Krishnagiri farmer's son tops TANUVAS counselling

A farmer’s son from Krishnagiri district topped in counselling at the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) held on Wednesday. Vijaya Kumar S, with an aggregate of 197.75, is the first person from his family to go to college. “From Class XI, I studied with the aim of doing something worthwhile for my district. After finishing B.VSc (Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences), I plan to enter the IAS and help my people,” he said. 

Handing over the admission letters, Minister for Animal Husbandry TKM Chinnaya said the government is taking several steps to improve the infrastructure and facilities in veterinary colleges. Counselling for special and vocational categories for B.VSc & AH started on Tuesday. General and reserved category appeared for counselling on Wednesday. 

State to file plea in Supreme Court over TN border survey

The State government will file an original suit in the Supreme Court seeking permission for initiating a survey to demarcate the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu boundary in Hogenakkal.

Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who announced this in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, said it was important to demarcate the 67-km boundary, as neither of the states could stake proper claim to the “several islands” along River Cauvery.

Bommai was replying to a query by BJP MLC Ashwathnarayana, in the backdrop of the Hogenakkal drinking water project taken up by Tamil Nadu.

The minister said the State had communicated its objections to the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government regarding the modifications and increase in the scope of the project which proposes to supply drinking water to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts.

However, there were many unresolved issues, as there was no clarity over the boundary.

Bommai said the State government had repeatedly urged the Centre to take up the joint survey.

“The concurrence of both the states is necessary to initiate the survey. However, due to non-cooperation of Tamil Nadu, the survey has not been taken up,” he said.

The law department had issued orders to the water disputes legal team to take necessary action to file the suit in the apex court, he said.

Ashwathnarayana said the government should strongly oppose the Hogenakkal drinking water project as it would submerge “thousands of acres of forest land in Karnataka”.

Kulandei Francis’ visionary zeal fetches him the Magsaysay

Honour for Kulandei Francis’ developmental work in Tamil Nadu’s rural areas

“I never work for or expect any award.” This was the response of Kulandei Francis, who has been chosen for the Ramon Magsaysay Award for the year 2012, for economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural India.

Mr. Francis, who had just been informed by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, told The Hindu that “it is a recognition of my hard and sincere work for over three decades for the development and livelihood improvement of the rural people in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts besides parts of Vellore district.”

Mr. Francis, Director of the Krishnagiri-based NGO Integrated Village Development Programme (IVD), thanked his staff and self-help members for their cooperation. “I could not have won such a prestigious award without them,” he said.

The Foundation said in the announcement that Mr. Kulandei Francis was being recognised for “his visionary zeal, his profound faith in community energies, and his sustained programmes in pursuing the holistic economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural India.”

Founded 22 years ago, the IVDP was responsible for the formation of more than 7,000 self-help groups in the three districts. So far, the value of transactions through the SHGs was over Rs.2,500 crore and nearly Rs.250 crore lay with the accounts of the SHG members.

He was invited by foundation to receive the award at Manila on August 31. He would leave Krishnagiri on August 24 to receive the award, Mr Francis said.