Chennai Apr 25 PTI Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Monday launched a scathing attack on Governor RN Ravi over the anti-NEET Bill saying the State was not asking for his approval for the Bill but to send it for Presidential assent like a postman The Governor does not have the authority to grant his approval to the Bill adopted in the State Assembly twice during the DMK rule seeking exemption from the ambit of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test NEET for Tamil Nadu he said Addressing a public meeting here organised by the Dravidar Kazhagam DK Stalin recalled his governments efforts to do away with NEET including pressing the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi We are not asking the Governor for approval for the bill The Governor does not have the authority to do so What we ask is send the Bill to the President he said Quoting DK chief K Veeramani Stalin said the Governor should do the job of a postman by referring the Bill to the President and that his refusal to to do even the postal departments job doesnt befit the Governors post He questioned how a nominated governor can return a Bill or prevent it and wondered if he was bigger than people Do you think you are running a massive empire he asked He wondered whether Governors poked their nose in BJP-ruled States and asked if the States would remain quiet if they did He further alleged that NEET was an attempt to confine medical education to a few and that it was a modern knowledge untouchability against which the DMK will fight tooth and nail PTI SA NVG NVG

Chennai Apr 25 PTI Tamil Nadu on Monday registered 55 fresh coronavirus cases taking the caseload to 3453607 and the infections reported at IIT-Madras increased by 18 The toll of fatalities continues to remain at 38025 as no deaths were reported today according to a bulletin A person who returned from Assam by road was among the 55 who tested positive during the day Among those who tested positive by RT-PCR were 33 men and 22 women the bulletin said Twentyseven people got discharged and the cumulative recoveries rose to 3415220 The number of active cases remains at 362 Chennai accounted for the maximum of 37 new infections followed by Chengalpattu with five Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga three each Virudhunagar two while Cuddalore Kancheepuram Pudukottai Salem and Vellore recorded one each Including 16 recoveries the number of people who got discharged in Chennai increased to 742213 while the total positive cases rose to 751502 so far The active cases remain at 221 A total of 17249 samples were tested in the last 24 hours taking the cumulative number to 66072440 Meanwhile 18 more students at the IIT-Madras tested positive taking the count in the cluster to 78 A total of 1121 samples was taken from the students today and the results would be out on Tuesday the Health Department said Health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan accompanied by Chennai zonal medical officer Dr Alby visited the institute and interacted with the students and the faculty He advised the students on campus to wear face masks and maintain social distancing PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Apr 24 PTI Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Sunday warned of attempts to divide the Tamil race on the basis of caste and religion but said we should remain united as Tamils While religion and related things were matters of personal choice but we all should be one as Tamils he said at an Iftaar function here Some people are trying to divide the Tamil race in the name of caste and religion They believe only by doing so they can end the Tamil race By dividing us they are attempting to thwart our growth Tamil community should not fall prey to that It should understand the conspiracy behind such an effort the Chief Minister said Only all-round peace can lead to all kinds of progress and his government has ensured a conducive atmosphere for such a growth in 11 months of coming to power he said That is why I keep insisting the all-inclusive Dravidian model is moving Tamil Nadu to the first position among the best States the DMK chief said He listed out the various welfare initiatives meant for Muslims in the State in the past one year On the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act he recalled that he had piloted a resolution against it in the State Assembly last year calling for it to be repealed PTI SA KH NVG NVG

Hyderabad Apr 24 PTI Telangana on Sunday recorded 21 new COVID-19 cases taking the total tally to 791793 so far Hyderabad reported the highest number of cases with 17 A bulletin said no fresh fatalities occurred due to the infectious disease and the toll continued to be 4111 Nineteen people recuperated from the infection and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 787469 The recovery rate stood at 9945 per cent The bulletin said 10132 samples were tested on Saturday and the number of active cases was 213 PTI SJR KH NVG NVG

Chennai Apr 22 PTI Foreign currencies equivalent to Rs 195 crore gold foils cigarettes and electronic goods worth Rs 4392 lakh have been seized at the airport here in two separate incidents and three passengers arrested in this connection the Customs Department said on Friday In the first incident on Thursday the Customs officials intercepted some passengers bound for various destinations including Dubai and Colombo and confiscated the currencies concealed in their rectum and in the hand baggage Two passengers belonging to Chennai were arrested said a Customs Department press release In the second incident the officials seized the gold foils cigarettes and electronic goods from a passenger who arrived here from Dubai on Friday He was arrested and an investigation was on the release said PTI VIJ NVG NVG

Coimbatore Apr 22 PTI Railway police on Friday said they have seized 12 kg of ganja aboard the Dhanbad-Alleppey Express which arrived here The seizure was made based on a tip-off that the narcotic was being smuggled to Kerala by rail The contraband was found in some bags left behind near the lavatory the police said But no arrest was made they said adding that investigation was begun to find the culprits PTI NVM NVG NVG

Hyderabad Apr 21 PTI Telangana on Thursday recorded 17 new COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 791709 so far Hyderabad reported the highest number of cases with 12 A bulletin said 24 people recuperated from the infectious disease raising the cumulative number of recoveries till date to 787411 The recovery rate stood at 9946 per cent No fresh fatality occurred and its toll continued to be 4111 The bulletin said 14337 samples were tested today The number of active cases was 187 it said PTI SJR NVG NVG

Bengaluru Apr 21 PTI The Karnataka government has decided to slash the property guidance value across the State by 10 per cent for another three months - from April 25 to July 24 said Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Thursday The government had reduced the value by 10 per cent for three months from January 1 to March 31 - a move to provide people an opportunity to get registrations done at the earliest We reduced the stamp registration charges during the difficult times of COVID As we slashed guidance value by 10 per cent since January 1 more registrations have happened The government has also generated revenue and the public benefited he said As there is demand from the people it has been decided to slash the guidance value for another three months between April 25 and July 24 by 10 per cent This will be applicable for sale and purchase of all kinds of properties Orders are being issued in this regard after discussions with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai he added The guidance value is the minimum selling price fixed by the government on property depending on the locality and type of structure The Minister had said it is applicable across the State on purchase of property whether it is a revenue land site building or a flat It is an offer for those who are buying time with the General Power of Attorney GPA and agreements on properties also for those who are planning for property registrations he had said PTI KSU NVG NVG

Coimbatore Apr 21 PTI A teenaged boy concealing his identity by wearing clothes of hostel girls studying in Bharathiar University and roaming around its premises at night was arrested here on Thursday police said Based on a complaint from the girls that some unidentified people were loitering around the hostel for the past few days the police said they began a probe and formed a special team to catch the culprits Some girls have staged a demonstration in this regard said the police Following this Vice-Chancellor assured the girls of protection and security they said In this backdrop the girls brought up the issue of a person trying to steal a laptop from the hostel prompting the varsity Registrar to also lodge a complaint they said Investigation led to the detention and interrogation of the teenager on suspicion He confessed to have moved around the hostel and tried to steal the laptop the police said Also he confessed to have stolen the girls clothes and worn them to conceal his identity while moving around the hostel they said PTI NVM NVG NVG

Coimbatore Apr 20 PTI The local chapter of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday expressed happiness over Coimbatore bagging three projects at a cost of Rs 850 crore The Tamil Nadu government had announced initiatives to develop the western region into an attractive investment destination Of the three projects the first one is a common facility centre to be set up here at an investment of Rs 500 crore to support companies in aero design and development maintenance repairs and operations industrial robotics avionics and mechatronics and testing among others said the Chamber president C Balasubramanian in a statement The second project involves jointly establishing a multi-model logistics park with TIDCO at a cost of Rs 300 crore the third is to set up a post-processing unit at an investment of Rs 50 crore for aerospace and defence industries he said The Chamber industry and trade in the region thanked Chief Minister M K Stalin for announcing the projects he added PTI NVM NVG NVG