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Adhithanar Award for Tamil scholar

CHENNAI: The Adhithanar Award for a veteran Tamil scholar this year will go to P. Arangasamy, who has authored 10 volumes of essays and an equal number of collections of poems, says the Director of Daily Thanthi, B. Sivanthi Adhithan.

Former Vice-Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University K.P. Aravanan has been selected for the Literary Award for 2005.

Both the awards will be presented at a function here on Tuesday to mark the completion of the birth centenary celebrations of Si.Pa. Adhithanar, founder of Daily Thanthi. — Special Correspondent

RBI to function on September 30

CHENNAI: September 30 will not be a holiday for the Reserve Bank of India. Its office will be open for all transactions on that day, says a release. — Special Correspondent

TNGEU to join strike

MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Government Employees Union (TNGEU) will participate in the one-day all-India strike on September 29, said K. Balasubramanian, president.

The strike was called by various associations in protest against the Central and State Governments' move to implement World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation's diktat and attempts to privatise the successfully functioning public sector enterprises and Government departments. Besides, the strike was also meant to condemn the Government's ban on recruitments, new pension scheme and to urge the Government to constitute the Sixth Pay Commission. He also called for the reinstatement of 10,000 road workers considering their plight as more than 70 of them had died due to burden of debts.Further, the services of daily wage labourers and those who were working on consolidated pay in corporations, municipalities and Highways department as NMRs (non muster roll) and in Public Works Department should be regularised, he said.— Staff Reporter

Lift ban on SIMI: TMMK

CHENNAI: The Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) has urged the Centre to allow the ban on Students Islamic Movement of India to lapse on September 26.

The secretary, S.Md. Zainul Abideen, said the ban was imposed by the previous NDA Government after the September 11, 2002 incident in the U.S. only to please the U.S. Government.

After the assumption of the United Progressive Alliance Government, it had been meticulously taking efforts to win the support of all sections of society. If the Government allowed the ban to lapse, it would definitely have a positive influence on Muslims students, besides winning the hearts of the minority community. — Special Correspondent

Plea to release bomb blast accused

TAMBARAM: The Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam has appealed to the State Government to release more than 200 Muslims languishing in the Coimbatore Central Prison for the past seven years. At a meeting of its Kancheepuram district unit on Friday, the partymen said all those arrested in connection with the Coimbatore Bomb Blasts case were innocent. The State Government should release them on bail, it said.

The meeting also urged the State government to promulgate orders for reservation of seats for Muslims in jobs in the Government and private sectors as well as in education.

S. Hyder Ali, State general secretary, and M. Meera Mohideen, Kancheepuram district president, participated. — Staff Reporter

Subsidy for replacing old agricultural motors

Perambalur: A total of 500 old agricultural pumpsets will be replaced with new ones under a special subsidy-based programme this year.

In a release issued here on Saturday, the Collector, D. Vivekanandan, said that agricultural motors installed more than a decade ago would be replaced. A total of 100 motors with a capacity less than five HP and 400 motors with a capacity of 5 HP and above would benefit through the programme. The respective subsidy component would be Rs.2,500 and Rs.5,000 or 25 per cent of the cost price of the motor, whichever was less. Farmers would also be allowed to replace old motors with either step-up or step-down capacity, with 50 per cent of the cost as subsidy or Rs. 1,500. — Staff Reporter

Support dairy projects, banks told

PERAMBALUR: The Collector, D. Vivekanandan, has appealed to the bank officials to sanction more loans for setting up block-level dairy projects. Presiding over the district-level review committee meeting, convened by the IOB, here on Friday, he said that out of a target of 1,000 fixed for last year, loans had been disbursed to 960 beneficiaries. The Project Officer, Mahalir Thittam, Saraswathi Ganesan, and the Senior Regional Manager of the bank, R. Vaidyanathan, also spoke. — Staff Reporter

Voter list verified

PERAMBALUR: The Collector, D. Vivekanandan, on Saturday conducted a door-to-door verification of voters' list at Poolampadi. He also inspected the on-going rural development works in the area. Later, he inspected the Adi Dravidar welfare hostels at Perambalur and assessed the provision of basic amenities. — Staff Reporter

Mettur level

Tiruchi: The water level in the Mettur dam stood at 117.12 feet today. The inflow was 14,588 cusecs and the discharge 23,000 cusecs. — Staff Reporter

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