Chennai, Oct 22: Tamil Nadu government has fixed separate expenditure ceilings for cars to be provided to Ministers and legislators, with a maximum of ₹26 lakh for senior Assembly functionaries and ₹15 lakh for other MLAs. The revised rules, notified in the State government gazette, cover Ministers, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, Chief Government Whip and other legislators. The purchase ceiling will be increased by five per cent annually. Under the revised arrangements, the government will procure vehicles for Ministers in its own name. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Secretariat will purchase vehicles for the Speaker, Deputy…
Author: Pugazh
Chennai, Oct 22: Kanathur police have registered a case of abetment to suicide following the death of 27-year-old financial influencer V Harish, whose father alleged that sustained online harassment and cyberbullying had caused severe distress to his son. Harish, a native of Puducherry, was found dead at a rented villa near Muttukadu earlier this week. He had built a substantial online following through his social media channel, *Finance with Harish*, where he shared content on personal finance and investments. Reports put his following at more than one million. According to the complaint lodged by his father, J Vinayagam, another online…
Chennsi, Oct 22: Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik will hold a consultative meeting with recognised political parties on October 23 to discuss the upcoming Special Summary Revision (SSR) of the State’s electoral rolls. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sent official communication to 12 recognised political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the AIADMK, DMK, DMDK, Naam Tamilar Katchi, ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). The meeting will take place at the old conference hall in the Secretariat. The discussions assume significance amid criticism from political parties over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision…
Chennai, Oct 22: The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government has cancelled a tender finalised by the previous DMK regime for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for a proposed campus of the Tamil Nadu Institute of Urban Studies (TNIUS) at Mamallapuram. The cancellation has been attributed to administrative reasons and comes amid the new government’s reported decision to review tenders finalised during the last six months of the previous regime. The proposed campus was planned across 74 acres and was intended to expand the institute’s capacity to train officials from urban local bodies across Tamil Nadu. The project envisaged…
Coimbatore, Oct 22: Police arrested three more Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) cadres on Wednesday in connection with a protest during Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s roadshow in support of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate P Sathyabama during the Dharapuram by-election campaign. The arrested persons were identified as Venkatesh, Gokul and Mohan Prasad. They were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody before being lodged at the Coimbatore Central Prison. With the latest arrests, the total number of people arrested in connection with the incident has risen to 12. The protest took place when Vijay was campaigning for Sathyabama,…
Chennai, Oct 22 Renowned master jeweller and craftsman Vummidi Ethiraj, who was widely celebrated for crafting the historic Sengol (ceremonial sceptre) presented to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1947, passed away here at the age of 99 due to old age, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President C.P.Radhakrishnan and Tamil Nadu Governor R.V.Arlekar condoling his death. His wife Sumitra Vummidi predeceased him. He was survived by three sons Vijaya Bharathi, Uday Kumar Vummidi and Vijayendren Vummidi, grand children and great grand children. A senior member of the iconic Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers family in Chennai, he helped create…
Chennai, Oct 22: Two women workers were killed in an explosion at a private cracker unit godown near Anaicut in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Reports said the deceased were identified as Gayathri (41), a resident of Kottavur, who was charred to death on the spot, and Sangeetha (32), who suffered 90 per cent burns. She was rushed to a hospital where she succumbed later. The workers in the cracker unit, reportedly owned by Hari Prasad, were engaged in making firecrackers when the explosion occurred due to friction. Police have formed two special teams to nab him. Police…
Chennai, Oct 22: Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) Dharapuram Assembly bypoll candidate M.Karthika, who was arrested along with her husband and seven other party functionaries, for staging protests during TVK Founder and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay’s road show during campaigning, were remanded in judicial custody, even as NTK Founder and Chief Coordinator Seeman annnounced a state-wide protest demonstration on October 24 to condemn the arrests and to demand their release. Karthika and her husband, who were arrested from their residence in Coimbatore, were taken by road to Dharapuram in Tiruppur district. After questioning them for a few hours, they were…
Chennai, Oct 22: Police have arrested Sudeep Bogati, a Nepali national who escaped from Puzhal Central Prison, while a life convict, Suresh, remains at large. The escape came to light during a routine check of inmates at the prison. Following the incident, 14 special police teams were formed to trace the two prisoners. Police subsequently tracked Bogati to Anna Nagar in Chennai and arrested him. He had been lodged in prison in connection with a theft case. Meanwhile, police are continuing their search for Suresh, who was serving a life sentence. The consecutive escapes have raised concerns over security at…