1. Gutkha Scam: 'Secret Letter' Found in Jaya's House
In a startling revelation, the Income Tax department on Friday told the Madras High Court that it had recovered from Veda Nilayam, the residence of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in Poes Garden, a “secret letter” regarding the multi-crore gutkha scam it had written to the then Director-General of Police, Ashok Kumar, and the then Chief Secretary, P Rama Mohana Rao.
The letter was recovered from the room occupied by VK Sasikala, close aide of Jayalalithaa (now in prison), during a search conducted by the I-T Department in November 2017. The “secret letter” contained information about the alleged bribes paid to Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar, the then Commissioner of Police and others by Madhava Rao, a partner of a gutkha manufacturing firm (MDM), to carry on the illegal sale of banned tobacco products in Chennai.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Commuters Relieved as Buses Start Plying Ahead of Pongal
Commuters heaved a sigh of relief with the strike by transport unions, which literally paralysed the State for over a week, being called off and the situation easing back to normality on Friday.
The strike was on the verge of spoiling the travel plans of several thousands of long distance commuters heading home for the Pongal festival. However, with the trade unions calling off the strike on Thursday night, the officials of the State Transport Corporations (STCs) have gone ahead with their plans of operating around 12,000 services. A senior official of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) said normal bus services were resumed from 5 am onwards and 3,200 buses were operated on Friday.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. HC Seeks Details of Pubs, Hookah Parlours
The Madras High Court has called for details from the police department on the number of pubs and hookah parlours functioning in the State. It also wants to know the number of raids conducted in such places to prevent juveniles from consuming liquor and smoking hookah, apart from the number of cases registered so far.
Justice N Kirubakaran had sought the details after pointing out that consumption of alcohol and smoking hookah by juveniles had been widely reported in the media. He expressed displeasure over the police not having provided details of checks conducted in educational institutions to find out the use of narcotic and psychotropic drugs by students.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Desalination Projects Get a Boost
Desalination projects in the city, which have been delayed for various reasons, may soon be back on track. An expert appraisal committee from the Centre is expected to inspect the proposed site for a 400 mld desalination plant at Perur along East Coast Road in February to provide environmental clearance for the project.
The Environment Assessment Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had recently deferred the proposal and also questioned the setting up of two plants of different treatment capacities within a short distance of each other.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Protest Against Vairamuthu's Remarks
A protest was held here on Friday against film lyricist Vairamuthu's recent remarks on Andal. The protest was organised by the Tamilnadu Brahmins Association at Mylapore, and several prominent Hindu leaders and scholars joined it.
They condemned the speech of Vairamuthu, saying it insulted Hindu belief and culture. Vaishnavite scholar MA Venkatakrishnan said, “Mr Vairamuthu deliberately uttered damaging words on Andal, who has been revered for centuries. We will not rest until he tenders an unconditional apology at the Srivilliputhur Temple.”
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Medha Patkar Condemns Evictions
An all-India association of farmers, which will bring together agitating agriculturists across the country, will join the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), led by social activist Medha Patkar, to demand a law for debt-free farming ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Patkar said that the farmers’ association would also demand adequate pricing for farm produce to be included in the election manifestos of parties. She also raised concerns about land, currently in the possession of fish workers being snatched away in the name of expansion of the Ennore Expressway and laying of an oil pipeline in North Chennai.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Integrated Control Centre to Be Set up in Six Months
An integrated command and control centre covering 30 civic agencies, such as Greater Chennai Corporation, traffic police, Metrowater, Meteorological Department and Tangedco, will be commissioned in six months at Ripon Buildings.
On Friday, the high powered committee headed by the Finance Secretary, cleared four projects including the Command and Control Centre, smart metre for water supply, smart cards and eco-restoration of the Villivakkam lake. Every Smart City Mission project more than Rs 10 crore has to be cleared by the high powered committee.
(Source: The Hindu)
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