QChennai: Kamal Haasan May Start an NGO; City Gears up for Monsoon

Here are the top news stories from Chennai.

File photo of actor Kamal Haasan

(Photo: Reuters)

1. Politics Can Wait! Kamal Haasan May Launch Anti-Corruption Forum

There has been wide speculation about the actor’s leap into politics, which he had admitted is on the cards.

Actor Kamal Haasan has stated that he will be making an announcement to the public on 7 November, which incidentally happens to be his birthday. In an article that he has written for Vikatan, a Tamil magazine, the star has hinted at starting an organisation where he will collaborate with the youth to address issues in the state.

While he has taken to criticising the AIADMK government and meeting leaders from other political parties, he is yet to make any clear announcement about his debut in the political sphere. Now, the actor is expected to announce his decision to form his own ‘Iyakkam’ or organisation on 7 November.

Read the full story here.

Also Read: Rajinikanth vs Kamal Haasan: The Ultimate Showdown!

2. Chennai Corporation Opens Helpline to Address Monsoon Woes

In case of grievances related to drinking water and sewer overflow, the complaints will be forwarded to Chennai metro water.

As part of its monsoon preparation work, the municipal corporation in Chennai on Thursday informed all its field staff to stay alert particularly at low-lying areas of Chennai and keep the motor pumps ready to discharge stormwater.

“To support evacuation, local community centres are kept ready with cooking utensils. School buildings that can double up as temporary shelters are also ready. Besides the 1913 corporation helpline, a dedicated 24-hour flood helpline has also come in to operations at the Ripon Buildings,” said a senior corporation official.

Briefing about the flood helpline, the official said all grievances related to water logging and monsoon related complaints would be recorded and forwarded to the civic authorities seeking action.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

Also Read: A Boy Who Survived the Nepal Quake Also Lived Through Chennai Rain

3. Liquor Ban Stays Put for Nearly 60 Hotels in TN

A Supreme Court order had instructed pubs and bars that come within 500m of highways to shut.

Though many hoteliers have heaved a sigh of relief that bars have reopened and food and beverage revenues can go up, at least 64 hotels and 40 clubs across the state still fall under the Supreme Court liquor ban. These properties are located within panchayat limits and within 500m of highways. Though many of them are star category hotels catering to leisure travel, they still cannot serve alcohol.

Benze Saravanan, founder, Tamil Nadu Bar and Club Owners Association, said these establishments have lost out on a mere technicality. “There are some hotels that are just a few 100m from the city limits but come under the ban. We have approached the court for relief for these properties too. But we are not sure when the case will come up,” he said.

Source: The Hindu

4. HC to Govt: No Urgent Hearing of Appeal on Hoarding Ban

Tamil Nadu has been known for erecting huge banners for political events and movie releases.

In a snub to the government, the Madras High Court on Thursday refused to grant urgent hearing of its appeal against a single judge order imposing blanket ban on erecting hoardings and banners carrying the images of people who are alive.

It was on 24 October, that Justice S Vaidyanathan imposed the ban after an Anna Nagar resident moved the court against a cutout erected by a local political leader near her house. Justice Vaidyanathan ruled that no banners, flex boards, sign boards and cut-outs carrying the pictures of people alive should be erected anywhere in Tamil Nadu. Proposing to appeal against the ban, counsel for Chennai corporation made a mention before a division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice N Seshasayee, and pleaded for urgent hearing of the matter.

Source: Times Of India

5. TTV Dhinakaran Grilled for 2 Hours by Court in Fera Case

On completion of cross-examining 12 prosecution witnesses, the judge directed Dhinakaran to appear before the court on October 26.

AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran was questioned for nearly two hours by a metropolitan magistrate in Egmore in connection with a two decade old Fera case registered against him by Enforcement Directorate.

When the matter came up for hearing before ACMM (EO-II), S. Malarmathy on Thursday, the judge posed 91 questions to him. While replying to the questions, Dhinakaran said he was innocent.

On completion of cross-examining 12 prosecution witnesses, the judge directed Dhinakaran to appear before the court on October 26. He reached the court hall 20-minutes before the commencement of the trial on Thursday morning. His counsel has sought permission from the court to pose questions to the prosecution and also wish to submit list of questions.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

Also Read: Despite TTV Camp’s Rejection, EPS Claims to Have 124 AIADMK MLAs

6. Seamless Sharing of Aadhaar Details to Become a Reality

Biometric data of about 99 crore Indians have been collected so far under the Aadhar scheme.

The Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency has authorised the use of Aadhaar number for establishing the identity of individuals for various government schemes. According to a notification issued by the department commissioner, residents can register their Aadhaar numbers with the State Resident Data Hub (SRDH) portal and give their consent for sharing of the details with other departments. In case of changes, the same shall be carried out in the databases of the respective departments too.

“Presently, government departments seek Aadhaar number from beneficiaries and use them only for that scheme, since it cannot be shared with other departments. This notification would mean that if the residents give their consent, the details and changes, if any, shall be made in the database of other departments too,” explained D Mahesh Kumar, Joint Director of the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency.

Source: The Hindu

Also Read: When Banks Come Calling, Do You Have To Give Your Aadhaar Number?

7. Private MSOs Make a Comeback

With the launch of digital services by the State, Arasu Cable TV Corporation is currently distributing set top boxes to its customers free of cost.

Arasu Cable TV Corporation, which recently launched a digital signal service for its customers in the State, is rapidly losing its customer and operator base to private multi-system operators, who have made a comeback after about five years. Acting on largescale complaints of fleecing of customers, the State government revived Arasu Cable TV Corporation in 2011 and started providing analog signal to them for a monthly subscription of Rs. 70, thereby largely controlling the private MSOs including Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV).

The customer base of Arasu Cable, which was 4.94 lakh in September 2011, grew up to 62.17 lakh in 2013. It went up further in subsequent years, mainly driven by the factor of cheap and affordable subscription charges. It has about 3 lakh customers in Tiruchi district alone.

Source: The Hindu