1. EPS convenes party meeting amid strain in BJP - AIADMK alliance
Amid the friction between AIADMK and Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, the general secretary of AIADMK, Edappadi K. Palaniswami has convened a meeting tomorrow with his party’s headquarters functionaries, district secretaries, MPs and MLAs, at the party headquarters in Chennai.
The call for the meeting comes two days after a delegation of senior AIADMK leaders including M. Thambi Durai, S.P. Velumani, P. Thangamani, K.P. Munusamy, Natham R. Viswanthan and C.Ve. Shanmugam had met BJP’s national president, J.P. Nadda at new Delhi on Friday and briefed him on their party’s ties with the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP.
Only a week ago, AIADMK declared that BJP is no longer its ally, while Mr. Annamalai said there was no rift between the two parties of the NDA alliance.
2. T.N. gets its second Vande Bharat train
Five months after the State got its first Vande Bharat Express train (between Chennai and Coimbatore), the second Vande Bharat Express train in Tamil Nadu (between Tirunelveli and Chennai) was flagged off virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was one among the nine Vande Bharat services that were flagged off by Mr. Modi today.
The train will run six days a week, except Tuesdays, and will cover the 653-km distance in 7.5 hours, according to Southern Railway. From Tirunelveli, it will depart daily at 6 am, while the train will depart from Chennai at 2.50 p.m.
The stoppages are Virudhunagar, Madurai, Dindigul, Tiruchirappalli and Villupuram junctions, besides Tambaram, before arriving at Chennai Egmore.
3. Extend Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam to all women ration card holders
PMK founder Dr. S. Ramadoss said that the denial of Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam to almost 57 lakh applications has caused deep resentment among the female population and urged the State government to extend the scheme to all women in Tamil Nadu who hold ration cards should be given ₹1000 every month.
In a statement, Dr. Ramadoss further alleged that while the denial of the scheme to a large section of women was a problem, the women, who choose to appeal against the rejection of their application, are disrespected.
4. Four Nagai fishers attacked, robbed in mid-sea
Four fishermen of Nagapattinam district were allegedly attacked by a group of seven unidentified persons who came in two boats while they were fishing in the sea last night and robbed of their gadgets and fish they had caught, while they were fishing about 29 nautical miles off Vedaranyam.
The injured fishermen identified as Pradeep (34), Prakash (32), Praveen (30) and Thirumurugan (26) hail from Serudhur village near Velankanni.
Late last month, 18 Nagapattinam fishermen were allegedly attacked and robbed in the mid-sea, prompting the Vedaranyam Marine Police to book cases against some “Sri Lankans nationals”.
5. CM Stalin inaugurates roads during Coimbatore visit
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin who is on a visit to Coimbatore, inaugurated a 2.04 km stretch of road laid at Tulsi Nagar under Ward eight of the Coimbatore Corporation. The road was developed at ₹1.62 crores. Mr. Stalin also inaugurated a 2.21 km stretch road laid in Nanjappa Nagar in Ward five at ₹1.50 crores.
The visit forms a part of the Chief Minister’s plan to personally inspect all districts in the State after complaints emerged about quality of roads and the inconvenience faced by the public due to unfinished drainage, drinking water and power works, and the poor maintenance of old roads.
