1. Madurai Set to Launch Another Politician
When actor Kamal Hassan unveils the flag for his proposed political party in Madurai on 21 February, the focus will be turned to the temple city, which is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu since the Sangam period. Long before cinema captured the imagination of Tamil people, it was Madurai, the land of Tamil Sangam that served as the hub of theatre.
“It is the motherland of theatre. Theatre groups would normally be launched from Madurai and even those who start a group elsewhere would add the name of the City (as prefix),” said late actor and theatre personality Avvai TK Shanmugam, the acting guru of Kamal Haasan, in his autobiography.
(Source: The Hindu)
Also Read: Kamal Haasan Visits Rajinikanth Before His Political Tour
2. Low Turnout at Govt NEET Coaching Centres
Now that there is no escape from the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges, the government is doing its best to get the students to its coaching classes.
On Saturday, the School Education Department opened an additional 312 coaching centres across the State. But even in the city, the students are not showing up in large numbers.
On Sunday too, the centres saw low turnout, which teachers say, is owing to the Plus Two exams that begin on 1 March.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Karat’s Remarks Sparks Rift Between DMK, CPI (M)
CPI (M) leader Prakash Karat’s remark during the party’s 22nd State conference in Thoothukudi that the DMK had ‘stagnated’ has driven a wedge between the two parties, barely weeks after they began working together on issues concerning the people of the State.
Objecting to Karat’s remark, DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi N Siva said, “It is shocking that Mr Karat has made such a comment, especially after the party’s State secretary, G Ramakrishnan, spoke about the protests organised jointly by the DMK and the CPI (M).”
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Call for Another Anti-Hindi Stir
The State conference of the CPI(M) on Sunday called upon the people of Tamil Nadu to launch another anti-Hindi agitation, alleging that BJP government at the Centre has been imposing Hindi and Sanskrit in the fields of education, judiciary and administration as part of its agenda for ‘one nation and one language’.
The party said this has ushered a marked shift in the proletariat party’s policy on Tamil language and culture.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Job Woes Haunt Resettled Families
Until a few months ago, Anita* was working as an office staff near her home in Arumbakkam. She was among the hundreds of residents living by the Cooum who were asked to shift to tenements on the outskirts of the city as part of the Cooum River Eco-Restoration project.
Anita along with a few residents chose a house in the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) tenements in Serapanancheri, near Padappai, on the Tambaram-Walajabad road, around 55 km from the city, because they were bigger than the other options — Gudapakkam and Perumbakkam. Today, Anita does have a slightly bigger house than her former neighbours but the lack of work, amenities and transport facilities in the area have forced her to take up employment as a conservancy worker.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Eight Shops Burgled in Mylapore
Unknown persons broke into eight shops in Mylapore and decamped with cash from five of them during the early hours on Sunday.
According to police, the burglars stole Rs 70,000 from a bakery, Rs 14,000 from a fair price shop, some cell phones from a mobile shop and cash from another shop.
The police noticed that the burglars had targeted an Amutham fair price shop opposite the vegetable shop, a bakery, a mobile shop and another small shop situated close to the elevated track near the MRTS station.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. AIADMK Failed to Get CMB: Stalin
DMK working president MK Stalin on Sunday said the AIADMK government was responsible for the failure to get the Cauvery Management Board constituted even though it had 50 members in both Houses of Parliament.
Responding to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s accusation that the review of the Cauvery water agreement in 1974 during the DMK regime resulted in Tamil Nadu losing its rights, Stalin said it was strange and contrary to truth.
Stalin said the Chief Minister sought to create an impression that the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal was created by the efforts of the AIADMK government though the demand was made by the DMK regime in 1969 itself.
(Source: The Hindu)
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