Taliban kidnap another Indian

New Delhi/Chennai, Dec. 24: Suspected Taliban militants have again abducted an Indian working in Afghanistan.

Paramanandan Simon, who belongs to Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, was abducted along with his Afghan interpreter and driver in Herat province on October 13, official sources said today.

The 38-year-old, who went to the war-ravaged country a year ago, was working as a cook with Italian food store Fiano, which serves Italian soldiers in Afghanistan, the sources said.

The three were kidnapped while delivering food at the International Security Assistance Force camp in the Bagram air base, they added.

Simon is the third Indian in the past three years to have been abducted in Afghanistan, after M.R. Kutty, a driver of the Border Roads Organisation, and telecom engineer K. Suryanarayana. Both were killed.

Simon’s abductors are believed to have made a ransom demand of $50,000 (around Rs 24 lakh).

His wife Vasanthi has appealed to the abductors to release him, saying the family would not be able to meet the ransom demand. She also urged the government to ensure her husband’s safety.

The kidnappers allowed Simon to talk to elder brother P.G. Subramaniam, who works in Kabul.

Family members in India said Subramaniam had been receiving repeated ransom calls over phone at his place of work.

Simon did not have any security unlike other Indians who have gone to Afghanistan through the government. “Since he had gone through a private contract with the Italian firm, his security was the responsibility of the company,” a source said.

The Indian embassy in Kabul and the consulate in Herat are in touch with top Afghan authorities who are trying to secure the safe release of the kidnapped trio. The embassy is also in touch with Simon’s company.

The sources said Simon was alive but did not give any details.

The Taliban have earlier carried out attacks on BRO personnel engaged in the construction of a key highway between Delaram and Zaranj.

Implementation of NREGS "tardy" in TN: CAG report

Chennai (PTI): The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has come down heavily on the DMK government in Tamil Nadu for "tardy" implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the southern state.
In a report tabled in the state Assembly recently, the CAG said the state government was yet to frame the rules for implementing the scheme, which is the flagship programme of UPA government.
The report on the Rural Development and local administration department headed by M K Stalin was released today by Shankar Narayan, Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu and Puduchery.
According to the CAG report, which comes a few months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the state had not finalised the envisaged five-year perspective plan till October 2007, though the scheme was launched in six districts of Tamil Nadu in February 2006.
The scheme aims to ensure 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household. "Scheme funds of Rs 100.46 crore remained unutilised as on March 31, 2007 with the District co-ordinators and village panchayats as the expenditure under the scheme worked out to only 65 per cent of the funds available during 2005-07," the report said.
Further, of 6.83 lakh households provided with work in the state during 2006-07 under the scheme, only 1824 households were provided with work for 100 days, working out to a minimal 0.27 per cent.
The report further found that the unemployment allowance which has to be paid to applicants who could not be provided with work within 15 days from the date of receipt of application, was not paid in any of the sample districts, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Villupuram in this case.

Law college gets new principal

CHENNAI: A new principal was appointed for Dr Ambedkar Government Law College on Tuesday, even as the police arrested four more students in connection with the caste violence that rocked the college campus on November 12. Four others surrendered before different courts in the state, taking the total number of arrested students to 27.
The government appointed Mohammed Iqbal, head of Tirunelveli Law College, as the new principal. Sridev, principal-in-charge of the college when the violence broke out, was suspended on November 13.
Meanwhile, four students were arrested by the police. They were Kubendran of Veeraperumanallur, Ravindran of Kikavarpet,Vetirikondan of Kurychipadi, Cuddalore, and Manimaran of Akkarayapalayam, Villupuram.
A Selvakumar of Tirukoiloor, Villupuram, presented himself before a local court, while P Velumurugan of Thittakudi surrendered at a court in Egmore and Meganathan of Malaikottalam, Villupuram, and F Sivaraj of Kalipalayam, Pollachi, gave themselves up before a Coimbatore court, police said.
As Meganathan and Sivaraj were below 18, they were sent to a juvenile home in Pollachi, while the remaining students were remanded in judicial custody. Eight are absconding.

Alakkudi to be made crossing station

THANJAVUR: Alakkudi railway station between Thanjavur and Budalur stations in the Thanjavur-Tiruchi section will soon become a crossing station.
Works taken up at a cost of Rs. 6 crore for converting the single line station into a crossing station would be completed by June 2009, Southern Railway authorities said.
The single medium level platform is being converted into two high level platforms with crossing. The station will have three broad gauge lines which can accommodate 24 coach trains. A new station building is being constructed. Platform shelters are extended to a length of 80 metres. A foot overbridge is also coming up.
“Cost, including for land acquisition, points and crossing, electrical and signalling equipment comes to Rs. 6 crore,” railway authorities said.
The advantage of converting the station into a crossing station is that trains may save 10 to 15 minutes. It is possible to run more trains through Alakkudi. After the gauge conversion of Mayiladuturai-Villupuram and Tiruvarur-Nagore sections more express trains can be operated.
At present crossing is possible only at Budalur station which is 17 km from Thanjavur. So when a train leaves Budalur, no train in the opposite direction can go from Thanjavur .

GMR Group's Ambala-Chandigarh highway project inaugurated

GMR Infrastructure Ltd has announced that GMR Ambala Chandigarh Expressways Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Company has inaugurated highway project at Chandigarh today. GMR Group's Ambala-Chandigarh highway project was inaugurated at Chandigarh on December 10, 2008. This 35 km stretch on NH21 & NH22 was executed on a BOT Toll model at an investment of Rs 500 Crore. The concession period for this project is 20 years and it took two and a half years to complete. The project has been completed within the time schedule agreed under the Concession Agreement and received its provisional completion certificate on November 14, 2008.GMR Group won this project through an international competitive bid from the NHAI in November, 2005. The scope of the project included widening of the existing 2-lanes to 4-lanes and improvement, operation and maintenance, rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing road. This project was GMR Group's first highway project in North India.The Ambala - Chandigarh stretch has one of the highest traffic densities in the country, catering to vehicular traffic between Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and New Delhi. Four laning of this road will ease the traffic congestion and provide a tremendous boost to trade and commerce in the region. Apart from reduction in travel time, this road is also expected to improve safety levels for travelers since it has been built as per world-class specifications. There is a 12-lane state of the art toll plaza for toll collection.Speaking at the occasion Mr. P B Vanchi, Group Advisor and Director said: "We are very upbeat on the future of Highway development in the country and are interested in the new projects which are being awarded by NHAI in phase III and V of NHDP. We have been shortlisted for a number of these projects and are currently evaluating them."The GMR Group has three more BOT projects under construction which are expected to be commissioned within the current financial year. These are:- Four laning of the 107 km stretch between Adloor and Pochanpalli on NH-7 in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs 690 Crore.- The 58 km stretch between Shivrampalli / Faruknagar and Jadcherla, at a project cost of Rs 490 Crore. This road will be the main corridor for people commuting between Hyderabad city and the new Greenfield Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, also developed by GMR Group.- The 71 km stretch between Tindivanam and Ulundurpet on NH45 in Tamil Nadu, at a project cost of Rs 820 Crore.GMR Group already has two highways under operation - the 93 km Tambaram-Tindivanam stretch on NH45 in Tamil Nadu and the 60 km Tuni-Anakapalli stretch on NH5 in Andhra Pradesh. Both are annuity projects. With the commissioning of four new highways, the Group will have a balanced mix of toll and annuity based assets, totaling 420 Km in length.The stock was trading at Rs.62.90, up by Rs.2.60 or 4.31%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.63.50 and low of Rs.60.80.The total traded quantity was 1167614 compared to 2 week average of 1851878.

Villupuram seeks Rs. 179 crore to carry out flood relief works

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy said that Villupuram district administration had sought Rs. 179 crore from the State government for flood relief works.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Ponmudy said that cyclone Nisha that precipitated heavy rain from November 24 to December 1 in the district claimed 23 human lives and 54 cattle heads.

On the direction of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, already a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh was disbursed to families of 14 persons who died in rain-related incidents and another Rs. 1 lakh would soon be given to them.

In the case of Narasimhan from Andhra Pradesh who drowned in the river at Vanur, the heir certificate was awaited.

For those who lost their houses, a compensation of Rs 3.90 crore and 10 kg of rice were given, he said.

The Minister said that the work on the Rs 1.50-crore project to clear water stagnation from the new bus stand and the surrounding areas, would begin next week. It envisaged carrying the stagnating water to the Ponneri, he said.

The on-going under-ground drainage project would be extended to the Collectorate complex, the Tamil Nadu Housing Board quarters, Salamedu and Vazhudareddi.

He further said that the Villupuram park would be given a facelift and play things would be installed.

To facilitate this, the maternity ward would be shifted from the park to the nearby community centre, he said.

Mr. Ponmudy also said that two overhead tanks had been built in Villupuram and the laying of pipeline for the third one was under progress. A commercial complex would be built in the old bus stand, he said.

He said that the Chief Minister was scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the construction of two government engineering colleges, one at Villupuram and another at Tindivanam, in the first week of January, 2009.

On the occasion the Chief Minister would also open school buildings, two uzhavar sandhais at Ginjee and Ulundurpet, and hand over the 253 permanent houses to the tsunami-affected people.

Earlier, Mr. Ponmudy accompanied by R. Palanisamy, Collector, R. Janakaraj, Municipal Chairman , T. Kumar, Commissioner, S. Pushparaj, MLA, and Veerasamy, Executive Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, visited the flood-affected areas.

Buses lack first-aid kits

CHENNAI: Accidents happen, always unexpectedly, and having a first-aid kit or disaster preparedness kit is just good common sense. However, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Villupuram, does not seem to think so.
Though licences are issued to drivers and conductors only after they undergo training on first-aid for a stipulated period, the first aid kits are missing in almost all of 3,200 buses operated by the TNSTC, Villupuram.
“What is the use of this training without the first aid boxes in buses?” asked a conductor who preferred anonymity.
He said, “Most of our buses do not have these vital boxes and nobody is even bothered about it.” In October this year, pandemonium prevailed in a Puducherry- bound TNSTC Villupuram bus, when a passenger had a seizure soon after the bus crossed Mamallapuram, on the East Coast Road.
While a few co-passengers came to his help, the rest turned towards the bus crew for medical assistance. However, the crew could only offer a piece of sharp edged iron rod that ultimately proved to be useless under the circumstances.They were unable to do anything further to help the passenger. The reason: the first aid box was missing.
Though first kid boxes are mandatory in every bus, only a few TNSTC buses are fitted with boxes stenciled with ‘First Aid’; however, these boxes are also empty.A typical first aid box should contain emergency materials such as a tincture bottle, cotton and some band-aids.
However, sources in the transport corporation claimed that first aid boxes with dressing kits are available in the newly introduced bus, but reality is in total contrast to their claims.
Paramasivam, MD of TNSTC Villupuram, said appropriate steps would be taken to provide first aid boxes.

Rs 7.62-crore educational loan disbursed in Villupuram

VILLUPURAM: Collector R. Palanisamy disbursed educational loans to the tune of Rs. 7.62 crore to 329 candidates at a special camp organised at the Collectorate here on Saturday.
He said that following the establishment of two government engineering colleges and several private colleges in the district, literacy rate had gone up.
However, for want of financial assistance, candidates in rural areas could not pursue higher education.
Therefore, Higher Education Minister K.Ponmudy, Union Minister of State for Law K.Venkatapathy and the Collector had decided to extend assistance to the deserving candidates through commercial banks.
The Collector held discussions with the banks and they had come forward to organise a special educational loan camp on November 26.
But owing to rain, it was postponed . A total of 800 applications were received, which included those collected earlier.
Mr. Palanisamy said that the banks had already processed the earlier applications and 329 candidates were qualified to receive loans amounting to Rs 7.26 crore from State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank, Karur Vysya Bank and Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank.
The remaining applications would be forwarded to the respective banks and processed within a fortnight. In case of rejection , the banks concerned would give the reasons in writing, the Collector said.

Work on 4,000 MW Cheyyur power project to begin soon

CHENNAI
: The Kancheepuram district administration will soon begin acquiring land for the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project at Cheyyur, about 100
km south of Chennai. The Cheyyur UMPP, along with a similar project proposed to be located in Marakkanam in Villupuram district, is seen as part of a long-term solution to the state's power problems. At present, the state suffers from a severe power crunch, with a shortfall of 1,800 MW in its existing demand of 9,000 MW. Official sources told The Times of India that of 1,700 acres of land required for the project, 800 acres would be government land, and 900 acres would have to be acquired from private land-owners. Three villages -Vedal, Sitharkkadu and Cheyyur - have been identified for land acquisition, which would begin once the state government gives its administrative sanction, which is expected shortly. The UMPP is expected to cost at least Rs 16,000 crore. "Once the land is acquired, which will be done within six months after the government's approval, it will take eight years to complete the project," the sources said. Both projects are to be jointly executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC). While the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) gave its nod nearly two years ago for the Cheyyur project, the one in Marakkanam is yet to get clearance. With an installed capacity of 4,000 mw each, these power plants will be the largest thermal plants in the state, and are expected to be a boon to the people of Tamil Nadu, who until a fortnight ago were forced to suffer from load-shedding for several hours every day. Though recent rains have brought some respite to the city, where power cuts are on hold, people in the rural areas still have to go without power for at least two hours everyday. One of the salient features of the Cheyyur project is that it will use super-critical technology, which helps achieve higher levels of fuel efficiency, thereby saving fuel and keeping greenhouse gas emissions low. At present, nearly a dozen such projects are in various stages of execution in the country. After some delay, mainly due to worries that land prices were very high and may ultimately push up the tariff, the state government finally decided to go ahead with the Cheyyur project. It did not want to change the project site to avoid any further delay.