1. Fans Go All-Out for ‘Kaala’, Rajinikanth’s Most Political Film
Rajinikanth’s Kaala hit theatres worldwide on 7 June, as scheduled, after the Supreme Court, on 6 June, refused to stay its release.
The heavy rain that lashed Mumbai early on 7 June could not deter the Rajinikanth supporters as the overjoyed fans poured milk and garlanded his posters. Some fans painted their bodies, while others danced for hours before the show began. Kaala witnessed an unusual trend. While fans showed up for the early morning shows, theatres in Chennai saw a surprisingly underwhelming response compared to the actor-turned-politician’s previous releases.
Read the full story here.
2. DMK Stages Walkout Over Sterlite Again
Members of the DMK led by their working president and the Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin staged a walkout from the Assembly on Thursday after the latter was denied a chance to raise an issue by the Speaker, who said issues pending before any Commission of Inquiry could not be taken up for debate in the House. Stalin raised an issue during the Zero Hour but Speaker P Dhanapal was hesitant to allow the same contending that it had been debated at length in the House earlier during the session.
Following persistent attempts by Stalin, the Chair granted him permission, but with a rider that it might choose to expunge the remarks later on if it chose to. However, even before the DMK leader could complete his speech, the Speaker expunged the remarks and said it was not appropriate and against the House traditions to debate on issues pending before any Commission of Inquiry. “You could submit these contentions before the Commission constituted in this regard,” the Chair said.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Girl Goes Missing After NEET Results
Frustrated over not scoring enough marks in NEET, a 19-year-old Chennai girl left her house and took a train to Bihar. Within 48 hours of her father lodging a complaint, the city police traced her to Patna, where she was staying alone in a lodge. According to the Secretariat Colony Police, P Kodeeswari, 19, of Nammalvarpet, went missing on Monday. Her father Ramar, a LPG cylinder supplier, said that his daughter, who went to check her NEET results at an internet centre, did not return.
Aspiring to become a doctor, she had appeared for NEET last year but did not score the required marks. So she wrote NEET this year again. As Kodeeswari failed to score enough marks, she had left home, the police said. E Rajeshwari, Inspector (Law and order), Secretariat Colony said, “We scanned the CCTV footage at the Central Railway station. From that, we knew that she had boarded a north-bound train.”
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Robbers Prowl: Four Robbed at Knife-Point in 24 Hours in Chennai
A total of eight knife-point robberies were reported in the city in the last three days, of which three were reported during the wee hours on Thursday. Around 12. 30 pm on Wednesday, Pramod, a resident of Elephant Gate, went to the temple at Krishnappa Tank Road. “A few metres away from the temple, two men on an Activa stopped him and robbed him of Rs 16,000 in cash and his mobile phone at knife-point. When the snatchers tried to escape on their vehicle, it skidded on the wet road and they fell down. As Pramod raised an alarm, the public nabbed the pillion-rider,” said a police source.
In the last three days, eight incidents of knife-point robberies have been reported leaving the police on their toes to trace the suspects. Police are scanning CCTV footage connected with all three incidents and have launched a search for the suspects.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. Rs 2,500 Crore Investment Plan by Auto Major in Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday revealed that auto major PSA Peugeot Citroen’s Rs 2,500 crore project is getting shaped, and that efforts are on to revive Motorola’s mobile phones and components facility lying idle since 2013 near Chennai, at a cost of Rs 500 crore. The Guidance Bureau is currently handling these two important projects.
PSA Peugeot Citroen’s project will come up at Hosur and Chennai and it includes greenfield facility powertrains, brownfield investment for assembly plant and R&D facility at Chennai. The project is expected to generate 1,500 jobs. The Bureau is also working on the revival of the Motorola facility at Sipcot Sriperumbudur SEZ, near Chennai to manufacture mobile phones and components. Lenovo got possession of the plant after it had acquired Motorola from Google in 2014. Companies have envisaged projects worth Rs 4,50,000 crore and MoUs are expected to be signed shortly.
(Source: Deccan Chronicle)
6. Water, Sewer Charges Go up by 60% in Some Areas
Chennai Metrowater has revised its tariff for domestic and partly commercial consumers in both core and added areas with effect from May. The long-discussed revision comes after nearly two decades. This move has met with mixed response from residents. City residents would now have to pay nearly 60 percent more than the existing rates.
In a move to reduce the gap between revenue and mounting expenditure, Metrowater decided to increase the charges. The rates, however, in some added areas such as Tiruvottiyur and Madhavaram, remain the same or relatively less as residents were already paying more, according to sources.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Centre Asks State to Submit Revised Proposal for Metro Rail Phase-2
The Central government has asked the state to revise its proposal for the 107.55 km Phase 2 metro rail project as per the new metro rail policy and submit it for approval. Phase 2 has been planned with three corridors to link northern and southern suburbs with the rest of the city at an estimated cost of Rs 85,047 crores. “The state is preparing the proposal as per our new metro rail policy. I think they will soon submit the final proposal. We will consider it once they submit,” said Durga Shanker Mishra, secretary, ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUD).
At the inauguration of six metro stations last month, chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami urged the Centre to approve the project early and sanction funds for phase 2. Last year, the state submitted a detailed project report (DPR) for phase 2 to the Centre for approval and funding, but the proposal kept coming back and forth, as the Centre sought several clarifications and changes in the report through a series of letters.
(Source: The Times of India)
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