Telangana govt’s outreach on menstruation to create awareness among 12,000 students

The pilot project will benefit over 11,516 girl students enrolled in 75 government schools in five mandals of Telangana.

Telangana News: The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) on Thursday announced a collaboration with public sector enterprise Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) on a pilot project to create awareness on menstruation and menstrual hygiene among children at government schools in Telangana.

The pilot project will benefit over 11,516 girl students enrolled in 75 government schools in five mandals of Telangana, the institute said in a statement.

Once successful, the project would be expanded to 22 more mandals in the next phase.

BDL, a government enterprise under the Ministry of Defence, has provided a funding of Rs 71.82 lakh for this project. It has approached NIRDPR to implement this pilot project on ‘Awareness Creation and Supplying of Sanitary Napkins to the Girl students of Government Schools.’

“Through this project, NIRDPR is aiming to create awareness on health and menstrual hygiene along with sociological and environmental issues, and removing the stigma associated with menstruation among rural adolescent girls, driving them towards fruitful education without any absenteeism and… continue reading full story

Why this Coimbatore doctor is not blaming the drunk men on a bike who killed his wife

“The problem is not them. The problem is a broken society…This broken society must be rebuilt,” Dr Ramesh says.

Tamil Nadu News: June 24, Monday, started off like any other day for Dr Ramesh, who lives with his family in Kanuvai in Coimbatore. Until it wasn’t. His world changed forever with a single phone call that informed him about his wife’s death in a terrible road accident. Ramesh remembers leaving his work midway and running to the spot.

The image of Dr Ramesh, in a pale orange shirt, sitting in the middle of a road with swollen eyes besides the body of his wife, soon went viral in Tamil Nadu. The bike that hit his wife Shobana’s scooter was ridden by men under the influence of alcohol.

Dr Ramesh, along with hundreds of men, women and children from the nearby tribal villages, sat on the road demanding justice for Shobana. The road roko caused a traffic blockage on the road which connects Attapadi in Kerala with Coimbatore city, forcing district administration officers to come in person and meet the crowd. The TASMAC outlet, from where the men had started off with their bike, was closed the next day as per the RDO’s promise.

Days after her death, Dr Ramesh and his young daughter Sadhana, who was injured in the accident, are trying to come to terms with a life that Shobana is no longer a part of. However, the father says – and his daughter agrees – that they have no animosity towards the men who were driving the bike on that fateful day.

“The problem is not them,” Dr Ramesh tells TNM, “The problem is a broken society which is becoming almost incapable of giving any morals to the… continue reading full story

Tamil Nadu’s Vellore Lok Sabha seat to go to polls on August 5

The polls to Vellore parliamentary constituency was rescinded a few days before the scheduled polling date.

Tamil Nadu News: The elections to the Vellore Lok Sabha seat, which was rescinded in April, will take place on August 5. The Election Commission of India made the announcement on Thursday.

According to a press release issued by the ECI, Vellore will go to polls on August 5 and the votes will be counted on August 9. The filing of nominations for Vellore parliamentary constituency will end on July 18. The elections to Vellore Lok Sabha seat, which was supposed to happen in the second phase of 2019-General elections on April 18, was rescinded at the last moment.

Multiple reports– from the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), the Election Commission and other authorities– on the search and seizure in a cement godown in Vellore ultimately had led to polls being cancelled. The move brought Tamil Nadu into national notoriety for the polls to the parliamentary constituency became the first in the country to be cancelled on account of cash-for-votes.

On April 14, the Election Commission of India wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, requesting the rescission of the election notification to conduct the Vellore Lok Sabha polls. The Election Commission’s final order stated, “The elections have been vitiated on account of unlawful activities of certain candidates and some members/workers of the political party and in the Commission’s considered opinion, allowing the current electoral process to proceed and conducting the poll in the said constituency on 18th April 2019, as scheduled, in such a… continue reading full story

Kannur has a new tourism ad that features a 7-year-old breakthrough star

Former Kannur collector Mir Mohammed Ali picked Siva for the video promoting tourism in the district and the boy excelled in his role.

Kerala News: “Hi, I am Kannan. Have you seen my home? Come, let me show you. We have the most beautiful beaches, gorgeous rivers and backwaters…” The camera captures the twelve-year-old boy as he takes the viewer through breathtaking shots of beaches, kayaks, food and forts in the district of Kannur.

This latest commercial portraying the beauty of Kannur is an ode to the picturesque district from its Collector, Mir Mohammed Ali. After Mir wrote the lines for the commercial, he did not have to think twice about picking an ‘actor’ for the two-minute video to promote tourism in Kannur. Siva was a natural in front of the camera.

During his three year stint as Collector, Mir has been to the Children’s Home at Thalassery several times and has frequently interacted with the children who are being raised in the government-run home due to difficult circumstances at their homes. It was from a group of boys in this home that he and his team chose Siva, who performed in front of the camera with ease.

The shooting began in the first week of June and Siva went taken to famed tourist spots in Kannur with the crew.

“He would work tirelessly, however long the shoot went on for. He was never nervous before the camera,” says Mir, who is now director of Suchitwa Mission. The video was released on June 19 before he handed over his… continue reading full story

A year after SFI leader Abhimanyu’s murder, main accused still missing

Even as Abhimanyu’s murder trial began on Tuesday, the police are yet to trace two key accused in the case.

Kerala News: July 2, 2018 is etched in the minds of Maharaja’s college students as it was on that day that they lost one of their own. SFI leader and 2nd year Chemistry student Abhimanyu M was stabbed in his heart during a midnight clash with the Campus Front – SDPI workers, near the back gate of the college. Within minutes of being admitted to the hospital, he was declared dead. One year since his passing away, despite a clampdown on SDPI and PFI in the state, the Kerala police has failed to apprehend the prime accused in the case.

Among the 16 Campus Front workers who broke into Maharaja’s college on the fateful day, 21-year-old Sahal H from Nettoor, Maradu, was responsible for hacking Abhimanyu on his chest. Meanwhile Mohammad Shahim, a 31-year old Campus Front worker from Palluruthy injured Abhimanyu’s friend Arjun. Both Sahal and Shahim remain missing to date.

“The police are trying their best to nab the culprits. However, both Sahal and Shahim have been absconding and untraceable. There is no information on their location,” says advocate Mohanraj, the public prosecutor in Abhimanyu’s case. The statement comes even as speculations about Sahal fleeing the country has been doing the rounds for months now.

Apart from the duo, the special investigation team has managed to apprehend 14 of the other accused in the case. All of them belong to Campus Front, the student wing of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). Meanwhile, SFI workers have busied themselves with the building of a memorial for Abhimanyu inside Maharaja’s campus. KSU – student wing of the Congress has accused that the SFI the student wing of the CPI(M) has failed to agitate against the police, despite investigations not coming to a… continue reading full story

Grabhouse co-founder launches school in Bengaluru offering coding-centric programs

Career-focused startup Masai School provides a free, five-month full-stack web development programme along with personality development and soft skills coaching.

Karnataka News: Aiming to train over 500 students in coding in a year, seed-funded career-focused startup Masai School on Monday began its operations in Bengaluru.

Founded by Prateek Shukla, co-founder of home rental startup Grabhouse, the school offers coding-centric learning programmes designed to train and mould learners into skilled professionals.

The school provides a free, five-month full-stack web development programme along with personality development and soft skills coaching.

“Our courses are based on a coding-only curriculum and are designed according to current industry requirements,” Shukla said in a statement.

“At Masai, our students are given the experience of working in a corporate set up along with mastering their coding skills for 10-12 hours a day.”

Open to anybody seeking training in coding, learners are enrolled for free and are allowed to pay the course fee at a later date, post bagging a suitable job.

As part of the admission, students are required to sign an income-share agreement with… continue reading full story

Seven arrested at Bengaluru airport after illegal stay in Malaysia

The arrests were made between June 26 and June 29 and in some cases, the arrested person overstayed in Malaysia for more than a decade on a tourist visa.

Karnataka News: Immigration officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru arrested seven people who visited Malaysia on a tourist visa but overstayed for years.

The arrests were made between June 26 and June 29 and in some cases, the arrested person overstayed in Malaysia for more than a decade.

Most of the accused persons hail from Tamil Nadu and were working in Malaysia. Their visas was found to have been altered illegally before they entered India, according to a report by Deccan Herald.

Officials further suspect that there are a number of people who have been lured with lucrative jobs to Malaysia but are taken on a short-stay visa. Officials say they are forced to work illegally before they are sent back with fake visas.

Investigations have begun to identify the people behind this racket. Venkatesan Jayasimha, 23, from Cuddalore and Sathesh Sethu, 28 from Methupaly, revealed that they visited Malaysia in 2017 after they were advised by a tout. The other persons arrested are… continue reading full story

Smart City project: No takers once again for Rs 50-cr KR Market revamp in Bengaluru

The BBMP is planning to meet prospective bidders to understand their reluctance in accepting the project.

Andhra Pradesh News: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s ambitious plan to renovate the garbage-strewn city market once again has no takers. For the second time, the BBMP floated tenders for the reconstruction of city market under the Smart City plan and not a single bidder has come forward to take up the project.

On March 9, the BBMP, floated tenders for the renovation of the city’s Krishna Rajendra Market. Two months after the tenders were floated, there was not a single bid, and the BBMP had to close the offer to accept bids. Again, on June 3, the BBMP floated tenders. The last date for submitting bids was June 27 and sources in the BBMP say that this time too, there was not a single bidder for the project.

Speaking to TNM, Chief Engineer of Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BenSCL) Suresh, says that the civic body and BenSCL have time and again faced reluctance of construction companies taking up the renovation of the market.

“In February this year, we had called for a pre bid meeting. BenSCL had identified contractors, who had prior experience in handling such projects. No one came for the pre bid meeting either. Since the pre bid meeting was inconclusive, we decided to go ahead and float the tender directly,” Suresh says.

With no takers for the project the second time around, the civic body is now planning to hold a consultation meeting with prospective contractors to understand their… continue reading full story

Watch: How street children are fighting neglect, poverty with sports and education

Karunalaya, an NGO in Chennai, has been rescuing street children, sending them to school and engaging them in cricket and football.

Andhra Pradesh News: “If you respect us you will listen to us. If you listen to us, you will protect us,” stressed Monisha as she stood on the podium and spoke at a congress of street children from across the globe, in England. Monisha, Nagalakshmi, Paulraj and Suryaprakash from Chennai, along with four other children from the streets of Mumbai, represented India at Street Child Cricket World Cup 2019 and won the championship title, too. This cricket world cup set the stage for street children from different countries to speak about their issues and put forward their demands.

Monisha, Nagalakshmi, Paulraj, Suryaprakash and other children were picked up from the streets and given a second chance at life, thanks to NGOs such as Karunalaya in Chennai, which have been rescuing children wandering and lost on roads and railway stations.

Since 1995, N Paul Sunder Singh, the Karunalaya founder, has been identifying children from the streets, enrolling them in schools, giving them food and shelter at hostels, and most importantly, engaging them in football and cricket.

Some children are deprived of opportunities and basic rights. Monisha uses public toilets to bathe and relieve herself. She faces discrimination and… continue reading full story

Was An Old Brahmin Man Beaten By A Mob In South India?

BOOM found that in the original video, the man can be seen voluntarily dancing amidst the crowd.

Fact Check: A video showing an old man dancing in a celebration to honour Tamil social reformer Periyar is being falsely shared online as an old Brahmin harassed by a mob in south India.

The ten-second long clip shows a frail man at the centre of a crowd fold his hands, later the man appears to make a gesture of bowing down. The small crowd can be seen cheering and dancing throughout.

The clip has been shared by several Twitter and Facebook users. The caption with the video falsely suggests the mob cut the man’s religious thread, stripped and forced him to dance.

Click here to view

In the original video one can clearly see the old man voluntarily partake in the celebration and is not forced to dance by members of the crowd.

At 1.27 time stamp he can be seen interacting with the drummers and leaving the spot unharmed.