1. Stalin, Opposition Leaders Court Arrest on Cauvery Issue
Opposition leaders led by DMK working president MK Stalin on Sunday decided to organise a dawn-to-dusk bandh on 5 April condemning the Central and State governments for failing to get the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) constituted as per the Supreme Court ruling.
The leaders sprang a surprise by staging an unannounced demonstration at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai and courted arrest. The police were taken by surprise, and after some time, detained the leaders and the cadre. Traffic was affected for a few hours in the locality.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Governor in No Hurry to Set Convicts Free
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Sunday sought to review case by case the profiles of life convicts whose names were recommended for premature release on the occasion of the birth centenary of former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran, highly placed police sources said.
On the recommendation of the State government, the Governor is empowered to grant pardon. The Tamil Nadu government had recommended for early release the cases of least 1,800 inmates who were convicted in murder cases and are serving life imprisonment in central prisons across the State. The eligibility norm was that the life convicts should have completed 10 years of imprisonment and five years in the case of those aged 60 years and above, as on 25 February 2018.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Consumers Asked to Buy Milk Ahead of Strike
The Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Employees Welfare Association has asked customers to purchase milk ahead of a proposed strike on Tuesday. Association president SA Ponnusamy said that milk shops would be open till 9 am on Tuesday and again from 5 pm so that consumers could buy milk. He added that the shops would remain open for a longer time as many retailers would down shutters.
The Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peramaippu, which called for the strike on the Cauvery issue, has urged all party presidents and big firms to support it. In a statement, Peramaippu president AM Vikramaraja said that several traders’ associations had agreed to join the protest in the interest of the State.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Marina, Elliot’s Beaches No-Go Areas
More than a year after State-wide pro-jallikattu protests reached a flashpoint on the sands of the Marina beach here, the State government has taken pre-emptive measures to stop another mass movement taking shape on the beaches. On Sunday, the Marina and Besant Nagar beaches were cordoned off.
A group of people managed to stage a flash protest on the Marina on Saturday. Holding placards, they raised slogans against the Centre and demanded the constitution of a Cauvery Management Board but were removed. The beach immediately came under police cover as anti-Centre sentiments are seen to be running high in the State once again.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Kamal Wants Sterlite Unit Shut
Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Sunday called for the shutting down of the Sterlite copper unit in Thoothukudi. “The government should not allow the expansion of the Sterlite Copper smelter and should close down the plant, if possible,” he told journalists after participating in a protest by a cross-section of people at A. Kumareddiyapuram village.
Haasan accused the government of having ignored the concerns of the locals, who were fighting against the plant’s expansion. “It looks like the need for copper in India has assumed greater significance than the lives of the people,” he said. If the government was in need of such an industry, it [the industry] should be allowed [to operate] in the ‘red zone’ and not in the residential zone and on farm lands. The proximity to the seaport cannot be accepted as a reason for the plant’s existence, he said. The actor-politician expressed doubt as to whether the officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board were discharging their duties properly.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. MTC Re-Introduces ₹1,000 and Monthly Season Passes
After losing commuters following the recent fare hike, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has re-introduced the ₹1,000 and monthly season passes with minor change in fare. The passes were issued largely to stop commuters from migrating to cheaper modes of transport, mainly suburban trains. The MTC has lost over 30% of regular commuters in the last two months.
Members of the public also want the ‘Travel As You Please’ daily passes to be re-introduced immediately with or without fare revision. The daily pass, costing ₹50 before the fare revision was a hit among the commuters.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. India, Korea Coast Guards to Hold Joint Exercise on 5 April
The Indian Coast Guard and the Korea Coast Guard will hold a joint exercise off Chennai on 5 April. Korean Coast Guard ship Badaro 3011, commanded by Superintendent Oh Taeog, will arrive at the Chennai port on Monday morning ahead of the exercise.
The joint exercise, named Sahyog - Hyeoblyeog 2018 is part of a proposed establishment of a MoU between the two Coast Guards to improve maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region. The MoU, which is currently in the draft stage, will be deliberated on by the two sides over the course of the next three days and a final agreement will be signed on board one of the Coast Guard ships after the completion of the joint exercise on April 5, Coast Guard Commander (Eastern Region), Inspector General Rajan Bagrotra told.
(Source: The Hindu)
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