Whale washed ashore in Tuticorin

The carcass of a whale washed ashore at Veppalodai coast near here on Sunday evening, was identified as a `Sperm Whale' by a team of scientists from the Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) on April 16th.

The study by C. B. T. Rajagopalasamy and N. Jayakumar, professors at FCRI, revealed that the whale had died at least four days ago and hence the species was identified using external characteristics.

V. K. Venkataramani, Dean, FCRI, said the whale belonging to the family of `Physeteridae' had a length of 10 metres and weighed 20 tonnes.

The entire functional teeth, numbering 22 pairs, were in the lower jaw, and the upper jaw has sockets to fit in those teeth.

Regarding the cause of death, Dr. Venkataramani said that the whale might have entered the inshore waters here abundant in juvenile fishes such as sardines, anchovies and cuttle fish.

"Since its body was damaged extensively, there was a possibility of collision with a ship or a boat and getting stranded in the inshore waters which is not deep," he said.

According to him, remote sensing methods should be applied to locate and save the whales, which get stranded in the Gulf of Mannar, since it is an endangered species.

202 houses handed over to tsunami victims in Tuticorin

A total of 202 permanent houses, constructed by Development Promotion Group (DPG), a Chennai-based non-governmental organisation, on an outlay of Rs. 4.64 crore at Ceylon Colony and Azhagapuri near here, were handed over to tsunami victims of Terespuram and Madhavan Nair Colony on Saturday.

The Minister for Animal Husbandry, Geetha Jeevan, handed over the keys of the houses to the beneficiaries in the presence of the District Collector, R. Palaniyandi.

Each house, with a plinth area of 416 sq.ft., has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 2.30 lakh with a hall, a bedroom, a kitchen, a toilet, a sit-out and a staircase. While Diakonie Emergency Aid, Germany financed the construction of 134 houses, Church Development Services, Germany, funded for 58 houses. The Association of Confederation of Credit Unions, Bangkok, assisted the construction of remaining 10 houses.

Besides providing land for the project, the district administration has constructed an overhead tank with a capacity of 30,000 litres and erected 10 public taps.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, DPG, R. Bhakther Solomon, his organisation, which established 14 self-help groups among the 202 beneficiary families and disbursed Rs. 1.50 lakh as micro-finance, had distributed fishnets worth Rs. 5 lakh. Besides, the DPG was running a childcare centre with 25 children and a tailoring training unit with 20 girl trainees.

"Construction of a small community hall, strengthening of SHGs with additional training and micro-credit, establishment of a garment production unit will be taken up in the new residential colony in the coming months," Mr. Solomon said.

Source: The Hindu

4,858 acres of land identified for free distribution

The administration has identified 4,858.65 acres of wasteland spread over eight taluks for free distribution to landless agricultural labourers at the rate of two acres per person as announced by the State Government, says Collector R. Palaniyandi.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Monday, he said that 83 special teams comprising officials from the departments of revenue, agriculture and its allied departments identified the land meant for distribution.

Of the total 4,858.65 acres identified, 1,094.18 acres falls under Kovilpatti taluk, 386.99 acres under Sattankulam taluk, 37.48 acres under Tiruchendur taluk, 54.88 acres under Srivaikundam taluk, 35.03 acres under Tuticorin taluk, 1,311 acres under Ettayapuram taluk, 1,560.34 acres under Ottapidaram taluk and 378.01 acres under Vilathikulam taluk.

The process was on to identify the beneficiaries and the distribution would begin on August 15.

Tuticorin school gets `virtual classroom'

An `interactive virtual classroom' via an U.S. satellite was launched at Sakthi Vinayagar Hindu Vidyalaya School in Tuticorin City on 9th April.

This was the first time that the concept was introduced at a school in the district, said K. Palanisamy, school secretary. The system would aid students to interact with education experts in New Delhi and Chennai. The facility was installed in association with Everonn Systems India, New Delhi," Mr Palanisamy said.

Presently, students of Standards XI and XII could attend sessions in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. "There will be four 40-minute sessions every day. The facility, expected to improve the students' communication skills and general knowledge, would be extended to other classes during the ensuing academic year in a phased manner Plans were afoot to arrange interactions between students and resource persons from Coimbatore and Madurai too.

Source: The Hindu

Tuticorin Port Trust to focus on infrastructure development

Projects to the tune of Rs. 109.66 crore to be taken up this fiscal.

The Tuticorin Port Trust would focus on infrastructure development, traffic improvement and human resources development to improve overall performance during the current fiscal, its Chairman, N.K. Raghupathy, has said. he said that infrastructure development worth Rs. 109.66 crore would be taken up this fiscal.

Of the total cost, Rs. 50 crore would be earmarked towards dredging at Inner Harbour to increase draught to 12.8 metres, Rs. 5 crore each for procurement of a tug and improvement of roads, Rs. 20 crore towards construction of Berth 9, Rs. 5 crore for replacement of few cranes and Rs. 4.6 core for other continuing schemes. The remaining amount would be utilised for contribution to the equity of Sethusamudram Corporation Limited and National Highways Authority of India.

Mr. Raghupathy said that Outer Harbour would be developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,000 crore.

"We have forwarded a proposal to the Centre seeking `in principle' approval for short listing of bidders for the Outer Harbour Development project," he added. Construction of North Cargo berth planned on captive basis for Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) is expected to be completed before December 31, 2008. "The entire cost of project to the tune of Rs. 40 crore would be borne by NLC," he said. "

TDFA clinches title

Tuticorin District Football Association lifted the Vinothakumar Memorial Trophy defeating Reserve Bank of India, Chennai 5-4 via sudden death in the final of the 31st annual State-level football tournament held in Sivakasi on 8th April. At the regulation time, the teams were locked goalless.

In the tiebreaker, the teams scored four goals each. Bruston, Praveen, Naveen and Dinesh scored for Tuticorin while Kannan, Rajan, Madhuvarman, and Devanathan scored for Reserve Bank. In the sudden death, Muppidari succeeded for Tuticorin, while Dinakaran failed to convert for the bankmen.

National Maritime Day celebrated in Tuticorin

The Tuticorin Port Trust celebrated the National Maritime Day with pomp and gaiety on Thursday, to commemorate the maiden voyage of S S Loyalty, India's first merchant vessel, from Mumbai to London on April 5, 1919.

In a function held at Berth 8, tugs and pilot launches of the port displayed their prowess.

The tugs that graced the `sail past' function included the recently procured M T Tuticorin, with a 45 tonne Bollard Pull capacity, from Tebma Shipyards.

The others were M T Pearl City (10 Tonne Bollard Pull capacity), M T Thiruvalluvar (32 Tonne Bollard Pull), M T Indira Gandhi (30 Tonnes Bollard Pull Capacity).

The pilot launches that attended the show were Veera Vanchi and M L Tuticorin.

Cultural programmes and games were organised to mark this occasion.

Amritavalli Raghupathy, wife of the Chairman of Tuticorin Port Trust, N. K. Raghupathy, gave away the prizes to the winners of cultural and literary competitions conducted as part of the National Maritime Day celebrations for school children.

Earlier, Ms. Raghupathy placed a wreath at the memorial of sailors who died in harness, in the City.

Source: The Hindu

MECON bags 2 x 500 MW Power plant contract in Tuticorin

The Public Sector, Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants (MECON), has bagged contracts for 2 x 500 Mega Watt (MW) Power Plant in Tuticorin,Tamil Nadu (TN), which is being promoted jointly by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and the State's Electricity Board.

MECON would provide detailed engineering and consultancy from concept to commissioning for two units of 500 MW each to be set up at Tuticorin.

Earlier, MECON had provided similar service to the NLC for their 2 x 210 MW expansion programme which was successfully completed in 2003.

With the rising business in power sector, MECON is preparing a road map to develop its strategic business unit further.

The power plant division at Ranchi is being augmented with more resources and latest design softwares to facilitate better and timely services to the valued customers.

Source: Daily India

Night landing facility for Tuticorin Airport

Night landing facility at the airport here is set to become a reality, as the Airports Authority of India plans to install Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) and runway lights on an outlay of Rs 1.25 crore.

The installation of PAPI, at a cost of Rs. 25 lakh, is nearing completion and the gadget will become functional before April 15. AAI sources said that it would aid pilots for a safe and accurate final approach to the runway.

The system consists of four boxes of lights, kept on both sides of the runway.

Each box of lights will be equipped with an optical apparatus that splits the light output into red and white segments. Depending on the angle of approach, the lights in the gadget will appear either red or white to the pilot. K. Ramalingam, Regional Executive Director, AAI, said that runway lights would be installed at a cost of about Rs. One crore.

The establishment of night landing facility will enable commencement of late evening flights from here, to suit the convenience of a large section of passengers.

3 new flyovers in Tuticorin City and more new trains

Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu has said that the Railway Ministry would consider introducing more trains to Tuticorin once the double laning work between Madurai and Dindigul was completed towards the end of current fiscal.

On 6th April, he said that at present, the track on the sector (62 km) was utilised about 130 percent of its capacity between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. the following day and hence new overnight train services could not be operated to Tuticorin.

Ruling out the possibility of shifting Tuticorin railway station to Milavittan, he said that projects worth Rs 2.06 crore are already in the pipeline to augment the facilities in the station.

Besides, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation would establish a budget hotel just outside the building.

"In all, we are planning 100 such budget hotels across the country in a phased manner,' he said.

Work on the road over bridge in progress at railway gate no. 3 would be completed before December 31.

Similar flyovers would be constructed at gates 1 and 2 on a cost-sharing basis with the State Government.

Gauge conversion between Tuticorin and Tirunelveli would be completed before September 30.

Similarly, conversion of tracks between Quilon and Punalur to broad gauge would be over this fiscal.

"We are planning to convert the entire meter gauge in the State to broad gauge over the next few years," he said. Earlier, Mr. Velu assessed the progress of construction of road over bridge at railway gate no. 3 and inspected the development works under way at the railway station.

The Divisional Railway Manager, Hemant Kumar, the Collector, R. Palaniyandi, the Divisional Railway Engineer, Robert Rajasekharan, and senior railway officials were present.

Source: The Hindu

Tuticorin Port sets Record in Handling of Containers in 2006-2007

Tuticorin Port has been registering a consistent growth rate in handling of cargo and containers over the years. During 2006-07 the Port has handled 3,77,102 TEUs against 3,21,060 TEUs of containers handled during the corresponding period of the previous year, registering a growth rate of 17.46%. This is the highest volume of handled containers in a year in the history of the Port.

Further, Tuticorin Port handled 40,018 TEUs of containers in March 2007. This is the highest number of containers handled in a single month. The previous record was 36,215 TEUs of containers handled in August 2006. On 31.03.2007, Tuticorin Port created another record in container handling by handling 2717 TEUs of containers in a single ship (m.v.Tiger Sky). This is the highest volume of containers handled in a single ship.

Handling of containers in Tuticorin Port commenced in the year 1999 and a volume of 121 TEUs was handled in the first year. At that time, there was no dedicated berth for container vessels and the containers were handled by the ship's cranes only. As a result, the stay of the container vessel at berth was longer and about 12 to 15 containers were handled per hour / per crane. It took nearly three days to complete a container vessel. However, from 1999 onwards, a dedicated berth for a container vessel is allotted and gantry cranes are used for loading / unloading of containers. Following this initiative taken by the Port, the productivity of the container vessels increased to a large extent and the present per hour handling of 25 to 27 containers per hour / per crane is comparable to the International stand. Three gantry cranes and eight yard gantry cranes are being used now. The vessel's stay at berth has been considerably reduced now and on an average, a container vessel is handled in 15 hrs. The pre-berthing detention of container vessel on Port account is NIL. Following the various initiatives taken by the Port, the volume of containers handled at Tuticorin Port has increased from 2,12,925 TEUs in 2002-03 to 3,77,102 TEUs in 2006-07. During the last five years the number of containers handled in the Port has increased by 1,35,823 TEUs, registering a growth rate of 77.11 %.

A recent study carried out by some students of the Wharton Business School, USA, under the aegis of the Planning Commission of India has ranked Tuticorin Port Trust's container handling facilities as the best in India comparable to International Container Port such as Hongkong and Singapore in overall efficiency taking into account parameters such as technical efficiency, storage, scale efficiency.

In order to increase the volume of containers handled through the Port, the Port has taken various initiatives. The Harbour basin including the container berth was dredged from 8.24m to 10.7m in 1999 at a cost of Rs.216.90 crores. This has facilitated calling of mainline container vessels at Tuticorin Port regularly. In order to promote calling of mainline vessels at Tuticorin Port, an incentive in vessel related charges of 65% was offered. This resulted in reduction in cost of handling and quick delivery of containers to different parts of the World. The users were immensely benefitted. The garment and textile exporters and the importers of machinery from Tirupur, Karur and Salem regions are using Tuticorin Port for their import and export as Tuticorin Port has direct connectivity to American and European Ports in addition to the Far East Ports.

The handling capacity of the existing container terminal has almost reached a saturation point. To meet the future requirement, Berth No.8 will be converted as the second container terminal at a cost of Rs.150 crores. This will increase the container handling capacity of the Port by 4 lakh TEUs. Further, in the Inner Harbour Development, to be taken up shortly, the existing draft of 10.7m will be increased to 12.8m at an estimated cost of Rs.442 crores. With the expected completion of Sethusamudram Project in 2008, the Ports on the East Coast and West Coast will increasingly use Tuticorin Port as a Transhipment Hub Port and Tuticorin Port is expected to emerge as a Hub Container Port in the near future.

Shri N.K.Raghupahty, IAS, Chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust congratulated the Container Terminal Operator, Port Users, Port Officers, Employees and Cargo Handling Labouers for achieving an all time high record in handling of containers and wished that with the concerted efforts of every one, Tuticorin Port would achieve more laurels in the coming years.

Source: Tuticorin Port

Tuticorin Port Signs MOU regarding fourlanning of NH-7A

As a part of providing improvement to the road connectivity of Tuticorin Port a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 26.03.2007 among the National Highway Authority of India, Tuticorin Port Trust and Tuticorin Port Road Company Limited, New Delhi, the Special Purpose Vehicle of the project.

The agreement envisages four laning of existing two lines of Tirunelveli – Tuticorin road from 4/0 Km to Km 51/2 of National Highways 7A. The equity capital of Tuticorin Port for the Project is to the extend of 11 % of the total project cost of Rs.231.20 Crores or Rs.25 Crores whichever is less. A cheque for Rs.5 Crores was handed over by Chairman, Port Trust to the Chief General Manager of National Highways.

Source: Tuticorin Port

Census indicates rise in blackbuck population

The results of the three-day census carried out by the Department of Forests in the Blackbuck Sanctuary at Vallanadu here from March 30 to April 1, showed an increase in Black Buck population.

L. Nadhan, District Forest Officer, said the survey found 25 blackbucks vis-à-vis 23 animals traced during the last Census held in 2006. Of the 25 blackbucks, three were male, 20 were female and the rest were adolescents.

The compilation of statistics in the survey showed that the sanctuary houses 11 jackals, 15 black naped hares, 27 peacocks, 7 jungle cats, 5 pangolins (ant eater), 16 monitor lizards, 2 pythons, 14 mongooses, 9 vultures and 7 crested hawk eagles, apart from the blackbucks.

The final figures were evolved by the census team, comprising 10 forest officials, two scientists and 24 volunteers, after carrying out the survey using line transect and water hole methods.

Mr. Nadhan said that plans were afoot to increase the area coverage under grassland in the sanctuary to provide more quantity of fodder to the blackbucks.

"Presently, grassland coverage stands at about 15 per cent of the total 1,600 acres," he said, adding that it would be increased to 30 per cent over the next five years.

Besides, fruit yielding `Ficus Infectoria' and `Ficus Tinctoria' tree saplings would be planted on the rocky surfaces inside the sanctuary to attract more birds.

"Arrival of different species of birds would change the microclimate in the sanctuary for good," he added.

Appeal to Stop work on nuclear plant

The Anti-Nuclear Confederation of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (ANCTP) has urged the authorities concerned to stop work on the nuclear power plant at Koodankulam (Tirunelveli district).

The project is economically unviable and poses serious threat to safety, it has said.

An appeal was made after the confederation conducted a "people's public hearing" here on Friday to elicit views of residents of Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.

Sandeep Pandey, a Magsasay Award winner in 2002 and alumnus of IIT Kanpur, said, "It is a pity that countries like that of ours are after nuclear power at a time when developed nations are giving up nuclear projects.

"Besides, a few nations have declared their land as `nuclear free zones,' as the projects were found dangerous and expensive. There are plenty of alternatives to produce energy at a cheaper cost," he said.

Mr. Pandey cited the example of Australia, which did not have a single reactor in its territory though the nation has a lot of uranium resources.

"The country was able to produce 5,000 MW of electricity per annum tapping wind in the last 10 years. However, we are still to cross 3000 MW capacity through atomic energy in the last five decades," he said.

India should be leading the demand for a nuclear-free South Asia. G. Anton Gomez, convener of ANCTP, said that radiations from the plant would affect five million people residing in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Gilbert Rodrigo, advisor, ANCTP, said that commemorating `Chernobyl Day,' the confederation would hold a rally at Nagercoil on April 26 to ask the Centre to stop the project at Koodankulam.

Call to raise marine resources

"Concerted efforts involving different stakeholders are the need of hour to enhance marine resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), extending to 200 nautical miles from Indian coastline," H. Mohammed Kasim, Principal Scientist, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, has said.

Dr. Kasim was inaugurating a two-day workshop on `Biodiversity and conservation strategies on the threatened and endangered species of the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere,' organised by Fisheries College and Research Institute here on Thursday.

He said that artificial reefs should be deployed in large numbers and sea ranching of various marine species should be carried out to increase the resources depleted through "over exploitation."

Fish potential along the EEZ was yet to be tapped fully as fishermen mostly restricted their activities to inshore waters.

"Though it was estimated that the region had a potential of 3.94 million tonnes per annum, we catch only 2.7 million tonnes of fish," he said.

Of the 2.7 million tonnes caught every year, 2.2 million was captured from the inshore waters.

Hence, fishermen should venture more into deep sea, which has valuable pelagic fish species such as tuna, marlins, oceanic squads and bill fishV.K. Venkataramani, Dean, FCRI, said that use of coracles should be regulated in and around coral reef islands in the Gulf of Mannar to prevent depletion of ornamental fish resources.

"Fishermen who happened to catch the juveniles of angels, damsels, scorpion and wrasse, all ornamental fish species, should return them into the sea to sustain their population," he said.

Dr. Kasim released a training manual for the participants at the workshop.

About 30 lecturers, officials from forest and Fisheries Department and students, from across the State, were taking part in the workshop.

The programme, which was sponsored by the Tamil Nadu State Land Use Board, concluded on 30th March.

Source: The Hindu

Boilers made in Tuticorin to be shipped to Sharjah

Assembled boilers manufactured in Tuticorin are getting ready to be exported through the port here.

On 1st April, two boilers each measuring a length of 16 metres, a height of 8 metres, and weighing 105 tonnes, manufactured by a private unit here were moved from its yard premises to the port.

They were shipped to the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) in the United Arab Emirates, on April 4.

"The boilers are will used in a desalination plant set up by the SEWA," said B. Pattabhiraman, managing director, G B Engineering Limited, which produced the boilers.

The boilers were transported from the yard to the port on a truck with 10 hydraulic axles and 80 tyres.

The police regulated the traffic along the route and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board switched off overhead transmission systems, wherever it was needed, to ensure smooth transportation of boilers to the port.

Source: The Hindu

Black Buck Sanctuary to be Enhanced at Rs 7 Lakhs

The Department of Forest said that works are under way to augment facilities at the Black Buck Sanctuary, near Tuticorin on an outlay of Rs seven lakh sanctioned by the Centre.

Under the project, fencing to a length of three km would be repaired at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh and height of one of the three watchtowers would be increased by 14 metres at Rs 1.5 lakh.

The remaining amount would be utilised towards improving ponds inside the sanctuary.

Slip coach sought from Tuticorin

The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Railway authorities to provide a "slip coach" for Tuticorin passengers at Vanchi Maniyachi near here for the new Nagercoil-Coimbatore train proposed in the railway budget.

In a memorandum submitted to the General Manager of Southern Railway, the Secretary, D.R. Kodeeswaran, said that a coach from Tuticorin, when added to the main train, would provide consolation to the people, who were denied of services connecting their town with Coimbatore.

Inspector General of Police inaugurates workshop in Tuticorin

Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Sanjeev Kumar has said that security threats to a country or an organisation should not be viewed in isolation. It should be thwarted through concerted efforts of various stakeholders.

He was inaugurating a workshop on `Changing security threat perception' organised by Heavy Water Plant, Tuticorin, a unit under the Department of Atomic Energy, in Tuticorin on 28th March.

Mr. Kumar said that a better "integrated approach" should be evolved by intelligence agencies such as Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to tackle cross border terrorism.

The agencies should join hands to compile information on security threats they gathered from different sources, instead of trying to compete with one another.

"This would avoid duplication of information," he said.

Security agencies should be vigilant in southern districts of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli as a lot of vital installations such as Heavy Water Plant, Coast Guard station and Port are present in Tuticorin and Nuclear Power Plant is fast coming up at Koodankulam (Tirunelveli district).

Mr. Kumar said that security along Tuticorin and Ramanthapuram districts were tightened in the wake of recent developments in Sri Lanka.

"We have formed 21 special squads in Tuticorin district and 16 more in Ramanathapuram district to prevent smuggling of contraband to Sri Lanka and infiltration," he said.

Besides, plans are afoot to establish a total of five marine police stations in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram and Kanyakumari districts.

"They will come up at Tharuvaikulam (Tuticorin), Koodankulam (Tirunelveli), Devipattinam and Mandapam (Ramanthapuram) and Coalchel (Kanyakumari)," he said.

The police are maintaining a tight vigil at the refugee camps in Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram districts.

The General Manager of HWP, Tuticorin, V.V.S. Rama Rao, said that security has become complex in the wake of technological revolution.

"Though high security measures at vital installations might cause some displeasure among certain sections of people, it is essential for the economic growth of the country."

Source: The Hindu

Reliance Gas Pipeline to Conncet Chennai - Tuticorin

Reliance Industries Ltd., plans to build two gas pipelines in southern India, the government said on Friday, that could help the energy explorer supply gas from its deep-sea fields to retail consumers.

The petrochemicals to oil refiner aims to produce 80 million cubic metres of gas a day (mmscmd) by mid-2008 from its two fields in the prolific Krishna Godavari basin.

Oil Ministry said in an advertisement on Friday that Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd., a group firm, had submitted a proposal to lay a 670 km pipeline from Chennai to Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.

It also wants to build another 660 km pipeline from Chennai to Mangalore in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, via Bangalore, the ministry said.

The advertisements in local newspapers did not disclose the cost of the two projects, and a Reliance spokesman could not give details immediately.

Reliance is already constructing a 1,400 km pipeline to transport natural gas from the deep-sea fields off India's east coast to the western regions of the country.

Earlier this month, P.M.S. Prasad, head of Reliance's oil and gas business, said the company planned to build city gas distribution networks in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal.

The Oil Ministry said the two new projects were to be developed on a common carrier basis, making it mandatory for Reliance to offer 33 percent of each pipeline's total capacity to other firms.

"The interested party would have to enter into a take or pay contract or any other mutually agreeable contract with the owner for usage of the proposed pipeline," the ministry said.

India produces 95 mmscmd of gas and the government expects this to rise to more than 190 mmscmd by 2009 after a series of gas finds off the east coast, including by Reliance, come on stream.

Source: Reuters India

Tax collection for vehicles from today

The Department of Transport will collect taxes for vehicles under non transport category (two-wheelers, cars, jeeps, vehicles fitted with rigs and three-wheelers used for personal purpose) for the next fiscal (2007-08) from March 26 to April 10.

P. Muruganandam, Regional Transport Officer (RTO), told reporters that the taxes would be collected between 10 a.m. and 1.30 p.m., on all working days including Saturdays.

Meanwhile, the office of RTO here would remain closed on Sundays and on Mahaveer Jayanthi (March 31) and on Good Friday (April 6), which fall during the collection period. He said the taxes would be collected at treasuries and sub-treasuries in the district too. The non-transport vehicles, which have completed 15 years from the date of its registration, should remit an additional tax called `green tax', if not paid.

In the case of vehicles bearing other State registrations, Motor Vehicle Tax would be accepted only after the ownership of the registration of vehicle was transferred or it was changed to the address of the vehicle owner residing in Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Muruganandam said that tax of vehicles fitted with air compressors would be collected only at the office of the RTO or at its `unit offices'.

Owners of non transport vehicles, who were remitting annual tax, could opt for `life time tax', if they wished. The RTO said that special register would be maintained for the collection of annual tax and green tax.

"Entire details pertaining to a particular vehicle such as class of vehicle, date of registration, validity of registration certificate, period up to which tax and green tax were paid and address of the registered owner, would be entered in these special registers for future reference," he said.

Source: The Hindu

SSLC Examinations begin

The Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination commenced in Tuticorin district on 22nd March.

A total of 19,859 students (9,639 boys and 10,220 girls) wrote the examination at 78 centres in the district.

Of them, 12,635 students (6,012 boys and 6,623 girls) took the examination at 51 centres in Tuticorin Educational District and the remaining, 7,224 (3,627 boys and 3,597 girls) appeared at 27 centres under Kovilpatti Educational District.

A total of 54 standing and mobile squads inspected the examination centres across the district to check for malpractice.

The Collector, R. Palaniyandi, conducted a lightning inspection at Subbiah Vidyalayam Girls Higher Secondary School, to check the arrangements made by the Department of Education.

Tuticorin City Solid waste management project to be augmented

The Tuticorin City municipal council meeting held on 21st March, decided to augment the ongoing solid waste management project on an outlay of Rs.8.5 crore during the next financial year.

Municipal Chairperson R. Kasturi Thangam said: "The administration would establish lights, compound wall and introduce windrows method of waste treatment, at the compost yard situated at Tharuvaikulam all at a cost of Rs 1.95 crore."

Besides, sanitary landfills would be set up on 15-acre plot situated inside the 25 acre-compost yard at Rs.3.80 crore.

A total of 300 tricycles would be purchased at Rs.84.6 lakh.

The remaining amount would be utilised to buy 25 bins. "Of the total project cost envisaged, Rs.6.8 crore would be obtained as grants from the Central Government, Rs.85 lakh as the State Government grants and the remaining Rs 85 lakhs would be taken from the corpus earmarked under the urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns," Ms. Thangam said.

Source: The Hindu

Sterlite to Expand to 2 lakh tonne Cu capacity

The UK based Vedanta group flagship Sterlite Industries, which recently completed its capacity expansion at the copper smelter in Tuticorin from 3 lakh tonne to 4 lakh tonne by debottlenecking, is looking at further enhancing its capacity by another 2 lakh tonne.

“We are currently doing a feasibility study to understand the viability of expanding the capacity at Tuticorin,” said Agarwal.

The smelting and refining costs at Tuticorin are one of the lowest worldwide. The expansion is expected to further help in reducing the costs of production.

The group has a substantial presence in copper globally. Around 30% of the group’s turnover comes from overseas, most of which is accounted for by copper.

Source: Financial Express

Summer special trains for Tuticorin announced

The following summer special trains have been introduced from April to June to meet passenger rush,

Train no.0615 Chennai Egmore-Tuticorin (weekly specials) will leave from Egmore at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and arrive at Tuticorin at 6.45 a.m. on Wednesdays.

Train no.0616 will leave from Tuticorin at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and reach Egmore at 4.30 a.m. on Thursdays.

Advance reservation for the trains will commence on March 18, according to a railway press release.

357 Villagers receive certificates for vocational training by Tuticorin Port Trust

N.K. Raghupathy, Chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust, distributed certificates to 357 people from coastal villages in the Tuticorin district, who have successfully completed the vocational and skill training courses conducted by the Sethusamudram Corporation Limited.

The courses were conducted by the corporation under its Coastal Community Development Programme (CCDP) to offset the impact of Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project on residents of coastal villages.

The villagers were trained in tailoring, computers, cosmetic treatments and hairdressing, with the help of four non-governmental organisations, sources said.

The CCDP in toto provide livelihood opportunities to people of 328 coastal villages in Tuticorin, Ramanthapuram, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Tanjavur and Pudukottai districts.

Mr Raghupathy also gave away goats, sewing machines and wet grinders to 25 women from coastal hamlets, at the function.

357 Villagers receive certificates for vocational training by Tuticorin Port Trust

N.K. Raghupathy, Chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust, distributed certificates to 357 people from coastal villages in the Tuticorin district, who have successfully completed the vocational and skill training courses conducted by the Sethusamudram Corporation Limited.

The courses were conducted by the corporation under its Coastal Community Development Programme (CCDP) to offset the impact of Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project on residents of coastal villages.

The villagers were trained in tailoring, computers, cosmetic treatments and hairdressing, with the help of four non-governmental organisations, sources said.

The CCDP in toto provide livelihood opportunities to people of 328 coastal villages in Tuticorin, Ramanthapuram, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Tanjavur and Pudukottai districts.

Mr Raghupathy also gave away goats, sewing machines and wet grinders to 25 women from coastal hamlets, at the function.

Annammal College of Education for Women Celebrated 45th College Day

Plays, folk and classical dance performance by students marked the 45th College Day celebrations of Annammal College of Education for Women,Tuticorin held on 16th March.

A. Francis, principal, V.O. Chidambaram College, who was the chief guest, gave away certificates to toppers of B.Ed. and M.Ed. courses conducted by the college during 2005-06.

Motorbike rally with 1000 Policemen to creat Awareness for Wearing Helmet

A motorbike rally organised by the district police administration, in Tuticorin on 17th March, to generate awareness of the importance of wearing helmets, created a good impact among two-wheelers in the City.

Led by the Superintendent of Police, John Nicholson, 1000-odd policemen, all wearing helmets, took out a rally from the District Police Office (DPO) to Victoria Extension Road, through W.G.C. Road, Ettayapuram road and important commercial areas in the town covering a distance of about 20 km.

It culminated on the office premises of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

The policemen held placards on their two-wheelers, carrying messages like `wear a helmet, save a priceless life', `lullaby brings sleep to a child, helmet brings long life to humans'.

Some other messages displayed were `Helmet is to the head what a reservoir is to agriculture crops' and `Helmet save our lives like Dharma save the mankind'.

Mr. John Nicholson interacted with school children at each of these points and explained the road safety norms to them.

Official sources said that the awareness rally gained significance considering the increase in number of fatal accidents in the district during the last few years.

Of the total 234 fatal accidents reported in the district in 2006, two-wheelers were involved in 46 cases.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (Tirunelveli range), K.C. Mahali, told The Hindu that about 25 per cent of them involved in these 46 cases died of head injuries.

"Had the victims worn helmets, their lives could have been saved," he said.

Source: the Hindu

Fisheries institute's effort to boost crab population

The Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) here has sea ranched 8 lakh larvae of `Scylla serrata', a species of mud crab, into the Gulf of Mannar (GoM) at Kaswari Island near Tuticorin on 17th March.

It was done under a project sponsored by the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, which was aimed at enhancing the mud crab population in the Mannar.

V.K. Venkataramani, Dean, FCRI, told The Hindu that the larvae of Scylla serrata were reared at the Marine Biological Laboratory of the FCRI.

"A mother crab weighing 910 gram and a male crab weighing 1.1 kilogram were bred in a fibre-reinforced plastic tank of 1,000 litre capacity and the larvae produced were grown to a length of 0.4 mm under the laboratory condition, before it was sea ranched," he said.

According to him, sea ranching is the most effective solution to augment the stock of mud crab resources in the GoM, which was fast depleting in the last few years owing to various reasons.

He said that at present, the export of marine crab products fetch foreign exchange to the tune of Rs.57.5 crore to the national exchequer

"To protect the mud crab population, use of traps should be restricted in the region particularly in the peak spawning season starting from March to July every year," Dr Venkataramani said.

Besides, the fishermen should be educated to return the live berried females, caught in the net, into the sea, to sustain the crab resources.

Source: The Hindu

The Reality of Adam's Bridge Revealed

Adam's Bridge is not a man made structure rather it's a geological phenomenon, according to N. Ramanujam, Head, Post Graduate Department of Geology and Research Centre, V.O. Chidambaram College, Tuticorin.

He was reacting to both political and apolitical statements made by different sections , relating Adam's Bridge to the epic "Ramayana."

He said that Adam's Bridge is only a chain of shoals between the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar, created by sedimentation owing to long shore currents.

Explaining the bridge's geological history, he said both the Palk Strait and the GoM were once part of the Cauvery basin, which was formed during the separation of India and Antarctica about 70 million years ago during the `Gondwana period.'

They were combined till a ridge was formed in the region owing to thinning of earth's crust. The development of this ridge augmented the coral growth in the region.

"The coral cover acted as a `sand trapper' leading to the formation of Rameswaram Island," Dr. Ramanujam said.

The long shore currents on the southern side of island created a discontinuous shoreline eastward from Dhanuskodi to Talaimannar, which's the Adam's Bridge.

He dispelled the fears of a few environmentalists and non-governmental organisations that destruction of Adam's Bridge to facilitate the implementation of Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) would create geological imbalance in the region.

"Considering that Adam's Bridge is just sedimentary deposits, its removal will not create any geological imbalance," he said.

Dr. Ramanujam ruled out any impact of the SSCP on the fragile eco-system in the GoM.

"Since the dredging was mainly carried out in Palk Strait, which was far away from the valued environmental assets in the GoM biosphere's buffer zone, coral reef eco system will not be affected," he said.

Source: The Hindu

Conservation of lobsters Emphasized

The Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI), Tuticorin conducted a workshop, funded by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, on `Conservation of lobsters in the Gulf of Mannar' on 17th March.

Resources persons from FCRI took classes on topics such as lobster resources along Tuticorin coast, taxonomy and identification of lobsters, breeding techniques, production of lobster seeds and present stock biomass of lobsters in the Gulf of Mannar.

According to V. K. Venkataramani, Dean, FCRI, there was an urgent need to conserve the lobsters in the Mannar since its population was fast diminishing over the last five years. He said the fishermen should put back egg-bearing lobsters, caught in the nets, into the sea to enhance its production.

"Every stakeholder should try to prevent the destruction of coral beds in the Gulf of Mannar, In all, 30 fish traders, entrepreneurs, forest department staff and members of various eco development clubs constituted by the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, participated.

Source: The Hindu

Madurai - Tuticorin Railway line to be Electrified next Year

Speaking to journalists at Vellore Cantonment on Sunday, Union Railway Minister for the State R Velu said that the ministry would upgrade 334 stations in the country. Electrification of the tracks would be given priority in the Tenth Five Year Plan, he said and added ‘‘According to the prime objective of the Five Year Plan, the ministry has given approval for the electrification of 167 km in Villupuram-Tiruchy route.’’

The 147 km Tiruchy-Madurai would be given approval in this fiscal, while that of Madurai-Tuticorin and Maniyatchi-Nagercoil railway lines would be given approval in the coming years, he said.

Programme held to explain conservation techniques

The Minister for Animal Husbandry, P. Geetha Jeevan, inaugurated a workshop on `Conservation of marine resources in Gulf of Mannar,' organised by the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GOMBRT) in Tuticorin on 9th March.

The programme was organised to explain conservation techniques to members of eco development committees functioning in 67 coastal villages in the district.

J.K. Patterson Edward, director, Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, said that destructive fishing techniques and over exploitation had reduced live coral cover in the region in the last decade.

"Already, reefs over 32 sqkm were degraded," he said.

Similarly, pearl oyster beds and sea cucumbers had been reduced over the last few years, owing to indiscriminate harvesting.

Though awareness among the coastal community had gone up in the past five years, they are yet to give importance to "sustainable harvest."

"A survey conducted along Tuticorin coast in 2001 said that only 29 per cent men and three per cent women know about the importance of corals on fishery production," he said.

However, during a similar survey in 2004, it was found that 80 per cent men and 20 per cent women had gained knowledge on corals.

Ms. Jeevan released a manual, a booklet and a compact disc, which contained details about the status of marine resources in the Mannar region.

The materials tell the readers about endangered creatures, the hunting of which is now prohibited under Wildlife Protection Act.

The Minister also distributed fishing nets to 25 villagers from Pazhayakayal and disbursed revolving fund assistance to the tune of Rs. 2.6 lakh to 13 self-help groups.

The Collector, R. Palaniyandi, and senior forest officials V.K. Melkani, L. Nadhan, V. Naganathan and S. Shembagamoorthy were present.

Seminar on Career Guidance held in Tuticorin

A seminar-cum-exhibition on career guidance was organised by the Department of Employment and Training at Bishop Caldwell College here on 8th March.

The programme was conducted to provide information to undergraduate and postgraduate students about various career opportunities and courses available.

Inaugurating the programme, Collector R. Palaniyandi said that students should develop communication skills along with technical knowledge to get into well-paid jobs.

The youth should always aim higher rather than being content with a university degree.

"It is time that we enrolled more students into higher education stream as only 10 percent of the children aged between 18 and 23 years in the country have opted for higher studies," he said.

K. Suganthi, Commercial Tax Officer, and Kalaiselvan, District Employment Officer, explained on how to prepare for competitive examinations such as Civil Services Examination conducted to select candidates to Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service.

The students were also told about financial assistance available under schemes such as Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana, which offer loans to educated unemployed youth.

A.C.G. Venantius, Chairman, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Tuticorin branch, answered queries on Chartered Accountancy course.

Information on various career were displayed at an exhibition.

Admission procedure to enter National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla near Pune and Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, were explained.

Details on various value-added courses offered by polytechnics in costume designing were provided.

Source: The Hindu

St. Mary's College celebrates 59th College Day

"The youth should never end the learning process with their college days. They should constantly try to amass knowledge, information and wisdom for overall development," Cynthia Pandian, Vice-Chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, has said.

She was speaking at the 59th College Day celebrations at St. Mary's College here on Wednesday.

Ms. Pandian said that there was a paradigm shift in the objective of education as the nation entered 21st century.

"While we were providing education to prepare students for economic growth in the last century, the focus had shifted to human development," she said. "Every individual should have the wealth of wisdom in him.

Students are now expected to `create' knowledge by synthesising and interpreting the information gathered through Internet and other mass media. Application of knowledge will give birth to wisdom," Ms. Pandian said.

Human development involves improvement of not only technical and manufacturing skills, but also soft skills such as communication, decision-making and problem solving.

Quoting Henry Ford, she said that those who quit learning would become "old," whether he was 20 or 80.

She called upon the students to think beyond geographical boundaries to make them better employable. "Never confine career options to the jurisdiction of a town or a State," Ms. Pandian said.

More women should take up higher education, which was a requirement for 70 per cent of the jobs available in the present day.

"At present, only 40 percent of girl students, who had completed higher secondary school education in the region, were found to have enrolled in colleges under M.S. University," she said.

As opportunities are plenty, it is a pity that only two per cent of women are placed in professional jobs.

Arulananda Mary, college Principal, spoke.

Source: The Hindu

`Samskrita Sandhya' held at Tuticorin

The Tuticorin chapter of `Samskrita Bharati,' a movement with Delhi as headquarters, conducted `Samskrita Sandhya' at Annammal College of Education here recently.

It was intended to popularise Sanskrit as a language for national integration.

Delivering keynote address, N. Sriram, State organiser of Samskrita Bharathi, said that it is a myth that Sanskrit was difficult to learn.

He explained the importance of the language as a tool to explore resource materials from ancient periods.

"Sanskrit was even the `lingua franca' of our country, many centuries ago," he said.

Plays and dances in Sanskrit were conducted. A. Joycilin Shermila, Principal, Annammal College Of Education For Women, distributed certificates to candidates, who successfully completed Sanskrit courses conducted last year.

Source: The Hindu

New study to save marine resources

The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GOMBRT) will tie-up with research institutions to carry out studies for better conservation of resources in the Gulf of Mannar and its future management during 2007.

The Chief Conservator of Forests, V.K. Melkani, said here on Friday that the GOMBRT would come out with a comprehensive inventory on the potential of marine wealth through the research.

"Studies on inventory would be carried out with technical assistance from universities in the State, Fisheries Colleges and Research Institute and Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, both in Tuticorin, and Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute," he said.

The proposed inventory would contain details pertaining to fishery potential, habitat of pearl oysters, area coverage of sea grass and population details of endangered aquatic creatures such as dugong dugon (sea cow).

It would also have statistics related to environmental issues such as quantity of effluents flowing in every day.

The groundwork on inventory preparation would commence in April.

Mr. Melkani said that the GOMBRT would disburse about Rs. four crore as revolving fund assistance to people staying in 222 coastal hamlets spread over Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram districts this year (2007).

"It is to enhance their livelihood activities and reduce dependency on marine resources in the Mannar biosphere," he said.

The fund was allocated to the trust by United Nations Development Programme-Global Environmental Facility.

Mr. Melkani said that the State Government would come out with a detailed management plan before May 31 to conserve and enhance the marine resources in the reserve.

The draft plan was being prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun. It would be ready before March 31.

The final document would include a new monitoring protocol to review the implementation of Wildlife Protection Act.

It would also highlight techniques to be followed to restore the damaged coral reef ecosystem, if any.

Source: The Hindu

Tuticorin Railway station gets SBI Kisoks

State Bank of India (SBI) and the Madurai Division of Southern Railway signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here on Wednesday to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at eight railway stations for the convenience of the public.

Briefing presspersons, N. Sadasivam, Deputy General Manager, SBI, said the ATMs would be installed at Madurai, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Kovilpatti, Kodaikanal Road and Ambathurai railway stations within a month. Efforts were on to set up ATMs at Karaikudi and Manapparai.

The bank also plans to set up Internet ticketing kiosks as an additional service to passengers at Madurai, Tirunelveli, Dindigul, Virudhunagar and Tuticorin stations.

Divisional Railway Manager Hemant Kumar said more than 45,000 passengers were using the services of the Madurai Division every day. Madurai Junction alone catered to more than 11,000 commuters each day. He appealed to the bank to consider installing `point of sales swiping machines' in Tuticorin railway station to ensure hassle-free freight transaction.

Source: The Hindu

Plea to expedite flyover work in Tuticorin

The members of Tuticorin People's Co-ordination Committee, a consortium of various movements and passengers associations, staged a demonstration in front of the Tuticorin railway station on 6th March.

They were urging the authorities concerned not to shift the railway station to Milavittan, situated on the outskirts of the town, to reduce the traffic blocks caused due to the closure of railway gate at Ettayapuram road.

"The officials should take steps to expedite the construction of the flyover in the segment, rather than shift the station altogether," they pointed out.

According to the agitators, shifting of the station would pose hardship to passengers since Milavittan was not properly connected to the town by road.

A.P.C.V. Shanmugam, secretary of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, led the agitation.

Source: The Hindu

IOB Chennai wins Sterlite Trophy in Tuticorin

Eastern Railway (women) recovered from a first set loss to KSEB, Thiruvananthapuram, to take the next three and the match and won a berth in the super league of the national volleyball league championship in Kochi.

The railway women overcame KSEB 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 in the last match of the four-team women's league (preliminary III) for the team's third win and the Sterlite Trophy here last night.

In the men's section, IOB Chennai won the Sterlite Trophy prevailing over ONGC, Dehra Dun, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20.

Source: Chennai Online

Le Royal Meridien, 5 Star Hotel in Tuticorin

Appu Hotels, which owns Le Royal Meridien (part of the US-based Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide), Chennai, is in the process of setting up 5 Star Hotel in Tuticorin.

The company is still scouting for land in Tuticorin for its new hotel, for which investment figures have not yet been finalised. The Tuticorin hotel will have 150 rooms.The company is planning to employ about 200 people in Tuticorin.

Nalina Saravanan, director- operations, Le Royal Meridien, Chennai said this in a recent press release.

Seminar on `Value Added Tax' held in Tuticorin

The Department of Information and Public Relations organised a seminar on `Value Added Tax' in Tuticorin on Saturday(3rd,March) evening. This was part of the multi-media campaign launched by the district administration to highlight the achievements of the State Government.

Interacting with industrialists and the general public, S. Sukumaran, Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, said that a sum of Rs. 11 crore was generated as VAT revenue from Tirunelveli division, comprising Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar and Kanyakumari districts during January this year, the first month of its inception.

A total of Rs. 22 crore was utilised as input tax credit by registered dealers during January, of which input tax credit availed from the opening stock stood at Rs. 16 crore and the remaining from purchase. "As traders were allowed to take credit of input tax paid at the time of purchase, VAT will not have any cascading effect on prices," he said. V. Balusamy, Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, explained how VAT was beneficial to the traders because of its transparency. "It has been proven in the countries, where VAT was implemented, that there was a heavy flow of revenue to the Government," he said.

The introduction of VAT has facilitated a simplified compounding tax system for the traders who have a turnover less than Rs 50 lakh per annum, by which only 0.5 percent was levied as tax.

The rates of interest under VAT are fixed at one percent, four per cent and 12.5 percent on goods eligible for input tax credit.

A full-fledged VAT is in essence an ad valorem tax levied on the supply chain from production to distribution and retail.

D.R. Kodeeswaran, Secretary, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tuticorin, and A. Deivanayakam, Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, took part in the discussion.

Source: The Hindu

Police raid Lankan refugee camps in Tuticorin

Special police teams carried out lightning search operations at several refugee camps sheltering Sri Lankan refugees in Tuticorin on 2nd March.

Several hundred policemen led by Deputy Inspector General Christopher Nelson carried out the search operation at the refugee camps which housed Lankan Tamil refugees. Policemen interrogated suspicious persons and carried out the head count in every camp wherever the search was done.

The belongings of the refugees were also thoroughly checked by the police teams and they were severely warned not to get involved in covert activities and allow the LTTE suspects to infiltrate into the camps, reports said. Around two-thousand refugees are sheltered at Ramdas Nagar, Thappathi and Kulathuvaipatti camps in the Tutticorin area.

The search operations at the Lankan refugee camps were carried out following the recent arrests of three LTTE suspects who were hiding in refugee camps.

Source: Sunday Observer, Sri Lankan Newspaper

`Creativity and innovation' - training programme held in Tuticorin

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Madurai Zone, organised a training programme on `Creativity and innovation' for the executives/managers of industrial firms in Tuticorin on 1st March. Delivering the keynote address, Muthian Ramanathan, Director (training), Mind Dynamics Centre, Chennai, said that creative people are the need of the hour at a time when liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation had become synonymous with industrial transformation.

"Business managers should understand that it is not enough to be efficient and possess the ability to solve problems. They should also be creative to build durable and profitable advantages over their opponents," he said. To remain creative, one had to be constantly imaginative and should have a quest for novelty. "It is a myth to consider that creativity would come by itself during emergency. A creative person would always challenge status quo and confront assumptions," he said.

According to him, entrepreneurs and product managers should try to improve their products even if it is good, like the Japanese style of management. "This would help them thwart competition from surprise quarters."

13,557 students appear for Plus Two examination in Tuticorin

The `Higher Secondary Public Examination 2007' commenced at 50 centres in the Tuticorin district on 1st March.

Of this, 36 centres were located under Tuticorin educational district and remaining under Kovilpatti educational district.

Speaking to presspersons, the Collector, R. Palaniyandi, said that a total of 13, 557 students appeared for the examination and of them, 7,438 were girls.

As many as 9,470 students (4,162 boys and 5,308 girls) wrote the examinations at centres situated under Tuticorin educational district.

The Education Department had constituted 27 flying squads to check for malpractices and ensure smooth conduct of the examinations.

Of them, 13 squads comprising three members each would function in Tuticorin educational district, while 14 squads having two members each would operate in Kovilpatti educational district.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Palaniyandi conducted a lightning inspection at Caldwell Higher Secondary School. He told the Chief Educational Officer, P. David Balasingh, to ensure that the question papers reached the centres from the 11 `custodian points,' where they were stored under security, well ahead of the start of the examinations.

Boat race organised in Tuticorin

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam cadres celebrated the 59th birthday of party General Secretary Jayalalithaa with pomp and gaiety in Tuticorin on 4th March.

Celebrations began in the morning with cadres breaking 59 coconuts on the beach road.

A boat race and swimming competition were conducted at the inshore waters at Threspuram, one of the busiest fishing hamlets in the State.

In all, 14 country boats fitted with motors took part in the race. Each boat, having three to seven fishermen in it, covered a distance of seven miles.

As many as 72 people participated in the swimming competition. The prizes were distributed by the former Minister, Anitha Radhakrishnan. N. Chinnadurai, Chairman of District Panchayat, and N. Suresh Kumar, municipal councillor, were present.

Source: The Hindu

Cultural competition held in V.O.C. College, Tuticorin

A university-level inter-collegiate cultural competition titled `Sangaram,' organised by the Students Federation of India (SFI), was conducted V.O. Chidamabaram College premises in Tuticorin on 3rd March. In all, students from 17 colleges affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, took part in the competitions held under seven categories. A Francis, Principal, V.O.C. College, inaugurated the event.

Tuticorin airport to get Night landing facility soon

Glen Dickson, airport-in-charge of Tuticorin Airport, has said that plans were afoot to introduce night landing facilities in Tuticorin Airport as part of augmenting the operational infrastructure and sustaining the commercial viability of the Tuticorin airport.

Interacting with industrialists at a programme organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tuticorin on 27th February, Mr. Dickson said that gadgets such as Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) and runway lighting would be established shortly to help aircraft land safely during nights.

Plans are made to expand the runway from the present 1,350 metres to 1,800 metres once the required land is acquired. This would facilitate landing of bigger aircraft in the Tuticorin Airport. At present, smaller aircraft such as ATR-72 were operating from the airport.

Tuticorin Port Trust's new record

The Tuticorin Port Trust has handled 3,22,255 TEUs (Twentifoot Equivalent Unit) of containers in the current financial year till February 16, surpassing 3,21,060 TEUs of containers handled during the entire last fiscal, registering 15.63 percent growth.

Official sources said that this was the highest volume of containers handled in the history of the port.

Similarly, the port has handled 156.82 lakh tonnes of cargo between April 1 and February 16 this fiscal, against 151.78 lakh tonnes of cargo handled during the corresponding period during the last financial year, registering a growth of 5.04 lakh tonnes.

Road Safety Patrol members honoured in Tuticorin

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tirunelveli Range, Kanhu Charan Mahali, disbursed awards and certificates to outstanding members of Road Safety Patrol teams in Tuticorin on 24th February.

The function was organised with the objective of encouraging the school students, who contribute a lot in streamlining traffic system in the town by becoming the members of Road Safety Patrol teams. The Deputy Inspector General of Police thanked the students for their role in regulating vehicular traffic.

National Volleyball league championship to be held in Tuticorin

Tuticorin is one of the three centres, for conducting the preliminary round-1 in the National Volleyball league championship for men and women this year. The other two centres will be Hindalco, Renukoot (U.P) and Payyanoor Kerala.

The National league volleyball championship (Preliminary Round - 3) will be conducted at the temporary stadium at the Seena Vaana Government High School ground, Tuticorin from Feb. 27 to March 4.

Six teams in the men's section and four in women's section are taking part in the six-day championship.

The teams:

Men: ONGC, Dehra Dun, Punjab Police, IOB Chennai, Southern Railway, Chennai, The Muthoott group, Kerala and Jatra, Jatra Surt Sangha, Kerala.

Women: KSEB Thiruvananthapuram, Eastern Railway, Dr. Sivanthi Club, Chennai and Karnataka Police.

Action sought against cable operators in Tuticorin

Members of the Tuticorin Cinema Theatre Owners Association today submitted a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police, Sandeep Rai Rathore, demanding action against the cable operators who indulge in telecasting films violating the Copyrights Act.

The TCTOA members, who met Mr Rathore at the District Police Office (DPO), pointed out that due to the illegal telecast of latest films, viewers preferred to stay in the luxury of their homes to watch the movies rather than spend ticket fares, leaving the theatres wore deserted look on many occasions. ``As a result, the profit of theatres gets eroded and the owners are finding it difficult to remit the entertainment tax'', they told the police official.

The members asked the SP to take action against the erring cable operators and initiate measures to curb the availability of VCDs in the open market.

Rare Crab Species `Corystes cassivelaunus,' found in Tuticorin

The Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) here has recorded `Corystes cassivelaunus,' a reddish brown `masked crab,' for the first time along the Indian coast in the Gulf of Mannar.

Belonging to the family of Corystidae, the species was traced by a team headed by T. Vaitheeswaran, a research fellow at the institute, at a depth of 100 metres. They were conducting an underwater survey to assess crab biodiversity in the Gulf of Mannar this week.

"The crab found was a female, measuring four cm weighing nine gm. It was identified by its elongated oval carapace, which is brown in colour," V.K. Venkataramani, FCRI Dean said.

The species is usually found in temperate waters along British and French coast. "It lays eggs on sandy beaches and feeds on invertebrates such as polychaete worms and bivalve mollusks," he said.

The females carry eggs for about 10 months and have the capability to reproduce for several years.

Source: The Hindu

Tuticorin Municipal Council meeting held on Thursday

Noisy scenes and boycott by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillors marred the proceedings of the Tuticorin Municipal Council meeting on Thursday.

Commotion began when the Chairperson, R. Kasturi Thangam, sought permission of the council to submit a memorandum to the authorities concerned for shifting the Tuticorin Railway Station to Milavittan.

"Shifting of the station will avoid traffic congestion in the town during the closure of three railway gates," she said.

Twelve AIADMK councillors, led by N. Suresh Kumar (Ward 8), protested the move saying that instead of shifting the station, flyovers should be constructed over the gates.

"Shifting is not feasible, considering logistic difficulties," the councillors said.

When Ms. Thangam refused to heed to their views, the AIADMK councillors boycotted the proceedings. They tore copies of the council's resolution to protest the "autocratic" governance of the municipal administration.

Tension prevailed for a while outside the hall as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillors came out and got into a wordy duel with them. The police intervened and eased the tension.

Earlier, Ms. Thangam told the council that infrastructure development works at a cost of Rs 83.42 lakh, earmarked under the 12th State Finance Commission, would be taken up during the current fiscal.

Of the total amount, Rs. 26.85 lakh would be utilised to strengthen Kandasamypuram Main Road, South Cotton Road, Krishnarajapuram Fifth Street and Boopalrayapuram Sixth Street.

The remaining amount would be used to purchase a dumper placer, a weighing machine and garbage bins, all part of efforts to strengthen the ongoing solid waste management project and to settle outstanding dues to the Electricity Board.

Source: The Hindu

Workshop on interview techniques conducted in Tuticorin

A workshop on `Interview techniques' organised by the Annammal College of Education for Women was held on its premises in Tuticorin recently.

Resource person N. Rajalingam, faculty, Department of Management, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, explained the groundwork to be done by a candidate before facing an interview board. He also spoke on the `dos' and `don'ts' while preparaing curriculum vitae and how it could be readied to impress an interviewer.

Jewellers Protest in Tuticorin

Jewellery shops in the Tuticorin City closed thier Jewellery Shops on Thursday to protest police enquiry against a jeweller for getting goods from a "thief" . They said that the police took the owner of a shop to Thermal Nagar Police Station "unnecessarily and behaved in a rude manner." According to the police, he was taken to the station as he refused to give back the stolen goods.

Special medical camp conducted in Tuticorin

The Department of Health conducted a special medical camp under the `Varumun Kappom' scheme at Tuticorin on Friday.

It was organised to provide comprehensive health check up to the people residing in the jurisdiction of Mapillayoorani Primary Health Centre.

The Minister for Animal Husbandry, P. Geetha Jeevan, the Collector, R. Palaniyandi and the Deputy Director of Health Services, S. Uma, supervised the proceedings at the camp.

A team of 20 doctors and 30 para-medical staff examined about 700 people for communicable and non-communicable diseases. Minor ailments were attended to.

Blood and urine tests were carried out and modern gadgets such as semi auto analysers were used. Pregnant women underwent tests on ultra sonogram to check for abnormalities.

As many as 45 electro cardio gram tests were conducted. Ms. Uma said that allopathic medicines worth Rs. 7,500 and siddha medicines worth Rs. 1,800 were distributed free of cost.

Referral and follow up camps would be held at institutions such as Tuticorin Medical College and Hospital and Government Hospitals at taluk headquarters.

The entire data collected from the camp would be computerised and used for planning purposes.

Official sources said that a total of 252 camps would be organised in the district under the `Varumun Kappom' scheme before March 31, 2009.

Source: The Hindu

3.5 lakh larvae sea ranched in Tuticorin

A total of 3.5 lakh larvae of `Panulirus homarus,' a spiny lobster species, was sea ranched into the Gulf of Mannar by Fisheries College and Research Institute in Tuticorin on Friday.

The ranching was carried out by the institute as part of a Union Ministry of Environment and Forests-funded project titled `Conservation of lobsters in the Gulf of Mannar region.'

The lobsters were reared at the institute's marine biological laboratory by C.B.T. Rajagopalasamy and B. Srikrishnadhas, both from the Department of Fisheries Biology and Capture Fisheries, FCRI.

"A female lobster weighing 500 gm and a male lobster weighing 600 gm were bred in a fibre-reinforced plastic tank of 1,000 litre capacity and the larvae produced were grown to a length of 2 mm., before it was sea ranched," V.K. Venkataramani, FCRI Dean said.

Sea ranching of lobsters would enhance its population in the region, which was fast diminishing since 2002.

He told the fishermen to put back egg-bearing lobsters, caught in the nets, into sea to augment its production. "Every stakeholder should make efforts to prevent the destruction of coral beds in the Gulf of Mannar, which too caused the depletion of lobsters," he added.

Source: The Hindu

Inter-collegiate quiz held at Tuticorin

An inter-collegiate quiz competition for undergraduate students of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University was conducted by A.P.C. Veerabahu Endowment for Science and Technology at V.O.C. College in Tuticorin on Wednesday.

The team from Mallankara Catholic College, Kaliyikkavilai, represented by J. Shameel and S. Ajeesha, won. The team from G. Venkataswamy Naidu College, Kovilpatti, represented by G. Rajendran and N. Mohammed Ghouse, finished second.

The team from A.P.C. Mahalaxmi College for Women, Tuticorin, comprising C. Navukkarasi and A. Deena Mahalakshmi, finished third.

In all, 17 colleges took part in the competition.

G. Sukumar, Associate Professor of Micro Biology at Fisheries College and Research Institute, was the quizmaster.

Four held for attempt to smuggle sea cucumbers from Tuticorin

The police on 20th Feb. arrested four persons who were attempting to smuggle huge quantities of sea cucumbers, gastropods and starfish to Sri Lanka via Rameswaram.

Three motorised country boats, two cars, two motorcycles, 250 kg of `beche-de-mer' (dried processed sea cucumber), 250 kg of live sea cucumber, 172 gastropods, 300 litres of diesel, six LPG cylinders and 10 mobile phone sets, totally worth Rs.16 lakh, were seized from the accused.

According to experts, sea cucumbers, believed to have aphrodisiac properties, are widely used in Southeast Asian countries for preparing a health soup. A kilogram of sea cucumber fetched $50 in the international market.

Superintendent of Police John Nicholson told reporters that a police patrol team nabbed the accused from Threspuram shore. "Their interrogation revealed they were working for Meeraza and had transported contraband posing a threat to national security to Rameswaram. From there it was handed over to middlemen enroute to Sri Lanka."

The police are now on the look out for Meeraza, his accomplice Kannan and a "prominent" person of Ramanathapuram district.

Mr. Nicholson said patrolling had been strengthened along the 120-km coastline in the district. "We have established 11 coastal check-posts, besides five check-posts set up by the Coast Guard, to prevent infiltration and smuggling of goods to Sri Lanka."

Source: The Hindu

Workshop on English skills held in Tuticorin

A two-day workshop on `Techniques to improve skills in English' conducted by the Department of Education for teachers of Standards IX and X at Government and Government aided schools, concluded at Subbiah Vidyalayam Girls Higher Secondary School in Tuticorin on 17th Feb.

Interacting with the participants, Susan Sylvan, a retired language teacher from California, explained the salient features of `brain-based' education techniques followed in the U.S.

"Teachers should make use of the brain functions effectively to make learning more convenient," she said. Teachers should prepare the students for the classes by telling them what they would be taught for the day, before the commencement of any session, like preparing ground to plant a seed.

She called upon the teachers to develop the senses of children by asking them to change a poem into a sentence of prose that summarises what the author said.

The teachers should promote the value of English as a link language, which in turn would help the youth when they had to communicate with the outside world.

About 80 teachers attended the workshop.

70-year Old Man on World Bicycle Tour Visits Tuticorin

A 70-year old native of Rome on a world tour on bicycle, reached Tuticorin on 19th Feb.morning after covering 75,000 kms.

Januriver started his bicycle tour from Rome in 2000 and would end it in Beijing in 2008, the venue of next Olympics, after covering 73 countries, a release from the district sports department said.

In India he would be covering 4,500 kms spread across four states -- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, kerala and Maharashtra.

He had arrived in Chennai on January 24. He left Tuticorin today to Tiruchendur and then to Nagercoil, on his way to Kerala.

Source: Zee News

Rs 500 crore SSN Institutions in Tuticorin

The Chennai-based SSN (Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar) Institutions will invest Rs 500 crore on building educational campuses in Tuticorin.

The campus at Tuticorin costing Rs 500 crore is proposed by academic year 2009. "It will come up on 1,000 acres of land that they've planned to acquire. The center would focus on providing under graduate and graduate courses in science, maths, physics, economics and law.

SSN Educational and Charitable Trust, which controls the institution, was founded by Mr Shiv Nadar (Founder of the HCL group and Chairman of HCL Technologies).All the proposed projects would be financed by SSN Trust.

The trust had applied for Deemed University status in June 2006 and expects to get it by academic year 2007.

Excerpts from Hindu Business Line

Mock drill on disaster management held in Tuticorin

The Fire and Rescue Services Department conducted a mock drill on disaster management techniques was held in Tuticorin on 15th February, to create awareness of the methods, which should be followed, at the time of calamities such as tsunami, earthquake and cyclone.

The drill named Service and Rescue was held at the Fishermen Colony near the sea adjacent to the Tuticorin Port Trust Guest House.

A team of officials led by R. G. Jeyakanthan, District Fire Officer, demonstrated the steps that should be followed as soon as the region received warning on tsunami.

The firemen exhibited techniques involved in evacuation of large number of people including children, aged persons and physically challenged people, quickly. They showed how to rescue people as well boats that got washed away by tidal waves using ropes.

Search and rescue techniques that should be adopted to save lives of people from debris, soon after an earthquake, was also displayed.

New facilities at Tuticorin fisheries college inaugurated

The Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, N. Balaraman, on Wednesday inaugurated a biotechnology laboratory, 20 larvae rearing tanks, an examination hall and a training centre for coastal aquaculture, at the Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) here.

Mr. Balaraman also inaugurated a training programme on aquaculture techniques for 60 women members of self-help groups functioning at Tharuivaikulam and Anandamadam Pacheri.

FCRI Dean V.K. Venkataramani said that the tanks were established at a cost of Rs 10 lakh. They would rear larvae of shrimps, marine ornamental fish and fin fish on a large.

The training centre for aquaculture was set up on an outlay of Rs. eight lakh using funds allocated by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, and District Rural Development Agency.

"It's to disseminate aquaculture technologies such as crab and lobster fattening, seaweed culture and shrimp brood stock maintenance to potential entrepreneurs and members of various SHGs," Professor and Head of Maritech Research Centre at FCRI, S. Felix, said.

Source: The Hindu

New seafood processing unit to come up at Tuticorin Fisheries College

The Fisheries College and Research Institute will establish a production-cum-demonstration unit for `seafood processing and value-addition' on its premises here at a cost of Rs.45.5 lakhs allocated by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research, New Delhi, before the end of the current fiscal.

Of the project cost, Rs.5.5 lakh will be utilised for construction of the building and Rs.30 lakh for the establishment of cold storage, a water purification plant, a power washer, an effluent treatment plant, an air blast freezer and food processors. The rest will be earmarked for purchase of glassware, chemicals and packaging material.

50 kg of seahorses seized, 3 arrested in Tuticorin

Thalamuthunagar police seized about 50 kg of seahorses on Monday and registered cases against three persons in this connection.

The capture and sale of hippocampus, the endangered marine organism commonly known as seahorse, is banned under the Wildlife Act.

Police said nine others, including a cinema house owner, have been detained on suspicion and are being interrogated.

It is suspected that the consignment of seahorses was to be smuggled to Sri Lanka through Thoothukudi.

Police had earlier conducted an intensive search in the area based on a tip-off and recovered 10 kg of seahorses. They arrested Muthuravi (27) of Indiranagar in Thoothukudi and based on information furnished by him arrested two others - Saravanan (27) of Thalamuthunagar and Muthukutty (48) of Thermal Nagar Camp-I, Thoothukudi.

A total of four sacks containing 40 kg of preserved seahorses was also recovered from the duo.

According to SP Y John Nicholson, police are on the lookout for M K Muhaideen (45) of Kayalpattinam, who is alleged to have links with the accused.

The seized consignment is reported to be worth Rs 15 lakh in the international market.

Source: NewIndPress

FCI puts Tuticorin Port in dock

The Food Corporation of India, Thoothukudi, recently sought diversion of a ship carrying wheat imports for it to the Chennai Port from the Tuticorin Port. The communication had some accusing fingers pointed at the TPT.

In his message to the FCI Executive Director (South), the Assistant General Manager of the corporation recommended diversion of the vessel mv YICK WING from Tuticorin Port to Chennai Port “...due to the active North East Monsoon, non-availability of required covered accommodation at Tuticorin Port, including a transit shed, and the non-cooperation of the port trust authorities to FCI.”

It was also stated that the TPT was adamant on imposing Penal Berth Hire charges on the FCI stevedoring contractor, though the vessel was discharged within the ‘free time’.

The communication was forwarded to the FCI headquarters in New Delhi with some additions.

The Executive Director, in his message, stated that the TPT lacked covered storage facilities and added: “The vessel can be unloaded in Chennai Port without any difficulty as we are getting the required help and cooperation from the Chennai Port Trust authorities.”

These messages from the FCI officials prompted the Tenkasi MP, M Appadurai, to write to the Union Minister for Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. Later, the MP too sought an order to divert the vessel to the Chennai Port, “considering the ground realities”.

Meanwhile, M/s Vicnivaas, a stevedoring agency, also came out complaining of the lack of storage facilities at the Tuticorin Port. According to sources in the company, the TPT management recently dismantled a shed that was on the land the company had taken on lease but failed to renew.

While the company defined the act as one borne out of personal enmity, the absence of the shed certainly did not help the TPT.

When this website's newspaper’s correspondent contacted TPT chairman N K Regupathy for his comments, he received a stock reply, “I am busy”.

However, a TPT official, requesting anonymity, told this website's newspaper that the letters by FCI-Thoothukudi and Tenkasi MP Appadurai had not come to the notice of the TPT authorities.

On the allegations about the lack of covered storage facilities at the port, the officer said the port had six godowns and two transit sheds that would be judiciously allotted among the private cargo handling agencies and the FCI.

Normally only about 20-30 percent of the storage space available at the port was in constant use, aided by prompt clearance of stored cargo. Nevertheless, this year a problem arose due to the bulk arrival of 6.21 lakh tonnes of wheat imported by the FCI during the last five months of 2006 as against the nil import of wheat during the same period the previous year.

The cargo took up 80 percent of the storage space and had not been cleared due to which TPT had to levy Penal Berth Hire on the stevedoring agency, explained the officer.

Commenting on the removal of the storage shed erected by Vicnivaas, the official clarified that it was only a temporary shed.

The structure was pulled down as the company’s licence period had expired and as per the port rules, while surrendering the land, the licensee should remove any temporary structure on it, the official said.

He, however, admitted that the FCI allegations should be given serious consideration as it could affect the business volume of Tuticorin port.

Source: New Ind Press

Orissa Art and Craft Fair inaugurated in Tuticorin

Municipal Chairperson R. Kasturi Thangam, inaugurated a 11-day Orissa Art and Craft Fair organised by the Utkal Hastasilpa Society, here on Saturday.

The fair offers a wide range of handloom and handicraft items from across the country, for all age groups and `pockets'.

Sarees priced between Rs.300 and Rs.1,500 have been exhibited in bold and unusual patterns with a subtle blend of colours.

The traditional Sambalpur sari is being offered at Rs 1,500.

Colourful Rajasthani and Kashmiri churidhars are available from Rs.300 to Rs 400.

The beautiful folk paintings from Orissa known as `Patachitra' (canvas-picture), which can adorn the walls, are offered in the range of Rs.200 to Rs.1,200.

The entire paintings have mythological theme.

In the handicraft section, wood-carvings from Saharanpur, brass work from Moradabad and madhubani painting from Bihar, are exhibited.

Gem stone paintings from Rajasthan, priced at Rs.300, look gorgeous.

Exquisite dresses from Rajasthan and Haryana, for both men and women, along with bed-spreads and door curtains are also available at the fair.

The stone carvings and palm leaf engravings made by the artisans from Orissa, are the other attractions.

"Stone carvings were made by craftsmen, who are the descendents of the builders of Jagannath and Konark temples in Orissa," says Bhagyarathi Jadhav, manager of the fair.

Interface between farmers, financial institutions

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) organised an interface between farmers and financial institutions here on Friday to augment agriculture and allied activities in the district.

Representatives of Farmer's Clubs formed by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Suguna Poultry Farms Limited, and officials from NABARD and IOB, attended the programme.

K. Venkatesan, Zonal Manager, Suguna Poultry Farms Limited, explained the salient features and merits of contract farming in poultry sector, as well as the scope of poultry business in the country, to enthuse the farmers from this region to take up poultry rearing on a large scale.

He told them the `dos' and `donts' that farmers needed to be aware when they take up poultry rearing business.

In return, members of FCs at Aathanoor, Eppothumvendran, Sawyerpuram and Athimarapatti villages, told Mr. Venkatesan about their desire to supply maize cultivated by them on a massive scale here to the industry as poultry feed.

G. Venugopal, senior regional manager, IOB, said that interface of the kind would help the farmers and the banks since the latter would be able to improve their priority sector lending performance along with the new business tie-up.

R. Bharat Kumar, Assistant General Manager, NABARD, was present.

Source: The Hindu

Minister disburses welfare assistance in Tuticorin

Minister for Animal Husbandry P. Geetha Jeevan distributed welfare assistance worth Rs. 30.20 lakh to 199 beneficiaries at a function held at Collectorate here on Friday.

Of them, 190 persons received marriage assistance of Rs. 15,000 each under the Moovalar Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme, eight couples got aid to the tune of Rs. 20,000 each under the Inter-caste Marriage Assistance Scheme and one received Rs. 10,000 under E.V.R. Maniammaiyar Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme.

Ms. Jeevan said so far during the current fiscal, Rs. 92.55 lakh was disbursed as marriage assistance to 617 beneficiaries. Similarly, Rs. 5.40 lakh was given away to 28 couples, who had preformed inter-caste marriage, Rs. 10,000 to a widow for her remarriage and Rs. 2.7 lakh for the marriage of 27 orphan girls during the current financial year.

Collector R. Palaniyandi was present. Later at another function, she gave away free cycles to 104 students and educational assistance worth Rs. 2.37 lakh to 264 children in tsunami affected region.

Source: The Hindu

Tuticorin Fishermen meet Collector

Fishermen from Threspuram met the Collector R. Palaniyandi and the Superintendent of Police John Nicholson on Friday and asked them to take steps to reduce the `exorbitant' commission levied by auctioneers on the fish catch from them.

Around 500 fishermen owning country boats were on strike since Thursday, to protest the recent decision by the auctioneers to increase the commission on the catch from 6.25 per cent to 10 per cent. The fishermen wanted the auctioneers to stop the practice of taking away large quantity of fish from the catch as `gift' and subsequently selling it for high prices, rather than using it at their respective households.

Fishermen said they would keep off from the sea till the Collector finds an amicable solution to their problems.

Source: The Hindu

108.35 acres of wasteland to be developed in Tuticorin

The district administration will develop 108.35 acres of wasteland, distributed to 71 landless farm labourers under free land scheme, into cultivable land, adopting a `cluster-based' approach before the end of current fiscal.

The area identified under the project, situated at Kovilpatti, Ettayapuram and Sattankulam blocks, was divided into nine clusters, with each bunch having land spread over 10 to 16.75 acres, owned by a group of six to 14 farmers.

"In the first phase, we had taken up the conversion of wasteland at four clusters identified at Chettikurichi and Cinnamalaikundru, and during the final phase development works would be carried out at five clusters situated at Pidaneri, Manchanayakanpatti and Nambipuram villages," Collector R. Palaniyandi told The Hindu .

Of the Rs. 27.01 lakh earmarked for the cluster-based activities, Rs. 3.37 lakh would be utilised for land development, Rs. 2.74 lakh for planting various crops, Rs. 7.18 lakh for establishment of borewells at the rate of one for every cluster, Rs. 5.70 lakh for setting up irrigation systems, and Rs. 8 lakh for construction of two open wells at Nambipuram under Ettayapuram block.

"Under land development component, we would shape the land after clearing the entire wildly grown Prosophis Juliflora plants and plough it using tillers before planting the crops," said N. Pandiarajan, Project Officer, District Watershed Development Agency.

To augment irrigation, micro irrigation systems would be established, once the water sources like wells were constructed.

Dr. Palaniyandi said that cluster-based approach to develop land would be useful to farmers for judiciously using water resources and increasing profitability."

Source: The Hindu

Tuticorin Fishermen keep off sea

About 500-odd fishermen owning country boats at Threspuram, one of the busiest fishing hamlets in the state, kept themselves off from the sea here on Thursday. They were protesting against the exorbitant commission levied by the auctioneers operating at the fishing landing centre situated in Tuticorin.

According to the fishermen, the auctioneers had increased the commission on the catch from 6.25 per cent to 10 per cent recently.

Medical negligence kills woman in Tuticorin

In a case of sheer medical callousness, a woman who was admitted at a government hospital in Tamil Nadu for a surgery lost her life as she waited for over four hours for the surgeon to turn up.

Subiah's wife needed a laparotomy and the best address the poor carpenter knew was the government medical college hospital in Tuticorin.

He could not afford Rs 25, 000 that any private hospital would charge for the surgery.

But on the day of the operation the surgeon who was to operate upon Subiah's wife just did not turn up even four hours after the appointed time.

Left unattended, the patient died of excruciating pain.

"We need justice. We poor people can go only to the government hospital. We can't go to private hospitals," said Ramaselvi, victim's daughter-in-law.

So far, no action has been taken against the doctor.

The hospital claims that the surgeon was very much on the campus that day but decided to postpone the surgery after the patient's condition worsened.

But there's no explanation on why the surgeon did not visit the waiting patient or inform the family.

When NDTV took up the issue with state health minister, he promised action against the guilty.

"We've asked them to probe and give a report to me and the district collector. We will take action against whoever is found responsible," said K K S S R Ramachandran, Health Minister.

While for poor patients the government hospital is the only resort. Sadly, for some doctors, saving poor lives seem to be not a priority.

Source: NDTV

Chief Electoral Officer, Naresh Gupta reviews preparatory work in Tuticorin

Chief Electoral Officer, Naresh Gupta, has said that the ongoing exercise of photographing voters for preparation of photo electoral rolls in the district would be completed during the first week of April and the draft rolls would be published in the middle of April.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday soon after reviewing the works for preparation of photo poll rolls, he said 83 per cent of the work was over.

The exercise of deleting the names of electors who were either dead or migrated to other districts, and those who did not reside at the addresses given in the list, published on September 27, 2006, was on and the process would be completed in another 15 days.

"It was expected that about seven per cent of names of electors found in the list would be deleted," he said. "Once the deletion process was completed, the coverage of photo electoral rolls would touch 90 per cent in the district."

The figure was expected to scale further up to 95 per cent at the time of publishing the draft photo poll rolls in mid-April, since steps would be taken to photograph the left-out voters too, as far as possible.

Revenue Divisional Officers of Tuticorin, Tiruchendur and Kovilpatti sub-divisions, S. Karunanidhi, Maruthanayakam and Sudalmani Pandian, respectively took part in the meeting.

Source: The Hindu

Peaceful polling in Tuticorin district

Polling for the posts of two village panchayat presidents, three village panchayat ward members and one town panchayat ward member in the district ended on Thursday.

A total of 55.4 per cent of electors exercised their franchise in the byelections held for the posts of presidents and ward members of village panchayats, while 84.7 percent of electors cast their votes to elect the ward member at Eral Town Panchayat.

Segmentwise, 73.1 per cent of the total 2,267 electors went to the polling station to elect the president of Meerankulam village panchayat and 50.2 per cent cast their votes to elect the president of Kulasekarapattinam village panchayat.

In the polls held to the posts of ward members at Padmanama Mangalam, Umarikadu and Tharuvaikulam village panchayats, 36.4 per cent, 66.3 per cent and 48.7 per cent electors exercised their franchise.

The counting is slated for February 9.

Official sources said that a total of 20 candidates were elected to the posts of village panchayat ward members, being the only candidates in the contest.

Similarly, Subbammal and Dhandayuthapani were elected to the posts of presidents of Paraikootam (Ottapidaram block) and Sivagnanapuram (Vilathikulam block) village panchayats, unopposed.

No election was held at ward number one of Moolakarai village panchayat under Tiruchendur block, since there was no contestant in the fray.

Source: The Hindu

French luxury liner Visits Tuticorin port

Giving a fillip to tourism in the region, m.v. Le Levant, a French luxury cruise liner, arrived with 64 tourists (59 Americans, one German, three Britons and an Indian) and 53 crew members onboard, at Tuticorin port on 5th January.

Designed for elite group of discerning cruise travellers, the 100-metre long vessel was equipped with 45 cabins over five decks and it has a shallow draught of 3.5 metres, allowing her to move close to the shore and sail through inland waterways.

The Tuticorin Port Trust officials gave a red carpet welcome to the tourists at the berth.

The entire visitors then embarked upon a sightseeing trip to historic and ancient places in Madurai in luxury coaches, en route to Chennai.

The tourists will board the vessel back at Chennai on February 8 and the voyage will continue to Visakhapattinam and Paradip, before culminating the trip at Kolkatta on February 14.Of the 64 tourists arrived here, 53 had boarded the ship when it touched the Indian coast at Mumbai on January 29, after it had sailed in from Muscat.