After Amma Canteen, now Amma Mineral Water
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Sunday launched the Amma Mineral Water, costing Rs.10 a litre, after inaugurating a water plant set up by the transport department. The mineral water follows the sale of subsidised food at Amma Canteen besides rice and vegetables at cooperative stores. On Saturday, the Tamil Nadu government announced the sale of tamarind at Rs.60 a kg.
Jayalalithaa inaugurated the 300,000 litre per day plant at Gummudipoondi near here through video conferencing from the secretariat here. She also bought the first water bottle for Rs.10 from Transport Minister V. Senthil Balaji.
Similar water plants will be set up in nine other districts. The government said a litre of railways mineral water cost Rs.15 and private players retail mineral water for Rs.20.
Amma Mineral Water will be sold at bus stations and on long distance buses. The mineral water follows the popular Amma Canteen schemes of various municipal corporations in the state selling subsidised food like idli, pongal and various kinds of rice: sambar, curd and lemon.
While idli is priced at Re.1 per piece, pongal/sambar/lemon/curry powder rice is priced at Rs.5 per plate. Curd rice sold at Rs.3 per plate.
Jayalalithaa had announced that Amma Canteen’s will soon start selling two chapatis with dal or korma for Rs.3 in the evenings.
Currently, Amma Canteens are located in Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Salem, Tirupur, Thoothukudi, Vellore and Erode. When the prices of rice and vegetable shot up, the AIADMK government began procuring vegetables and selling them through its cooperative stores at affordable rates.
The government has procured 45,000 quintals of rice and sold them at Rs.20 a kg, which has helped curb galloping prices in the market. On Saturday, the government said it has resorted to bulk procurement of tamarind to be retailed at lower rates through its cooperative stores. A sum of Rs.3.30 crore will be used out of the Rs.100 crore price stabilisation fund for sourcing the tamarind. (IANS)
Investment Co chief, wife booked for fraud of Rs 200 crore
Nagpur: A case has been registered against a chairman of an investment company and his wife, who holds the post of director, for allegedly committing a fraud to the tune of about Rs 200 crores, police said on Sunday. The two had floated an investment company and expanded into business of retail stores, edible oil, milk and several branded products. They allegedly duped gullible investors while promising them high returns with an interest of up to 12.50 per cent, police said. About Rs 200 crores were collected from across the Vidarbha region and mostly retired government servants and businessmen fell into the trap, they said. Police received a number of complaints in this regard following which the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) conducted an investigation. Subsequently, offences under relevant sections of cheating and criminal breach of trust under IPC (406, 420, 34) and provisions of Maharashtra Protection of Investors Deposit Act, 1999, were registered against the couple last night, police said. No arrest has been made so far, they added. (PTI)
Seven-year-old girl molested
Hoshiarpur: A seven-year-old girl was allegedly molested by an unidentified person at Garshankar town in the district, police said on Sunday. A case for molesting a minor girl has been registered against an unknown person on the complaint of her parents. Police said that the victim was a UKG student in a private school in Garhshankar town. On September 13, when she returned from the school and went to urinate her parents noticed blood in her urine and they became suspicious. They immediately took the girl to a private doctor and later to Garhshankar Civil Hospital for her medical examination, police said. However, the doctors had not confirmed rape with the girl. (PTI)
Mentally unstable man detained for threatening to kill Nitish
Patna: Police have detained a mentally unstable man here for allegedly threatening to kill Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The police took into custody Bhimsen Mishra from near the JD(U) office on Veerchand Path area here on Saturday while he was walking away after plastering a poster in which he threatened to kill Nitish during his programme – Janata Ke Durbar Mein Mukhya Mantri – to be held at the latter’s official residence on Monday, SP (City) Jayant Kant said. Mishra was taken to Kotwali Police Station for questioning about his background and motive behind putting up poster threatening to kill the CM. The accused appears to be a mentally unstable person and he will be taken to a hospital for medical examination, Kant said. During interrogation, the accused man, a native of Chhitnawa village allegedly confessed that he had put up posters threatening to kill the Chief Minister and boasted that he had even visited the Chief Minister’s Janata Durbar on several occasions in the past, police sources said, adding he could not specify any reasons for his threat. (PTI)
Now dress code for Karnataka Government employees
Bangalore: Taking note of some of its staffers wearing clothes “that did not bring any repute”, the Karnataka Government has prescribed a “decent” dress code for them — pant and shirt or ‘pyjama/kurta’ for men and saree or ‘churidar’ for women. The state government has announced enforcement of the dress code for its officials and staff after some were found to wear clothes “that did not bring any repute” to the offices. A September 12 Government circular asked men staff to wear “decent” clothes like pant and shirt/pyjama/kurta and women staff saree or “churidar.” It has been noticed that staff of the state secretariat, particularly the newly-joined ones, come to offices wearing dress which does not bring repute to the Secretariat. The secretariat employees union general secretary had requested the government to implement a dress code so that the staff come to offices with “respectful clothes”, the circular said. Government drivers and “D” group staff already have uniforms and they have been asked wear them without fail while coming to office. It is the government’s desire that other officials and staff on government service in the state don’t wear clothes that bring it disrepute and put on only “decent” dress while coming to office, the circular issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms said. (PTI)
Pakistan violates ceasefire again
Jammu: Pakistani troops Sunday fired at Indian positions in Mendhar sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
“Around 6.30 a.m., Pakistani troops fired at Pilli and Noal posts in Dari Dabsi area of the LoC in Mendhar sector,” police sources told IANS.
The Pakistan army used automatics and light weapons and the Indian side retaliated the fire.
Till last reports came in, firing exchange between the two sides was still going on.
On Friday, India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Pakistan’s adviser on foreign affairs and national security, Sartaj Aziz, agreed to a meeting of the prime ministers of the two countries in New York later this month.
Aziz and Khurshid met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
The two leaders had agreed to respect the LoC ceasefire agreement. (IANS)