a notary public here.It directed that the two witnesses would appear physically before the Registering Authority with their original ID proofs on the date notified by the Registering Authority.

The Authority will then expeditiously register the marriage and issue the Marriage Registration Certificate within a period of two weeks' from the date of receipt of the application, the court added.

In the present case, the couple claimed that their marriage was solemnised in 2001 as per Hindu rituals, but they did not get the same registered as they moved abroad prior to the introduction of the Delhi (Compulsory Registration of Marriage) Order, 2014.

Considering that their application for a green card was now not being processed in the United States for want of a marriage certificate, the couple approached the local authority here for issuance of a marriage certificate,

who maintained that physical presence of the parties was a mandatory requirement.

The couple, represented through senior counsel Vibha Datta Makhija, moved the high court after their representation to the authority concerned for virtual appearance remained unanswered.

The court observed that while the "universe has undergone a sea change" since the time when the Registration Order was notified, the Registering Authority was "refusing to recognize the reality that with the technology as is available today, web portals and Video Conferencing have become almost the norm". Acknowledging the acceptance of video conferencing even in the judicial system in this country, the court said that "these aspects appear to have been simply overlooked by the Registering Authority, who is continuing to insist on that the parties must remain present physically before him".

marriages can be registered in virtual presence of parties, rules delhi hc

cheNNAI, Sep.11“No project will end with

the mere announcement”, Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Saturday adding he would monitor it himself every month.

Chief Minister MK Stalin launched a scheme in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai today to provide a monthly stipend of Rs.1000 for the priests and Archakas of temples coming under the ‘One pooja every day’ (oru kaala poojai) scheme in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking then, Stalin said,

“It’s just a week since a plan has been announced in the legislative assembly.

The session is yet to be complete, which is scheduled to end on September 13.

This is the only plan that has been implemented within the completion of the assembly session”.

Stalin lauded Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable endowments Sekar Babu by quoting a famous Tamil adage, “El endral ennaiyayi nirpar’, meaning he is working at such a faster pace. He then said that

the Department of Hindu Religious Affairs has become a lucky department because of Minister Sekarbabu.

“He is a minister who can function 24 hours a day. Temple lands and properties are being reclaimed.

The plan to appoint priests from all castes has been implemented. Archanai(pooja) has been executed in Tamil.

A book praising the Lord has been published. Priests have been given Rs 4,000 financial assistance. 15 types of products are being provided.

After the debate on the grant request of the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, he issued 120 notices, which no one else did.

That was a great achievement. Numerous temple renovations are to take place. New chariots are on the way.

Housing facilities will be made for priests and temple staff. Once all of this is done, the Golden Age of the department will commence in a few more months.

In that line today I am launching a program to provide Rs.1,000 per month to the priests, Bhattacharyas and priests of 12,959 temples which come under the one-time puja program today.

Thus, it will cost the government an additional Rs 1,000 crores a year. People have to forgive.

I’m not saying this is expensive. Through this scheme, 13,000 families are benefitted.

The deposit fund has been increased to Rs. 2 lakhs for the temples where one-time worship is being held.

Thus worship in the temples is confirmed.

The lives of the priests who work there are guaranteed.

We plan to implement the projects announced in the Assembly gradually after the 13th.

No project will end with a mere announcement. I will be monitoring it myself every

month. I will definitely give priority to each project and try to implement them at the

earliest”. Thus spoke Chief Minister MK Stalin.

‘Seyal babu and not Sekar babu: cm Stalin lauds

Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister MK Stalin said, “We all know how the Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Sekarbabu works. He should be called a 'Seyal Babu' (Seyal means action) rather than Sekarbabu. He is fully qualified for the title.

cOImbATOre Sep 11Coimbatore District Collector Dr

GS Sameeran has on Saturday said that companies do not need to go on holiday on Sunday ahead of the mega vaccination camp to be held in Coimbatore.

A consultative meeting was held at the District Collector's Office under the chairmanship of Coimbatore District Superintendent Shankar ahead of the mega vaccination camp to be held in Coimbatore tomorrow.

Speaking to the press, he said, “A target of 1.5 lakh vaccines has been set for the special camp and special arrangements have been made.

With one vaccinator and one data operator in each centre , a total of 2,980 people will be employed.

There are 2959 Anganwadi workers at the rate of 2 to bring people to each centre and 338 officers have been

appointed to oversee these works. People should take advantage of this

camp and get benefitted. Business firms need to take their

employees to camp”.Responding to a question from reporters on whether various companies have been ordered

to grant holiday tomorrow, District Collector Dr Sameeran said.

"It will be held in rural areas from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The employees can be taken on a shift basis and there is no need for a holiday”.

No need for holiday tomorrow: dr Sameeran

cheNNAI, Sep.11Chief Minister Stalin has

said that Mahakavi Day will be observed on September 11 every year on the occasion of Mahakavi Bharathiyar’s Memorial Day.

According to a statement issued by Chief Minister Stalin, Mahakavi Bhartiyar's memorial day, September 11, will be observed annually as 'Mahakavi Day' on behalf of the government.

In turn, a state-level poetry competition will be held for school and college students and the 'Bharati Ilamkavingar Award' will be given to one male and female

student each with a cash prize of one lakh rupees.A compilation of selected Bharathiyar songs and essays

will be distributed as a book titled “Manathil Uruthi Vendum”, which will be distributed to about 37 lakh government and government-aided school students at a cost of Rs 10 crores.

Scholars who have studied the life of Bharathiyar and his works include the late P. Thooran, R. A. Padmanabhan, T.M.C.Raghunathan and Ilasa Maniyan and their family and senior scholar Seeni, Viswanathan and Professor Manikandan will each be given Rs. 3 lakhs, an award and a certificate of appreciation.For the next year,

a weekly event will be held at the Bharathiar Memorial House in Chennai on behalf of the Ministry of Information to mark the centenary year of Bharathi’s death, which will be organized by Poompuhar to sell statues and sculptures of Bharathi to the public at low prices.

A dissertation in the name of Bharathiyar will be set up at Trichy Bharathidasan University.

Funding will be provided on behalf of the Government to maintain the house where Bharatiyar lived in Kasi, UP”. Thus the Chief Minister has stated in the statement.

‘mahakavi day' to be observed on September 11: cm Stalin

2

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SATUrdAY 11 SepTember 2021 cOImbATOre

Much awaited first look and motion poster of Rajinikanth starrer ‘Annaththe’ was out on Friday to

coincide with the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The film is directed by

director Siva aka Siruthai Siva. With a stylish grin on his face, the

Superstar is seen in a traditional outfit in a festive backdrop in the first look, while in the motion poster, he gives away a stellar action-hero outlook.

The female lead of the movie Keertghy Suresh took to her Twitter page to share the poster and said, “The first look we've all been

waiting for has finally arrived and I can't keep calm".

She added, "Here's to an adventurous journey ahead."

Along with Rajinikanth and Keerthy Sures, the film also stars Nayanthara, Khushboo and Meena among others.

The first look of ‘Annaththe' movie has been released on Twitter.

This First Look poster is going viral on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

While D Imman is scoring the music for the movie, it is all set to be out on the screens by November 4, as a Diwali release.

It is noteworthy that the crew members including Rajinikanth tested positive for COVID 19 a few months back which led to the filming to an intermittent halt.

As the first look poster was released by the crew in the morning, the motion poster was out by evening, around 6 pm.

Produced by Kalanithi Maran under the banner Sun Pictures, the movie is grabbing a lot of attention.

“Here we go!! The Magnificent #AnnaattheMotionPoster Elated to present you! @rajinikanth @directorsiva @sunpictures #DImmanMusical Praise God!” said Imman on his Twitter page after releasing the motion poster. The motion poster opens with a panorama shot of a bridge.

As the camera pans to give us a closer look, Rajinikanth’s dialogues are heard in the background.

We then see Rajinikanth riding a bike, holding a weapon in his hand, setting the foreground with a speculation of a heavy action sequence.

rajinikanth’s ‘Annaaththe’ - first look & motion poster is out

The title teaser of ‘Aneethi’ starring Arjun Das was released on September 10. The movie is written, directed and co-produced by well-known director Vasantha Balan, who is known for directing critically acclaimed movies like Angadi Theru and Kaaviya Thalaivan. Arjun Das who has done commendable negative roles in Lokesh Janagaraj’s Kaithi

and Master has done the lead role in Aneethi.

The teaser features Arjun Das walking slowly with an axe-sort of a weapon and trying to break open a door. Then his bloody face is revealed. Actor Sivakarthikeyan and Cinematographer

PC Sreeram released the official first look teaser on Twitter.

“Very happy to release the first look video of #Aneethi from Dir @Vasantabalan1 sir,” Sivakarthikeyan said on Twitter. PC Sreeram took to his Twitter handle and said, “Dear @Vasantabalan1 let this be one more feather

in your cap #Aneethi starring @iam_arjundas & @officialdushara @UBoyzStudios”.

The movie is produced by Vasantha Balan along with Krishna Kumar, Murugan Gnanavel, and Varadharajan

Manickam under the banner Urban Boyz Studios. G V Prakash Kumar is the music composer for the movie while Ravikumar is the Editor and S K Jeeva has written dialogues.

Vasantha balan’s ‘Aneethi’ first look teaser released

gulzar, Ar rahman reunite for Subrata roy biopicmUmbAI, Sep 11 (pTI)

Gulzar and AR Rahman, the Academy Award winning lyricist and music composer duo, are teaming up to create the soundtrack for the biopic on business tycoon Subrata Roy.

The film will follow the life of the Sahara group chairperson and will be produced by Sandeep Singh under his banner Legend Global Studio.

The project is yet another addition in the collaborative discography of Gulzar and Rahman, who have previously

worked together on films like "Dil Se..", "Guru", "Yuvvraj", and the multiple

award winning "Slumdog Millionaire". Celebrated poet and lyricist Gulzar said it will

be wonderful to collaborate with Rahman again. "Subrata Roy's life is enigmatic and inspiring. Rahman is a wonderful artist and musician and I look forward to this collaboration," the 87-year-old film veteran said in a statement.

Rahman, 54, also said he is happy to board the project.

"Gulzar Saab's soulful lyrics are extremely inspiring for a musician and I hope I can do justice to the lyrics and the story. I am looking forward to this collaboration," the music

maestro added. Sing h said he is

humbled and overwhelmed to have the two legends come together for the film.

"I have been an ardent admirer of the work of AR Rahman ji and Gulzar Saab... Subrata Roy Sir's life is a tremendous story of grit, deter mination, and success and it needs the support of these two geniuses to realise this dream on 70 mm," he added.

The title and cast of the biopic will be announced soon.

Akshay Kumar's mother Aruna bhatia passes awaymUmbAI, Sep 11 (pTI)

Superstar Akshay Kumar's mother Aruna Bhatia, who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital here, died on Wednesday morning.

The 53-year-old star shared the news of his mother's demise on Twitter, who breathed her last at the Hiranandani Hospital. The cause of her illness is not yet known.

In an emotional post, Kumar said his mother was my core .

She was my core. And today I feel an unbearable pain at the very core of my existence. My maa Smt Aruna Bhatia peacefully left this world today morning and got reunited with my dad in the other world, the actor said.

I respect your prayers as I and my family go through this period. Om Shanti, he added.

On Monday, Kumar -- who was shooting for his upcoming film Cinderella -- returned to Mumbai from London to be with his ailing mother.

With the decline in the COVID caseload, the Government of Tamil Nadu gave a green signal to open theatres across the state.

However, the beginning of September saw a slight spike where the neighbouring state of Kerala witnessed an increase in the COVID spread. Owing to this, some districts have announced an exclusive curfew on weekends, banning shops, malls and so on. This has been imposed particularly in the adjoining districts of Kerala including Coimbatore. Nevertheless, the Tamil audience saw this week, the release of two big starrers, coinciding with the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi - ‘Thalaivi’ featuring Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut on the lead role, and ‘Laabam’ starring Vijay Sethuipathy in the pivotal role were released in theatres on Friday. Directed by AL Vijay, ‘Thalaivi’ is a biopic of the late former Chief Minister and the Kollywood stalwart J Jayalalithaa. With mixed reviews though, the film is being praised for the stunning looks of Kangana in

which she aces the depiction of lady supremo. The movie also stars Arvind Swami and Priyamani. The film has music by GV Prakash Kumar while Nirav Shah has done the cinematography. ‘Laabam’ is a family drama in which the most anticipated socialist ideologies of the late director SP Jananathan is profoundly inculcated. Being a posthumous release for the director of the movie, the story revolves around Vijay Sethupathy, who strives to bring about a change in indigenous farming. The crux of the screenplay is the tussle between the youth whose aim is to revolutionise farming and the multinational giants who focus on extracting biodiesel from the farmlands.After 'Iyarkai', ‘Peranmai’, 'E' and ‘Porambokku Engira Podhuvudamai’, SP Jananathan’s next and last project happens to be “Laabam’. Laabam literally translates to ‘profit’- the director has incorporated the deep-rooted societal problems such as classism, corporatisation in his own style.

‘Thalaivi’ and ‘laabam’ - hit theatres with mixed reviews

On the instructions of Kanyakumari District Collector Aravind, an awareness short film prepared regarding the mega vaccination camp to be held on 12.9.21 to vaccinate all people above 18 years of age was screened at the Thakkalai bus stand through the advanced electronic video vehicle of the Information and Public Relations Office in

Kanyakumari district.

Bhaskarapandiyan IAS, taking over as the new Collector of Ranipet district.

Online meditation from Sept 17-19cheNNAI, Sep 11 (pTI)

The Ekam World Peace Festival, an online meditation event, would be held from September 17-19, its organisers said on Friday.

The event is expected to see participation of over 20 million people from across the globe, according to a press release from the Ekam.

"The festival is free for all and will run for 55 minutes each day from September 17 to 19, 6 PM onwards IST. The daily live stream of the online event will be done on PK Consciousness' YouTube Channels and Facebook Pages. Anybody from novice to experienced meditation practitioners can join the peace festival by joining in the live stream at the scheduled time," it said.

Satya Tripathi, a development economist and lawyer, currently working at the United Nations, would be the guest of honour. Preetha and Krishna, the co-creators of Ekam, would inaugurate the event, the release added.

Karnataka cm designates ministers to oversee 'Amrith' schemesbeNgAlUrU, Sep 11 (pTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday assigned ministers to oversee the implementation of the 'Amrith' schemes, which he had announced on August 15 to mark the platinum jubilee of India's independence, in their respective districts. In an order, the Chief Minister said he had already appointed ministers in charge for districts to oversee the COVID-19 management and flood relief works.

The order further said the ministers will also be tasked with implementing the Amrith schemes and chair meetings to identify the beneficiaries of the welfare

programmes. Bommai, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, has designated Revenue Minister R Ashoka to oversee the implementation of the Amrith schemes in the state capital. The Chief Minister had announced various Amrith schemes to celebrate the 'Amrith Mahotsav' (Platinum Jubilee) of India's independence on August 15, including 'Amrith Nirmala Nagara', 'Amrith School', 'Amrith Anganwadi' and 'Amrith Gram Panchayat'.

homage paid to Tamil poet bharathi on his 100th death anniversary in pondypUdUcherrY, SepT 11 (pTI)

Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Chief Minister N Rangasamy, Ministers and legislators were among those who paid floral tributes to revolutionary Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi on his 100th memorial day here on Saturday.

Talking to reporters after paying homage to the poet's statue here, the Lt Governor said the territorial administration would soon unveil a special scheme to take the message of the poet to the younger generation.

The poet visited Puducherry in 1901 when it was under French rule and stayed here for 11 years. The British Government had sought to arrest him for his patriotic writings in the journal India kindling freedom passion among the people.

Puducherry government acquired a part of the house where the poet was residing in 1973 and converted it into a museum cum research centre. A multi-cultural institution named after the poet was also started in neighbouring Ariyankuppam.

Karnataka revises landing and parking fee for aircraft at flying schoolb e N g A l U r U , Sep 11 (pTI)

The Karnataka government has revised the landing and parking fee of the scheduled and non-scheduled aircraft operators and helicopters at the Government Flying Training School at Jakkur in the city. According to a government order, the landing charge for non-scheduled operators will be Rs 5,000 and for scheduled operators Rs 1,000.

The parking charge for helicopters will be Rs 100 per hour up to 24 hours. After 24 hours for the next seven days, it will be Rs 200 per hour.

Further, the parking charge for helicopters from eighth day till 15th day will be Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 from 15th day to 30th day, the government order said. The landing charge for micro light aircraft will be Rs 400 whereas the parking charge will be Rs 20 per hour.

cm directs officials to identify beneficiaries for 4 lakh homesbeNgAlUrU, Sep 11 (pTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday directed officials to start the process of selecting eligible beneficiaries for four lakh homes under various housing schemes. "If the target of four lakh new houses is not approved by the central government, or less houses are approved, the remaining houses will be constructed under the state government's housing scheme," a statement issued by the Chief Minister's office said. The Chief Minister has told the officials to initiate the process of selecting socially and economically backward beneficiaries in the city and rural areas across the state for four lakh homes under the housing scheme.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday

directed officials to start the process of selecting eligible beneficiaries for four lakh homes under

various housing schemes.

delhi: rainfall so far this monsoon season highestin 46 years; record-breaking spree continuesNew delhI, Sep 11 (pTI)

A highly unusual monsoon season this year has yielded 1,100 mm of rainfall in Delhi so far, the highest in 46 years, and almost double the precipitation recorded last year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. The figures are subject to change as more rainfall is predicted in the city during the day.

"The Safdarjung Observatory, which is considered the official marker for the city, had gauged 1,150 mm of rainfall in the 1975 monsoon season. This year, the precipitation has already hit the 1,100-mm mark and the season has not ended yet," an IMD official said.

Normally, Delhi records 648.9 mm

of rainfall during the monsoon season, according to the IMD. Between June 1, when the monsoon season starts, and September 11, the city normally gets 590.2 mm of rainfall.

The monsoon withdraws from Delhi by September 25. "Light to moderate rain is likely in the next two days. Another wet spell is predicted around September 17-18," the official told PTI.

In 2003, the national capital had received 1,050 mm of rainfall. Delhi gauged 636 mm, 544 mm, 876 mm, 370.8 mm and 505.5 mm during the monsoon season in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

It recorded 524.7 mm rainfall in 2016; 641.3 mm in 2017; 762.6 mm in

2018; 404.3 mm in 2019 and 576.5 mm in 2020, according to IMD data.

It has been a bountiful September for Delhi, with 343.6 mm of rainfall recorded so far this month, which is the highest in at least 12 years, according to data available on the IMD's wbsite.

The September rainfall this year has been in marked contrast to the last year, when the city got a meagre 20.9 mm precipitation in the month against the normal of 129.8 mm.

Delhi recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall on two consecutive days at the start of the month 112.1 mm on September 1 and 117.7 mm on September 2. On Saturday (September 11), it recorded 94.7 mm precipitation.

waterlogging in several parts of delhi as rain lashes cityNew delhI, Sep 11 (pTI)

Waterlogging has been reported from several parts of the national capital including Moti Bagh and RK Puram in south Delhi after rains lashed the city Saturday morning.

According to civic agencies, apart from Moti Bagh and RK Puram, other stretches including Madhu Vihar, Hari Nagar, Rohtak Road, Badarpur, Som Vihar,

Ring Road near IP Station, Vikas Marg, Sangam Vihar, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Pul Prahladpur Underpass, Munirka, Rajpur Khurd,

Nangloi and Kirari also witnessed waterlogging.

People posted pictures and videos of waterlogged streets on social media.

3SATUrdAY 11 SepTember 2021 cOImbATOre

gUwAhATI, Sep 11 (pTI)

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday emphasised the need to preserve and promote tribal art and culture, urging the non-tribal population to be also engaged in it, an official statement said here.

Speaking at the inaugural programme of a three-day conference of tribal leaders of North East, titled 'Voice of North East', at Tepesia on the outskirts of the city, Sarma said tribal art and culture have greatly enriched Indian culture and civilization and it is very important to protect, preserve and promote these.Urging the people themselves to take leadership in the preservation and promotion of tribal art and culture, he

called upon the non-tribal people to also take a leading role in such endeavours.Considering the significance of tribal art, culture, faith, customs and traditions in the growth of India's civilization, the Assam government has established a new department, 'Indigenous Faith and Culture department'' the chief minister said.

He added that his government will continue to support all endeavours in this regard.

He further said Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the department in the current budget and the government intended to increase budget allocation up to Rs 500 crore in the next five years.

Chairman of Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram Ramchandra Kharadi and chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Harsh Chauhan were also present among others at the inaugural programme of the conference, which has been organised by Janajati Faith and Culture Protection Forum, a platform of tribal communities of North East, the statement added.

Assam cm asks non-tribals to help in preserving tribal art & culture

KOhImA, Sep 11 (pTI) The Nagaland

Government on Friday signed an MoU with two other organisations to promote the strengthening and development of women entrepreneurship ecosystem in the state.

On behalf of the Nagaland government, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) Alemtemshi Jamir signed the MoU while virtually present were Deutsche Gesellschaft f r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Head of Project Her & Now, GIZ Julia Karst, Co-founder of Dhriiti The Courage Within Anirban

Gupta and Head of Project GIZ, Ullas Marar.Under the name of 'Her&Now', the project aims to contribute to a more enabling environment for women-led enterprises in India.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will make it possible for the three parties to collaborate and work jointly to create

an enabling environment for women entrepreneurship in Nagaland to thrive, stated the agreement.

IDAN is an investment promotion and facilitation agency of the Nagaland government established to promote and facilitate all possible investment opportunities in the state.GIZ and Dhriiti-The

Courage Within are already collaborating through Project Her & Now to provide support to women entrepreneurs from the North East Region through a structured incubation and acceleration programme, informed Head of Project Her & Now, GIZ Julia Karst.

bhUbANeSwAr, Sep 11 (pTI)

Odisha may receive very heavy rainfall over the next few days as the meteorological department said on Friday that a low-pressure area would likely form in the next 24 hours.A cyclonic circulation lies over the east-central Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood and extends up to 7.6 km above mean sea level, Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said in a release.Under its influence, the low-pressure area is likely to form over central Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours. It is very likely to move west northwestwards and

concentrate into a depression during the subsequent 48 hours, it said.Widespread light to moderate rain, isolated heavy to very heavy downpour and extremely heavy falls at one or two places are likely on Sunday and Monday over the state, the Met office said.It may help the agriculture activity, but may cause temporarily waterlogging in low-lying areas and traffic disruption in urban areas in the districts of heavy-rainfall activity, it said. Light to moderate rain has occurred at many places over the districts of south Odisha and at a few places in north Odisha over the past 24 hours, the bulletin stated.

gUwAhATI, Sep 11 (pTI)

India's economy has been severely affected in the last seven years of the BJP-led government at the Centre with rising unemployment and reducing purchasing power, Congress MP Ripun Bora said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference here, the Rajya Sabha member from Assam cited a report of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) and said the rate of unemployment is 9.3 per cent in cities and towns, and 6.8 per cent in rural areas of the country.

During the first six months of 2021, more than 2.5 crore people lost their jobs,

while 7.5 crore citizens are additionally suffering from poverty and the income of 10 crore middle-class citizens has halved', he claimed."

As a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wrong demonetisation and GST measures, nearly 50 lakh people lost their jobs, while his poorly planned long-term lockdown in view of the COVID-19 pandemic left around two crore people jobless," the former Assam Congress chief alleged.

According to facts gathered through RTI applications, the profit by public sector enterprises was at Rs 88,000 crore in 2014 and this declined to Rs 26,104 in 2021, he claimed.

erOde, Sep. 11: The daily vulnerability of corona has been rising

sharply for the last 3 days in the district. The daily daily high of 117 on Wednesday rose by

13 and touched 130 on Thursday and it rose to 137 on Friday.

Thus the total number of cases has increased to 99441. In a single day, 126 people recovered from the infection and returned home. So far the number of recovered has risen to 97523.

A total of 662 people have died so far. 1256 people are being treated across the district. Health officials shocked by the sudden spurt in daily exposure. So, they intensified preventive measures.

corona cases on rise in erode

erOde SepT 11:The water level in the Bhavani Sagar Dam stood at

102 feet for the last few days. According to the rules of the dam, the excess water coming into the dam above 102 feet has to be discharged in the Bhavani river.

Following this, the flood water is being diverted to the Bhavani river.

As of this morning, the water level of Bhavani Sagar Dam is 102 feet. The dam is receiving water at a rate of 4036 cusecs per second.

A total of 4,000 cusecs of water is being discharged from the dam, 496 cusecs in the Kalingarayan canal and 3504 cusecs in the Bhavani River.

Inflow to lbp dam up

erOde, Sep. 11 Police barred Hindu Munnani to keep Vinayaka

idol in public places in the district social that the festival became a lacklustre performance this year.Normally, the munnani would keep over 1000 idols in public places and take out idol immersion procession after a few days.

Due to corona, for the second consecutive year, government barred keeping idol in public places. However, a few organizations had said that they would put up idols in public places in defiance of the ban.

Following this, the SP Sasimohan had warned that stern action would be taken against anyone who placed the idols in public places in violation of the government ban. Police were on high alert throughout the Erode district to monitor the situation and patrolled the main roads.

In Sampath Nagar, Erode, the Munnani cadres brought a 7-foot-tall idol in a truck and tried to worship it in public place. Following this, Veerappan Chattram police rushed to the spot and told them not to worship in public places.

Following this, they took the idol to a private place and worshipped there. Similarly, the police actively monitored Karungalpalayam, Veerappan Chatram, the Bull Fight Statue, Kollampalayam and Moolapalayam.

On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, the public visited small temples in Erode Corporation, Karungal Palayam, Veerappanchattaram, Municipal Colony, Kallukadai Medu etc. But at the same time the public was denied permission to worship in the big temples.

police bar munnani to keep idol in public place

erOde, Sep. 11: With the onset of the monsoon, various preventive

measures are being taken to prevent the spread of dengue fever in the district. The officials are advising people to keep the environ clean.

A 12-year-old girl has been diagnosed with dengue fever at Vettukattuvalasu, Erode. Similarly, a woman from Anna Satya Nagar has been diagnosed with dengue fever.

Following this, Erode Corporation Commissioner Ilangovan, Municipal Health Officer Murali Shankar and Health Department officials visited the spot.

Disease control measures were taken at both places on behalf of the corporation.

A medical camp was set up there and 400 households in the area were tested for fever and colds.

The affected were admitted to the Erode Government Hospital for treatment two days back and returned home yesterday. The health department has advised people not to allow stagnation of water nearby the houses.

Two recovered from dengue fever

erOde SepT 11: Factory managements

have been advised not to allow workers who have not been vaccinated against corona to work after Sept 13. In a release issued by A. Velmurugan, Assistant Director, Occupational Safety and Health, Erode said a special corona vaccination camp will be held on September 12 to protect the public from corona infection. The camp takes place at 846 centers from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The camp will be held at various locations including government hospitals, primary

health centers, health sub centers, nutrition centers, schools, and panchayat offices. The camp also administers 2 vaccines, Covshield and Covexin. Workers working in factories within the Erode district should go to the camp and be vaccinated with bringing the ID card and mobile number. Similarly, the factory managements should instruct all workers, including outsourced workers, contract workers and day laborers working in their factories, about the special vaccination camp and ensure that all workers are vaccinated.

corona vaccination must for workers

District Collector Karmegam flagging off a state-of-the-art electronic video vehicle of the Department of Information and publicity at the District Collectorate premises to create awareness among the public about the

corona vaccination camp to be held in all parts of Salem district on Sunday 12.0.2021. Nearby are Deputy Director (Health Services) Nalini (Salem), Deputy Director (Health Services) Gemini (Attur) and Municipal Health Officer

Yoganathan.

Thamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam district president A Selvaraj and Secretary Mayilthuraiyan garlanding freedom fighter Immanuval Sekaran's portrait on his

death anniversary function at Erode on Saturday. They appealed to the CM to hold a government function every year on his memorial day and construction of a memorial for him in his Ramanathapuram district as he all along his life served for the upliftment of oppressed classes. VCK district secretary North PS Siruthai Valluvan, functionaries V

Shanmugam and , SM Sadhik also garlanded Sekaran"s portrait.

erOde SepT 11: Farmers have demanded

the opening of an integrated paddy trading complex in Nadipalayam village near Gobi.Around 25000 acres are being irrigated under Thadappally and Arakkankottai canal in more than 100 villages including Gobi,Kasipalayam, Pudukkaraippudur, Mevani, Kallipatti, Bangalapudhur, K a n a k a m p a l a y a m , Karattadipalayam and Kugalur. Farmers here cultivate paddy, sugarcane, banana and turmeric. Currently, the paddy harvest is in full swing.

In Gobi area only two seasons of cultivation is done annually. Up to 4 lakh bags of paddy are usually produced in

each crop. As a result, direct paddy procurement centers are being opened twice a year at more than 15 places in the region alone. So, 2 years back Rs. 13.8 crore was spent to build paddy complex at Nadipalayam village near Gobi. It has been raining continuously for the last few days as paddy harvesting is

in progress at Thadappally, Arakankottai Irrigation Area. Thus, the harvested paddy cannot be sold immediately. Therefore, the farmers have demanded the immediate opening of the integrated paddy trading complex in Nadipalayam village to store their paddy and sell it after some time.

Farmers demand opening of paddy trading complex

TMC state general secretary and ex MLA Vidiyal Sekar garlandimg poet Bharathi' 's portrait near TMC party office on late leader's death centenary on Saturday, Party

functionaries Armugam, SD Chandrasekar and Rafiq are also seen.

country's economy severely affected in 7 years of bJp-led govt at centre: congress mp

met issues heavy-rain warning for Odisha

Nagaland govt signs moU for women entrepreneurship

The Nagaland Government on Friday

signed an MoU with two other organisations

to promote the strengthening and

development of women entrepreneurship

ecosystem in the state.

berhAmpUr (OdIShA), Sep 11 (pTI)

A 45-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating as a doctor and running a clinic for the last three years in Odisha's Ganjam district, police said on Saturday.

Several medicines and basic medical equipment worth over Rs 1 lakh have also been seized during a search operation at the facility in Kumpapada village in Jagannath Prasad block on Thursday, a senior officer said.

We came to know that his educational qualification is only Class VIII, and impersonated himself as an MBBS doctor, Jagannath Prasad police station inspector Dillip Nayak said.

The man was running the clinic with a four-bed indoor facility for the past three years and was asked

to close the unit for some days in 2020 over violation of the COVID guidelines, he said.

The accused used to issue prescriptions to patients in the name of Dr Lal, and had earlier worked as a labourer in a textile mill in Gujarat's Surat, the officer said.

During interrogation, he revealed that he was only dealing with the people who were suffering from minor ailments and had referred several critical patients to hospitals in Berhampur and other cities of the state and Andhra Pradesh, police said.

Everyday, over 100 patients visit his clinic for treatment, sources said.

A case has been registered against him, and further investigation is underway, the officer added.

man held for masquerading as doctor, running clinic for 3 years in Odisha

rAIpUr, Sep 11 (pTI)

Fourteen districts of Chhattisgarh on Friday signed MoUs with the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Millets Research to boost production of millets in their respective areas, an official said.

Addressing the event where the agreements were inked, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said his government, under its 'Mission Millet' initiative, wanted to ensure farmers got best prices, input assistance, better procurement and process facilities as well as expert

advice for minor cereal crops."Millets like kodo, kutki and ragi are mostly cultivated in forest belts and are in good demand in urban areas.

We have fixed support price and also included them in our Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana," Baghel said. Under the RGKNY scheme, farmers growing kodo, kutki and ragi will be given input assistance of Rs 9,000 per acre, while those cultivators who have replaced their paddy crop with these three minor cereal crops will get input assistance of Rs 10,000 per acre, he said.

c'garh: 14 districts sign moUs with IImr for millet production boost

Devidas Varier, MD, The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy ( Coimbatore) Ltd making the first purchase during the MYGROZO App

Inaugural Ceremony from Manoj Kumar.MD, MYGROZO.com

4 SATUrdAY 11 SepTember 2021 cOImbATOre

we remember unity, resolve expressed 20 years ago by international community for future without terrorismUNITed NATIONS, Sep 11 (pTI)

As the world marks the sombre occasion of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the United Nations remembers the solidarity, unity and resolve expressed two decades ago by the international community for a future without terrorism, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.

Today we mark a sombre day seared in the minds of millions of people around the world. A day when nearly 3,000 lives from over 90 countries were taken by terrorists in cowardly and heinous attacks in the United States of America. Thousands more were injured, Guterres said on Friday in his message on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of

the September 11 terrorist attacks. The attacks, which were planned by al-Qaeda from Afghanistan, saw four US passenger jets seized by suicide attackers - two of which were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Another plane crashed into the Pentagon, just outside the US capital, Washington DC, and a fourth

plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.

Guterres said the UN pays tribute to the survivors, who have had to overcome physical and emotional scars to get on with their lives and honours the first responders who put themselves in harm's way, with many making the ultimate sacrifice, exemplifying the very

humanity and compassion that terrorism seeks to erase.

And we remember the solidarity, unity and resolve expressed 20 years ago by the international community, aiming for a future without terrorism, he said adding that today, we stand in solidarity with the people of New York City, the United States of America, as well as all victims of terrorism everywhere around the world.

He underlined that we recommit ourselves to work together to uphold their rights and needs. Marking the anniversary, the members of the UN Security Council on Thursday said that they are as united today as they were two decades ago in their commitment to prevent and counter terrorism in all its forms. The 15-nation Council

issued a press statement on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, recalling that the Council had quickly condemned the horrifying terrorist attacks two decades ago. Today, the members of the Security Council marked this solemn anniversary with a visit to the September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.

The members of the Security Council are as united today as they were 20 years ago in their commitment to prevent and counter terrorism, in all its forms and wherever it occurs, consistent with international law, the press statement said.

The Permanent Representatives of the 15 Council nations visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 9.

India and US to launch climate Action and Finance mobilisation dialoguewAShINgTON, Sep 11 (pTI)

America's Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry would travel to India next week, during which the two countries would launch the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue, the State Department has said.

As part of America's efforts to engage with international counterparts on actions to address the climate crisis, the State Department said Kerry will meet with Indian counterparts and private sector leaders to discuss efforts to raise global climate ambition and speed up India's clean energy transition. "During his visit, the

United States and India will launch the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue

(CAFMD), one of the two main tracks of the US-India Agenda 2030 Partnership that President (Joe) Biden and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi announced at the Leaders Summit on Climate in April 2021, the State Department said on Friday.

Kerry will bolster the US' bilateral and multilateral climate efforts ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be held from October 31 to November 12, 2021, in Glasgow, United Kingdom, the media release said.

US envoy praises Qatar for Afghanistan flights

KAbUl, Sep 11 More than 250

foreign nationals have left Afghanistan in the past three days, says Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's special envoy and the architect of an often criticised deal with the Taliban.

The deal signed last year provided for the safe withdrawal of U.S and NATO troops but say his critics was heavily weighted in favor of the hardline-Islamic movement.

In a series of tweets Khalilzad praised both the

Middle Eastern State of Qatar, whose national airline carried out the flights and the Taliban's cooperation in this important effort, for the recent departure of foreign nationals from Afghanistan.

We will continue to engage the government of Qatar, the Taliban, and others to ensure the safe passage of our citizens, other foreign nationals, and Afghans that want to leave, Khalilzad tweeted.

However, hundreds of Afghans, including U.S. citizens and green card holders, remain stranded in northern Afghanistan's Mazar-e-Sharif waiting to be evacuated but stopped by Taliban rulers demanding travel documents.

Singapore pm warns that fight against terrorism 'is far from over'SINgApOre, Sep 11 (pTI)

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned on Saturday that the fight against terrorism is "far from over" two decades after the 9/11 attack in the United States, and that terrorist groups in faraway places were serious threats to Singapore.

"Terrorist groups in these faraway places were serious threats to Singapore," he said in a commentary published on the 20th anniversary of the Al-Qaeda attacks in the United States.

"Extremist terrorism has metastasized. Digital media has amplified the poison," said Lee.

"Al-Qaeda was succeeded by ISIS, which has lost physical territory but continues to operate, including online. Lone-wolf attackers have self-radicalised on the internet." Lee highlighted how this year in Singapore, the authorities arrested two self-radicalised Singaporean youths who were preparing lone-wolf

attacks one on a synagogue and the other on a mosque. "And now that the US has left Afghanistan, we will have to watch closely how the situation there develops, whether groups based in Afghanistan will again threaten our security, and where else new fronts of terrorism may emerge," he said. At the same time, Singapore's racial harmony is still a work in progress, said Lee of the city state's multi-racial society. "9/11 showed how powerful are the forces that can pull us apart, and how careful we must be when

making any changes to the formula that has delivered racial and religious harmony for Singapore," wrote the prime minister in the commentary. "Never assume we have overcome for good the tendency of people to identify with their own racial and religious groups.

We have to keep on bringing all the communities closer together, and from time to time adjust the delicate balance that the different communities have reached," the Channel News Asia quoted Lee from the commentary. Internationally, Singapore cooperated with other countries to share intelligence and to "fight a common scourge".

The Singapore Armed Forces participated in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and contributed to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq, he said.

But terrorism was a greater threat to the country's mutual trust and social cohesion, said Lee.

Fighting in myanmar kills at least 15 after uprising call

bANgKOK, Sep 11 Fifteen to 20 villagers,

including several teenage students, have been killed in some of Myanmar's deadliest fighting since July between government troops and resistance forces, a villager and reports by independent media said Friday.

The fighting near Gangaw Township in the northwestern Magway Region started on Thursday, two days after a call for a nationwide uprising was issued by the National Unity Government, a opposition organization that seeks to coordinate resistance to military rule.

The fighting broke out when more than 100 troops arrived in four military

vehicles to secure the area in Myin Thar and five other nearby villages, a resident told.

Members of a lightly-armed village self-defense militia fired warning shots but could not stop the soldiers from entering the area and clashes continued after that, said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity to safeguard his personal security.

The opposition movement that rose against the army's February seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was initially peaceful, but gradually began fighting back after security forces used deadly force to break up nonviolent protests.

Online chess Olympiad: India tops pool b, storms into quarterfinalscheNNAI, Sep 11 (pTI)

India on Friday sailed into the quarterfinals of the Fide Online Chess Olympiad, topping Pool B in the Top Division with an unbeaten record.

On the final day of the league phase, India posted wins over Hungary and Moldova before sharing honours with Slovenia.

The team led by former world champion Viswanathan Anand finished with seven wins and two draws for 16 points to emerge clear winner ahead of Hungary (15). The top two teams from the group advance to the play-offs.

A team gets two points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

India started the day with a convincing 4-2 win over close rival Hungary in the seventh round with victories coming from Anand, Koneru Humpy, the top women's player and Nihal Sarin. P Harikrishna went down to Imre Balog while D Harika and R Vaishali settled for draws. In the eighth round, India chose to rest Anand, Humpy and Harika

but had no problems routing Moldova 5-1. Vidit Gujrathi, Tania Sachdev, Bhakti Kulkarni and the talented young R Praggnanandhaa posted wins while B Adhiban and B Savitha Shri settled for draws. With the top spot assured in the pool with a round to go, India was held to a 3-3 draw by a fighting Slovenia.

Only Vidit Gujrathi and Praggnanandhaa could record wins while the Slovenians Teja Vidic and Zala Urh turned the tables on Bhakti Kulkarni and Savitha Shri to help the team bounce back in the ninth and final round of the preliminary phase. The experienced Harikrishna managed a draw against Jure Skoberne to help India escape with a draw and maintain its unbeaten record.

The quarterfinals will be held on September 13 after a two-day break. India's results:

Seventh round: Beat Hungary 4-2 (V Anand beat Viktor Erdos, P Harikrishna lost to Imre Balog, Koneru Humpy beat Thanh Trang Hoang, D Harika drew with Bianka Havanecz, Nihal Sarin beat Marcell Borhy, R Vaishali dew with Kata Karacsonyi).

Eighth round: Beat Moldova 5-1 (Vidit Gujrathi drew Victor Bologan, B Adhiban drew with Ivan Schitco, Tania Sachdev beat Paula-Alexandra Citu, Bhakti Kulkarni beat Ana Petriceno, R Praggnanandhaa beat Igor Lashkin, B Savitha Shri drew with Alina Mihalova).

Ninth round: Drew Slovenia 3-3 (Vidit Gujrathi beat Luka Lenic, Harikrishna drew Jure Skoberne, Tania Sachdev drew with Lara Janzelj, Bhakti Kulkarni lost to Teja Vidic, Praggnanandhaa beat Jan Subelj, Savitha Shri lost to Zala Urh).

India on Friday sailed into the quarterfinals of the Fide Online Chess Olympiad,

topping Pool B in the Top Division with an unbeaten record.

player should return to national set up 3-4 years after retirement, dhoni's case special: Kapil

KOlKATA, Sep 11 (pTI)

India great Kapil Dev on Friday welcomed M S Dhoni's appointment as the mentor of the national team for the T20 World Cup, saying it seems a special case since he

has come back to the set up only one year after retirement.Speaking at an event here, Kapil said there should be gap of at least three to four years for a retired cricketer to come back to the national set up.

"It is a good decision. I have always been of the opinion that once a cricketer retires he should come back to the set up only after three four years but this seems like a special case with the World Cup around the corner. Ravi (Shastri) is also down with COVID so it looks a special case," Kapil said. BCCI on Wednesday made a surprise announcement on Dhoni's role when the squad for the T20 World Cup was named.

No charter flights: Ipl teams to fly commercialdUbAI, Sep 11 (pTI)

Mumbai Indians stars including skipper Rohit Sharma are leaving for Dubai on Saturday while CSK and Punjab Kings have also made individual travel arrangements with BCCI's plans for a charter flight on September 15 aborted after cancellation of the fifth Test in Manchester.For MI, the other players who would be leaving for Dubai with their respective families are Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav.

Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shardul Thakur, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran are part of the CSK squad which has already started training ahead of the IPL resuming September 19.Captain K L Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammad Shami and Dawid Malan are the Punjab players who are in Manchester.

"The BCCI isn't arranging any charter flights since the Test match has been cancelled. So every franchise is making their own travel arrangement. Since they are all flying commercial, they will be doing six-days of room quarantine," a senior IPL official said.

Before COVID struck the Indian team, the plan was a bubble to bubble transfer with players of both teams taking a chartered flight to UAE. "Charter flight is not a possibility anymore. We are trying to get their tickets done for a commercial flight tomorrow. When they land, they will do six-day quarantine like the rest of the players," CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon said: "In all likelihood, our players will fly out from Manchester tomorrow." Indian players have been in their rooms in Manchester since junior physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive on Thursday.

1 to go: djokovic into US Open final, nears year grand SlamNew YOrK, Sep 11

If Novak Djokovic does complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam for a man since 1969 and he is headed to the U.S.

Open final, just one victory away he, and everyone else, will remember one particularly pivotal, and epic, game along the way. It came at the conclusion of the third set of what eventually became a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows on Friday night, making Djokovic 27-0 in major championships this season.

The game featured one extended exchange after another, including a 53-shot, minute-plus point that was the longest of the tournament and actually was lost by Djokovic on a forehand winner by Zverev, who hunched over with his hands on his knees as most of Arthur Ashe Stadium's 21,139 spectators rose in unison on a cool, crisp evening. But that

one outcome didn't matter. Never seems to with Djokovic, especially in best-of-five-set matches on his sport's most prestigious stages. As usual, he used his superb returning and never-take-a-rest defense to wear down

Zverev. So, yes, Djokovic lost that point which was

preceded by others lasting 13, 19, 22 and 31 shots,

and followed by one that went 16 but he won that game, and that set with it. Just as he had lost the first set about 1 1/2 hours earlier but turned things

around, with the help of a dip in level from the

fourth-seeded Zverev. And just as, later, Djokovic

lost the fourth set but immediately

rebounded and was nearly untouchable while going ahead 5-0 in the fifth then held on. Djokovic, who has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the ATP

rankings than anyone, figures

out what is required to emerge on top and does it. In each of his past four matches and 10 in all at the Slams this

year he trailed by a set and won.

Veer Ahlawat maintains lead in round three despite a sedate 71pANchKUlA, SepT 11 (pTI)

Veer Ahlawat scored a sedate one-under 71 but managed to keep the lead after the third round of the TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship here on Friday.

The Gurugram-based golfer (67-62-71), who had scored a whirlwind 62 in round one, moved his tournament total to 16-under 200.

The 25-year-old Ahlawat's mixed round saw him pick up five birdies at the expense of four bogeys.

Noida's Amardeep Malik (71-65-66) was breathing down the leader's neck as he struck a terrific 66 consisting of eight birdies and

two bogeys to be placed second at 14-under 202.Bengaluru's Chikkarangappa S (69-65-69) was also in contention in third place at 13-under 203 along with Mysuru's Yashas Chandra (65-70-69) who occupied fourth place at 12-under 204.

Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (66) was the highest-placed among the Chandigarh golfers as he closed the day in tied fifth at 11-under 205 along with Om Prakash Chouhan (66) of Mhow and M Dharma (70) of Bengaluru.

Noida's Gaurav Pratap Singh shot the day's best score of seven-under 65 to move up 34 places into tied 15th at six-under 210.

proposed Test could be one-off, says ecb ceO harrison

mANcheSTer, Sep 11 (pTI)

The Test match that BCCI has proposed to play in lieu of the cancelled fifth Test here would be a one-off game, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison said on Friday. The fifth Test was cancelled after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp which made visiting players reluctant to

play fearing a positive result might lead to 10-day isolation and scheduling nightmare of Indian Premier League.

"No, I think it's a stand-alone situation. We have been offered a few other options, probably need to take a look (at those)," Harrison told 'Sky Sports' when asked whether it would be a stand-alone game or the series-decider.

"The glass half full version of it is that the prospects of playing a one off Test match against India as a focal point on this ground, let's try to deliver on that. It can be the only good news that comes out of a day like today," he added.

If the rescheduled match is a one-off engagement than India would be deemed winners of the series as it stands right now, something

that has not been officially confirmed yet.

The most likely window for the rescheduled game is July next year when India would be here for a limited-overs' assignment.

Ganguly to meet Harrison on Sept 22 or 23:

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is expected to meet Harrison and Ian Whatmore to discuss the modalities of the one-off match next year during a personal visit to the UK from September 22. He will discuss the 40 million pounds loss that the ECB is facing which is not covered by insurance.

"The ECB stands to lose 40 million pounds with 30 million in broadcasts and 10 million in ticketing and hospitality," a source explained.

5

5SATUrdAY 11 SepTember 2021 cOImbATOre

cOVId-19: TN again crosses 1,600-mark

cheNNAI, Sep 11 (pTI): COVID-19 infections in Tamil Nadu

crossed the 1,600-mark again on Friday, the Health Department said. There were 1,631 new cases and pushed the total number infected to 26,30,592 till date, the department said.A total of 25 people succumbed to the virus and took the toll to 35,119 so far, a bulletin said here.On March 25, the infections breached the 1,600-mark by reporting 1,636 cases. But, there has since been a dip in cases. The department has alerted Collectors and the officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation about the rise in new infections."All collectors and Greater Chennai Corporation may be alert as Tamil Nadu is showing a rising trend. What is worrying is that instead of earlier week changes linked to increase in number of tests on weekdays, this rise is due to gradual increase on (COVID-19) positivity," the message sent by Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said.In the last 24 hours, 1,523 people got discharged,

the bulletin said.A total of 1,58,197 samples were tested in the last 24 hours and pushed the cumulative number of specimens examined to 4,39,06,770 till date.Five of the 38 districts of the State reported most of the new infections with Coimbatore seeing 235, Chennai 174, Erode 137, Chengalpet 133 and Tiruppur 113. There were no fresh

deaths in 21 districts. Ramanathapuram recorded the least number of new

infections with two.Among the 25 fatalities, 18 succumbed

in government and seven in private healthcare facilities. Two of the deceased were without co-morbidity or pre-

existing illness, the bulletin said.On the instructions given to

the Collectors, the government said, "Till vaccination covers a substantial

population, monitoring of people in crowded places, enforcing COVID-19 protocols and tracing of contacts in case of emergence of clusters hold significance. Vaccinating the maximum number of people for immunity among those not exposed is also important.

Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh chairing a meeting with the senior officers of

National Surveying and Mapping Agency (NMA), at Dehradun.

bhUbANeSwAr, Sep 11 (pTI)

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off the new LHB rake of the Bhubaneswar-Jagadalpur Hirakhand Express on Friday.The Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches will replace the conventional ones. The modern coaches are anti-telescopic and therefore they

do not flip in case of a collision; they are safer, lighter, more comfortable and jerk-free, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) release said.The ministers flagged off the new rake from the Bhubaneswar railway station via video conference from the Rail Bhawan in New Delhi, it said.During his recent visit to Odisha, Vaishnaw had travelled with the passengers in the Hirakhand Express and

taken their feedback about the rail services."Every year, about Rs 6,000-7,000 crore is being sanctioned in the budget for development of rail infrastructure in Odisha," he said.Pradhan also underscored that special attention was being given by the Union government to the region in the field of development of railway infrastructure and projects.

railway min flags off hirakhand express with lhb coaches

KOlKATA, Sep 11 (pTI) Two accused persons were arrested for shooting at a

man at Sonali Park in the south-eastern part of the city, police said here on Friday.

A group of rowdies under Bansdroni police station area attacked the house of one Pradip Debnath on Thursday night and shot at him out of an old grudge, but missed and hit the hand of Abhishek Mukherjee, who resides at the house, a senior police officer said.

Mukherjee is undergoing treatment at the state-run SSKM hospital here.

Following raids, police arrested Subho Ghosh, son of Nanti Ghosh and another accused Kartik Das, the officer said.The police said that the accused have been charged with attempt to murder, voluntarily causing grievous injury with dangerous weapons and under sections of the Arms Act.Search is on to arrest two other accused, he said.

2 arrested in bansdroni firing case

JAlpAIgUrI (wb), Sep 11 (pTI) A man was arrested with snake venom worth Rs

13 crore in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, a forest officer said on Friday.The accused, hailing from Dakshin Dinajpur district, was nabbed with three jars of snake venom in Gorumara National Park, he said, adding those were being smuggled to China.The accused was produced before a court which sent him to six days in the custody of the Forest Department.

bengal man arrested with snake venom worth rs 13 crore

bhUbANeSwAr, Sep 11 (pTI)

Odisha on Friday crossed two milestones in the pandemic management with the COVID-19 recovery figure crossing the 10 lakh mark and the state administering over 2.5 crore vaccine doses to people above 18 years, a health department official said.

With the recovery of 689 more patient's Odisha's COVID-19 recovery figure now stands at 10,00,548, which is 98.56 per cent of the state's caseload, the official

said.Odisha has set a new benchmark in the fight against COVID-19 as 10,00,000+ COVID-19 positive patients have recovered successfully, the Health and Family Welfare department said.

Taking to twitter Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said: "Glad that #Odisha has crossed a significant milestone in the fight against #COVID19 with more than 10 lakh recoveries, Salute to our healthcare professionals and #CovidWarriors for their hard work and sacrifices to save every precious life."

more than 10 lakh recover from cOVId-19, Odisha administers over 2.5 cr vaccine doses

rANchI, Sep 11 (pTI) Jharkhand High Court on

Friday took suo motu cognizance of the death of two elephants in Latehar district in the last 10 days and sought a response from the state government in the matter.

During the hearing on Friday, the court of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice SN Prasad, taking suo motu cognisance of media reports regarding the death of elephants ordered the Environment Secretary and Head of Forests to be present in the court.

The court has sought an explanation behind the incidents asking whether it occurred due

to any disease or is a result of absence of regular patrolling.

Both the officers were asked to appear in the online court on September 16 and give their replies.

Two elephant deaths took place in Latehar on August 30 and September 9.

On September 9, a baby elephant was found dead in Hadi forest under Ganeshpur village of Balumath police station area of ??Latehar.

The information was given to the forest department. Several people including forest department officials had reached the spot.

Jharkhand hc takes suo moto cognisance of death of elephants in latehar

gUwAhATI, Sep 11 (pTI)

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday directed the Agriculture department to create a special cell to fill up vacancies and also create new posts for augmenting the functioning of the department, an official statement said here.

He also asked for creating a 'permanent asset portal' of the department within 15 days to maintain a record of assets in its various field offices, it added.

Reviewing various schemes implemented by Agriculture, Horticulture and Food Processing departments, Sarma said agriculture has to be the primary driver of the economy as the state is an agrarian one.

The chief minister directed the Agriculture department to fill up vacant posts in the department at an early date along with taking steps for initiating the due promotions of officials.For recruitment purpose, a special cell was directed to

be constituted, the statement said.Sarma also asked to create required posts of executive engineers for augmenting the functioning of the department.He also directed to maintain an asset register for the department to keep track of assets in various field offices of the department while creating a 'permanent asset portal' within 15 days which will be updated every year.He further said the department must be proactive

in getting closer to the farmers and facilitating use of latest farming technology while providing better market linkage to the farmers.

Moreover, he also directed to set up a seed portal for proper seed procurement and distribution, the statement said.

He also directed to activate seed farms under Agriculture department and Assam Seed Corporation for producing quality seeds.

Implementation of national schemes like PM-KISHAN, PM Fasal Bima Yojna, Krishi Sinchai Yojna, etc, was also reviewed in the meeting while discussing about ways to start an integrated fertiliser distribution system within three months to provide fertilisers at right price to the farmers.The CM also directed to prepare a plan for optimum utilisation of funds under various Central government schemes and one Programme Officer, Accounts Officer and Media Expert to be recruited in every District Agriculture Office for the purpose.

Assam cm asks Agri dept to fill up vacancies, create new posts expeditiously

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday directed the Agriculture department to

create a special cell to fill up vacancies

and also create new posts for augmenting

the functioning of the department, an official statement

said here.

bhAwANIpATNA, Sep 11 (pTI) Seven people were arrested after an interstate-

smuggling racket of kendu leaves was busted in Odisha's Kalahandi district on Friday, police said.

The gang used to smuggle kendu leaves from different parts of Odisha to West Bengal and sell them to unlicensed biri manufacturers, the police said.

Kendu leaves is one of the most important non-wood forest products of Odisha, which is its third largest producer in the country.

Kalahandi district is among the major producer of the leaves in the state, according to the Odisha Forest Development Corporation.

In the early hours of August 29, the gang members allegedly came in a truck and motorcycles to a kendu leaf collection centre at a village in Madanpur Rampur block, 56 km from Bhawanipatna, an officer said.

They snatched away the phones of the labourers, segregated them into groups of males and females by showing a toy pistol and a sword, Kalahandi Superintendent of Police Sabarna Vivek M said.

The gang looted 40 bags of kendu leaves worth Rs 7.5 lakh and took it in a truck to Panskura in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district. They sold it to an unlicensed biri manufacturer for Rs 5 lakh, Vivek said.

Interstate kendu leaf smuggling racket busted, 7 held

ITANAgAr, Sep 11 (pTI) The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is developing

six-foot tracks in Arunachal Pradesh in order to improve connectivity to the remote areas in the state.

Project Arunank of the BRO has attached priority on development of the six-foot tracks and has commenced work in full swing to achieve the desired goals within three years, BRO sources said here on Friday.

The tracks include Huri-Tapa (20.44-km), Tap-Goying (18.6-km), Tapa Karu (43.18 km), Sarli-Semai (54.87-km), Sarli-Phulle (34.38-km) and Nacho-Bangte (41.6-km) in Kurung Kumey and Upper Subansiri districts bordering China, the sources informed.

"BRO in #ArunachalPradesh commenced construction of foot track Huri-Tapa. The endeavour is part of the larger aim of holistically addressing the challenge of improved connectivity to the remote areas in Arunachal and spur socio-eco development in the state," the BRO tweeted.

BRO Director General Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary with his committed officers down the line has been constantly monitoring the work progress, the sources said, adding Project Arunank has been entrusted with the responsibility of critical infrastructure development in the border areas.

brO developing six-foot tracks in Arunachal pradesh

mAJUlI (ASSAm), Sep 11 (pTI)

Both the Centre and the Assam government are committed to complete a bridge over the Brahmaputra river, connecting Majuli and Jorhat, within four years and are jointly working towards it, Union minister Sarbanand Sonowal said on Friday.

The statement of Sonowal, who was a former chief minister of Assam, came two days after a boat headed to Majuli sank in the river after hitting a ferry steamer near Nimati Ghat in Jorhat district, in which one person died and two others went missing."We all want a bridge on the Brahmaputra and

both the state and central government have taken necessary steps in this direction so that it is well constructed with the latest technology," Sonowal told media persons here.

The Union minister for shipping, ports and ayush said he respects the opinion of those who asserted that the boat mishap could have been avoided if the Jorhat-Majuli bridge was there.

The foundation stone of the bridge was laid in 2016 while Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the Bhumi Pujan earlier this year.

At present, "technical aspects are being examined with both the state and the central governments aiming at completing the project within the next four years", Sonowal said.

Sonowal was elected from Majuli in 2016 and again in 2021 while he was elected twice as MP from Lakhimpur

constituency under which the world's largest river island is an assembly segment. He became a Union minister in July and is yet to resign as a member of the Assam assembly.

Rejecting allegations from some quarters that he had done politics over the bridge issue, he said, "The people of Majuli have elected me twice as an MLA and also as an MP. I will never do politics with the people of the island as I both respect and revere them."

The state cabinet on Thursday decided to entrust Finance Minister Ajanta Neog with the responsibility of monitoring the construction of the bridge.

"This indicates the commitment both the Centre and state government has towards the people of Majuli. Steps will be also taken by both the governments to improve the infrastructural facilities at both the Nimatighat and Kamlabari ghat at the earliest," he added.

The boat collision was a "very tragic and unfortunate incident. I was in Delhi and immediately called up Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to discuss the matter.

The prime minister and the Union home minister also assured all help to rescue the passengers," he said.

centre, Assam jointly working towards building Jorhat-majuli bridge in 4 years: Sonowal

Union minister for shipping, ports and ayush

said he respects the opinion of those who

asserted that the boat mishap could have been

avoided if the Jorhat-Majuli bridge was there.

New delhI Sep 11 India's Covid chart showed

improvement today, with the country recording 33,376 cases, a drop of 4.5 per cent from yesterday.

About 308 deaths were recorded during the period, according to the Health Ministry.

Kerala added 25,010 cases and 177 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 43,34,704 and the number of deaths to 22,303.

The positivity rate rose to 16.53 per cent on Wednesday after testing 1,51,317 samples in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra reported 4,154 new coronavirus infections and 44 to the India's Covid numbers. Maharashtra's case recovery rate stands at 97.05 per cent while the fatality rate is 2.12 per cent.

No virus-related death was recorded in Delhi in a day while 36 fresh cases were reported during the same period with a positivity rate of 0.05 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Friday.

In neighbouring Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced

that state government employees failing to take even the first dose of Covid vaccine for any reason other than medical will be compulsorily sent on leave after September 15.

Active cases constitute 1.18 per

cent of total cases, while the national Covid recovery rate stands 97.49 per cent, the Health Ministry said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.10 per cent. It has been less than 3 per cent for the past 12

days. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.26 per cent. It has been below 3 per cent for the past 78 days, according to the government.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease increased to 3,23,74,497, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent, the data showed.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 73 crore. More than 56 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Friday.

Fully vaccinated people were 11 times less likely to die of Covid and 10 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to the unvaccinated since highly contagious Delta became the most common variant, US health authorities said Friday.

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,529,715 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to news agency AFP.

The US is the worst-affected country with 652,654 deaths, followed by Brazil with 584,421, India with 441,749, Mexico 265,420 and Peru 198,595.

33,376 Fresh coronavirus cases in India, 4.5% lower than yesterday

edITOrIAl

6 SATUrdAY 11 SepTember 2021 cOImbATOre

Kerala has the highest corona caseload in India. Fear of the Nipah virus has now joined the situation, with about 30,000

people a day already being infected with the corona. It is not enough if Kerala is careful. The time has come for the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu to be very cautious as well.

Kerala is the only state in India to witness the Nipah virus. Nipah virus is most often spread by fruit-eating bats. The disease is transmitted to humans through children and pigs eating the remains of fruits eaten by bats. The virus got its name from the Nipah virus, which was first detected in 1998 in the village of Kampung village of Sungai Nipah in Malaysia. The virus became known as the Nipah virus because it killed many people during that time. Nipah virus is not new in Kerala. The Nipah virus has already claimed 17 lives in 2018, followed by the virus in 2019. Now a 12-year-old boy has died of the Nipah virus in Pazhur, Kozhikode district in Kerala. As the virus spreads rapidly to humans based on human contact, 265 people are listed as medical staff, family and relatives at the 4 hospitals that treated the boy and are now in the hospital under observation. Of these, 12 have symptoms of the Nipah virus. It has been revealed that the dead Kerala boy ate the fruit bitten by the bats. On the whole, the Nipah virus should not spread in Kerala. Also, precautionary measures have to be taken so that the virus outbreak does not set foot in Tamil Nadu. Not only the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala but also the Central Government should make efforts for this.

have to be vigilant about Nipah virus also

cheNNAI Sep 11Health Secretary to

the Government of Tamil Nadu Dr Radhakrishnan on Friday wrote to all district collectors urging them to be on alert as the state is witnessing a rising trend in the daily caseload.

He instructed them to boost up the corona tests and vaccination drives across the state.

As the daily incidence of corona infection in Tamil Nadu is nearing 1,600, the number of tests should be

increased, said Secretary of the Department of Health and Public Welfare Dr Radhakrishnan in a letter to the District Collectors. He added that people who have recovered from corona infection should be vaccinated.

Instead of the tests being spiked up, the caseload is on the rise, which is worrisome, he said in his message to the collectors.

He urged them to follow up vaccinations both for

the mega camp that is to be held on Sunday and regular days to quickly cover those above 18 years.

Apart from those who are not vaccinated, he asked the administrative heads to keep track of those who are eligible for the second dose of vaccines.

He requested them to follow up through public health and the local body machinery in crowded places to do effective contact tracing in cases of the emergence of clusters.

BJP district unit arranging an oratory competition for students at Erode in connection with the death centenary function of poet Bharathi at Erode on Saturday. It was presided over by the BJP lawyers wing state president NP

Palaniswami.

Order to increase corona testing in Tamil Nadu

ganesha idols dissolved in coimbatore with protocolscOImbATOre Sep 11

As Ganesha Chaturthi was celebrated on Saturday, the Tamil Nadu government had banned the placing of idols of Lord Ganesha in public places and had given permission to worship idols in houses.

Permission had been granted in 48 water bodies in the Coimbatore district to dismantle the idols placed in the houses. Arrangements for the dissolution of the statues took place in full swing. Arrangements were made to dissolve the idols by adhering to the COVID protocols.

The shores were cleaned and disinfected. All statues brought in were dumped into the water bodies by the fire and rescue department.

Police did not allow people to stand there for long periods of time. Tight security arrangements were made and the festival came to an end in a smooth manner.

cOImbATOre Sep 11

The Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Rajagopal Sunkara on Friday said that the Aram Foundation Charitable Trust and the Robert Bosch Engineering Solutions have jointly launched a program for the mental well-being of students in 83 corporation schools.

In his statement, he said that the tale survey and counselling program will benefit more than 19,000 students in the corporation schools and 1,000 students in government schools. “Schools have faced many

challenging situations due to the global COVID -19 epidemic.

Thus the students have become prone to issues like depression, grief, economic setbacks, malnutrition issues,

etc. This project will identify such issues by conducting a personal survey and linking them to the appropriate sources,” he said.

He added that psychiatrists on the board

of this foundation, doctors, consultants, mentors and trained counsellors will be part of this team.

“The main objective of the project is to provide the right solution to the above problems.

This will increase the confidence of the children and increase their focus on learning,” the Commissioner asserted. The event was attended by

Coimbatore CSR Project Leader Basil Johnson, CEO, Coimbatore Corporation Managing Trustee Michael Raj, Latha Sundaram and Aram Foundation Charitable Trust Founder Gokulraj.

Tele Survey and counseling program launched in coimbatore corporation Schools

“Schools have faced many challenging situations due to the global cOVId -19 epidemic.

Thus the students have become prone to issues like depression, grief, economic setbacks,

malnutrition issues, etc. This project will identify such issues by conducting a personal survey and

linking them to the appropriate sources,”

erOde SepT 11Arunthathiyar Ilaignar

Peravai state president Vadivel Raman thanked the CM for allotting Rs 1.82 cr for construction of a memorial for freedom fighter Pollan at Nallamangapalayam, near Arachalur.

In this connection, he met the state information Minister MP Saminathan and thanked him for making the announcement in the state Assembly.

The minister announced construction of the memorial in 44 cents of land and hold Ponnan birthday celebration as government function on Dec 28 every year, he said and appealed to the minister to honour and help the legal heirs of Pollan who were in poor condition. Vadivel

also thanked the Tourism Minister Dr Madhivendhan and Housing Minister S Muthusamy for fulfilling the long felt demand of Arunthathiyars by sanctioning the memorial. Like Pollan, many chieftains of various communities

fought against British along with Dheeran Chinnamalai in the Kongu region. So, such chieftains' life history should also be unearthed and honoured, he pleaded. Party secretary VS Shanmugam and Veeravalan accompanied him.

cm thanked for announcing memorial for freedom fighter pollan

Arunthathiyar Ilaignar Peravai state president Vadivel Raman submitting a book on Pollan to Information

Minister MP Saminathan.

Collector H Krishnaunni paying floral tribute to Poet Bharathi statue at the public library at Karungalpalayam, Erode in connection with the death centenary of late leader on

Saturday. District Library Officer V Madheswaran is also seen.

Former CM and Opposition Party leader Edapadi K Palaniswami greeting Rathan Prithvi, AIADMK

Maanagar District students wing secretary, on his marriage reception at Erode on Friday night.

pondy adds 46 new cases to its coronavirus tallypUdUcherrY, SepT 11 (pTI)

Puducherry registered 46 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday taking the overall caseload to 1,24,675.

The new cases were identified at the end of examination of 3,071 samples and they were spread over Puducherry 28, Karaikal 9, and Mahe 9.

One more person succumbed to the viral infection taking the toll in the Union Territory to 1,821.

The active cases were 914 of whom 178 were in hospitals and the remaining 736 were in home quarantine.

Director of Health Department G.Sriramulu said the test positivity rate was 1.50 percent while fatality and recovery rates were 1.46 percent and 97.81 percent respectively.

While 126 patients recovered and were discharged during the last twenty-four hours the overall recoveries stood at 1, 21,940.

The Department of Health has tested 16.99 lakh samples and found 14.41 lakh out of them to be negative. On the vaccination front, 38,177 health care workers and 23,005 front line workers have been vaccinated against the pandemic so far in the Union Territory.

The Department has inoculated 5.84 lakh people including those coming under the category of senior citizens or those above 45 years with co morbidities.

In all, 8.54 lakh people including those who received the second jab have been vaccinated against the virus in Union Territory.

cOImbATOre Sep 11 Police have arrested two graduate

youths for snatching a cell phone by threatening with a knife in Coimbatore on Friday. Manikandan is a resident at the Ambedkar Hostel in the Gandhipuram area of Coimbatore.

Being a college student, he used to work at weddings for catering service on holidays. Manikandan and his friend were standing at the bus stop near the nightclub after finishing work at a wedding reception at a private wedding hall in the Singanallur area of Coimbatore on the day of the incident.

While the\y were waiting at the bus stop, two men who came on a bike, threatened the duo and snatched Manikandan's costly cell phone.

Following a complaint lodged by Manikandan at the Coimbatore Singanallur police station, the police initiated a probe. During the investigation, the police arrested

Nagaraj and his friend Vijaya Manikandan from the Uppilipalayam area of Coimbatore who confessed to threatening Manikandan with a knife and snatching his cell phone.

The investigation also revealed that the two arrested were graduate youths who had been involved in such crimes for money.

Following this, the police registered a case, produced them in court and remanded them in custody.

Two youths held for robbing cell phone

cOImbATOre Sep 11 As the ‘Mega vaccination

camp’ will be held in Coimbatore on Sunday, the employees of the corporation are going door to door and giving tokens for vaccination.

A 'mega' vaccination camp with 1.5 lakh vaccines is scheduled to be held in Coimbatore tomorrow. The camp will be held from 7

a.m. to 7 p.m., the district administration announced.

The mega vaccination camp is being conducted at a total of 1474 locations in 1166 camps such as Government Primary Health Centres, Government Hospitals, Anganwadi Centres and Nutrition Centres in the district and 308 camps in the Corporation area.

Meanwhile, Coimbatore Corporation employees and health workers have been distributing tokens door-to-door to people in areas under Coimbatore.

It is noteworthy that this time, arrangements have been made to facilitate the people with the tokens at their doorsteps, while people used to wait for so long to procure the vaccine tokens.

corporation employees go door-to-door to issue vaccine tokens

The mega vaccination camp is being conducted at a total of 1474

locations in 1166 camps such as Government

Primary Health Centres, Government Hospitals,

Anganwadi Centres and Nutrition Centres in the district and 308 camps in

the Corporation area. erOde SepT 11 VCK District Secretary

Siruthai Valluvan thanked the CM for announcing Samooga Needhi Kavalar Award for this year to VCK state president and MP Thol Thirumavalavan and announced Periyar birthday as Samooga Needhi day.

He said that in connection with the announcements the VCK would arrange a conference at Salem on Sept 17 in which cadres of Kongu

region would attend.He also thanked the CM for announcing an autonomous state commission for SC, ST to deal the problems of them.

He pleaded to the CM to waive TAHDCO loan as assured in the poll manifesto and remove the drawbacks in giving scholarship to SC , ST to pursue higher studies. Now, such help did not reach them fully causing great difficulty to them. He also said that though several steps were

taken by the government to remove untouchability, the two tumbler system was existed in discreet manner in some villages. So, more effort must be made to remove such social evils from the society. Thanking the CM for taking various steps under HR and CE department including making people of all castes as temple archakas, he wanted constitution of trust boards in all temples with SC, ST and women representatives.

VcK thanks cm for announcing Samooga Needhi Kavalar award

VCK cadres, led by party leader Siruthai Valluvan, paying respects to freedom fighter Immanuval Sekaran's portrait on his death anniversary function at Erode on

Saturday.

Five gates of bhatsa dam in maha's Thane opened after heavy rainsThANe, Sep 11 (pTI)

Due to heavy rainfall in the catchment area of Bhatsa dam in Thane district of Maharashtra, five gates of the reservoir were opened on Saturday morning to discharge water, an official said. The gates were opened around 10 am, the irrigation department official from Bhatsa Nagar office said."The water level at the dam reached 141.70 metres around 9 am today. As the catchment area has been receiving heavy rains, five of its gates were opened," he said. The authorities in downstream areas, including Shahapur, Bhiwandi and Kalyan, have been alerted to take precautionary measures.

They have been asked to instruct the villagers living along the river banks not to venture into water, he added.

gifts received by guj cm to be auctioned on Sep 13

mp: lightning kills 2 labourers in AnuppurANUppUr (mp), Sep 11 (pTI)

Lightning killed two labourers in Pauri village in Madhya Pradesh's Anuppur district on Friday, police said.Kotwali police station sub inspector Suresh Ahirwar said Khemkaran Singh Gaur (21) and Roop Singh (19) were killed after they took refuge under a tree during rains.The two worked in a brick kiln nearby, he added.

Kalaivani, a student Vellalar College for Women, getting first prize of Rs 5000 in the district level oratory competition organised by the district

unit of BJP at Erode in connection with the death centenary of poet Bharathi at Erode on Saturday.

AhmedAbAd, Sep 11 (pTI) Gifts received during the chief ministership of Vijay

Rupani will be auctioned on September 13 in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, with the proceeds going to the Kanya Kelavani Nidhi or the 'girl training fund', an official said on Friday.

The move to auction gifts and then use the proceeds for public welfare was a regular feature during the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi was CM of the state, he added.