I came across this shocking news with the above caption by Rebecca Samervel, TNN, in the Chennai edition of The Times of India dated July 23, 2012. Further, I surfed the net and gathered some more info. The gist of the news:
As you may be aware, the Adarsh housing scheme was meant for the welfare of serving and retired personnel of the Defence Services. But breaking all rules, politicians and bureaucrats were allotted flats. It has come to light that the former CM of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan, was allotted two flats, for which money was paid by Malav Shah, son of his close associate and builder Jayant Shah. Chavan's mother-in-law, his sister-in-law and his father-in-law's brother were also allotted flats.
Chavan had stated that the CBI was a conspiracy by his rivals to malign him.
Chavan returned to Malav Shah Rs.69 lakhs(Rs.55 and 14 lakhs) after a PIL was filed. These facts find a place in the CBI's 38-page synopsis (chargesheet runs to 10,000 pages!).
To know more about the Adarsh Housing Scam from Wikipedia:
Grateful thanks to Ms Rebecca Samervel, The Times of India and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Photo taken at VGP Universal Kingdom, Chennai
Photo taken by Aravind more than a year ago at our Kottaiyur residence
Work spares us from three evils: BOREDOM, VICE and NEED – Voltaire, prolific and famous French writer, historian and great philosopher
To know more about Voltaire:
Voltaire's magnum opus, Candide, full text from Project Gutenberg:
Grateful thanks to Project Gutenberg and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A scientific approach to explaining the power of thought. We have all heard it before, "Your thoughts create your reality." Well, new quantum physics studies support this idea. Learn about recent research about how the mind can influence the behavior of subatomic particles and physical matter. If you enjoy the video, please pass it on to friends and family.
Uploaded by KentHealy on Apr 12, 2009
This video has been seen by 445,664 persons so far!
Grateful thanks to Mr.Kent Healy, www.coolstuffmedia.com and YouTube.
Do not build up obstacles in your imagination – Dr Norman Vincent Peale
Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope - Kalidasa
Source: Sacred Space, The Times of India
Grateful thanks to The Times of India.
Excerpt from the article, "Suburban Network's Killer Line Claims 1 Life Every Day - 220 killed in last six and a half months on Beach-Guduvanchery stretch; Railway Force launches Awareness Drive to address issue" by D.Madhavan, TNN in the Chennai edition of The Times of India dated July 20, 2012:
I felt sad reading the above news item. Most of those killed are between 18 and 30 years of age. Talking on cellphone while crossing tracks is the main reason for the deaths. Due to lack of sidewalls, trespassing is frequent. Another cause is footboard travel.
People are dying unnecessarily at the prime of their life, making the life of their parents and other relatives miserable and painful. Carelessness (talking on mobiles while crossing tracks), laziness(to use the overbridge) and recklessness(footboard travel) these will be avoided if only one thinks of their loving dear ones waiting for them at home.
Grateful thanks to The Times of India.
Excerpt From a Letter from a reader in the Mailbox of The Times of India dated July 17, 2012:
....We live in a country of barbarians who have no fear of law or respect for civility. The culprits are the authorities who are callous and nasty. The recent incident in Assam is said to be of a jilted goon who has the patronage of the powers that be The farce of a few arrests is laughable. It is just a re-enactment of the charades we have witnessed against parents who kill children for honour and members of organisations who strip girls in the open. The latest Taliban-type diktat against women in UP is another case in point. The root cause of the malaise is politicians who do not move even their little finger for fear of antagonising vote banks. - Mukund Kumar, Mumbai
Grateful thanks to Mr.Mukund Kumar and The Times of India.
I came across this news with the above caption in the Chennai edition of The Times of India dated July 20, 2012. A gist of the article:
The Madras High Court came down strongly on a private school for refusing to return the original certificates of three teachers who had resigned and ordered police to initiate criminal action against the management. The management admitted the certificates were in its custody but said that at the time of entering service, it was agreed that any teacher leaving service in the middle of an academic year would have to pay back three months salary to get back original certificates and contended that as such no direction could be issued by the court for filing a case. The court disagreed and said the original certificates were properties that could not be transferred even by means of an agreement and held that the agreement was unlawful.
It is a common practice in many private institutions. I myself know of many instances where private institutions do this sort of thing and blackmail the employees and how agonising it was for the employees; the managements would make the employees cringe before them and beg. It is heartening to see an end to this blackmail and I would like to join the affected parties and thank the court for the verdict.
Grateful thanks to The Times of India.
The energy of the mind is the essence of life - Aristotle
I came across a news item with the above caption in the Chennai edition of The Times of India dated July 17, 2012. The Supreme Court has pulled up the Centre and the MP Govt for showing lack of sensitivity and urgency in collecting data and responding to a public interest litigation. It gave the Govt and the Medical Council of India eight weeks time to file their reports. The news made a painful reading and exposed the callousness on the part of Govt and some doctors. I also made a search in the Net. The gist of what I gathered:
Unauthorised clinical trials of drugs on humans, unsuspecting poor patients willing to take any sort of treatment, is taking a toll of precious human lives. Most deaths go unnoticed and unreported. Even when the Govt acts, the culprits escape with minor fines. Some statistics provided by The Times of India under the caption, HUMAN GUINEA PIGS:
* Illegal clinical trils of drugs rampant in India.
* 1,514 deaths between 2008 and 2010 in clnical trials across the country.
* Madhya Pradesh govt let go doctors who conducted trias on women, children and mentally retarded by imposing a fine of Rs.500/-
* The Supreme Court expresses concern over the lethargic manner in which the Centre gathers data about clinical drug trials.
A general article on Clinical Trials from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which clearly indicates the regulations and precautions required:
Grateful thanks to The Times of India, IBN Live.com, Progressive Life Sciences.com and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A new item with the above caption in the Chennai edition of The Times of India dated July 18, 2012 caught my eye. The gist of the news is:
Groundwater, a precious natural resource, is for all practical purposes private property in India Anyone can bore and extract water with few rules to restric over-exploitation.
This may soon change. Like oil, gas and minerals, groundwater may also become public property. As 'water' is a state subject under the Constitution, both Centre and States have to enact law to make this happen. Reckless over-exploitation may lead to serious environmental consequences.
If you want to know all about groundwater, the following links may be of help.
For more info on Groundwater from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
An Abstract of the Salient Features of GROUND WATER YEARBOOK OF TAMIL NADU STATE AND PONDICHERRY AND KARAIKAL REGIONS OF UNION TERRITORY OF PONDICHERRY (2005-2006):
GROUND WATER SCENARIO OF TAMIL NADU FROM CENTRAL GROUND WATER BOARD' SITE:
Grateful thanks to The Times of India, The Central Ground Water Board and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
