More paramilitary forces sought in Vellore for poll

Apr 30 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)

SENSITIVE ISSUE - More paramilitary forces sought in Vellore for poll

Shanmughasundaram J





Based on their assess ment of threats to law and order in Vellore district from caste, community and religious factors, state and central intelligence agencies have asked for a strong contingent of paramilitary forces stationed in the district during election.

Sixteen companies of paramilitary forces, each having 80 and 100 personnel, are expected to be deployed in Vellore district. “We will have reinforcements if the situation demands for more.In 2011 election, 12 companies were deployed here,“ said a senior police officer.
Police sources say they have taken measures anticipating trouble but would need more legs on the ground to secure the area.

Among the major areas of concern is the PMK going alone in the election, which could affect community relationships in northern districts of the state. Vanniyardominated areas such as Sholinghur, Arcot and Anaicut and pockets like Ambur, Arcot and Vaniyambadi towns that have a high Muslim population have been classified as vulnerable areas in the district. Recollecting the June, 2015 riot following the death of a Muslim youth, police officials said that “fundamentalists“ might try to instigate hatred now for political mileage. 

The BJP has fielded its candidate in Ambur constituency in which nearly 50 policemen and women were seriously injured in the riot. The party has taken up the riot as a campaign theme.

The district witnessed brutal murders of BJP leader Dr Arvind Reddy in October 23, 2012 and Hindu Munnani leader S Vellaiyappan on July 1, 2013. A six-member gang tried to bump off BJP's state vice president of endowment cell Sivaprakasam, 60, on January 1 this year in Vaniyambadi Town.Sivaprakasam sustained grievous injuries in the attack. The police are yet to identify the perpetrators.

Similarly , there were incidents when a group of unidentified men pelted stones at the vehicle of VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan near Walajapet last year. Superintendent of Police of Vellore P Pakalavan said that they have identified 71 locations as vulnerable areas in 13 constituencies.





Inmates make liquor within high walls of Vellore central prison

Apr 24 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai) Thirsty prisoners devise way to make  own liquor, caught Shanmughasundaram J Vellore   A group of four inmates of the Vellore Central Prison for Men here may or may not  know the popular saying of Greek philosopher Plato necessity is the mother of  invention, but they demonstrated it.Though they are cut off from the outside  world, they have found ways and means to quench their thirst for liquor. The four, including Ramu and Murugan, habitual offenders, and lodged in the remand prisoners block succeeded in brewing their own brand of liquor with fruits and jaggery  given to them by relatives during their visits to prison. But, prison staff soon sniffed  out the brew doing brisk business on the prison campus. On Tuesday , a chief head warder noticed the inmates acting weirdly when he was on  a routine check of the block. Growing suspicious, he checked them and was shocked to see a bucket with more than 10 litres of liquor made of fruits and sugar. With limited resources, the prisoners had managed to make the brew. The remand  prisoners, lodged in prison in connection with robbery and theft cases, have ventured into brewing the spirit for the last two weeks. “The four inmates used fruits, particularly pomegranate and orange, wheat and jaggery to make the liquor,“ said a senior prison official on condition of anonymity . Explaining their modus operandi, the official said the inmates stocked the fruits  brought by their relatives, friends and family members and fermented it. They sourced wheat and jaggery discreetly from the prison kitchen and mixed it with the  fermented fruits and added water to it. They stirred them together and filled it in a bucket, which was buried near their block, said a reliable source in prison. The inmates were caught in the act, said the official and added that the department has taken disciplinary action against them under the provision of the Prison Manual Rules. “We have suspended interviews of the prisoners for two months. They will be  not allowed to meet their relatives and friends during this period,“ he added.

Gang tries to kill men who sheltered inter-caste couple

Apr 20 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)

Gang tries to kill men who sheltered inter-caste couple

Shanmughasundaram J

KancheepuramVellore:





Girl's Family May Be Behind Attack

The family members of a 21year-old vanniyar girl, who married a dalit youth, allegedly assaulted the members of Makkal Mantram, an NGO in Kancheepuram, for sheltering the couple. After running for more than 5km through fields on Monday , Bala Murugan and Thanjai Tamil, both 29 years old, escaped from a six-member gang that followed them with deadly weapons. Tamil sustained injuries on his forehead and mouth, while Murugan escaped with minor injuries.The two were targeted by the gang for apparently sheltering K Santhiya, daughter of N Kirubanandham, and her husband C Sivaraman, who is a dalit. Fearing for their lives, the couple approached the NGO seeking protection from caste fanatics, alleged Geetha of Makkal Mantram.
Tamil and Murugan were on a bike heading towards Orikkai village around 7.30pm from the NGO's cam pus in Mangalapadi.
“When we were nearing Vandavasi bypass road, two men waved at us showing an empty bottle. We stopped thinking that their bike was out of fuel,“ said Murugan.
“They questioned us about the whereabouts of Santhiya and her husband. And then from nowhere other people ran towards us shouting `hack them, hack them',“ said Murugan. They ran towards a field to save themselves.
The Kancheepuram police recorded their statements and launched an inquiry .

Rebellion continues: DMK cadre to fight as independent in Polur

Apr 18 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)

Rebellion continues: DMK cadre to fight as independent in Polur





Facing a virtual rebellion over selection of candi dates in some constituencies, the DMK has replaced a few of its original nominees.On Sunday, the party announced that Bhavani would contest from Sholavandan constituency instead of Sri Priya.However, it faces another challenge in Polur After the party denied him a ticket for the May 16 poll, DMK Chetpet union secretary C E Elumalai has decided to contest in Polur constituency as an independent candidate.
Elumalai has also taken out a rally with his supporters in Polur Town on Saturday to express his displeasure over the party's candidate selection for the constituency . After garlanding Arignar Anna statue, he said he would contest the election as an independent candidate. He was confident of defeating the party's official candidate K V Manoharan and other candidates in the fray .
Bowing to the demands of irate party men, the DMK last week announced that N Rajkumar would contest from Arakkonam (reserved) seat in place of S Bhavani and M Ramachandran in place of S S Rajkumar at Orathandu in Thanjavur district. On April 15, a band of DMK workers staged a protest outside party chief M Karunanidhi's residence.
In Vellore, the cadres in Vaniyambadi have also protested against the party's decision to allot the constituency to the alliance party -IUML. The party cadres said that the party high command relook into its decision and field one of the functionaries the constituency. They also raised slogan against the IUML.
On the other hand, party's Anaicut Union (West) secretary M Babu and party candidate for Anaicut A P Nandhakumar have buried the hatchet and commenced the election campaign in the constituency on Sunday . A few days ago, Babu's supporters picketed the party office in Vellore City for fielding Nandhakumar, an outsider. They have also assaulted Nandhakumar and T A Mohammed Saqhy , party's district presidium chairperson and former MP , when they came to the office on Thursday . Sources said party leader M K Stalin intervened and ended the animosity .





Big men do cry -- for votes

Big men do cry -- for votes

Shanmughasundaram J





Crying and singing and showing excessive emotion has always been part of Tamil culture. The roots of this can be traced to ancient texts and epics in which crying and singing wasn't relegated to just women alone.It does seem that Tamil men are hardwired to cry in public. And during elections, they cry more often.
On Sunday , faced with dissension within the Vellore DMK party over ticket distribution, Duraimurugan started addressing a party volunteers meeting by responding to al legations by dissidents. Then he listed the development projects implemented in Vellore during his tenure as minister.Duraimurugan said that he wanted to establish a government medical college in the constituency , but then AIADMK minister Pandurangan, who won from Anaicut constituency in 2006, took the project to his constituency . Then with his voice breaking, he said: “Death will come to me one day . When my mortal remains are taken out on a procession, the people should remember what I did for them.“
The eight time MLA said that he was determined to bring the multi-specialty hospital this time and establish an arts and science college in the constituency . “Won't you say that this is the man who brought court buildings, university (Thiruvalluvar University) and built bridges when my mortal remains are carried in procession?“ he said, wiping his tears.
The cadres also started crying and shouted out, “nothing will happen to you“.

The women and men cadres started crying and said that “nothing will happen to you”. Mohammed Saqhy, former MP and party presidium chairperson, and others in the dais cajoled him. The speech has given a much needed push for Durai Murugan, who faced a tough fight during last election against AIADMK candidate S R K Appu (alias) S Radhakrishnan. He won the election with a margin of around 2,000 votes.

However, this is not the first time the seasoned politician shed tears in public and party meetings. During the election campaign in Shenbakkam, which was annexed in the constituency in 2008 delimitation process, he shed tears for vote.

He even cried in an election campaign at Latheri, one of his strongholds, asking the people to vote for him in 2001 election. Durai Murugan had then said that he would retire from politics, if his constituency people did not elect him in the election./eom/shan/





DMK cadres up in arms against party candidate

DMK men demand removal of Jolarpet candidate

Shanmughasundaram.j@timesgroup.com

VELLORE:  Ignoring party leader M Karunanidhi’s plea not to oppose the party’s decision but to work for its victory in the May 16 election, the dissenting party functionaries in Vellore district are up in arms against party candidate for Jolarpet constituency.  The party men on Friday staged a protest and one of them attempted to commit suicide to express their displeasure over the selection of the candidate.

The party has fielded Vellore (West) party women wing secretary Kavitha Dhandapani for Jolarpet constituency.  She faced a stiff opposition from a section of the party cadres, who were in no mood to heed to their leader’s plea.

Nearly 150 party men, all believed to the supporters of former DMK MLA of Natrampalli N K R Sooriyakumar, have staged protest demanding to replace Kavitha Dhandapani, in Natrampalli bus stand.

After staging a protest for nearly 30 minutes, they moved to Vaniyambadi party office to register their protest. A group of around 100 party men from Jolarpet have also joined them.  The dissenting cadres reached the party office in Vaniyambadi New Town and raised slogan against Principal Secretary Durai Murugan and party Vellore (West) district secretary Devaraj

Tension flared up in the party office when a party man – Kandasamy of Natrampalli – has doused himself with kerosene and attempted to immolate. However, the police acted swiftly and thwarted his suicide bid.

The party functionaries said that Kavitha Dhandapani was not familiar among the party cadres in the constituency.  She was hailing from Kumberi village in Tirupattur and she has no connection with Jolarpet constituency.

 Sources claimed that former MLA N K R Sooriyakumar had instigated his supporters to protest against the woman candidature.  

On Thursday, over 500 cadres, all supporters of Anaicut (West) Union Secretary M Babu, protested in Vellore party office. A section of them had beaten up party nominee Nandhakumar for Anaicut constituency. They demanded that he be replaced with Babu.

Downplaying the protests in Vellore district, Durai Murugan told TOI, “It is very among political parties in the State. It will settle down within a day or two.”/eom/shan/

Rebel candidate

Denied ticket, AIADMK woman candidate to contest as Independent candidate

VELLORE 

Unhappy over the party’s decision for not giving an opportunity for woman candidate in Vellore Constituency, forty seven year-old AIADMK cadre, M Usha Nandhini, has decided to contest as independent candidate in Vellore constituency in the forthcoming assembly election.

On Friday, she resigned from the party membership and councilor post. “No party has fielded a woman candidate for Vellore Constituency till date. Be it AIADMK or DMK.  So, I have decided to represent the women of the constituency in the election and I am confident to win the election,” said Nandhini after handing over the resignation letter to Corporation Commissioner. She also sent a letter to the party headquarters.

"My mantra is -no money for vote," said Nandhini, who started her campaign in the city. She has been appealing to the women to support her to represent them in the assembly. "I have also promised them that I will work for the constituency development in the next five years."

Nandhini has been running Bharathi Amma Social Service Organisation, an NGO, for over 10 years in Vellore city to provide job oriented training and financial aid to women. “There are around 5000 members in the organisation. Irrespective of their community, caste and religion, they are supporting me and willing to campaign for me. In fact, they encouraged me to contest in the election as independent candidate,” she said.

Nandhini was confident to take on AIADMK candidate P Neelakandan, DMK candidate P Karthikeyan and others in the fray. “People will vote for a candidate who works for their development. I have fulfilled the needs and demands of the people in my ward during my tenure as councilor. I am confident to continue my good work, if the people support me in the election,” she added.

In fact, she contested as independent candidate in the 54^th ward in the last local body election after she was denied party ticket. She defeated the party’s official candidate and the DMK candidate. After winning the election, she attached herself with AIADMK party.

Palar, lifeline of northern districts, sets course for heated poll debate

Palar, lifeline of northern districts, sets course for heated poll debate

Shanmughasundaram J





Mounting Pressure On Parties To Revive The River

After more than a decade of drought, farmers and environmentalists in the districts of Vellore, Tiru vannamalai and Kancheepuram saw some water in Palar river only last December. It was an aberration caused by an unusually heavy downpour. With no chance of seeing water in the river till another unprecedented monsoon hits the state, people are eagerly waiting to see if parties take up Palar restoration project as part of their election manifesto.The sand mafia has been plundering the riverbed for decades, while indutries have been releasing effluents into the water. Without any water to flush it out into the sea, ground water is being contaminated.
The stakeholdies for attention to ers' cries for attention to revive the river, which is the lifeline for three northern districts and some parts of Chennai, has mounted pressure on parties to come up with schemes to revive the river. It was one of the two perennial rivers -the o t h e r b e i n g Ta m i r ap a r a n i i n Tirunelveli -in the state. The flow became seasonal and scarce in Palar after Andhra Pradesh constructed multiple check dams in the upper reaches of the river.
DMK and AIADMK, which have ruled the state for over four decades, have failed in designing projects to breathe life into the river. “There is no political will to stop sand mining from the riverbed. It has depleted groundwater level,“ said Kanchi Amudhan, an activist.
Chief minister J Jayalalithaa had announced in 2014 that her government would take up a project to link Thenpennai and Palar rivers. It was aimed at diverting flood water from Krishnagiri reservoir at Nedungal to the Palar river basin via Kallaru by digging a 54 km long canal. However, the project is yet to materialise, though it was first proposed in 2008.
“The government did not give con currence to the project report submitted by the National Water Development Agency in July last year. We have lost faith in AIADMK,“ said A C Venkatesan of TN Pasumai Pathukappu Iyakkam.
DMK's election manifesto, released on Sunday, says it will implement Palar-Thenpennai-Cauvery link project. But no party has so far lived up to the expectations of the people of Vellore. “We want a government, which will maintain a cordial relationship with neighbouring states, to succeed in implementing the river linking projects,“ said A Ashokan, an activist.

Roadside trees in Fort City facing threat due to indiscriminate nailing

Roadside trees in Fort City facing threat due to indiscriminate nailing

Shanmughasundaram.j

VELLORE:

 

 The next time you see an advertisement board nailed to a roadside tree, it means the tree is facing a slow death. Display boards nailed to trees are a common sight in various parts of the district. But this indiscriminate nailing on trees, according to environmental activists, acts like ‘slow poison’ to the trees.

 

Several commercial establishments, educational institutions and tuition centres have turned roadside trees into their advertisement spaces. In fact, it is difficult to see a tree free from advertisement boards. Even the age-old trees near the Collectorate, District Police Office, District Combined Court Complex and Corporation Office face the brunt of indiscriminate nailing on to them.

 

The silence of the law enforcing agency and ignorance of the public has given free hand to the commercial establishments to abuse the trees.  The officials have also failed to adopt health management of the trees.  

Two persons were found busy hammering the billboards of a private firm onto the trees in and around Sathuvachari in Vellore City on Tuesday. When inquired, the duo said that they have been asked to put up 100 billboards to promote the new offer of their firm. “The billboards put up on lamp posts are damaged or removed within a couple of weeks. So, we prefer to put up the boards on the trees. We have also obtained permission from officials to nail the billboards on the trees,” said one of them.

 

Cementing around the trees, wiring and erecting lamps on the trees would also amount to abuse of trees. It would prevent the supply of nutrition and water to the roots and subsequently result in the decay of the roots leading to the slow death of the trees.  “Tree abusers should be instructed to plant and grow trees for nailing,” said R Raja Rajan, president of the Rotary Club of Vellore (North).

 

Nailing is a cause of concern. It should be addressed to protect the existing well grown trees and young saplings to preserve the biodiversity, opined trustee and founder member of Nizhal, an NGO based in Chennai, Shobha Menon.

 

Nailing, according to the environmentalists, would cause serious damage to the bark of the tree. It is the first line of its defensive mechanism – compartmentalisation – that seals off the wounded part.  Repeating nailing weakens the protective mechanism to heal the wound to the bark. It will ultimately prevent food and water supply to the branches. The wounds will also turn into an entry point for bacteria, tree borer insects and fungus into a healthy tree.

 

The tree abusers retain the nails. “One can find at least 100 nails on well grown trees due to indiscriminate nailing on the species. It will turn into a slow poison and over a period of 6 months to 1 year, the tree will die,” said Dr T D Babu, trustee of Nizhal.

 

Officials of the Vellore Corporation were not available for comment.

Nexus between prison dept staff and inmates clips the wings of Freedom Bazaar

Scam in TN jails forces shutdown of rehab units

Shanmughasundaram J & Subburaj A

VelloreCoimbatore TNN





These convicts were expected to learn a trade by providing haircuts. Instead they found a way to shave off a portion of the earnings from the scheme.Fast food restaurants, barber shops, tailoring units and laundries run by jailbirds as part of a rehabilitation exercise across Tamil Nadu have been shut down after officials unearthed a scam involving inmates and prison personnel.
The decision to close down the units, mostly functioning outside prison premises, was taken after vigilance teams seized lakhs of rupees from convicts during recent raids in the prisons at Vellore, Trichy , Co imbatore and Puzhal in Chennai. The units were run under the aegis of the Freedom Bazaar scheme, which marketed products and services rendered by prisoners, mostly serving life sentences.
Under the project, income earned from various sources was to be deposited in a prison bazaar account. A certain percentage was paid to prisoners as daily wages, while the remaining was meant for development activities in the prison.
The units, intended to provide skill-based training for life after prison, found instant acceptance when they opened. But eventually jail personnel colluded with the prisoners manning the units to siphon off the earnings, said a prison official on condition of anonymity. A raid by a vigilance team in November last was the first to uncover the scam.
“Based on several complaints, prison vigilance teams fanned out across the state to raid prison bazaars. We have temporarily suspended the activities of the bazaars based on their report,“ said a senior police officer, not willing to be named. The bazaars would be opened after the assembly election, he said. “The team seized around `30,000 from the tailoring and ironing units in Vellore prison. The subsequent inquiry divulged that prison department personnel and inmates embezzled the earnings,“ said a reliable source.
The prison department shut down these units inside Vellore jail on Saturday . They were also directed to close a canteen run by the department. Raids at other central prisons over the last few months have exposed similar malpractic es, said another source.
In Coimbatore, jail authorities have shut down a barber shop, a hotel, bakery and a motorcycle stand run by inmates. More than 50 life convicts worked in these units.Coimbatore prison superintendent D Palani said the units were shut down but would be reopened after the assembly election.
A senior official at Vellore Central Prison for Men told TOI that convicts had also siphoned off money earned from selling products in the bazaar units. Officials declined to go into details. “We are closing the units to revamp them.They will be opened after a few months. The tailoring unit will function until it completes the work orders,“ said an official.Chennai Central Prison in Puzhal was the first to open Freedom Bazaar units in January 2014. Others followed, providing avenues to generate jobs for convicts. The Vellore department inaugurated tailoring and ironing units in October 2014.A group of five life convicts ran the barber shop, the first of its kind in the state.
After undergoing training in hairstyling, they began providing services not just for prison and police personnel, but also the public.
Buoyed by the overwhelming response, the prison department also opened a restaurant opposite the prison campus in Vellore which catered to customers from 4pm to 10pm.