QChennai: Cyclone Ockhi Kills 12, Lakshadweep on Alert & More

Here is your roundup of the top stories from Chennai.

A depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclone, dubbed Cyclone Ockhi.

(Photo: The Quint)

1. Cyclone Ockhi Kills 12, Palaniswami Announces Rs 4 Lakh Ex-Gratia

The cyclone is ‘very likely’ to intensify further and make a landing in the early hours of 2 December in north TN coast. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

At least twelve people were killed after heavy rains continued to batter coastal areas of Kerala and south Tamil Nadu today, crippling normal life, even as Cyclone Ockhi lay centred about 80km north-northeast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. The cyclone is expected to hit the islands on 2 December. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

Tamil Nadu government on Friday, 1 December, said over 1,200 persons affected by Ockhi cyclone in Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts have been lodged in relief camps, as Chief Minister K Palaniswamy took stock of the situation.

Read the full story here.

2. Aircel Case: ED Searches Premises of P Chidambaram's Kin in Chennai

ED conducted raids at 6 places belonging to P Chidambaram. (Photo Courtesy: Reuters)

Officials of the Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted searches in six places, including those belonging to the relatives of former Union finance minister P Chidambaram in Chennai and Kolkata, in connection with a money laundering probe in the Aircel-Maxis case.

Incidentally, the searches took place after the Supreme Court on 20 November allowed Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram to visit the United Kingdom from December 1 to 10 for his daughter's admission to Cambridge University. An ED official said four locations, including a hospital premises in Chennai at Teynampet, Alwarpet and Thiruvanmiyur, and two in Kolkata, were searched by the agency sleuths since early morning on Friday. Two locations of Manoj Mohanka at Lee Road and Lovelock Place were also searched, they said.

(Source: Times Of India)

3. Tamil Nadu Sees Sharp Dip in Accidents This Year

Officials say implementation of stringent preventive measures, such as cancellation of licences and crackdown on drunk driving, helped achieve results (Photo: The Quint)

Tamil Nadu had the dubious distinction of being among the toppers in the number of road accidents in the country until 2016. This year, until October, however, there has been a sharp dip in the number of accidents, compared to last year.

A senior official of the Transport Department said the government, taking a serious view of the rising number of accidents in the State, instituted several progressive steps this year, including suspension of licences against traffic violators, fixing of black spots, and creating sustained awareness among two-wheelers for wearing helmets and car owners on the need to wear seat belts.

(Source: The Hindu)

4. Chennai Will Become Crucial Naval Base Soon

Nearly 100 acres in ECR will be acquired for the project, said a Navy official. (Photo Courtesy: IANS)

Chennai will become an important naval base in future and nearly 100 acres of land in East Coast Road will be acquired for this project.

“Initially, Muttukadu was considered; but now, we have dropped that and looking at other villages in ECR. This apart, we already have land in Saidapet. These efforts are to expand our footprint here; we are also holding discussions with Chennai Port in this regard,” an official said. He noted that Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have assumed primacy in the overall maritime security calculus and in Tamil Nadu, they are at an advanced stage of consultation towards expansion.

(Source: The Hindu)

5. Techie Dies on Campus, Family Seeks Explanation

Moses’ family members are raising doubts about the cause of his death.  (Photo Courtesy: iStock)

Family members of Moses Ranjan Raj, a TCS employee in Chennai, who collapsed during work and was pronounced dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital, has sought an explanation from the firm on the circumstances which led to his death. The incident happened on November 27 at TCS Siruseri.

In the meantime, Forum for IT Employees (FITE) - Tamil Nadu, in a statement, alleged that proper first aid was not given to Raj on the TCS campus. It also alleged that TCS did not have proper medical facilities and lapses had led to the death.

(Source: The Hindu)

6. Strength of Women Judges at Madras High Court Gets a Boost

The Madras High Court association said that at least one third should be women judges. (Photo: Twitter)

With six new judges, including four women judges, sworn in on Friday, the proportion of women judges in the Madras High Court has jumped from 12.96% to 18.33%, as against its working strength of 60 judges. The figure may go up further if more women are recommended to fill the 15 vacancies in the court.

As Chief Justice Manjula Chellur of the Bombay High Court is due to retire on Tuesday, the Madras High Court would then achieve the distinction of being the only court with such a high complement of women judges. Even the Allahabad High Court has only six women judges, as against its working strength of 109 judges and sanctioned strength of 160 judges.

(Source: The Hindu)

7. Long Queue of Foreign Firms in Campus Placements at IITs This Year

At IIT-Madras, as many as 19 companies are slated to offer international profiles (Photo Courtesy: PTI)

The list of international recruiters at the Indian Institutes of Technology, where final placements began on Friday, is longer than last year, signalling that the war for talent is more intense at the country’s premier engineering schools. Besides Microsoft and Uber, which lead in salary packages, others lined up to offer foreign postings include US-based Rubrik and Indeed, Singapore-based Dynamic Technology Lab, Amsterdam-based Optiver and UK-based Halma plc, along with several Japanese firms.

“IIT graduates not only possess tech talent but also exhibit leadership traits. These two attributes are much desired by any global company for their tech teams,” said a Professor. Most of the international hiring at IITs is for technology roles.

(Source: Economic Times)