1. Traders’ Bandh Likely to Hit Normal Life Today in Tamil Nadu
Normal life in the state is likely to be affected as a section of traders along with milk suppliers and pharmacists have called for the bandh on Tuesday. The ruling party AIADMK will observe a fast at Chepauk. Across the state, ministers and important leaders will observe hunger strike in the districts. However, the main opposition party, DMK, has called for a bandh only on 5 April. The Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Employees Welfare Association and Tamil Chemists and Druggists Association will shut shops, taking the calls of Vanigarsankangalin Peramaippu leader AM Vikiramaraja.
Despite DMK working president MK Stalin’s appeal to postpone the shutdown called for 3 April, Vikiramaraja categorically stated that his organisation would go ahead with the stir as announced earlier.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
2. ‘AIADMK a Puppet of BJP’
DMK working president MK Stalin on Monday said Tamil Nadu could not get justice in the Cauvery water dispute since the ruling AIADMK remained a puppet of the BJP government at the Centre. “The DMK put politics aside and made efforts to provide a unified voice to Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery issue. But the ruling party is functioning like a puppet,” he said in a statement, explaining the reasons behind the DMK-led Opposition’s call for a State-wide bandh on 5 April.
Stalin said the ‘scheme’ that the Supreme Court referred to in its verdict in the Cauvery water sharing dispute was nothing but the Cauvery Management Board, adding that the Centre was enacting a farcical drama and behaving as if it had not understood the meaning of the Supreme Court’s order. “It [the Centre] has denied Tamil people their rights over the Cauvery water. Now, it has sought three months’ time and is planning to evolve another scheme to dilute Tamil Nadu’s rights as its priority is the [upcoming] elections to the Karnataka Assembly,” he said.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. HC Dismisses Pleas Against Memorial for Jaya on Marina
The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a batch of five public interest litigation petitions, some of which had opposed raising of a memorial for former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at the Marina beach here. The rest had been filed against display of her portraits in government offices and welfare schemes being named after her.
The first Division Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice A Selvam dismissed the cases by default since counsel for none of the five writ petitioners were present in court when the matters were called. All the five cases were filed last year and tagged together given their commonality.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Shastri Bhavan Attacked
Tension prevailed near the Shastri Bhavan housing Central government offices in Nungambakkam on Monday when activists of the 17 May movement threw stones and hurled chappals at a Hindi name board.
Around 250 activists, led by the movement’s leader Thirumurugan Gandhi, gathered near the Shastri Bhavan and staged a demonstration condemning the Central government for its failure to constitute the Cauvery Management Board. Holding placards, they shouted slogans against the Central and State governments.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Tickets Sold Out for CSK’s First Home Match at Chepauk
After two years, Chennai Super Kings returns to the IPL fold and the fanbase of the club has stayed intact during the break. Proof of that could be seen in the crowds that turned up to see the training sessions that started on 22 March at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
On Sunday, close to 15,000 people turned up for a practice match, so it was no surprise when people camped outside the stadium since the early hours of Monday to buy tickets for CSK’s first home match against Kolkata Knight Riders coming up on 10 April. Ticket sales started at 9:30 am and the queue stretched from the Victoria Hostel Road, where the ticket counters were located, up to Wallajah Road. By 3 pm, tickets for every stand except the Pavilion Terrace were sold out.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Eyes in the Sky: Drones Deployed to Map Chennai
A first-of-its-kind project to map an Indian metropolis using drones began on November 21, 2017. “We are the first municipal corporation to conduct such a survey with proper clearances from the Union government,” says R Lalitha, Deputy Commissioner, Revenue and Finance, GCMC, who spearheads the operations. The project has received ₹6 crore in World Bank funding.
Covering about 7 sq km in a day, six drones have collected images from 79 wards in six zones with a resolution of up to 5 cm. Even potholes, signboards and small encroachments of footpaths can be seen, and trees counted without visits from officials.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. TN Governor Banwarilal Purohit Heads for Delhi
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday evening left for New Delhi, in a context in which various political parties and groups in the State are intensifying agitations over the Cauvery issue. A Raj Bhavan official said the Governor will meet Union Home Ministry officials. He will return here Tuesday evening. Mr Purohit had on Sunday met the State Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and other officers.
Widespread protests erupted in the core Cauvery delta region against the non-constitution of the Cauvery Management Board on Monday. Hundreds of cadres belonging to Opposition parties staged road and rail roko action and blocked Central government offices to protest against “denial of justice” to Tamil Nadu.
(Source: The Hindu)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)