MADURAI: In a possible larger scam in Class 12 public exams in Tamil Nadu, a CB-CID team arrested nine persons, including four government employees, in Madurai on Thursday night for changing the answer sheets of two Class 12 students in three subjects during the board exam in 2023. According to CB-CID sources, the arrested were identified as superintendent Rama Prabakaran and junior assistant Kannan of the Madurai District Education Officer (elementary) office; Paramasivan, a government school t

MADURAI: In line with an order passed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) demolished 125 houses in Mullipallam village, near Sholavandan. Tensions prevailed in the area, leading to a scuffle between the locals and the police. The locals claimed that they had been residing in the area for over 50 years. For the past one month, residents of Mullipalam staged various protests and petitioned District Collector MS Sangeetha against the high c

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday observed that the usage of the term tribal and other caste indicators in the names of government schools is unwarranted as it would stigmatise the children studying there. Asking the state government to remove such appendages, a bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice C Kumarappan directed the Chief Secretary to initiate appropriate action. The bench made the observation while hearing a suo motu petition on uplifting the lives of the SC/ST residents

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday asked the Chief Secretary of the Tamil Nadu government to initiate appropriate action to remove community/caste names from the names of government schools across the State. A division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and C Kumarappan was passing further interim orders on proceedings initiated on its own, pursuant to the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy that claimed nearly 65 lives. The bench said it was brought to its notice that government schools wer

CHENNAI: The (ED) on Friday announced the provisional attachment of immovable and movable properties worth Rs 14.21 crore in connection with an illegal red earth mining case in Tamil Nadu involving family members and associates of K. Ponmudy, currently the state Higher Education Minister, and his son Dr. P. Gautham Sigamani, a former Member of Parliament (MP). The agency has attached immovable properties held in the name of K.S. Raja Mahendran (Sigamani's brother-in-law) and his entities valued

NILGIRIS: A committee of political leaders and local representatives will be formed to mitigate the human-wild elephant conflict at O-Valley near Gudalur. This was announced by Gudalur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) N Venkatesh Prabhu in a reply to an O-Valley-based petitioner. The DFO has sent a reply to the petitioner, R Ranjit of O-Valley Makkal Iyakkam, who sent a letter to the Chief Minister's Special Cell seeking the forest department to form a committee of public representatives and loca

RAMANATHAPURAM: As the construction of the New Pamban railway sea bridge is nearing culmination, official sources said the railway services to Rameswaram via the bridge are likely to resume by October 1 this year, even as activities including track checkup and electricity line works are yet to be carried out. The work for the construction of a New Pamban rail bridge near the existing one was initiated by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) in 2019, considering the dilapidated condition of the centur

KRISHNAGIRI: Two people suffered injuries when they fell after being chased by a wild elephant in separate incidents near Shoolagiri on Thursday. They have been admitted to the hospital. According to sources, in the first incident, around 6.30 am, K Narasimman (50), a forest watcher in the Rayakottai forest range, was monitoring a lone tusker in Oddayanur village. He was accompanied by a forest guard on a two-wheeler. The tusker started to chase them, during which, Narasimman fell from the two-w

THOOTHUKUDI: The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) will establish an aviation training academy in Kovilpatti to facilitate entry for the students of southern districts to the aviation sector, said Minister for Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Geetha Jeevan on Thursday. The minister, who distributed patta to 90 beneficiaries in the presence of RDO Prabu and Tahsildar Prabakar at MLA office, said, CM MK Stalin had announced the allocation of Rs 425 crore for the Tho

TIRUNELVELI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) registered a case on Thursday following a complaint filed by activist SP Muthuraman against shifting Manjolai tea estate workers from the hills to the plains. The complaint stated instead of granting forest rights to 700 families of Manjolai tea estate workers, the officials are forcing them to relocate to the plains. The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited took the land on lease for establishing the tea plantation in 1929. The lease

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has adjourned the case pertaining to the privilege notice issued to 18 DMK MLAs, present Chief Minister MK Stalin among them, for bringing gutka into the state assembly in 2017 as part of a protest, to Monday for final arguments to be advanced on behalf of the MLAs. The appeal petitions, filed by the Assembly Secretary and the then Privileges Committee challenging a single judge order quashing the notices to the MLAs, were listed before a division bench of Justices

CHENNAI: The state government has allocated Rs 360 crore for implementing the Tamil Pudhalvan Scheme during the current financial year. CM MK Stalin will be launching the scheme in August. The scheme aims to provide financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month to boys pursuing higher studies, provided they studied in Tamil medium in government schools or government-aided schools in the state from classes 6 to 12. Originally, the scheme was announced to cover only government school students and now

CUDDALORE: The work order of a private contractor associated with Cuddalore corporation was cancelled on Thursday after the video of a man cleaning a drain without any safety equipment went viral in the social media. In the video, the man, identified as a worker from Puthupalayam employed by a private contract company, is seen fully submerged in drain water and cleaning it by holding to a wooden pole. After the video went viral, Collector Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar directed Corporation Commissi

COIMBATORE: The driver of a school bus saved the lives of 20 students in Tiruppur on Wednesday evening as he stopped the vehicle just in time before collapsing due to a cardiac arrest that proved to be fatal. The deceased, Somalaiyappan (49) of KCP Nagar in Vellakoil, worked as the bus driver at a private school in Ayyanur for the last eight months. His wife Lalitha was a helper in the bus, said police. Like every day, he picked up students from the school and was heading to drop them home on We

CHENNAI: Indirect poll to elect new mayors for Tirunelveli and Coimbatore Corporations will be held on August 5 and 6 respectively. Mayors of these corporations, PM Saravanan and Kalpana Anandakumar, resigned on July 3. State Election Commissioner B Jothi Nirmalasamy on Thursday instructed the collectors of Tirunelveli and Coimbatore to conduct election. Instructions have been given to the collectors to conduct meetings of municipal corporations. Besides, the State Election Commission has also g

CHENNAI: The agonising wait for a safe mobility during monsoon for roughly 20,000 inhabitants of Pasiyavaram island in Pulicat is finally over. The state highways department has completed the bridge work over Pulicat lake waters and Chief Minister MK Stalin is likely to inaugurate it shortly. TNIE visited the Pasiyavaram island on Wednesday. Workers were seen giving finishing touches and heavy machinery was deployed to remove the debris from the Pulicat lake dumped to create a temporary platform

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK has announced state-wide demonstrations in all district headquarters on Saturday, condemning the union government for its alleged betrayal of Tamil Nadu in the recent union budget. A statement by the party said that the Union government failed to allocate funds for the Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project and for flood relief that were requested by Chief Minister MK Stalin. It pointed out that some states alone were given funds for disaster relief. The statement said that

VIRUDHUNAGAR: A 26-year-old man was brutally murdered by a gang in Sivakasi on Wednesday night. The victim has been identified as M Karthik Pandiyan (26). Police arrested the victim's brothers-in-law P Dhanabala (26), P Balamurugan (27) and S Siva (23) in connection with the murder. Sources said that Karthik Pandiyan and Nandhini Kumari (22) fell in love with each other and got married eight months ago. Karthik Pandiyan was working in a workshop in Sivakasi while Nandhini was employed in a super

THOOTHUKUDI: Urging the state government to fulfil their demands, including insurance payout for crop losses during the financial year 2023-24, farmers of Vilathikulam region staged a protest at Melakaranthai on the Thoothukudi-Madurai national highway. Meanwhile, the Ettayapuram police arrested 151 farmers for blocking the national highway. The farmers, led by Karisalboomi Vivasayigal Sangam, demanded the state government to provide adequate insurance relief. Crops such as black gram, green gra

TIRUCHY: The city corporation on Wednesday convened its council meeting for July. In this several important announcements were made, including its plan to make licence mandatory for pet dogs. Mayor Mu Anbalagan, who chaired the meeting, said that sanitation officials will visit residents in the coming days in order to collect the details of dog owners and vaccination status of their pets. Before commencing discussion on various topics, the mayor presented the status of the civic bodys stray dog

VELLORE: It is the states persistent questioning of the central policies, especially regarding education, that led to the Union government neglecting Tamil Nadu in the budget, alleged Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan on Wednesday. He made the statement after inaugurating a new building for the Government College of Arts and Sciences, Katpadi, constructed at a cost of Rs 12.46 crore. Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi, Handloom and Textiles Minister R Gandhi, and Vellore Collector VR Subbul

VILLUPURAM: P Shobana, executive engineer of the public works department (water resources) on Wednesday said that the reconstruction works of Ellis Chatram dam built across the Thenpennai river between Yenathimangalam-Kappur villages in Villupuram district have been completed. The Ellis Chatram dam was built across the Thenpennai river to provide water to 26 lakes and 13,100 acres of agricultural land through the canals of Eralur, Reddy, Alangal, Maragathapuram and Kandambakkam. The embankment g

TIRUPATTUR: Mubina Fazlurahman, a 31-year-old homemaker from Tirupatturs Ambur, is in shock as her SBI bank account, created solely for receiving financial assistance from government schemes like Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam and gas subsidy, has been frozen citing GST default of Rs 4.46 crore. Speaking to TNIE, her husband Niyaz Ahmed said in the third week of this month, she received a message from her bank stating that her account had been frozen. When we enquired with the bank, we were to

CHENNAI: The PMK on Wednesday urged the state government to initiate a caste-wise survey to ensure the continuation of the 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu. The party president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss met Backward Classes Commission Chairman V Bharathidasan to discuss the collection of data related to the population of OBC communities in the state. He submitted a representation to emphasise the importance of this data in maintaining the 69% reservation. Later, addressing journalists, Dr Anbumani warne

MADURAI: The police is the only machinery that can prosecute cases related to buying votes during elections. However, they are taking sides and are not prosecuting such cases, while expecting favours from political parties, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court said. The court was hearing a petition filed by Arulraj and Rajagopal, booked by the Thiruvegampet police in Sivaganga for distributing money while seeking votes for Arulrajs wife during a panchayat election. However, as the police d

CHENNAI: After more than three years, Aavins average daily milk procurement has reached 36 lakh litres, thanks to the increased milk production and a cut in procurement rates by private companies. The figure excludes the 4 lakh litres milk received at milk cooperative societies in villages but sold locally in the respective villages. The last time Aavins procurement reached 37 to 38 lakh litres a day was during the Covid-19 lockdown from May to December 2020. Sources said dairy farmers, who had

PUDUKKOTTAI: Claiming that revenue officials maintain that there are no Hindu-Adhiyan members in the district, members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and activists say this has deprived about 75 families hailing from the tribal community in Kamarajar Nagar on the city outskirts from enjoying reservation benefits. The non-issuance of community certificates recognising them as Scheduled Tribe (ST) members has led to high dropout rate among the youth, forcing them to join their parents in

CHENNAI: Emphasising the need for providing basic amenities and alternative employment to a tribal community living in the hamlets of Kalvarayan Hills spread over Kallakurichi and Salem districts, the Madras High Court on Wednesday requested Chief Minister MK Stalin to visit the hills for a reality check on the plight of people. It is our request to the Chief Minister to visit the hills to practically see the plight of the people. If he is unable to go, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Deve

ERODE: Water theft by a farmer resulted in drinking water shortage in nearly 500 households of Murungathozhuvu panchayat in Chennimalai of Erode for nearly two years. Panchayat officials detected the theft recently and lodged a complaint against the farmer on Sunday. According to sources, water is supplied from the Cauvery Joint Water Project to 12,000 people living in the panchayat union. Every day, 1.35 lakh litres of water is drawn from the river for the purpose. However, for the past two yea

CHENNAI: Citing lack of proper evidence to prove the charges beyond doubt, Madras High Court has acquitted 11 convicts and commuted the life sentence of four others in connection with a case of forcing two minor school girls of Cuddalore into the sex trade. A division bench of Justices MS Ramesh and Sunder Mohan pronounced the verdict recently on the appeals filed by 15 convicts. The Mahila Court in Cuddalore convicted 15 of 19 accused in 2019, handing a double life sentence to three persons, Se

THOOTHUKUDI: The Thoothukudi district may have achieved Open Defecation Free status in 2018, but the petitioners who visit the collectorate for the grievance redressal meetings still have to attend nature's call behind the seemai karuvelam bushes thriving on the campus. The lack of a sanitary complex for the crowds seems to be one grievance the authorities seem in no hurry to redress. Collector G Lakshmipathy receives over 500 petitions every Monday. At least 1,000 people reach the collectorate

TIRUPPUR/ERODE: The Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) expressed disappointment that some of its expectations were not addressed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, but hoped they would materialise it in the coming days. K M Subramanian, president, Tiruppur Exporters Association, said, We look forward to announcements on import of garments and textiles from Bangladesh, an alternative scheme for TUF, interest subsidy on packing credit loan to exporters and extension of ECLGS. A Sakthivel, i

CHENNAI : Industry reacted positively to the budget and claimed it is supporting MSMEs, encouraging entrepreneurship, and boosting employment. The schemes to get more people into the formal sector will go a long way in tapping into the potential of India's young workforce, and the continued commitment to infrastructure development is a big boost for economic growth and opportunities, said Sudarshan Venu, managing director, TVS Motor Company. Confederation of Indian Industry Chairman, Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI : Salaried taxpayers have said the new income tax slabs and a hike in the standard deduction announced in the Union Budget have fallen short of expectations. KP Ranga Prasad, an IT Professional from Srirangam, said taxpayers who opt for the old tax regime have not received any benefit. This indirectly encouraged taxpayers to migrate to the new tax regime. As old regime taxpayers, we expected some benefits, such as increasing the standard deductions to at least Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000, w

CHENNAI: Slamming the BJP-led centre for boycotting Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday said giving funds generously to certain states for political reasons and spitting hatred on states like TN, which play a major role in countrys growth, will destabilise Indias democratic and federal principles. In a veiled reference to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, Stalin said that in order to satisfy a few regional parties that made a minority BJP into majority BJP, schemes have b

NILGIRIS: Nilgiris MP A Raja on Tuesday said 97 houses were partially damaged and four houses were fully damaged till July 22 from June 1 due to rain. Speaking to the reporters after attending a meeting along with Tourism Minister K Ramachandran and the department heads to assess rain-related damage, Raja said landslides occurred at 32 places, trees got uprooted at 140 places, and a retaining wall collapsed at 8 places. A report on the damage would be sent to the state government for further act

CHENNAI : The Union budget may have brought some cheer to MSMEs with much needed reforms to tide over fiscal stress, but the lack of any reduction in interest rates on the loans given to the small and medium enterprises poses some concerns. Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association on Tuesday said the new credit guarantee scheme without collateral and third party guarantee along with the continuation of bank credit during the stress period will help industries not becoming non performing

COIMBATORE: Two women aged 50 and 51 with mental health issues who were found abandoned in the city in 2023 were reunited with their families on Tuesday by Helping Hearts, a non-profit organisation which rescued and treated them. The 50-year-old woman, who was rescued on November 25, 2023 in Selvapuram, is a native of Odisha. Sources said a year ago, she came to Coimbatore with her husband looking for a job. However, her husband, who was addicted to liquor, deserted her. The other woman is from

CHENNAI: Condemning the DMK government for the increase of power tariff and alleged proposal to impose certain restrictions on the distribution of tur dal and palm oil in fair price shops, AIADMK organised demonstrations across the state on Tuesday. Former minister D Jayakumar, who led one of the demonstrations in Chennai, said the recent moves by the DMK has come as a huge burden for the poor people who are already suffering a lot under the present regime. The partys MLAs, former ministers and

CHENNAI: Finance and Electricity Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Tuesday strongly criticised AIADMKs statewide protest against the recent electricity tariff hike. He said, Tangedcos financial loss during the 10-year AIADMK rule from 2011-2021 was Rs 1.13 lakh crore, while during the DMK regime from 2006-2011, it was Rs 18,954 crore. Thennarasu criticised the previous AIADMK government for increasing electricity tariff three times. In 10 years, they hiked the tariff by 3.7%, 3.57%, and 16.33% in 2

CHENNAI: CM Minister MK Stalin has encouraged traders to voluntarily put up name boards in Tamil at their shops, recalling their assurance made in this regard. Addressing the Tamil Nadu Traders Welfare Board meeting at the secretariat on Tuesday, he emphasised that initiatives like this should be taken up by the traders themselves, rather than the government making requests. No one should complain that Tamil is not visible on the roads of Tamil Nadu, he added. Stalin highlighted that since the D

CHENNAI: Anna University on Tuesday constituted a committee to investigate the allegation that some professors are simultaneously serving as full-time faculty members in multiple engineering colleges affiliated with the varsity in the state. Vice-Chancellor R Velraj told TNIE the issue would be dealt with an iron hand and strict action would be taken against those found guilty. Colleges allegedly show such ghost faculty in their records to meet the eligibility norms of the university and the All

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court said that services of headmasters and teachers of government schools should not be utilised for purposes other than teaching and school administration. Setting aside the orders passed by chief education officer against the petitioners, A Kalaiselvi and N Sasikala Rani, headmistresses of two government schools where laptops meant for free distribution were allegedly stolen, Justice Battu Devanand directed the state government to formulate a comprehe

CHENNAI: The director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine instructed district health officers to ensure round-the-clock availability of anti-snake venom and anti-rabies vaccine in all primary health centres. According to Dr T S Selvavinayagam, the director, animal bites continue to be a significant public health problem in Tamil Nadu. In 2023, 4,41,804 dog bite cases and 18 rabies death were reported. In the first half of 2024, the number of dog bite cases reached 2,42,782 and rabies death

AHMEDABAD: The estranged wife of Gujarat-based IAS officer Ranjeeth Kumar J allegedly died by suicide, leaving behind a letter addressed to the Tamil Nadu chief minister where she claimed innocence in two cases registered against her in the southern state, police said on Tuesday. Suriya (45) died at a hospital in Gandhinagar on July 21, a day after consuming a poisonous substance at a garden near her husband's official residence. Kumar, a 2005-batch officer who hails from Tamil Nadu, is currentl

TIRUNELVELI: Six Russians besides three others who were moving around close to the Kudankulam nuclear reactor area here were detained by the police on suspicion, a senior official said on Tuesday. The Russians, which included a woman, accompanied by two persons from Valliyoor and a car driver from Thiruvananthapuram in neighbouring Kerala were picked up by the Kudankulam police on suspicion on Monday, he said. They were interrogated for nearly six hours, the official added. Police said fishers f

MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu government has been burdening the public by purchasing power from private companies at high rates, instead of increasing power generation, said former minister RB Udhayakumar here on Monday. Speaking to media persons, Udhayakumar alleged that the people of Tamil Nadu face power cuts and tariff hikes, whenever the DMK comes to power in the state. In addition to power tariff hike, the DMK government has increased several other taxes, including property and water taxes, and

CHENNAI: The state governments proposal to extend minibus services to more areas across the state seems to be facing headwinds as the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and six other corporations of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), along with the employees federation of transport corporations, have opposed the plan at the public hearing conducted in Chennai on Monday by the Home (Transport) department. The department issued a draft notification last month for a New Compr

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has asked the state government whether it can reconsider the ban imposed on toddy tapping by taking into account the health benefits of toddy consumption as stated in a petition and given the allegations against sale of liquor through Tasmac outlets. The first bench of Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice K Kumaresh Babu raised the question when a public interest litigation petition, filed by activist S Muralidharan, seeking a direction to lift the ban o

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday launched a new online facility to help public get instant approval for building permits for construction of residential structures having ground or ground plus one floors of height not more than seven metres and on plot sizes up to 2,500 sqft and built-up area up to 3,500 sqft. The launch of the facility, which will be a new module called Building plan approval on self Certification in the governments integrated single window clearance portal, follows