QChennai: Govt Staff Salary Hiked; TASMAC to Raise Liquor Prices
Here’s your roundup of news from Chennai.
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1. Salary of Govt Staff Hiked by 14%
The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced a net hike of over 14 percent in the pay for its staff. The quantum of increase has been calculated after taking into account the existing basic pay, grade pay and dearness allowance.
It would benefit nearly 12 lakh employees and teachers and about seven lakh pensioners and family pensioners, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said in a statement, hours after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet to give formal approval for the pay increase.
As per the revised structure, the minimum pay for government staff would be Rs 15,700 and the maximum Rs 2.25 lakh.
(Source: The Hindu)
Also Read: Pay Hike For 75 Lakh Teachers Cleared by Cabinet.
2. Seeing Through the Dengue Fog
Director of Public Health (DPH) K Kolandaisamy has the data of dengue cases recorded over the year. So far, 10,392 cases of dengue and 75 fever deaths, of which 27 were related to dengue, have been reported in Tamil Nadu. Many cases, however, don’t show up on the radar due to a technicality — a difference in the classification of the cause of death.
Viral haemorrhaging and encephalitis cases go into a different box, according to the DPH. Viral haemorrhaging could result from many virus attacks, including Ebola, West Nile and Crimean Congo. The dengue virus is also part of this list. While other viruses like Ebola and West Nile are not prevalent in Tamil Nadu, dengue is widespread. Dengue is diagnosed with the help of two tests — the ELISA and the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). The RDT, can throw up many false positives and negatives. The ELISA test is more reliable.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Distraught Tourist Yet to Contact Russian Consulate
A foreign national, believed to be Russian, who took to begging before a Kancheepuram temple on Tuesday seems to be missing. He has not reported at the Consulate General of Russian Federation in Chennai, or called on any of his compatriots, as far as the authorities are concerned.
Police sources said A Evangelin Berdnikov, 24, who was begging for alms, was spotted by devotees at the porch of the Kumarakottam temple on Tuesday. After visiting a few places in the temple town, he entered an ATM kiosk on West Raja Street in the morning. But he couldn’t withdraw money as the PIN apparently got locked.
(Source: The Hindu)
Also Read: Arushi Murder - what’s at play in Allahabad HC’s Oct 12 verdict.
4. Rs 14 Lakh Seized in DVAC Raids
Unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs 14 lakh was seized in simultaneous searches conducted in the offices of transport and registration department officials across the State on Wednesday.
The surprise checks were organised based on information that some officials were collecting mamool days ahead of the deepavali festival, DVAC sources said.
According to a statement, the searches commenced around 10 am in RTO and Joint/Sub-Registrar offices in Chennai, Dindigul, Theni, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Sivaganga, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Now, Fly Straight to Paris from Chennai
Jet Airways is all set to start its direct flight from Chennai to Paris from 29 October. The service will operate five times a week from Chennai with a travel time of nine-and-a-half hours to Paris; transit may otherwise cost a passenger another three to four hours.
Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India, said there were already 40 non-stop flights to Paris from other cities, including Mumbai and Delhi. “We have a fast growing footprint in Tamil Nadu, especially in Chennai, with a rapidly increasing French community. On the infrastructure front too, the growth has been significant and fast as we have about 20 companies here,” he added.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Slash VAT on Fuel, Stalin Urges State Government
DMK working president MK Stalin on Wednesday criticised the State government for not reducing the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel in order to bring down the price of fuel.
Describing the Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK government as a “horse-trading dispensation”, Stalin accused the State government of being a silent spectator to the BJP’s dynamic pricing policy on petrol and diesel, which he said was pushing up prices on a daily basis.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Tipplers Will Have to Cough Up More
After three years, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Ltd (Tasmac) will be increasing liquor prices across the State. The increase varies from Rs 10 to Rs 12 (per 180 ml). There will be no increase in beer prices.
A senior government official told The Hindu: “The minutes of the meeting and the order is ready and will be issued any time this week. We are waiting for the final approval to release the order.” He added that this was a routine hike which happened once in three years. The Tamil Nadu government had increased liquor prices in November 2014.
(Source: The Hindu)
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