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South India must unite under Dravidian identity: Kamal Haasan

Agencies
January 18, 2018

Chennai, Jan 18: Veteran star Kamal Haasan today said the term 'Dravidian' should be expanded beyond Tamil Nadu to all southern states which will help dictate terms to the central government.

"Dravidian is not related to Tamil Nadu alone. If we celebrate Dravidian across South India this discrimination would end." he said. Kamal said he intended to launch his political tour of Tamil Nadu on February 21 from the residence of late President APJ Abdul Kalam at Ramanathapuram, which is also the hometown of the actor. Kamal made the comments in a weekly column in Tamil weekly 'Ananda Vikatan.'

The top actor said he too shared the vision of Kalam who dreamt of a "good Tamil Nadu." By launching his political tour from the residence of the late leader, he would be moving forward towards that goal, the actor said. Haasan, recalling his conversation with the former President while travelling in a flight years ago, hailed Kalam for his great qualities.

Praising Kalam, the actor said he lost opportunities to visit the late leader's residence at Ramanathapuram. Recalling that for him too Ramanathapuram was the hometown where he was born, Kamal said he felt that he should visit Kalam's residence by creating an opportunity this time round. "I think that I should start my tour from his (Kalam's) residence." The former president dreamt of leaving behind a "good Tamil Nadu," he said.

"I too have the same thought, I move towards that and my full-time job is not to be engaged only in criticism. My goal is people's development." Kamal had often faced criticism for trying to do politics only through "twitter." Yesterday, the actor said he seconded the view of his co-star Rajinikanth on ties between them saying "time is a good medicine."

Rajinikanth, when asked about forging ties with Kamal, had said yesterday that"only time will be able to tell that. Let us see in due course of time." Kamal, to a question on spiritual politics, however, said Rajinikanth and he will be pursuing their own respective political line of thoughts. Rajinikanth had spoken about spiritual politics while announcing his political debut. According to him, it meant a politics beyond caste, creed and religion and one that focused on good governance sans corruption.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Ahmedabad, Aug 6: In a major incident, a fire broke out in a Covid-designated hospital in Ahmedabad killing eight coronavirus patients. The mishap occurred in the wee hours of Thursday.

All the victims were in the ICU ward, where the fire is said to have started. Officials said that they all died on the spot while 41 other patients were shifted to other hospitals following a rescue operation. One paramedic staff of the hospital who tried to douse the fire sustained burn injuries.  

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is also the health minister, said that primary information has revealed that fire was caused by the short circuit in the ICU ward where eight patients were under treatment. 

He said that 41 other patients were shifted to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel hospital. The incident happened at Shrey Hospital in Navrangpura which is one of the Covid-19 designated hospitals. Over 300 patients have recovered at the hospital in the last two months.

Among the victims were five men and three women. They have been identified as Arif Mansuri, Narendra Shah, Manu Rami, Leelvati Shah, Navneet Shah, Jyoti Sindhi, Manu Rami and Ayesha Tirmizi  

Following the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Saddened by the tragic hospital fire in Ahmedabad. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Spoke to CM @vijayrupanibjp Ji and Mayor
@ibijalpatel Ji regarding the situation. Administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected."

Soon after the tweet, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered a probe into the matter to be conducted by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home, Sangeeta Singh and ACS (Urban Development) Mukesh Puri. 

They have been asked to submit a report in three days. Meanwhile, the hospital building has been sealed for further investigation. 

The chief minister has ordered a report within three days.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Hyderabad, Jan 6: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday expressed solidarity with students of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, following violence in the campus and said the "cruel attack" was meant to "punish"the students as they "dared to stand up".

"In solidarity with the brave students of JNU. This cruel attack is meant to 'punish' JNU students because they dared to stand up. It's so bad that even Union Ministers are tweeting helplessly. Modi Sarkar must answer why cops aresiding with goons," the Hyderabad MP tweeted.

The AIMIM has also tweeted expressing solidarity with the "students of JNU". "AIMIM stands in solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Who feels threatened by the voice of students?," the party said in a tweet.

Violence broke out at the JNU on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in police which conducted a flag march.

At least 28 people, including JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: Kolkata Metro Rail Corp expects to complete its East-West project, which runs partly under the city’s iconic Hooghly river, by March 2022 after a delay of several years doubled costs.

The authority is awaiting a final installment of Rs 20 crore ($2.8 million) over the next two years from the Indian Railway Board, said Manas Sarkar, managing director at KMRC. A soft loan of Rs 4,160 crore from Japan International Cooperation Agency helps fund 48.5% of the project.

India’s oldest metro, which started in 1984 with a North-South service, was due to expand by 2014 but faced problems including squatters on the planned route. These issues have contributed to the total project cost rising to about Rs 8,600 crore for some 17 kilometers from Rs 4,900 crore for 14 km.

“About 40% of total transport demand will be tackled by these two metro services,” Sarkar said in an interview at his office in Kolkata. “It will be a relief for environmental pollution and the city should be much more decongested.”

The new line is expected to carry about 900,000 people daily, -- roughly 20% of the city’s population -- and will take less than a minute to cross a 520-meter underwater tunnel. Depending on the time of day, it takes some 20 minutes to use the ferry and anywhere upward of an hour to cross the Howrah bridge.

KMRC will repay the JICA loan over 30 years after an initial six-year moratorium. The interest rate is between 1.2% to 1.6%. The East-West metro project is 74% owned by the railway ministry and 26% by the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

“We don’t anticipate any further cost escalation now,” Sarkar said.

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