1. Happy Diwali Only If Surjeeth is Rescued: Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan
Two-year-old Surjeeth fell into a borewell while playing near his house on Friday, 25 October, in a village near Manapparai town, between Trichy and Madurai. Initially at a depth of 30 feet, the child has slipped further down a 100 feet, even as rescue operations have been underway for over 50 hours. Rocks on the path of the parallel bore hole have further delayed the operation.
Twitter has been abuzz with responses from Kollywood and the political world, in addition to suggestions and tweets of prayers.
Read more here.
2. Govt Doctors' Strike Enters Fourth Day
The indefinite strike of the Federation of Government Doctors Association (FOGDA) entered its second day on Saturday. Five doctors continued their indefinite fast on the premises of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) demanding the Chief Minister’s intervention.
The FOGDA has been demanding implementation of Dynamic Assured Career Progression with pay band-4 at the end of 13 years of service, doctor postings in accordance to number of patients, 50% quota in post graduate (PG) admissions and conduct of counselling for posting of service PGs.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Only 50% Crackers Sold Until Deepavali Eve, Say Vendors
On the eve of Deepavali, the city gets into the festive mood but crackers, often considered the main part of the festival, maybe seen fewer in number this year. A fireworks bazaar with about 80 stalls has been set inside the Island Grounds. Vendors there, however, said the sales have been very dull. ‘‘Only 40-50 percent of crackers have been sold so far, compared to the 85% stock sold last year on Deepavali eve,’’ said S Suresh, a vendor in Island Grounds.
On Saturday, though a decent number of the crowd kept coming to the bazaar, vendors said it is easily 20 to 30 percent less than last year’s number. ‘‘Easily two lakh people from all over the city come on Deepavali eve to this bazaar but this year, the footfall has not touched even 1 lakh yet,’’ added Suresh.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
4. Seven Lakh Travel in Deepavali Special Buses
Ahead of Deepavali, around seven lakh passengers have travelled from Chennai to other districts, in close to 10,000 buses operated by the government from 24 to 26 October. To help passengers get to their native places for the festival, a total of 21,586 buses were operated. Over 1.5 lakh passengers had made bookings in advance, and of this, 60,000 were from Chennai, and over 90,000 from other districts. This has brought in a revenue of over Rs 7 crore from the State-run transport corporation.
“Similarly, 13,000 buses have been arranged between 27 and 30 October, for passengers from other districts to return to Chennai. A total of 8,000 buses will be operated from other districts,” said an official.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Make Punishment for Drunken Driving More Stringent, HC Suggests to Centre
The Madras High Court has suggested to the Centre to make a suitable amendment to Sec. 185 of Motor Vehicles Act, so that punishment for drunken driving is more stringent, including cancellation of driving licence.
“Since Sec.185 is placed in Chapter 13 of Motor Vehicles Act, the Central government is to consider a suitable amendment in this regard by allowing various State governments/Union territories to adopt a zero-tolerance norm in this section itself. The time has now come for just such a measure,” Justice R Mahadevan said after noting that too many lives have already been lost to this lethal cocktail of internal consumption and internal combustion.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
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