1. Ready to Suspend TN Bus Strike, Say Workers After HC Backs Govt
After a week of rendering commuters in Tamil Nadu helpless, the transport workers' unions in the state on 10 January agreed to the government’s offer to hike wages by 2.44 percent.
The Madras HC has urged the striking unions to resume work immediately. The court reiterated that the public should not be inconvenienced, especially with the Pongal festivities being around the corner. The problem can be solved through dialogue, the court noted, adding that the government should implement the wage hike of 2.44 percent immediately.
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2. As the Strike Continues, so Does the Pain
The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) claimed to have operated more than 1,700 buses in the city on Wednesday. But crowds of commuters were seen waiting patiently in hundreds of bus stops for their buses. Suburbs like Kundrathur, Poonamallee, Thiruverkadu, Tiruvottiyur, Avadi, Tambaram and Nazarathpet were severely affected, as commuters there had to take two buses to reach their destinations.
All the suburban train services have been running fully on all the four sections, including the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). Share autos have provided the much-needed last mile connectivity and made a killing in the process.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. 'TTV Wanted to Topple Government'
(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)
Continuing his arguments for the second consecutive day, senior counsel CS Vaidyanathan, representing Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, told the Madras High Court on Wednesday that VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran wanted to topple the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government when their family clout was threatened for good reason by other leaders of the party.
Thereafter, Vaidyanathan went on to point out that the petitioners’ representations were followed by another representation by the Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin on the same day, requesting the Governor to order a floor test since the government had lost its majority.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Finnish Woman Found Dead in Chennai Hotel, Investigation Underway
A 22-year old Finnish woman was found dead in Hotel Himalaya in Chennai’s Triplicane area at 7.20 am on 10 January, a day after she arrived in the city along with her companion, Aleksi Joel Santeri.
Santeri allegedly found her lying unconscious in the morning and informed the hotel. An ambulance was called and she was taken to the hospital, where she was declared brought dead. According to the report, police suspect a case of drug overdose.
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5. City May Get Light Rain Today
Chennaiites woke up to a cold and cloudy morning on Wednesday with the city recording the lowest maximum temperatures so far this month. Nungambakkam station recorded 26.9° Celsius and Meenambakkam 25.8° Celsius. The two stations recorded a minimum temperature of 23.8° Celsius and 22.9° Celsius respectively.
Many areas in the city witnessed light rains with the weather station at Meenambakkam recording 7.5 mm, Hindustan University 5 mm, Nungambakkam 1.7 mm and Chembarambakkam and Madhavaram registering 1 mm each. The sky is likely to be cloudy on Thursday and a few areas might receive light to moderate rainfall.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. TN Electorate Down by Five Lakh Voters in a Year
The size of the electorate in Tamil Nadu fell by over five lakh voters during the past year and it stands at 5.86 crore at present, as per the special summary revision of electoral rolls released on Wednesday. However, women continue to outnumber men by over 5.82 lakh.
The voters in the 30-39 age group comprise the largest section of the electorate in the State — they form 1.38 crore of the 5.86 crore. Sholinganallur, Pallavaram and Kavundampalayam are Assembly constituencies with the highest number of voters and Royapuram, Kilvelur and Harbour are the constituencies with the lowest in the State.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. 316 Libraries to Be Computerised
With 708 stalls housing 450 publications, the 41st edition of the Chennai Book Fair organised by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (Bapasi) was inaugurated at the St George’s Anglo Indian School grounds on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the fair, Minister for School Education KA Sengottaiyan said the government had been taking steps towards making libraries more accessible, and would work together with publishers in taking works to Tamil readers all over the world.
(Source: The Hindu)
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