QChennai: Actor Karunas Arrested; Suburbs Gear Up for Rain
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1. Karunas Booked for Rant Against Chief Minister
A no-holds-barred vitriolic attack by MLA and comedian Karunas led to the Chennai city police booking a criminal case against him for issuing a death threat to the Chief Minister and a police officer.
Karunas, who contested on the ‘two leaves’ symbol of the AIADMK, was elected as an MLA from the Thiruvadanai constituency. He is also the founder of Mukkulathor Puli Padai, a caste outfit. While addressing his party cadre in Valluvarkottam on Monday, he said: “You can even commit murder. But do so after informing me. There should be justification for that [the murder]...” He also advised the cadre to openly disclose their identities if they were to hurl stones at the opponents.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. T M Krishna and Others Issue Statement Against Curbing of Expression
A month after the social media trolling of a Carnatic singer for agreeing to perform in an event in the praise of Jesus, well-known Carnatic musician TM Krishna and 160 other eminent personalities have released a statement condemning the attack of right wing forces for trying to silence classical musical expression in an undemocratic manner.
Krishna shared the statement from his Twitter handle on Wednesday, 19 September, which said “Many musicians have received threats from right wing Hindu organisations for bringing people and religions together on a musical platform. We register our strong protest against this continual harassment and intimidation to silence our freedom of expression.”
(Source: The New Indian Express)
3. Southern Suburbs Gear Up for Rain
Several flood-prone areas in the city’s southern suburbs may soon be better equipped to face intense rainfall during monsoon. The Water Resources Department plans to fill in the missing links identified in water channels and surplus courses, which had made many localities susceptible to flooding.
After the 2015 floods that severely affected the southern suburbs, the WRD has chalked out a proposal for comprehensive management of sub basins in Kancheepuram district. As the entire project seeking a fund of nearly Rs 1,000 crore is awaiting financial assistance, the department has taken up 11 projects to provide defined courses linking waterbodies and deepening lakes as part of flood protection measures. Nearly Rs 100 crore would be spent towards the first phase of the project covering highly vulnerable areas.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Indian Oil Laying Pipeline Inside Ennore Wetlands?
In what appears to be yet another environmental violation against the fragile coastal ecosystem of Ennore, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is laying a Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (R-LNG) pipeline across the wetlands of Ennore creek allegedly without obtaining the necessary Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance. However, IOCL officials have refuted these allegations, stating that out of 22.656km of the pipeline just over 600 metres is CRZ area.
The 22.656 km of underground pipeline, being executed under a common corridor pipeline project connecting IOCL’s under-construction LNG import and re-gasification terminal at Kamarajar port and Manali industrial area, cuts through the CRZ area of Ennore creek. It falls in CRZ-I (116 metres) and CRZ-III (518 metres) and prior CRZ clearance is mandatory.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. HC to Hold In-Camera Proceedings in Child Rape Case
The Madras High Court on Thursday, 20 September, decided to hold in-camera proceedings on a plea made by the accused in the Ayanavaram child rape case to transfer the investigation from the city police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to ensure a free and fair probe. The decision was taken to avoid a trial by the media.
Justice A D Jagadish Chandira will hear the case in his chambers on Tuesday. When Shaik Mehrunisa, counsel for the 14 petitioners, claimed that her clients had been declared guilty by society at large, even before commencement of trial, the judge replied: “In all fairness, there should not be trial by media.”
He, however, told counsel that she would have to first establish how the investigation could be transferred when the local police had already completed it and filed a chargesheet before a lower court. He also said only the accused would get to benefit during trial if the police had not conducted a proper investigation.
(Source: The Hindu)
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