Chennai Mar 31 PTI Tamil Nadu on Thursday recorded 35 new COVID-19 cases and zero virus-related deaths as the active cases further dipped in the state With 51 recoveries the number of cured outnumbered new infections While the total number of infected mounted to 3452825 those who have been cured of the virus are 3414494 a government bulletin here said The overall toll from the virus stood at 38025 Active cases were 306 down from the 322 on Wednesday Chennai recorded the highest of 17 cases followed by Kancheepurams 4 Most of the 38 districts returned nil new infections according to the bulletin PTI SA SA HDA HDA

Chennai Mar 28 PTI The two-day national strike called for by various unions had its impact on the public transport sector in Tamil Nadu on Monday as a large number of buses operated by State Transport Undertakings STU remained off the road affecting morning office-goers and others in many places As a result autorickshaws were charging exorbitant fares commuters in different cities complained While many had the option of switching to suburban rail services and the Metro Rail here same was not the case in other cities of the state and people had to rely on the available thin services of government buses and autorickshaws The few running buses were packed beyond capacity According to reports a large number of buses operated by the STU stayed off the roads giving a tough time for the morning officer-goers Trade unions took out a rally here pressing for their demands Many autorickshaw drivers also joined the protest PTI SA SA SS SS

Chennai Feb 25 PTI The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced a sum of Rs 3 lakh each as relief to the families of four persons killed in a mishap at a fireworks factory in Tuticorin district on February 24 Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed anguish over the incident and expressed his sympathies with the families of the deceased In a statement here he announced that the sum will be provided from the Chief Ministers Public Relief Fund Four persons were killed in the fire mishap at Thuraiyur village near Kovilpatti in Tuticorin and all of them were killed on the spot PTI SA SA SS SS

Chennai Feb 25 PTI Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced that the state government will bear all the expenses related to the return of students from the state stranded in Ukraine which is facing a Russian onslaught since February 24 According to an official release on Friday 916 students and emigrants from the state stranded in the eastern European country have so far contacted the officials appointed by the government at district and state levels besides in New Delhi regarding evacuation Under these circumstances chief minister M K Stalin has announced that the Tamil Nadu government will bear all the travel expenses related to the Tamil Nadu students return to the country the release said The release further said Jacintha Lazarus director of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non Resident Tamils could be contacted for this purpose The state governments announcement comes a day after Stalin urged the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to operate special Vande Bharat mission flights to evacuate Tamil Nadu students and emigrants numbering around 5000 from Ukraine which is facing a military offensive from Russia Most students are studying professional courses in that country PTI SA SA SS SS

Chennai Feb 24 PTI The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has secured over 40 per cent vote share in the just concluded urban civic polls which it swept across the state while pushing its arch-rival AIADMK to a distant second Over 43 per cent of the voters have given the thumbs up for the Chief Minister M K Stalin-led DMK in corporation and municipality segments while the score is a little over 41 per cent in town panchayats The opposition AIADMK which was expected to put a tough challenge to its rival in the hustings had a vote share of less than 27 per cent in the three segments The BJP which put up an impressive show while going solo in the polls had the highest vote share in corporations where 22 of its 1134 candidates emerged victorious securing 717 per cent The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission TNSEC released the vote share on Thursday two days after the results for the polls held on February 19 were declared DMKs vote share in corporations all 21 of which it has netted was 4359 per cent It was 4349 per cent in municipalities whereas the number stood at 4191 per cent in town panchayat seats AIADMKs vote share in corporations was 24 per cent 2686 in muncipalities and 2556 in town panchayats the TNSEC data showed While the BJP enjoyed a vote share of 430 per cent in town panchayats its national rival Congress got 385 per cent Congress which won 73 corporation seats as against BJPs 22 had a vote share of 316 per cent PTI SA SA SS SS

Chennai Jan 30 PTI The opposition AIADMK on Sunday announced its first list of nearly 300 candidates for the February 19 urban local body polls in Tamil Nadu Party Coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator K Palaniswami announced the candidates for various posts in Cuddalore Villupuram and Dharmapuri districts In a party statement the two leaders announced the names of nearly 300 candidates for various posts including ward members in these three districts The single phase civic polls for 12838 posts in corporations municipalities and town panchayats are slated for February 19 and the counting of votes will be taken up on February 22 PTI SA SA SS SS

Chennai Jan 25 PTI Opposition AIADMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday demanded the intervention of Chief Minister M K Stalin in ensuring action against those responsible for the alleged suicide of a minor girl in Thanjavur whose death has sparked off a debate on religious conversion in the state While the girl student of a missionary school had in her dying declaration implicated her warden the BJP and right wing outfits have been alleging she ended her life after being forced to embrace Christianity According to the police FIR the student was staying at the school hostel and the warden allegedly forced her to do domestic chores The warden has been since arrested Regretting the tragic end of the minor girl AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam said while there were different theories around her death there can be no doubt the school management was responsible for her demise which was strongly condemnable It is the expectation of all that those responsible for the childs suicide are brought before the law and punished he said in a statement Therefore the chief minister should take special interest in this matter and find the culprits responsible for her death and take stringent action he said Urging that it should be ensured such incidents dont recur the former chief minister demanded a relief of Rs 25 lakh for the victims family PTI SA SA SS SS

Chennai Dec 29 PTI A World Story Telling Championship 2021 was held online recently the organisers said on Thursday Over 33000 registrations were received online and the participants had uploaded a 3 minute video telling their story a release from Acenovation said The finals was conducted live online with storytellers coming in from more than 130 countries This is an annual event and was opened to storytellers aged 3 upwards and an open category for ages 19 years and above The event was judged by eminent panel consisting of professional storytellers from across the 5 continents it said The top five story tellers were selected as finalists in each category and called for the online finals held live on December 27 PTI SA SA SS SS