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Articles by Vishnu Swaroop
Federation seeks Rs 65crore loan waiver for powerlooms in Tamil Nadu
COIMBATORE: Powerloom associations from across Tamil Nadu have come together as a federation to press for their demands including exempting them from Electricity (Amendment) Bill. The Tamil Nadu Federation of Powerloom Associations has also sought loan waivers to the tune of Rs 65crorefor powerlooms across the state, which were unable to pay it back, and the removal of anti-dumping duty on viscose staple fibre.
No rules were broken to make former IPS officer Annamalai BJP state vice-president, Vanathi Srinivasan says
COIMBATORE: BJP state vice-president Vanathi Srinivasan on Saturday said party rules were not broken to make former IPS officer K Annamalai another vice-president of the party. She said there were exceptions to the party’s structural rules, and Annamalai has been made the party’s vice-president through such an exception. “The president can decide on changing the party’s rules. There is nothing wrong in this,” she said.
Coimbatore residents celebrate peepal tree’s 40th ‘birthday’
COIMBATORE: Residents of Puliyakulam in Coimbatore on Friday celebrated the 40th ‘birthday’ of a peepal tree in their locality by cutting a cake. The tree was planted at the Karupparayan Kovil Street - Srirangan Street junction by the elders in the area. Youngsters said they had grown up with the tree. Subsequently, people placed a Vinayagar idol under the tree and had constructed a small brick structure around it. Later as the tree grew in size, the structure started cracking.
Coimbatore student attempts to set new record by drawing 6,055 sqft doodle
COIMBATORE: A city student has drawn a floral doodle on 6,055 sqft of paper in around 13 hours and 30 minutes, in an attempt to set a world record . R Monisha, a final year B Com student at a city college, says she took up the initiative to create a new record in floral doodling, after seeing an earlier record for the biggest drawing by an individual, set by the Scottish artist Johanna Basford , who drew floral doodles in 5,381 sqft in 12 hours, in November 2019.
Mystery seeds: TN’s seed certification directorate on precautionary mode
Packages of unidentified seeds which appear to have been mailed from China to US are seen at the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) in Olympia, Washington. (Reuters Photo) COIMBATORE: For around one week now, Tamil Nadu’s directorate of seed certification has been on a precautionary mode against ‘mystery seeds’, which have been cropping up in parcels across the globe.
Unemployed diploma holders allowed to apply for part time BE, B Tech courses in TN
COIMBATORE: Part time BE and B Tech courses will also be offered for currently unemployed diploma holders in Tamil Nadu from this year. Till last year, the 3.5-year degree programme, comprising evening classes, was offered only for working diploma holders. But from this year, the state has opened it for those who were not working at present as well, said representatives of Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT), which is the secretarial centre for the part time BE/B Tech admissions.
Schoolteacher meets Coimbatore collector in Army outfit, says he wants to join forces if a war breaks out between India and China
COIMBATORE: Clad in an Army outfit , C Arasu, a science teacher at a panchayat union middle school in Kalampalayam, on Monday approached Coimbatore district collector K Rajamani with an unusual petition. “In the event of a war between India and China, I would like to go to Ladakh and join our forces in the fight against the Chinese,” he said in the petition. Arasu, 52, said he had been watching and reading news on the standoff between India and China and had been inspired to take up the cause.
Sans TV & smartphone, tribal students stare at bleak future
Coimbatore: A week has lapsed since T Arunkumar, who completed Class IX from the government high school in Aliyar, received Class X books from the school. But, he is yet to start studies – not because of lack of intent but because he doesn’t have a smart phone to scan QR codes in textbooks to access detailed videos on each module in a chapter for grasping them better.
Tamil writer Kovai Gnani dies
Kovai Gnani COIMBATORE: Senior Tamil writer and Marxist literary critic Kovai Gnani died at his residence in Coimbatore on Wednesday. He was 85. Gnani’s elder son, Pari Vallal, told TOI that he died at 11.15am due to age-related issues. Born as K Pazhaniswami in Coimbatore in 1935, Gnani was the mentor for several modern Tamil writers and poets. Writers and activists say he was an uncompromising critic and an approachable and gentle person.
Two Coimbatore universities make it to NIRF ranking
Bharathiar University COIMBATORE: Two universities in the district, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Bharathiar University, have found places in the university category of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), released by the Union ministry of human resource development on Thursday. Bharathiar University has been ranked 13th in the country, under university category. This is the topmost among state arts and science universities.
Lockdown: Private schools will be derecognised if they conduct admissions and collect fees, Coimbatore collector warns
COIMBATORE: Private schools in Coimbatore district should not conduct admissions, collect fees, distribute books and uniforms and call parents and students to the campus during the lockdown, said district collector K Rajamani on Thursday.
Coimbatore becomes Koyampuththoor after rechristening exercise
COIMBATORE: Koyampuththoor — this is how Coimbatore will be described hereafter in all new official documents and nameboards. As part of the drive to rechristen anglicised place names, the English spelling of 40 places in the district, including the district’s name, have been changed to match their Tamil pronunciation. This was notified in the state gazette on April 1. Apart from the spelling of the district’s name, those of 39 other places have been tweaked to suit their actual pronunciation.
Govt-aided school in Coimbatore sealed for holding entrance test
Officials seal the school. Photo by Sreedharan COIMBATORE: District administration and school education officials on Tuesday sealed a government-aided school in Coimbatore for conducting an entrance exam for Class VI students, which was in violation of the Tamil Nadu government’s order not to function at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Further, the school had also violated the rule that government-aided schools shouldn’t hold entrance tests for admission, said officials.
Covid-19 lockdown in Tamil Nadu: Special educators seek pay without deduction
COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu government has said Rs 2,000 will be deducted from the pay of special educators who teach disabled students in government schools, as they have not been visiting schools amid the lockdown. This has caused concern among special educators. The state has said the amount, Rs 2,000, was meant as a ‘fixed travel allowance’ (FTA), said special educators. They said in 2019 their pay was increased from Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,000.
Covid-19: Coimbatore malls to remain closed; people asked not to congregate in large numbers
COIMBATORE: Coimbatore district collector K Rajamani on Sunday asked people not to congregate in religious and public places in large numbers in the wake of Covid-19. The collector has also asked industrial and other organisations not to conduct events where people would gather in large numbers. As directed by the Tamil Nadu government, shopping malls in the city and movie halls would remain closed till March 31.
Two with Covid-19 symptoms admitted to isolation wards in Coimbatore hospitals
COIMBATORE: Two people with symptoms of Covid-19 have admitted to isolation wards in Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and Government Medical College and ESI Hospital here. One of the patients was identified as a Thailand national aged 49 years who came to Tamil Nadu for visiting places of religious importance. Another person was identified as a woman, 26, in the city who had returned from Qatar.
Coimbatore: Muslims distribute water bottles to devotees at temple car fest
When the Koniamman temple car fest procession, an important Hindu religious event of the city, passed by the m...Read More COIMBATORE: Representatives of the Athar Jamad Masjid on Opanakkara Street in the city on Wednesday rose to the occasion of our troubled times and sent out a message of brotherhood and communal harmony. They handed out 5,000 water bottles to Hindu devotees.
Indefinite pro-CAA protest begins in Coimbatore on a tense note
A posse of police personnel, including armed reserve police personnel equipped with teargas, have been deploye...Read More COIMBATORE: Tension prevailed at Gandhipuram in Coimbatore on Monday evening when members of the Hindu Munnani picked up a quarrel with an auto driver named Shahul Hameed who was walking past a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act protest venue. Hameed, in response, called his friends, around 40 Muslim auto drivers, who arrived at the venue in around 20 autorickshaws.
Class XII board exams in Tamil Nadu: Students find language paper easy
COIMBATORE: As many as of 32,767 students in Coimbatore district appeared for the Class XII state board exams which began on Monday. A total of 34,273 students in the district had enrolled for the exams, of which 1,506 students were absent on Monday. The exam is being held in 116 centres across district. Similarly, a total of 237 private candidates had registered for the exam, and 47 of them were absent. For private candidates, three exam centres were allotted. The first exam was language paper.
CAA protests: Couple gets married at Coimbatore’s Shaheen Bagh
S Abdul Kalam and K Reshma Shirin get married at a CAA protest site in Coimbatore on Thursday. TOI photo by J ...Read More COIMBATORE: The marriage of S Abdul Kalam, 24, and K Reshma Shirin, 20, was fixed three months ago. Like any other couple, they had planned to get married in a marriage hall. But the current political climate forced them to change their plans.
BJP has no grudges against actor Vijay, Pon Radhakrishnan says
COIMBATORE: BJP has no grudges against Tamil film actor Vijay, said BJP leader and former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan on Wednesday. Talking to reporters in Coimbatore, Radhakrishnan denied allegations that the recent income tax searches had been conducted on the premises of the actor as he was against BJP’s policies. He said the income tax department was an autonomous body and I-T officials were doing their job. “We can’t direct them to conduct raids on anyone,” he said.
AAP won Delhi elections by promising freebies and spreading lies, BJP leader says
COIMBATORE: Aam Admi Party’s (AAP) victory in the Delhi assembly elections was achieved through promise of freebies and by spreading lies, said BJP leader and former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan on Wednesday. He was talking to reporters in Coimbatore. “Shaheen Bagh protests were a drama conducted for this election. It was successful. Tamil Nadu is trying to repeat the same drama,” he said. Radhakrishnan said BJP won all seats in Delhi in the 2019 general elections.
Anna University won’t fall under Centre’s control, says TN higher education secretary
COIMBATORE: Anna University would remain a state university even after bifurcation, said principal secretary to the department of higher education Mangat Ram Sharma on Wednesday. He said there were unfounded fears that the university would fall under the control of the Centre after bifurcation. The state in December decided to bifurcate Anna University with one section getting the Institute of Eminence (IoE) status and the other giving affiliation to engineering colleges across the state.
University campuses must not be used for political agitations, UGC vice-chairman says
COIMBATORE: University campuses should be mainly used for academic purposes and not for political agitations, said University Grants Commission (UGC) vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan on Wednesday. “But outside the campuses, students are free to do whatever they want to do as citizens. It is their individual right,” he said.
These two ideas of UGC may reform education in India, liberate students
COIMBATORE: The UGC has finalised in idea-level two new programmes to reform higher education in the country — ‘national academic credit bank’ and ‘semester outreach programme’ — and formed teams to frame regulations for the same, said University Grants Commission vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan on Wednesday.
Vets find all temple elephants in Tamil Nadu overweight
Kasthuri, a temple elephant from Palani, receives treatment for its foot at the Thekkampatti elephant camp in ...Read More COIMBATORE: Almost all the temple and mutt elephants at the annual rejuvenation camp at Thekkampatti elephant camp are found to be overweight. A special team of veterinarians has suggested a high-fibre green fodder diet over carbohydrate diet to control the elephants' weight.
Bharath Bandh: Two MPs among 1,000 people held for protesting in Coimbatore
The protest was held as part of a nation-wide strike called by trade unions to condemn the Centre's economic p...Read More COIMBATORE: Around 1,000 people, including members of trade unions, government employees and members of parliament PR Natarajan (Coimbatore) and K Subbarayan (Tirupur) were detained on Wednesday morning for staging a protest in front of the district collectorate here. Some protesters resorted to road roko and stopped buses.
Coimbatore: Rationalists, scientists work to bust solar eclipse myths
Scientists said that beliefs like not eating food during the eclipse were completely baseless. (Photo: PTI) COIMBATORE: On Thursday morning across the city, people with solar filter googles squinted hard to watch annular solar eclipse amid clouds and a group of people clad in black stood in the open and had idly, vada, khichadi, etc, for breakfast.
Weather plays spoilsport, clouds eclipse annular ring in Coimbatore
COIMBATORE: In Coimbatore, weather played spoilsport on Thursday morning during the annular solar eclipse occurrence, with the eclipse being visible only for a little more than a minute in all. It was expected that the annular eclipse would be visible for three minutes from 9.29am to 9.31am. However, the eclipse was seen only intermittently for a few seconds as the sky were cloudy.
Annular solar eclipse to be observed in Coimbatore
COIMBATORE: The annular solar eclipse, in which the sun appears like a ring of fire, would be visible in Coimbatore and surrounding areas on Thursday. The eclipse would be visible between 9.28am and 9.31am, said scientists. They said in all across the country, the annular eclipse could be observed only in parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The next time India would get to observe the annular eclipse is in 2034, they added.
Villagers say quarry operations near farmlands will affect farming, seek Coimbatore collectorâs intervention
Villagers said the presence of the quarry and its operations would affect farming and animal husbandry activit...Read More COIMBATORE: Farmers and residents of Orattukuppai village in Chettipalayam town panchayat near Coimbatore say a private stone quarry has set up operations very near to farmlands in the village. They said the presence of the quarry and its operations would affect farming and animal husbandry activities and ultimately affect the livelihood of farmers.
Coimbatore students protest CAA wearing all religions' insignia, detained
The students shouted slogans in front of the Periyar statue at Gandhipuram in the city. COIMBATORE: Around 18 members of the district unit of Students Federation of India (SFI) were detained on Saturday for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the city. Four of them were girls. The protesters participated by wearing various religious symbols and attires of various religions.
Tamil Nadu will get cyber police stations in six months: ADGP
COIMBATORE: In six months, all districts in the state would get separate âcyber police stationsâ to deal exclusively with cyber-crimes, said M Ravi, additional director general of police (ADGP), crimes against women and children, on Saturday. He was speaking to reporters after the inaugural session of the fourth edition of the Indian Cyber Congress held at a private college in the city. âEvery district in the state would get a cyber police station within six months.
Constitution has to prevail, its values should remain sacrosanct: Former CJI Dipak Misra | India News - Times of India
COIMBATORE: The nationâs constitution is what prevails and has to prevail and it was the duty of every citizen to see that the constitutional values, norms and nuances remain sacrosanct, said former Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra on Saturday. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the fourth edition of the Indian Cyber Congress held at a private college in the city. âQuestion arises that who is sovereign amongst the three wings of the state â executive, legislative or judiciary.
CAA protests: Students detained in Coimbatore while attempting to block TN governorâs convoy
COIMBATORE: A total of 17 students of the Bharathiar University were detained by police when they tried to block the path on which governor Banwarilal Purohit's convoy was to reach the venue of the universityâs convocation on Wednesday. The students were protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act and police attack on students in Delhi who had protested the Act. Of the 17 students, 11 were girls. They were taken to the Thondamuthur police station.
TNAU makes seeds using nano-particles to hike yield by 15%
The project on âdesigner seedsâ or âseed primingâ involves impregnating growth regulators into chitosan nanofi...Read More Researchers at the department of nano science and technology at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) have been working on chitosan, a substance obtained from crustaceans (such as prawns) and microbes, to make nanomaterials, which can be used in a range of applications.
Trans Bill is regressive, undermines rights: Transgender activists
COIMBATORE: Members of the transgender community and representatives of LGBTIQA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual) groups on Saturday said the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, which was passed in the Rajya Sabha on November 26, severely undermined their rights. They appealed to the President of India not to sign the bill.
Officials rescue stray cattle from streets of Coimbatore
Representative image COIMBATORE: The City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) on Saturday rescued around 20 stray cows from streets in the city and sent them to a Goshala in Velliangiri near the city. The cows were rescued by officials from the VOC Zoo in the city. Dr E Senthilnathan the zoo director said the cows were rescued from Selvapuram, Vaishyal Street, Chetti Veedhi, Ponnayarajapuram and nearby areas.
Miscreants damage idols in shrine near TN temple
A group of around six masked people broke open the lock and damaged the idols with hammers COIMBATORE: Miscreants entered a shrine related to Ponkaliamman temple at Thalaiyanallur near Sivagiri in Erode district of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Monday and damaged two idols. The temple belongs to a community in the area and after the incident, members of the community staged a protest.
Tamil Nadu: 11 convicts released from central prisons
CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: A total of 11 convicts from the Central prisons in Tamil Nadu were prematurely released on Wednesday to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.They were released based on their good conduct.They were among the 60-odd convicts,who were released in three phases over the last one year to mark Gandhiâs 150th birth anniversary. Of the 11, there were four each from central prisons in Coimbatore and Madurai, two from Trichy and one from Puzhal.
12th century stone inscription used to cover roadside drain in Dindigul
S Ravi, associate professor of Tamil and the in-charge of epigraphy studies at PSG College of Arts and Science...Read More COIMBATORE: Heritage enthusiasts from Coimbatore found a 12th century stone inscription being used as slab to cover a roadside drain at Neikkarapatti near Palani in Dindigul district. Based on a tip from a local resident, the heritage enthusiasts, who were at Palani to attend a seminar on archaeology, visited the spot and found the inscription.
Gandhi Jayanthi: Four convicts released from Coimbatore prison
COIMBATORE: Four convicts were prematurely released from the Coimbatore Central Prison on Wednesday to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The convicts were released based on their good conduct and were part of the 38 people who were released from Coimbatore Central Prison over the last one year to mark Gandhiâs 150th birth anniversary celebrations, prison officials said.
National Federation of Blind lays foundation stone for old age home near Coimbatore
COIMBATORE: Marking the 40th anniversary celebrations of its establishment, the western sub-branch of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for a home for blind senior citizens at Arisipalayam near here. T Sadasivam, the co-ordinator of western sub-branch of NFB, Tamil Nadu, said they had been conducting coaching classes for blind people for competitive exams.
Tamil Nadu must fill backlog job vacancies under reservation for disabled people, National Federation of Blind says
COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu should fill backlog vacancies in government departments under the reservation for disabled people as directed by the Supreme Court, said Santosh Kumar Rungta, general secretary of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), India, on Wednesday. Rungta was here to participate in the 40th anniversary celebrations of the National Federation of the Blind, Tamil Nadu (western sub branch).
Museum on Wheels to visit schools and colleges in Coimbatore district
The bus, an initiative of the department of museums, is meant for creating awareness about museums among stude...Read More COIMBATORE: âMuseum on Wheelsâ, a bus carrying 35 display cases full of artefacts and exhibits from the fields of archaeology, anthropology, zoology, numismatics and art, arrived at the city on Monday. For the next two weeks, it is set to tour schools and colleges in the district.
Death of woman at Coimbatore beauty parlour: Kin suspect foul play, seek proper probe
COIMBATORE: More than two months after P Shobana, a 25-year-old woman, was found dead at a beauty parlour in Pappampatti Pirivu here, her family members said there hasnât been a proper probe into the case. The family members said they suspected the hand of a couple -- who run the parlour where Shobana had been working -- in her death.
Brick kiln units can mine soil up to 75 feet: Tamil Nadu's environment minister - ET RealEstate
COIMBATORE: The government has given permission to brick kiln units in Thadagam and surrounding areas to mine soil up to 75feet, minister for environment and pollution control K C Karuppannan said here on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu minster says brick kilns in Thadagam have been permitted to mine up to 75 feet, environmentalists raise concerns
COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu minister for environment and pollution control K C Karuppannan on Saturday said the government has given permission for brick kilns in Thadagam and surrounding areas to mine soil up to 75 feet. However, environmental activists and residents in the area have raised concerns. They cited a memorandum of the Union ministry of environment and forests which said excavation activities should not exceed 2m from the ground level.
Bharathiar University honoured for publishing âmost number of highly cited papersâ
COIMBATORE: Bharathiar University has been given the India Research Excellence â Citation Award 2019 for having the most number of highly cited papers in the period 2012-2018 among state universities in the country. University officials said the award was presented in New Delhi on Friday.
Classrooms in TN govt schools to get computers, internet connection
COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu school education minister on Saturday said the government will take information technology to classrooms in government schools. He said Class XII classrooms would be provided with 20 computers and internet connection. Class IX and Class X classrooms would be given 10 computers each with internet connection, the minister said. Sengottaiyan was speaking to reporters after participating in a Teacherâs Day at a private engineering college here.
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