Woman, children drown in well

KRISHNAGIRI: A mother and her two children drowned in an agriculture well near Denkanikottai on Wednesday night.
According to police, N. Munirathinam (25), hailing from Sattasandiram village near Denkanikottai, fell into an agriculture well while trying to save her children N. Narendran (6) and N. Saveetha (3). As the water level was high in the well, three bodies were recovered around midnight and sent for post-mortem to the Denkanikottai Government Taluk Hospital. Police sources said that the children may have slipped into the water while playing near it. Kelamangalam police have registered a case and are investigating.Water release
DHARMAPURI: Due to continuous rain for the past one week, water level in many water bodies such as lakes and dams has risen considerably. Accepting the farmers’ demand, Collector P. Amutha ordered release of water from left and right canals of the Eeachambadi Dam in Harur for 120 days from October 2. About 1,890 acres in Dharmapuri and 4,360 acres of agriculture land in Krishnagiri districts would benefit.
Meanwhile due to heavy rain in Karnataka, water flow into the Kelevarapalli dam is fast increasing. The dam was opened for irrigation three years ago. It was built 35 years ago across South Pennar River.
Fourteen villages such as Thattiganapalli, Aalur, Thinnur, Muthali, Tiruchipalli, Thorappalli, Nallaganakotthapalli, Sappadi and Pathakottai would benefit due to the water release from the dam.

Wild elephants enter human habitations

HOSUR: A herd of over 30 wild elephants entered human habitations in Krishnagiri district on Monday night.
According to forest officials they came from the Karnataka reserve forests through Jawalagiri recently.
Driving back the herd into reserve forests is a daunting task for forest officials as people have gathered in strength in the area.
Forest rangers of Hosur and Denkanikottai and other officials have arrived.
A herd of elephants had entered paddy fields near Denkanikottai last Wednesday to eat ragi crops kept after harvest. Later, they went to a lake nearby and returned to forest.Worst-hit
Villages near Reserve Forests such as Anchetti, Denkanikottai and Kelamangalam are worst-affected between October and February every year. The herd destroyed ragi crops in 3 acres in Samanthamalai near Denkanikottai on Monday night.
Farmers have been demanding solar fencing to prevent elephants from entering fields.

253 secondary grade teachers appointed in Krishnagiri

KRISHNAGIRI: As many as 253 vacant posts in various government, municipal and panchayat union schools in Krishnagiri district were filled up through the seniority list in employment exchange during this academic year (2009-10).
About 167 candidates received their appointment orders from Collector V.K. Shanmugam at the District Institute of Teacher Education in Krishnagiri on Monday.
Appointment orders for the rest of the 86 teachers will be sent to their residential address by post.
During the last academic year (2008-09), 217 teachers were appointed in the district.
With this, as many as 1,040 teachers were appointed in the district from Elementary to Higher Secondary level, said an official from the education department.
With this appointment, 28 schools run with one teacher each will get one more teacher. And a panchayat union school with a student strength of 59, functioning so far without a teacher, got one. Total number of appointments in secondary grade in the state was 2,039 including 760 men, the official added.

“Hogenakkal project as per schedule”

Deputy Chief Minister inaugurated 1088 projects at a cost of Rs.36.10 crore

He gave Rs.50.43-crore revolving fund and loans to 3065 women SHGs

KRISHNAGIRI: Deputy Chief Minister Stalin announced here on Sunday that the Hogenakkal Drinking Water Project would start in March next year as per schedule. Out of the five package global tenders, four have been finalised and another one would be finalised soon. Selection of contractors through global tendering process would be finalised well ahead of March. Works will start in March 2010 and will be completed before the end of 2012.

Refuting charges of Opposition parties on the Hogenakkal Project, he recalled the assurance of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on the floor of the Assembly that even if the government couldn’t get funds from Japan’s financial agencies, it would implement the project from its own funds.

He assured the people of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri that the Hogenakkal project would be implemented with the same vigour, as in the case of the Ramanathapuram Integrated Drinking Water Project.

Mr.Stalin inaugurated the 146th samathuvapuram in Sakkilnatham village near Bargur in the presence of K.N. Nehru, Transport Minister.

He said that the Chief Minister announced the establishment of 95 samathuvapurams to mark the 95 years of living of his mentor E.V. Periyar and 29 were planned during 2008-2009. Of this, 18 were inaugurated so far and the rest would be opened in another one-and-half months. During 2009-2010, another 30 and during 2010-2011 another 36 samathuvapurams would be established, he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister inaugurated 1088 projects at a cost of Rs.36.10 crore, laid foundation stones for 311 works to the tune of Rs.48.38 crore and gave away welfare assistance to 18,905 persons to the tune of Rs.61.96 crore.

He gave Rs.50.43-crore revolving fund and loans to 3065 women SHGs at the function.

Earlier, he inaugurated the new premises for the District Police Office at a cost of Rs.3.25 crore near the Collectorate and a multipurpose indoor stadium and a swimming pool in the District Sports Stadium complex to tune of Rs.1.80 crore.

After inaugurating the stadium, Mr. Stalin played badminton with Collector V. K. Shanmugham.

K.P. Jain, Director General of Police, K. Radhakrishnan, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Promod Kumar, Inspector General of Police (Western Region), E.G. Sugavanam, Krishnagiri M.P. and M.L.A.s T. Senguttuvan, K.R.K. Narasimhan, P. Dillibabu participated.

P. Prabhakar, District Revenue Officer, welcomed the gathering. Saraswathi Ganesan, Project Officer, Mahalir Thittam, proposed a vote of thanks.

331 refugee families get colour TV

Collector V.K. Shanmugam distributing free colour television to a refugee at the Pampar camp on Tuesday.

KRISHNAGIRI: Collector V.K. Shanmugam on Tuesday distributed free colour television sets to 331 Sri Lankan Tamil living in Pampar, Pocphampalli, Kelavarapalli special camps.

He inaugurated the photographing of beneficiaries for the state government’s insurance scheme.

Four handicapped persons were given tri-cycles, hearing aid were given to two, identity cards to 12, Rs. 6,000 to 12 pregnant women through the state government’s maternity assistance scheme, legal heir certificate to one person. Mr. Shanmugam told refugees that basic facilities at the camps such as repairing of houses, drinking water supply and toilets, street lights and roads would be improved.

He said, as per the special permission announced by the state government, refugees now can apply for driving license and those who are working away from their camps on special permission can attend the roll call once in a month and get their monthly stipend.

Food Minister E.V. Velu visited all the three refugee camps during the first week of November and submitted the requirements to improve the basic amenities and demands of the refugees to the Chief Minister.

Stalin to open Samathuvapuram near Bargur

Deputy Chief Minister will distribute assistance to 18,905 beneficiaries

Photo: N. Bashkaran

In a row: The houses built at Sakkilnatham village, near Bargur, to be inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Stalin on Sunday. —

KRISHNAGIRI: Deputy Chief Minister Stalin will inaugurate a new Samathuvapuram at Sakkilnatham village, near Bargur, built at a cost of over Rs. 1.56 crore in 7.93 acres. The construction of houses began on December 7, 2008.

This is the fourth Samathuvapuram in the district. The others are Ginnikampatti in Pochampalli taluk, Nallur in Hosur taluk and Kattinayanapalli in Krishnagiri taluk. Mr. Stalin will open new buildings constructed at a cost of Rs. 35.50 crore and lay foundation stones for 311 schemes to be implemented at a cost of Rs. 43.48 crore.

He will distribute welfare assistance to 18,905 beneficiaries through various government departments.

That apart, he will also unveil a new building for the District Police Office built at a cost of Rs. 3.25 crore and a multi-purpose indoor stadium at the District Sports Stadium in Krishnagiri.

Mr. Stalin will give Rs. 50.43 crore as loan, revolving fund to 2,443 groups and economic assistance to 620 people.

SSA official inspects school

Interested: Sarva Siksha Abiyan Project Officer R. Venkatesan inspecting the computer-based education system at the Centre-sponsored Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, Bolupalli, near Krishnagiri, on Wednesday.
KRISHNAGIRI: Sarva Siksha Abiyan project director R. Venkatesan inspected the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, a Centre-sponsored residential school for girls, at Bolupalli of Veppanapalli Panchayat Union, Krishnagiri district, on Wednesday.
He also took an interest in the activity based learning methodology being practised at the school. He exhorted the 100-odd girl students, most of them are dropouts from the regular schools, to perform well in the ESLC examination.
He assured the students that all efforts will be taken to help them to continue their studies beyond Standard VIII.
Mr. Venkatesan was impressed by the students’ handicraft talent. He also appreciated P. Muthuvedi, a student, for her poems. The student had recently received a prize from the District Collector for her poems recently.
He also reviewed the internet and multimedia-based teaching method at the school.
Chief education officer, SSA, P. Semalai and School coordinator I. Samson Wesley accompanied him during the inspection.

KRISHNAGIRI: As many as 61 countrymade guns were recovered by the police in the district during the past one week, A.G. Babu, Superintendent of Police, told ‘The Hindu’ on Wednesday.
He said instead of surrendering or handing over illegal guns to the police, people were dumping them at a common place and informing the police over phone. “Only four guns were handed over to me at a Border Vigilance Committee meeting held recently at Sigaranagappalli on the Andhra border near Veppanapalli,” he said.
This was achieved through the introduction of Beat Officer System by the district police. A police constable was appointed to look after two to three villages. He was accountable for the happenings in the respective villages. He was asked to maintain four registers such as Tenant, Servant, Locked House and Industrial Labourers. His duty was to enter the details when he got information from the Village Volunteer Forces besides retired ex-servicemen and police personnel from the designated villages.
The initiative had produced good results in the district. Mr. Babu hoped that at least another 200 illegal guns would be surrendered or dumped by the people very soon.

NABARD sanctions Rs. 210 crore for construction of school buildings

Sharing views: School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu (second right) addressing the review meeting of the Cuddalore Education Zone at the Krishnagiri Collectorate on Wednesday. —
KRISHNAGIRI: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs. 210 crore for construction of buildings in 303 government schools in the State, School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu has said.
Inaugurating the School Reforms Conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Thennarasu said that 200 schools would be upgraded very soon. He said that 24 schools in Krishnagiri would be given priority.
To improve basic infrastructure, each of the schools would be given Rs. 61 lakh, he said.
Apart from this, 831 schools were upgraded through Sarva Siksha Abhiyan scheme.
This included 40 schools in Krishnagiri. Besides this, five new primary schools were established through panchayat unions this year, Mr. Thennarasu said.
The Union Government has decided to upgrade 1,000 primary schools in the State. With aim to improve the quality of education, all the High and Higher Secondary schools in the State would be linked with broadband connectivity.
Mr. Thennarasu said that the vacant teacher posts in the district would be filled soon. He gave necessary instructions to the officials in this regard.
The Minister appreciated the efforts of the headmasters, teachers and Parent Teachers Associations of the government schools in Krishnagiri that had mobilised assets worth Rs. 19 crore. Mr. Thennarasu said the aim of conducting Education Reforms Conference in 10 districts was to bridge the gap between the community, teachers and officials.
Later, Mr. Thennarasu honoured the philanthropists, who had contributed for the government schools in the district.
Collector V.K Shanmugam presided over the conference. School Education Secretary M. Kutralingam and School Education Director P. Perumalsamy were among those who participated.
M. Baskaran, Chief Education Officer, read the conference report.
K. Devarajan, Director, Primary Education proposed a vote of thanks.

ndia to develop unmanned combat aerial vehicle

India will soon embark on developing an indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) for surveillance, detection and destroying specific targets, a top defence official said Wednesday.
"We will soon embark on designing and developing an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, which will not only do surveillance, but will also help detect the target and destroy the identified object," V.K. Saraswat, scientific advisor to Defence Minister A.K. Antony, told reporters here.
An UCAV or 'combat drone' differs from ordinary UAVs as it is designed to deliver weapons. The pilotless vehicle can carry greater payloads and have wide range and manoeuvrability in the absence of a cockpit and associated equipment.
The ambitious project will be taken up by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bangalore with private industry participation.
"The controls of a combat drone will be rested with multiple command control centres. The centres can be geographically at different locations. Even if one centre becomes defunct, the drone can be controlled and guided by other centres," Saraswat, who recently took over as director general of the DRDO, said on the margins of a conference.
"The UCAV will work in a multi-layer manner for which ADE is developing the required technology, including sensors," Saraswat said after inaugurating the fifth national conference on 'NextGen IT for Indian Defence'.
The ADE is already developing a medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV) codenamed Rustom for the three Indian defence services - army, air force and navy.
The MALE UAV is still in the experimental stage.
The first trial of the prototype, developed by Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Ltd, resulted in a crash Nov 16 near Hosur in Krishnagiri district of western Tamil Nadu, about 40 km from here.
The Rustum UAV, with a wingspan of 20 metres and weighing 1,800 kg, has a maximum speed of 225 km per hour and can operate at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
"The Rustom UAV will be able to execute surveillance of the enemy territory up to a distance of 250km and carry a variety of cameras and radar for surveillance," Saraswat said.
The remote-controlled UAV took off from a private airstrip at Belagondapalli village on the outskirts of Bangalore. After hovering over the Taneja private airstrip for a few minutes, it lost direction and crashed onto an adjacent coconut farm, an ADE official said.
"The aerial vehicle was test-flown for research. The remote control device developed a snag and that led to the crash," the official added.

Credit plan document released

KRISHNAGIRI: Potential Linked Credit Plan for Krishnagiri district is fixed at Rs. 1,175.68 crore as against the estimated potential of Rs. 957.33 crore for the financial year 2010-11, projecting a growth rate of 22.8 per cent.
Collector V.K. Shanmugam released the plan document here on Tuesday. G. Muthappan, Assistant General Manager, Indian Bank, Dharmapuri Circle, received the first copy.
Of the total credit outlay, agriculture sector gets Rs. 686.65 crore including a crop loan of Rs. 447.32 crore and Rs. 239.33 crore for agricultural term credit for food security.

Rahul Gandhi would be visiting Krishnagiri

• AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi is coming to Tamil Nadu on a three-day whirlwind tour from September 8. During his visit aimed at strengthening the party at the grass-root level, Rahul will be meeting students, youth wing members, farmers, young doctors and other party cadre.Rahul Gandhi is kickstarting his visit by addressing a meeting at
  
• Nagercoil to be attended by youth from Kanyakumari parliamentary constituency. Besides, he would be meeting the youth from fishermen community.
  
• A couple of hours later, Rahul Gandhi will be interacting with youth at Tirunelveli. Youths from Tuticorin, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli parliamentary constituencies will take part in this meetingAt 1 pm, he would address the youths from Ramathapuram, Sivaganga, Dindigul, Dindigul and Thenni at Virudhunagar. Later, he would meet the students of Madurai Kamaraj University.
• He would also participate in the centenary celebrations of late minister Kakkan. Apart from these, he would also address the conference of the SC/ST youths.Giving details about Rahul Gandhi’s tour programme, TNCC president KV Thangkabalu said on September 9, Rahul would be meeting farmers at Thanjavur and later interacting with youth wing cadre at Villupuram.
• Later, he would be meeting young doctors at Vellore and in the evening, the Congress leader would be interacting with students of Anna University.On the same day, he would take part in the executive committee meeting of the TNCC in Chennai and meet the youth Congress workers at Kamaraj memorial.
• Rahul Gandhi would be visiting Krishnagiri and Salem and would address a public meeting at Coimbatore.
• The new membership drive for youth Congress was started on August 20 in Tamil Nadu. Congress functionaries from neighbouring States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala have already camping various districts of Tamil Nadu to monitor the membership drive.

15 teachers selected for Dr. Radhakrishnan award

Fifteen teachers in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts have been selected for the Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Best Teacher Award for 2008-09 to be presented by the State Government.

The awardees include teachers of the government higher secondary and panchayat union elementary schools.

The awardees in Dharmapuri district are:

Govindan, Government Higher Secondary School, Pulikarai and Palaniyappan, Post Graduate Assistant,

Adhiyamaan Government Boys Higher Secondary School.

The teachers selected from the panchayat union middle schools are:

Ponni, Sogathur Panchayat; Manoharan, Kuruparapalli Panchayat and Sivaprakasam, Adilam Panchayat.

These teachers will be given the award by the School Education Minister, Thangam Thennarasu, on Saturday.

The awardees in Krishnagiri district are:

S. Varadarajan, Headmaster, Government High Secondary School, N. Vellalapatti; K.V. Srihari, Headmaster Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Royakottai; Shawnawaz Begum, Urdu Pandit, R.V. Government Boys Higher School, Hosur and C. Narendran, Headmaster, Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Royakottai.

Headmasters

The headmasters selected from the panchayat union primary and middle schools are:

P. Viswanathan, Periyamotur; M. Nagarajan, Pazhayapet, Krishnagiri; M. Udhayashankar, Vellakuttai; K. Kasturi, D. Kothapalli; N. Madhivanan, Chennasandiram; R. Sampath, Jhujhuwadi, Hosur.

SHG bags Aavin canteen contract

Contract for canteen in the milk dairy premises of the Dharmapuri District Cooperative Milk Federation in Krishnagiri has been awarded to the Tamizh Mahalir Group, a self-help group operating under the auspices of the NGO Society for Women and Child Development.

The renovated canteen which was closed for some time by the Aavin management was inaugurated by the Collector V.K. Shanmugam here on Thursday.

The self-service canteen will run from 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. offering morning tiffin, lunch, and hot beverages with snacks in the evening on dual rate basis.

Food items would continue to be supplied to the employees on subsidised rate and for outsiders at market rate.

It was announced that the SHG will also undertake food orders for outsiders.

Israel man know-how on horticulture in india

An Israeli expert checked out this town on Wednesday, but the visit had nothing to do with the security scenario here.He was here to help the State give a big push to its horticultural sector. The visit was arranged by the Tamil Nadu Government through its horticultural department.Israeli horticulture expert Cliff Love, who is attached to his country’s ministry of agriculture and rural development, and specialises in subtropical orchards of mango, avocado and lychee, interacted with horticulture farmers in this district and shared his knowledge with them. With TN officials in tow, Love visited many mango groves at Bargur, Mathur, Ikadu and other places in Uthangarai and Krishnagiri on Wednesday. Love asked the farmers about the mode of mango cultivation in the Krishnagiri belt, which is the biggest producer of the fruit in it in the State. He tried to understand their problems and suggest solutions.Talking to Express, Love said he would check the suitability of high-density planting under rain-fed conditions. He would look into the possibility of implementing special practices for rain-fed conditions followed in Israel, in Tamil Nadu’s mango belt. Love would also chalk out methods for rejuvenating old orchards suitable for the area. There again, Love would try to implement the methods followed in Israel. Next only to ragi, mango is a major product in Krishnagiri district. The farmers have covered 30,017 hectares under mango cultivation. The entire stretch of Bargur, Uthangarai, Pochampalli, Krishnagiri, Mathur, Singarapettai and Veppanapalli has thousands of hectares under mango cultivation. In fact, the mango pulp industry in Krishnagiri district is the second largest in the country, the first being Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The district accounts for around 30 per cent of the Rs 400 to Rs 500-crore foreign exchange earned through mango pulp exports every year. The National Horticultural Mission (NHM) has identified the region’s potential and has taken steps to promote mango cultivation here, said Subbian, Joint Director of Horticulture, who accompanied Love to the interior parts of mango groves in Bargur.Besides Tamil Nadu, Love has already visited the fields in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Nine killed in bus mishap

Nine people were killed and three others grievously injured in a road accident at Kollapallimedu near Hosur in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, today.

Reports received at the police headquarters here said the victims were travelling in a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Bus, which hit a tractor-trailer from behind at 0330 hrs.

The accident occurred as the driver of the Hosur-bound bus from Salem, reportedly dozed off. Nine people, including driver Dhanasekar and Conductor Kamaraj, died on the spot.

The bus was coming in top speed. Such was the impact of the accident that nearly half of the front portion of the bus got entangled into the rear portion of the tractor-trailer.

Authorities had to cut some of the mangled remains of the bus to retrieve the bodies. The injured were admitted to Hosur Government hospital.

Security forces gear up for Bargur by-poll

57 persons taken into preventive custody; six detained under Goondas Act Photo: N. Bashkaran

Reviews poll arrangements: Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) K. Radhakrishnan (centre) inspecting the polling booth at Chinna Bargur Panchayat Union Primary School in Krishnagiri on Saturday. Pramod Kumar, Inspector General of Police (Western region), (second right), K. Vannia Perumal, (second left), A.G. Babu (right), Superintendent of Police, Krishnagiri and R. Sudhakar (left), Superintendent of Police, Dharmapuri are in the picture. —

KRISHNAGIRI: Security forces in the district are fully geared up for the peaceful conduct of the bye-election to the Bargur Assembly constituency, K. Radhakrishnan, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), said here on Saturday.

Mr. Radhakrishnan held a brief meeting with A.G. Babu, Superintendent of Police, Krishnagiri, R. Sudhakar, SP, Dharmapuri, D. Magesh Kumar, ADSP (PEW), DSPs and Inspectors at the Bargur Police Station.

He inspected a polling booth at Chinna Bargur Panchayat Primary School in Bargur along with Promod Kumar, Inspector General of Police (Western Region) and K. Vannya Perumal, DIG (Salem).

Speaking to reporters he said that four Deputy Superintendent of Police, two Additional Superintendent of Police, 39 Inspectors, 1,200 police personnel and two companies of Tamil Nadu Special Police Battalion from Pochampalli would be deployed for poll security.

The constituency comes under eight police stations in the district.

Of this, seven police stations would be equipped with a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) with 10 police personnel and a Sub-Inspector.

There would be 49 mobile parties patrolling round-the-clock in the constituency.

All the booths would be manned by a policeman and in the case of hyper-sensitive booths two policemen would be deployed.

In view of the bye-poll, 57 persons were taken into preventive custody.

Of the total 567 arrest warrants issued by the courts, 284 persons were arrested. 548 licensed guns were surrendered and 4 illegal possession of guns were seized.

Six persons were arrested under Goondas Act. Five cases were filed against the political parties for violating model code of conduct.

Standing panels formed to monitor code of conduct

Three standing committees have been formed to monitor the model code of conduct for the Bargur Assembly bye-elections which goes to poll on August 18.

A. Anbarasu, Revenue Divisional Officer, would head the committee would also function as liaison officer for the District Election Officer and Returning Officer.

Tahsildhars A. Chandramohan, Pochampalli; K. Rajagopal, Krishnagiri and M. Theerthagiri, Uthangarai would function as members of the panel at the taluk-level and another committee at the Firka level under the Zonal Deputy Tahsildhars has been formed here on Saturday.

The members of the committees would monitor the implementation of the model of code conduct and violation if any would be reported to the district-level officers for further action.

Polling booths

Out of the 230 polling booths in Bargur assembly constituency, 71 have been identified as hyper-sensitive and the remaining 151 identified as sensitive booths. Elaborate security arrangements have been made by the district administration to conduct the bypoll in a free and fair

Para military forces would be deployed in the hyper-sensitive and sensitive booths.

Check posts

Twenty-two check posts have been formed in the state, district and constituency borders to prevent infiltration of anti-social elements during the time of election.

Nine check posts in state borders with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, five in district borders of Dharmapuri, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and eight in constituency borders were set up.

Booth inspection

Meanwhile, the District Election Officer V.K. Shanmugam inspected 11 booths in Kunnthur, Vaduganur, Pasandhi, Kumarampatti, K. Ettipatti and Samalpatti villages in Mathur block on Friday.

Bankers strike

Banking operations remained crippled in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts as the nation-wide strike of bank staff entered the second day on Friday.

Over 60 employees staged a demonstration in front of Indian Bank Regional Office in Dharmapuri on Friday. Ramanathan, Regional Secretary, AIBOC; N. Ramamurthy, District Secretary AIBEA; P.S. Satyanarayana, Assistant Secretary, BEFI; S. Hari Rao, Executive Committee member, BEFI; participated. P. Dilli Babu, MLA, spoke.Ten members of All India Insurance Employees Union staged a demonstration in front of LIC office in Dharmapuri on Friday to show solidarity to the striking bank staff.

Campaigning intensifies in Bargur; DMK not taking chances

Bargur is considered to be a high profile constituency after E.G. Sugavanam defeated Jayalalitha in the 1996 Assembly elections by a margin of 8,366 votes.

The election was necessitated after M. Thambidurai, AIADMK’s Propoganda Secretary and MLA was elected to Lok Sabha.Three Ministers – E.V. Velu, K. Ponmudi and T.M. Anbarasan are camping in the constituency. DMK has divided the constituency into nine zones for campaigning.

Each zone is headed by a district secretary

Many district secretaries who took part in the first public meeting of UPA conducted in Pochampalli have promosed the party high command that they would work vigorously.

As the opposition AIADMK was boycotting the polls, DMK thought it is a cake walk for them after the rejection of the DMDK candidate V. Chandran’s nomination. The DMDK appealed to the Election Commission of India for a re-scrutiny of the nomination papers. Then Chandran was announced as an Independent candidate and got ‘Murasu’ as his symbol, which incidentally is the DMDK’s symbol.

DMK, DMDK, BJP and CPI have opened their election offices in Bargur in addition to their party offices in the district headquarters.

Two-day seminar

A two-day seminar on the South Pennar Delta Civilisation will be held here on October 10 and 11.

Those interested in submitting papers can approach the Personal Assistant to the Collector (General), floor I, room no: 83, Collectorate in person or through post.

They can also register their names over phone by dialling 04343-239200.

Essays should be relevant to Krishnagiri district, a press release said.

Interested persons can contact Prof. T. Govindan, 5/139B Illakkiampatti, Dharmapuri - 5. Telephone: 04342-230867, mobile: 94425 30867, the release added.

Forest guard shot at by four poachers

Injured forest guard Govindan at the Salem GH on Sunday.

Express News Service

First Published : 03 Aug 2009 04:53:00 AM IST

Last Updated :

HOSUR: Four poachers fired at forest guards, leaving one grievously injured in Krishnagiri forest region on Sunday.Two forest guards of Krishnagiri Forest Division saw some poachers with country guns when they were on patrol in Neranahalli forest region on Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border. The guards tried to nab the poachers when they were cutting sandalwood trees, sources said.But in the melee, the poachers fired at the forest guards and fled. Govindan, the forest guard, who was grievously injured, was taken to Salem Government Hospital. Krishnagiri Police have registered a case and a police team lead by Krishnagiri Superintendent of Police Babu visited the spot. The police are also investigating whether naxalites are involved in the incident. It may be noted that Krishnagiri district was once a hot bed for naxalites and the State government has taken all measures to prevent naxalites from entering Tamil Nadu from Andhra through Krishnagiri district.

Written test

A preliminary written test and new inventions in science will be conducted on July 19 to select boys and girls aged between 9 and 16 for the ‘Balashree’ award at the Jawahar Bala Bhavan housed in the District Music School in Krishnagiri.

A release issued by the Project Officer P. Kathirvel, Jawahar Bala Bhavan, said that the award being given to the children every year by the National Bala Bhavan

For details, contact: 98407 24673, says the press release.

Exhibition on environment

Commissioner of Museums T.Sri. Sridhar inaugurated an environment awareness exhibition at the District Museum on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Krishnagiri on Friday.

Mr. Sridhar said since Krishnagiri shares border with Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, it was an important base for commercial activities in the past. Urban citizens are inhaling polluted air because of heavy traffic, hence it is essential to teach children keep the environment clean.

In Krishnagiri district, there are many old inscriptions, stone slabs and special drawings. It is our duty to safeguard these inscriptions, Sridhar added.

Additional Collector (Development) Darez Ahmed, Chief Education Officer, M. Baskaran, UNICEF district coordinator Mr. Ganesamoorthy participated.

R.T. Thulasi Brinda, Curator, Krishanagiri Government Museum welcomed the gathering. Ashok, Technical Assistant proposed a vote of thanks.

Later, he along with the Collector visited Periya Kottapalli hills where they inspected rocks having Brahmi inscriptions.They also visited Chinna Kothur village, as it was once the capital city of Hoysala Prince Veeraramanathan. They inspected the Kuntheeswar temple.

Will AIADMK boycott Assembly polls, asks DMK

Will the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam boycott the 2011 Assembly elections in the State, asked E.V. Velu, the Food Minister, here on Friday.

He was here to address at the United Progressive Alliance’s meeting held in Pochampalli in Krishnagiri.

He said by-elections were the litmus test for the ruling and Opposition parties. If Jayalalithaa do not believe in Electronic Voting Machines, will she take the same stand in 2011?

He asked the DMK and its alliance party workers not to take the boycott by AIADMK alliance in a lighter manner. “We should remain alert and work for the victory of DMK,” he said.

Law Minister Durai Murugan questioned Jayalalithaa’s demand for cancelling the by-elections and use the money to provide basic amenities.

He asked if she was really worried about the people she would not have fielded the former Bargur MLA M. Thambidurai in Karur Lok Sabha constituency.

The by-election was necessitated because of Thambidurai’s resignation.

Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veerasamy said the BJP was obstructing the Rs. 2400-crore Sethu Canal project and the Left was opposing the Nuclear agreement.

Both did not want the nation to develop

Rs. 1,084-crore Annual Credit Plan released for Krishnagiri

The Annual Credit Plan (ACP) for Krishnagiri district for the financial year 2009-10 envisages a total outlay of Rs. 1,084.74 crore, which is 16.20 per cent (Rs. 151.11 crore) higher than that of the previous year.

Indian Bank Chairman and Managing Director M.S. Sundara Rajan released the ACP here on Thursday and Collector V.K. Shanmugam received the first copy.

Agriculture gets the lion’s share of Rs. 646.26 crore, which accounts for 59.90 per cent of the total outlay benefiting 1,73,071 beneficiaries. This is 85.81 per cent higher than the previous year’s outlay.

The projected crop loan will be Rs. 352.52 crore, 44 per cent higher than that of the last year. A sum of Rs. 232.78 crore has been earmarked for agriculture term loan and for agriculture allied sectors it is Rs. 60.96 crore (18.74 per cent higher than last year).

Besides these, an amount of Rs. 157.92 crore has been allocated for Small Scale Industries, which is 4.78 per cent higher than the last year.

An outlay of Rs.280.56 crore has been projected for other priority sectors such as transport, retail trade, small business professional and self-employed, housing and education loans. This is 60.52 per cent higher than the last fiscal.

Indian Bank Assistant General Manager G. Muthappan, Lead District Manager B. Vadivel and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Assistant General Manager V. Thirumalai participated.

SHG fair

Later, Mr. Sundara Rajan inaugurated an exhibition of products by the women Self-Help Groups from Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts.

More than 15 groups participated in the exhibition and showcased their productes.

He also honoured 26 toppers of SSLC and Plus Two exams from both the districts.

All of them were given cheques ranging from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 at a simple function organised in Krishnagiri.

Krishnagiri district gets BPO firm

Giving an impetus to the process of extending the operations of the outsourcing industry to Tier II and Tier III centres, as well as rural centres, in Tamil Nadu, the Krishnagiri district administration is bringing home a set of new facilities in the field that will provide jobs to local candidates.
Adventity, a Mumbai-based end-to-end Knowledge and Business Process Outsourcing company, has partnered with FOSTeRA (Fostering technologies in rural areas) in this venture. FOSTeRA, an ISO 9001-2000 certified rural BPO, an initiative of the Krishnagiri district administration, will carry forward its operations in both voice and non-voice modules. A Memorandum of Understanding for this purpose has been signed between FOSTeRA chief executive officer M.R. Ashok Kumar and officials of Adventity BPO.
“Eighty candidates were selected for voice module from the Alapatti unit of FOSTeRA. They are undergoing a pilot training programme at Alapatti from June 23. Experts from Adventity will fine-tune the candidates in voice-based calls, customer care and data conversion activities,” said District Collector Santhosh Babu.
The BPO firm will announce similar programmes in non-voice modules at rural BPOs in Mittapalli (Uthangarai union) and Alapatti (Krishnagiri union). The date of training will be announced shortly, according to sources in Adventity. Under the deal, Adventity will provide work related to voice and non-voice operations, and FOSTeRA will provide high-end components, including dialers, headphone sets and special router switches for the voice module.
According to Mr. Ashok Kumar, over 1,200 students from Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts took part in an interactive session on skill development organised by National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and the district administration in Krishnagiri. Nasscom vice-president Raju Bhatnagar gave the association’s membership to FOSTeRA.
Tests were conducted in two phases to assess the technical and soft skills of the candidates and English proficiency. A tabulation report was prepared and the candidates were given call letters on the spot. Mr. Kumar said FOSTeRA would set up an advanced training and BPO centre in association with Nasscom at Hosur soon. High-end equipment for the centre will be procured from major companies.

Gold coins recovered from villagers

Revenue department officials of Krishnagiri have recovered 63 gold coins from the people in Aliyalam village in the district in the past three days. One Ragu (6) found a mud pot full of gold coins while he was playing in the agricultural field in Chinnabhiah in the area on last Saturday, the officials said. The villagers, who came to know about the incident, informed the revenue officials, who inturn rushed to the spot. The officials recovered 37 gold coins from Ragu's house on Sunday, a revenue department official said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the officials got a tip off that some other residents of the area also had obtained gold coins. An official team led by Tahsildar Muniraj along with Udhanapalli police raided the residences in the village and recovered seven gold coins on Sunday and another 19 coins. The period of the gold coins would be known only after the research by the archaeological department, Mr. Muniraj said.

Krishnagiri Political map

District Map

District Collectorate

History of Krishnagiri District

The Krishnagiri district has prehistoric importance. Archeological sources confirm the presence of habitats of man kind during Paleolithic, Neolithic and Mesolithic Ages. Various rock paintings and rock carvings of Indus Valley civilization and Iron Age seen in this district support the historical significance of this district. The heart of 'Krishnagiri', 'Hosur' and 'Uthangarai' were known as 'Eyil Nadu', 'Murasu Nadu' and 'Kowoor Nadu' respectively. During Chola period, Krishnagiri region was called 'Nigarili Chola Mandlam' and 'Vidhugadhazhagi Nallur'. Under 'Nulamba' rule it was popular as 'Nulambadi' according to historical sources.
Hero stones were erected for those whose lost their lives in pursuit of adventure. There was a tradition of erecting memorial stones for people who sacrifice their lives for the sake of their kings since 'Sangam Age'. These memorial stones were called 'Navagandam'. Plenty of memorial stones available in this district speak volumes about the valour and virtues of the people. Part of Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Mysore were together named as "Thagadur Nadu" in Sangam Age. "Adhiayaman", the noble king offered 'Karunelli' (Goose Berry) to the great poetess "Avvaiyar" who adorned his court for her long life. Krishnagiri was once ruled by Adhiyaman and hence also known as 'Adhiayaman Nadu'. This region was ruled by Pallavas, Gangas, Nulambas, Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijaya Nagar Emperors, Bijapur Sultans, Wudayars of Mysore and Nayaks of Madurai. This region of Krishnagiri served as gateway of Tamil Nadu and the protective barrier for Sourthern region defending onslaughts from barriers with motives of imperialism and exploitation. Twelve Forts in this region were popularly known as 'Bara Mahal' Forts. These forts have borne the funs of many attacks by Mysore and Andhra rulers. Krishnagiri Fort become the first and forth most defensive place. The majestic fortress built on Krishnagiri hill by the Vijaya Nagar Emperors, stands as testimony still now. ' "Kundani" a place in Krishnagiri District was once the Head Quarters of the Hoysala king 'Veera Ramanathan' in 13th Centuty AD. 'Jagadevarayan', Hoysala kind made'Jagadevi' (one of the 'Bara Mahal' forts) as his capital.
During Mysore war I the British troops passed through Krishnagiri to attack Hyder Ali's Forces at 'Kaveripattinam'. British army was defeated here. In Mysore war II entire region of Salem and Karnataka came under Hyder Ali's control. Hyder Ali fought bravely against the English at Krishnagiri.
In Mysore war II after the "Treaty of Srirangapattinam" entire region of Salem and Barah Mahal were surrendered to the British. In 1792 AD, Captain Alexander Reed became the first District Collector of this region. Under the diplomacy of Robert Clive, the then Governor of Madras Presidency, Krishnagiri became the headquarters of Bara Mahal.
A mint was established at Krishnagiri in 1794 AD. Gold, silver and copper coins were forged here. Rayakottai once the strong hold of British lost its importance for defense by 1880 AD. Many soldiers from Krishnagiri region took part in the world war and lost their lives. Even today a large number of youth from this Krishnagiri district are in the service of our Mother Land. Many patriots and sons of this soil participated in the nations freedom struggle. One among them was the "Wise Old Man, Dr .C. Raja Gopalachari", who hailed from a small village in this district rose to the highest position in the nation as the first Governor General of independent India and also as Chief Minister.
The historical importance and potential growth in education, economy and tourism of present Krishnagiri made it necessary to create a separate district. Krishnagiri was formed as 30th district by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Krishnagiri district was carved out of Dharmapuri district on 09th February 2004 with five taluks and ten blocks. Thiru. Mangat Ram Sharma, I.A.S. has administered the office as first Collector of Krishnagiri District.

Heavy rain lashes Krishnagiri

Heavy rain accompanied by thunder lashed Krishnagiri district on Thursaday evening for about two hours.
Krishnagiri town, Kaveripattinam, Bargur and surrounding areas experienced heavy
rain. Flood water has entered low-lying
areas.
Power supply was affected in most part of the district. Power supply was stopped as a precautionary
measure in Krishnagiri and the surrounding
villages.