Matter of concern
During a classroom discussion with Class 7 students about examples of homophones not in the textbook, one student suggested “hans and hands.” Surprised, the teacher asked the students how they were familiar with Hans - a chewing tobacco product that is banned in the state. To her shock, the students said that many of their seniors and even classmates use Hans and it makes them feel giddy. The teacher expressed concerns that the habit of chewing tobacco had begun at such a young age in students and wondered what the police and other government departments were doing.
Double delight
On Thursday, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s first visit to Virudhunagar as a minister was celebrated by the party cadre here. The visit, however, also brought delight to students in the area as a holiday was declared for education institutions close to the venue where the event was held. Sources said that the decision was taken to avoid inconvenience students may face while travelling.
Unseating tempers
The BJP women’s wing organised a demonstration near the New Bus Stand in Villupuram on Saturday against the DMK government for failing to keep electoral promises. Due to scorching weather, only a few people sat on the chairs while the rest took cover under the shade of nearby buildings and banners. Despite constant pleadings from a senior functionary, only a few sat on the chairs. When some journalists tried to take photos and videos of the empty chairs, an infuriated party functionary from Chennai picked up an argument with the media and alleged that the media were trying to defame the party. Local BJP functionaries had to intervene to pacify the situation.
Being secular
A day after the dean of Tiruppur district medical college said a fake circular, ordering officials not to perform puja on hospital premises during Ayudha Puja, was doing rounds on social media, members of a rationalist outfit sought implementation of the rule that religious events mustn’t be celebrated at government facilities to ensure they are secular. A petition was also submitted to collector T Christuraj at the collectorate and photos were circulated on social media. However, an hour later, photos of the collector and top officials participating in an Ayudha Puja event inside the collectorate were also circulated.
Turf wars
The forest department recently imposed a fine on a road contractor for dumping construction materials in the forest area adjacent to the hill road leading to Marudhamalai temple in Coimbatore. Forest officials said the concrete path constructed on both sides of the road was wider than the allowed limits while rocks have been cut at a few places without permission. However, HR&CE claimed that wider curbs are needed on the curves on the Ghat Road to prevent accidents. Vehicular traffic has been suspended on the road since October 9 to ease the work. The matter has now been taken up with the concerned ministers as the work needs to be completed quickly.
Sinking ship?
After the recent ED raids on sand quarries in the state, engineers of the Water Resources Department seem to be very keen to get transferred from the sand quarry wing. A section of the engineers are opting for leaves and others are pleading with the higher-ups to transfer them to other responsibilities. Those with political contacts are trying to make use of it to get the transfers.
(Contributed by Subashini Vijayakumar, Harini M, Bagalavan Perier B, Saravanan MP, R Kirubakaran, S Guruvanmikanathan; Compiled by Affan Abdul Kadar)