Rs.70.75 lakh for street lighting

Salem:The Salem Corporation has decided to improve street lighting in the city at an estimated cost of Rs.70.75 lakh. The plan was prepared following repeated complaints from the people that a number of areas, particularly the added areas in the city, lacked streetlights.Residents have complained that they were facing difficulties in accessing streets, which lack street lights, during the night hours. Women and children find it unsafe to walk after dark in these areas. Several incidents of theft have been reported. “Lack of enough streetlights provides criminals an excellent getaway. It also leads to accidents,” citizens pointed out.

Hence, the civic body has planned to install streetlights in the following places: Burn Standard & Co branch road to Dalmia Board, Tata Colony to Tiruvagoundanur Bypass Junction, Tiruvagoundanur Bypass to Sivadapuram Branch road, Seelanaickanpatti Junction to Kondalampatti Junction and Kondalampatti Junction to Sivadapuram Branch road.The civic administration would allot funds for installing streetlights from its General Fund. The Corporation Council, which met here recently, had given its approval for the plan, officials said.Better lighting in the streets and main roads would help arrest growing incidence of crime under cover of darkness, officials added.

Meanwhile, citizens urged the Corporation to replace the tube lights with sodium vapour lamps in important roads and lanes. They also appealed to the Corporation to ensure the proper functioning of streetlights. They said that the number of streetlights installed in a few parts was grossly inadequate. They wanted the Corporation to provide adequate number of lights for all the parts.

Career meet

Salem:More than 400 candidates attended a career meet organised by the District Employment Office here recently. A total of 20 private firms and educational institutions conducted the selection process to recruit candidates for 165 posts including accountant, computer operator, marketing staff, and graduate teacher.

Sago and starch manufacturers agree to open factories

Salem:Agricultural Minister Veerapandi S . Arumugam holding talks with starch and sago tapioca manufacturers and farmers in Salem on Monday.The tripartite meeting organised by the State Government under the presidentship of Agricultural Minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam here on Monday has decided to sort out the issues that have been confronting the sago industry and tapioca farmers.The farmers have accepted to resume their tubers harvest, which they had suspended some 15 days ago while the manufacturers of sago and starch, whose factories remained closed for a week, have agreed to open them immediately.

The Minister, while summing up the three-hour session that brought the representatives of sago and starch industry and tapioca farmers under one roof, pointed out that he would insist on the Government to fix a price for tapioca as in the case of sugarcane and rice and also organise loans for farmers through cooperative societies.The middlemen, who hold farmers to ransom, will be sternly dealt with, he warned.He asked the manufacturers to strict to quality control norms and utilise the services of Sago Serve, a cooperative body functioning for the development of industry and for farming community. A few demands concerning with the quality guidelines and remunerative price will be sorted out.

The final decision in these issues will be taken after another round of the tripartite meeting, he said.Namakkal District Collector G. Sundaramurthy pointed out that many of the factories in his district never adhere to the rules, causing heavy environmental pollution with untreated effluent thus affecting the farm lands. Salem Collector N. Mathivanan said that Tamil Nadu was the State where the average production of tapioca was high in the world (38 tonnes per hectare). Out of total 800 sago factories in Tamil Nadu, 700 were functioning in Salem and Namakkal districts alone, he said.

Tapioca farmers said that the factory owners were not paying them the remunerative price for their produce. They claimed that the Starch-Point assessment was differing from factory-to-factory thus causing losses to them. Middlemen were controlling the trade they said and charged that the factory owners never adhered to the decisions taken at an earlier tripartite meeting.Similar to the Spices Board, a separate Board for Tapioca should be formed, they urged.Sago and starch manufacturers, however, said that they were open for any inspection with regard to the point assessment.

While accepting that a few manufacturers had been permitting the middlemen to thrive, they insisted that the Government should come to the rescue of the industry in this issue. They also claimed that stringent quality control measures of Sago Serve had caused severe hardships causing them heavy losses.Farmers including Govindarajan, G.N.Periyasamy, Krishnamurthy and C. Vaiyapuri spoke while Thangavel, T. R. Palanivel and others expressed the manufacturers’ views. Senior officials from Agricultural and Horticultural departments took part.

Salem Railway Junction getting a facelift

The cement flooring on the platforms is being replaced with tiles at Salem Railway Junction.Salem Railway Junction after a long gap is getting a facelift.With the dates for the inauguration of Salem Railway Division is already announced, the junction and its surrounding areas are witnessing a flurry of activities. The entire junction was cleaned and white-washed. The platforms also are being renovated. The cement flooring on the platforms, particularly the main ones such as No.1 and No.2, are being replaced with tiles.

The rest rooms also are renovated. The roofing has also been extended on Platform No.1.The drainage facilities have been toned up.The entrance will soon sport a new look. The two-wheeler stand has been shifted to the far right corner.According to senior Railway officials, these works are going on round the clock to meet the deadline, ie September 14 when the division is expected to be inaugurated.The new divisional office is almost completed. Final touches are being given.As soon as the division is inaugurated the signals and controls of the Salem Railway Division will be vested with it.The emergency quota hitherto confined to four trains has also been extended to a few more trains.

Site for Collectorate inspected

Salem:Agriculture Minister Veerapandi Arumugam (right) inspecting the District Collectorate in Salem on Friday. Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam inspected the site for the proposed building for the Collectorate complex here on Friday.The Minister accompanied by Collector N. Mathivanan and District Revenue Officer M. Rajarathinam, inspected the blue print for the multi-storied Collectors complex that was expected to come up in 18 months. The old building, which was 200 years old had developed cracks and declared unsafe for the functioning of offices anymore.

Officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) explained to him the salient features of the plan. The new complex would come up in the existing premises itself for which the government also had sanctioned the required sum. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi will lay the foundation stone for the project on Sept 14.The Minister also inspected the Tirumanimuthru river and sought clarifications from officials concerned regarding the proposed over bridge near Apsara here. He instructed the officials to expedite the works of various development works in the city and district.

Training for teachers

Teachers at the training programme on Active Learning Methodology which began in Salem on Tuesday.The four-day training programme for school teachers on Active Learning Methodology, a new teaching method, has begun in all the block resource centres in the district on Tuesday.The method is aimed at improving the education quality in Standards VI to VIII. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) introduced the method in ten schools in Ayodhyapattinam block in the district on a trial basis this academic year. The method is expected to be introduced in all the schools in the State in the coming academic year.

The programme will enable the teachers to understand various concepts used in the method and ensure effectiveness in the teaching-learning process in the Standard VI-VIII.SSA officials said that the Active Learning Methodology is primarily based on "SQ4R” concept, which lays importance on aspects such as Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review and Reflect. Students would be encouraged to undertake self-learning and peer-group learning. The child will be motivated to use the mind power mapping technique to draw the lesson in a pictorial form, officials said.

Each student will be asked to prepare a mind power map of the content based on his or her understanding. The teacher will review the maps, identify the areas where students lack understanding and help them learn better. This provides the teacher an insight into the psyche of the student, officials said.The method will help children become more creative. It will be useful to teach English, science and social science subjects, officials added.The SSA will conduct more training programmes on the method to all the teachers taking classes for Standards VI - VIII.

Plastic waste chokes Salem city

Salem:Indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste by the commercial establishments has left drainage channels in several parts of the city heavily clogged.For instance, the flow of wastewater in the Fairlands Odai, remains affected for months now because of the indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste.

Though the Corporation issued warnings on several occasions, the business establishments including hotels and retardants continue to dump the garbage. The civic administration could not monitor the establishments due to the lack of an effective mechanism, citizens said.The sanitary personnel of the Corporation do not clean the channel on a regular basis.The repeated complaints from the public are yet to yield any fruitful results.

5 mins for birth certificate

Salem:Salem Corporation will speed up the issue of birth and death certificates, thanks to its e-governance initiative.The civic body has started computerising the issue these certificates.After the implementation of the facility, the residents will be able to get these certificates within five minutes, Corporation Commissioner M. Jayaraman said. The Corporation has created a database with records obtained from its offices in the wards and hospitals from 2003. If the residents submit the applications along with the fee, the information will be fed into the database immediately. If the Corporation records and the details in the applications match, the certificates will be issued immediately.

This will eliminate unnecessary delays in the issue of the certificates, the Commissioner said. At present, residents have to wait for more than a day to obtain the certificates after submitting applications.The Corporation officials are not able to process the applications quickly as the manual verification of the records takes a lot of time, civic officials said. Officials further said that the civic body had planned to establish an additional counter at the rainwater harvesting centre in its main office to receive applications and issue birth and death certificates.The Corporation received a large number of applications seeking birth certificate recently, as the schools were demanding it for admissions.

Meanwhile, the Corporation had already implemented computerised tax collection as a part of its e-governance initiative. Steps were being taken up network the banks and enable the residents to remit taxes at the banks.It was also proposed to offer value added services such as payment of telephone bills and electricity charges through the tax collection centres, civic officials said.

Ultra deluxe bus soon in Salem

Salem:Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam inducted buses in new routes here on Monday.The Minister said that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime was carrying out not only its election promises but also other projects for the people.He said that the city would be transformed into ‘Beautiful Salem’ shortly for which various development projects, including widening the roads and constructing flyovers and bridges were planned.

Salem Road Transport Corporation Managing Director Moorthy said that 20 new ultra-deluxe buses and 350 additional buses would soon be inducted into the transport fleet at Salem.Corporation Commissioner M. Jayaraman said that encroachments on road margins would be removed in the city. MLA A. Raja, Mayor J. Rekha Priyadarshini and others spoke.Earlier, the Minister accompanied by officials inspected the Tirumanimutharu river and the demolition of old buildings for the construction of the Super Speciality Hospital.

Warning against sex determination

Salem:A meeting on monitoring the functioning of scan centres in progress in Salem on Thursday.Salem District Collector N. Mathivanan has asked representatives of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and members of Self-Help Groups (SHG) to provide details to the district administration about scan centres that are functioning discreetly in villages.Presiding over a review meeting on the functioning of scan centres here on Thursday he said that the administration had, in fact, received secret information about certain scan centres that were indulging in the illegal activity of disclosing the sex of the foetus, which directly led the obnoxious practice of female foeticide. Hence, such centres, if any, should be brought to the notice of the government for quick action, he added.

The Collector said that 176 scan centres were functioning in the district as on date and licenses had been issued for 17 Primary Health Centres to operate scan centres for the benefit of the people. He asked the District Coordination Committee members to keep a close watch on these centres and verify the records they maintained.He warned that the licenses of the centres that were violating the norms would be facing severe action. Those who run such centres should seek fresh licenses whenever the scan centres were changing their names and venues.Otherwise their licenses would be cancelled, he said and asked the members to closely monitor whether the centres were resorting to the disclosure of foetus.The Collector said that the administration had cancelled the licenses of two centres in the district for indulging in various irregularities. He instructed officials from the Health Department to submit periodical reports to him on the functioning of these centres.Those who participated in the meeting included Joint Director of Health Dr. S. Janaki, Deputy Directors Dr. Nirmelson and Dr. Gnanasekaran, Project Officer, Integrated Child Development, Saraswathy.Officials from Attur, Edapadi, Yercaud and Mettur took part in the meeting.

Official allays fears over Salem division jurisdiction

Southern Railway Additional General Manager A.P. Mishra has allayed the apprehensions over the jurisdiction of the newly formed Salem Railway Division as it has already been technically approved and finalised by the Railway board itself.After inspecting the construction of the temporary office buildings for the division on Saturday, Mr. Mishra told media persons that there was no need to fear about the jurisdiction. There would be no going back after the Railway board’s approval and the announcement made by the ministry.

The division would soon be a reality, he said.The division was a most important project taken up by the Railways and the work was progressing speedily, he said.The full-fledged operation of the Salem division would begin after its inauguration, which was expected to be held in August.“We will be ready with the temporary office and other requirements within August 15,” he added.He said that the Railways scaled down its demand for lands for constructing permanent buildings including residential quarters for the division to 50 acres.“We require lands close to the Railway junction. But now our priority is to make pthe functioning of the division full-fledged.”The posting of employees to the division was being done purely on voluntary basis. The issue of transfer orders for the employees would commence within a week. Rest houses and transit accommodation for employees of the division would be arranged shortly, he said.

Early morning tea for prisoners

Salem:Prisoners and undertrials in the Salem Central Prison were in for a pleasant surprise when the prison administration has started serving them the early morning hot tea.As a part of the initiative towards the sweeping prison reformation in Tamil Nadu, the Government has sanctioned tea for all prisoners and undertrials who are serving in its nine Central Prisons, 133 sub jails and six special sub jails in the State. Nearly 20,000 inmates in these prisons would be benefited from this new scheme.

As per the guidelines of the Prison administration each prisoner would have the tea brewed with 4 gram of tea dust in 40 ml of milk and 8 gram of sugar.Those who are diabetics can have tea without sugar, said the Salem Central Prison Superintendent S. K. Narayanamoorthy.Salem prison, as on date, has 1,000-odd inmates. The prison administration has already been serving 150 grams of steamy chicken curry served with lunch to all its inmates on all Sundays. Vegetarian inmates are being served with bananas and a sweet.As per instructions from the ADGP R. Sekhar, we will soon provide ceiling fans too to all the cells. We might need around 600 of them, the Superintendent said.Not only the cells in Salem Central Prison but the cells in all other prisons in the State will also have ceiling fans, the official added.

Attack on police officers condemned

Salem:Salem District Retired Police Officers Association has strongly condemned the recent attack on two senior police officers from Mettur by a group of lawyers inside the campus of the Madras High Court.At a meeting held here on Saturday, the association members, all retired police officials in the ranks of Inspectors, DSPs, ASPs and SPs, claimed that a group of 25 lawyers attacked the Mettur DSP Ashokkumar and Karumalaikoodal Police station Inspector Thangaraju who came to the Court in connection with a case concerning the alleged police assault on two lawyers during a road blockade agitation at Mettur last month.

Protesting against this, a group of Chennai lawyers reportedly kicked and slapped the two police officials and tore their uniforms. These incidents took place inside the High Court campus itself. The officers had been admitted in the hospital with serious injuries.They also expressed shock at the inordinate delay in registering the cases against those who assaulted the police officers and wondered why no one had been arrested so far in this connection.They demanded that a thorough enquiry be initiated into the alleged assault on lawyers at Mettur and if the police officers were found guilty, they should be brought before the law for necessary action.

Vegetable and fruit vendors staged a demonstration

Salem:Vegetable and fruit vendors staged a demonstration near the Salem Town police station urging the officials to allow them to set shops on Chinna Kadai Veethi.Following widespread complaints from the people, the traffic police personnel and Salem Corporation officials asked the vendors to shift their shops to ease traffic congestion.The Corporation allotted a vacant place near the Ananda Bridge for the vendors to do their business.

Stating that people were not coming to the new place and they were suffering losses, the vendors urged the officials to allow them to set shops in Chinna Kadai Veethi again. They also claimed that the new place lacked basic amenities. The stench emanating from the Tirumanimutharu River was unbearable, they claimed.Police officials pacified the vendors and assured them that they would initiate steps to clean the land near the bridge and provide electricity and other required amenities for the vendors.

A senior police official said the vendors were protesting at the instigation of a few people.The shops occupying the edges of Chinna Kadai Veethi, a busy street in the city, caused severe traffic congestion.Further, the vegetable and fruit waste are left in the street, making it difficult for the people to use the road. “As a result, we have decided to remove the vendors from the street and shift their shops to a new location,” he said.

Peak hour violation

Salem:Traffic police personnel intercept lorries, which violated the peak hour restriction, in Salem on Tuesday. The Salem City Traffic Police personnel continued their drive against violation of peak-hour restriction for the second day on Tuesday and registered 11 fresh cases.The drive was initiated following widespread complaints from the road users that heavy vehicles were entering into the city limit during peak hours, causing traffic congestion.

The police restricted the entry of heavy vehicles into the city from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to ensure free movement of vehicles carrying students, office-goers and businessmen.But many lorry drivers continued to violate the restriction throwing traffic out of gear.On Tuesday, traffic personnel monitored several busy roads including Tiruchi Main road, Military Road and Ammapet Main road.

They intercepted 11 lorries, which entered into the city limit during the peak hours, and registered cases against the drivers. Earlier on Monday, they monitored the movement of vehicles on Sarada College Road, Five Roads and a few other arterial roads and registered cases against 10 lorry drivers.

Door to door garbage collection 2 Salem

SALEM: The door-to-door garbage collection and cleaning of drainage channels through a private firm will begin in 21 wards in the city from the first week of July.Interacting with media persons regarding the Beautifying of Salem Project at a meeting chaired by Mayor J. Rekha Priyadarshini here on Saturday, Corporation Commissioner M. Jayaraman said the council had already approved the privatisation of sanitary works in the 21 wards.

The sanitary workers in these wards would be deployed in other wards, which would facilitate the civic body to carry out the sanitary works effectively.Earlier, the media persons pointed out the poor sanitary conditions in the city, which resulted in the proliferation of mosquitoes in lakhs.The lack of proper mechanism to monitor the sanitary workers was the main reason for the poor conditions, they said.They suggested the Corporation to evolve an effective monitoring mechanism. Volunteer groups could also be formed to supervise the sanitary works.The media persons also asked the civic body to check the indiscriminate cutting of roads in the city.The Mayor assured them that the suggestions of the media persons would be included in the project. Deputy Mayor C. Paneerselvam and senior officials were present in the meeting.

Prayers for Sunitha

Special prayers were offered in Salem on Thursday for the safe return of Sunita Williams to earth.As the space shuttle Atlantis has started its journey down to Earth bringing Sunita Williams, fondly called as ‘Suni, prayers from various quarters here go up seeking her safe landing.

A motley gathering of women and children, carrying the portraits of Sunita Williams who has also set new endurance record for female astronauts during her sojourn at space for more than six months, offered prayers here on Thursday for her safe return.Women and children who have settled here from Gujarat sang bhajans and made their children to offer flower petals to gods at the Gujarati Samaj. Members of the Salem Gujarati Mahila Mandal lit candles and prayed. We pray for her safe return to Earth, said Daksha Gandhi of the Mandal.Elsewhere, students in various city schools also offered prayers for Sunita’s safe return.

Tribals stage demonstration

Salem:Tribals staging a demonstration in Salem on Monday demanding land rights.Tribal people and activists staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here on Monday urging the State Government to enforce the Recognition of Forest Rights Act 2006.Protesting under the banner of Tamil Nadu Adivasis Fifth Schedule Campaign-Tamilaga Adivasigal Amaippugalin Kootamaippu, they said that the move to evict tribals from their lands by the forest officials should be immediately stopped.

The Government should issue pattas to the porombok lands in hills, which were cultivated by the tribals. It should also take steps to provide five acres of land to the landless tribals, they demanded.The Government should bring those lands where tribals were living under the Fifth Schedule and they should not be evicted from where they were living, they said.The move to evict tribals forcefully in Kodaikanal should be immediately stopped and action against the officials concerned should be initiated. The New Panchayati Raj Act 1996 (Extension) that would ensure the basic rights of tribals should be implemented in Tamil Nadu too, they said.In Namakkal, a similar demonstration was held in front of the Revenue Divisional Office.

Comprehensive plan to improve the to beautify the city

Salem:The Salem Corporation will prepare a comprehensive plan to improve the infrastructure facilities to beautify the city.A meeting to hear the views of the public on this project will be held at the Hanging Garden on June 19 under the chairmanship of Mayor J. Rekha Priyadarshini.The Central and State Governments have sanctioned a number of major projects, including the establishment of a new railway division, super speciality hospital and an Information Technology park. Huge investments would be made on these projects and improve the living conditions here. So we have to prepare a plan to improve the overall infrastructure of the city, Corporation officials said.

The plan includes creation of parks and entertainment facilities, increasing the green cover, better traffic management, controlling the usage of plastics, construction of plazas, formation of ring rod and construction of sub-ways and flyovers. The Corporation would also establish commercial enterprises on a public-private partnership basis. A walkers park and club and other recreational facilities will also be created.Corporation Commissioner M. Jayaraman said, “We have decided to discuss the proposed plan with the citizens and make changes according to their views. The plan will be more people-friendly.”

In the morning session of the meeting, members of residential welfare associations can participate. During the afternoon, technical experts, members from the industrial associations, trade unions, banks and non-governmental organisations can participate.The plan will be implemented by 2010.

New methodology started in 10 schools

Salem:The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has introduced Active Learning Methodology, a new teaching method, for Standards VI to VIII in 10 schools at Ayodhyapattinam block in the district on a trial basis this academic year.The new method is aimed at ensuring quality in the middle schools and improving the level of understanding of the students.

SSA officials said that the Active Learning Methodology is primarily based on ‘SQ4R’ concept, which lays importance on aspects such as survey, question, read, recite, review and reflect.Students would be encouraged to undertake self-learning and peer-group learning. The child will be motivated to use the mind power mapping technique to draw the lesson in a pictorial form, officials said.

The method will help children become more creative. While teaching a lesson, the teacher will adopt the role of a facilitator. Each student will be asked to prepare a mind power map of the content based on their understanding. The teacher will review the maps, identify the areas where students lack understanding and help them learn better, officials said.The methodology also helps teachers to understand the students better.