nagapattinam l sunday l December 06, 2020 l `8.00 l PAGES 24 l city EDITION joe Biden secures enough electors to win presidency With California certifying him as the winner of the November 3 election, Joe Biden now officially has 279 electors backing him ‘it’s the first step towards white House’ Although it has been apparent for weeks that Biden won the presidential election, experts say officially securing 270-plus electors is the first step toward the White House. “It is a legal milestone and the first milestone that has that status. Everything prior to that was premised on what we call projections,” said Edward B Foley, an American law professor ■ 30 Electors due to vote on December 14 ■ The electors are expected to meet on December 14 to officially elect the next president. Results of their vote are due to be received and approved by Congress on January 6 Three states that Biden won — Colorado, Hawaii and New Jersey — are yet to certify results. Once they do, Biden will have 306 electors of the roughly 50 election lawsuits filed by trump have been rejected CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Cyclone-damage: EPS deputes 11 Ministers to monitor relief Express news service @ Chennai CM Edappadi K Palaniswami paying tributes to J Jayalalithaa in Chennai on Saturday EXPRESS READ TN govt issues SOP for reopening colleges Chennai: As colleges prepare to reopen their gates for final year UG and medical students on Monday, the State has issued a Standard Operating Procedure for the conduct of classes. Universities, colleges and hostels within containment zones will not be allowed to conduct classroom sessions, and teachers and students from containment zones should not attend classes | P4 CHIEF Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday deputed 11 senior ministers to the districts affected by cyclone Buveri to coordinate the relief work. He also stationed 14 NDRF teams in Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothuku- di, Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam, and Cuddalore districts for assisting relief works and helping people. He instructed the officials to constantly monitor the water level in all rivers, dams and lakes. Palaniswami, after chairing a high-level meeting at the Secretariat, said, “A sum of `10 lakh will be given to the kin of seven persons who died in the cyclone. Compensation for other categories of losses are as follows: 37 cows and 4 buffaloes (`30,000 each), four bulls (`25,000 each), 18 calves (`16,000 each), and 123 goats (`3,000 each). A total of 75 huts have been fully damaged and 1,725, partly damaged. While eight tiled houses were fully dam- PM to lay foundation for new Parliament on 10th New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for a new Parliament building on December 10, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Saturday. “The new building will showcase the cultural diversity of the country. Hopefully, in the 75th year of independence, Parliament session will be held in the new building,” he said | P7 Mukul Roy chargsheeted in TMC leader’s killing Kolkata: Months before West Bengal Assembly polls, senior BJP leader Mukul Roy has been named ‘conspirator’ in the second supplementary chargesheet filed by West Bengal CID on Saturday in the murder of Trinamool Congress MLA Satyajit Biswas. Roy has been found to have been “very actively involved primarily as a conspirator” in the killing of Biswas, sources said. Farm unions reject govt’s proposal to amend laws, say nothing short of repeal will do after ‘vaccination’ dose of Coronavirus vaccine Covaxin, a Bharat Biotech prod@ New Delhi/Chandigarh uct Tomorrow at 11 am at Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantt. I have Haryana health minister volunteered to take the trial Anil Vij’s tweet on Saturday dose,” he had tweeted on Nothat he had tested positive for vember 19, a day before the Covid-19 and a statehighly publicised event ment by the union in which he was adhealth ministry that in ministered the jab. effect identified Vij as Saturday’s an a recipient of the Covnouncement by Vij id-19 vaccine kicked triggered a flurry of up a major controvercriticism at the hamsy Experts pointed out . handedness of the that they constitute eisponsors of the trial as ther ir responsible many saw it as a breach statements or a breach of the trial terms. of research. The terms make it Baharat “I have been tested that the doses are doubiotech Corona positive. I am ble-blinded and a ranclarifies domised trial, suggestadmitted to Civil Hospital Ambala Cantt. All Bharat Biotech ing that neither the those who have come took to Twitter participants nor investo allay any in close contact with tigators know whether me are advised to get concerns, saying they are receiving the themselves tested for clinical trials are actual vaccine or dumcorona,” Vij wrote on based on a two- my shots. dose schedule, Twitter. The Union health given 28 days Nearly two weeks ministry appeared to apart. The back, Vij had declared make the situation that he would be ad- vaccine efficacy worse when it said “the will be ministered the first anti-bodies against the dose of Covaxin as part determined two infection build up in a of the experimental weeks after the human being only afsecond dose,it vaccine’s phase 3 trial. ter a specific number said Covaxin is an indigeof days pass after the nously developed posecond dose of the vactential Covid-19 vaccine devel- cine is taken since this is a twooped by Bharat Biotech and the dose vaccine.” ICMR and is currently being This clarification implied tested on nearly 26,000 volun- that the ministry knew that Vij teers in the final stage of the had indeed received the vaccine trial. and also made it public. “I will be administered trial Continued on: p7 S u m i S u k a n ya D u t ta & H a r p r ee t B a j w a Express news service @ New Delhi / Chandigarh the government on Saturday seemed to hold on to the negotiations with the agitating farmers by the skin of their teeth after the union leaders threatened to walk out of the talks, saying it was time for the Centre to take concrete decisions on their demands. According to sources, the government managed to pacify them saying an intra-government deliberation was required to consider their demands. Both the sides eventually agreed to meet for the sixth time on Wednesday December 9 at 11 am. Sources said the government delegation comprising agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, railway minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state for industries Som Prakash provided the farmers the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday. The minutes contained the government’s plans on changing the laws in accordance with the farmers’ demands. “The farmers took the document and deliberated on it during the 15-minute tea break,” the sources said. But the far mers rejected the amendments and stuck to Row over naming Kerala institute after Golwalkar their demand of repealing all the three laws. Sources said in the last segment of Saturday’s meeting, the farmers went on a ‘maun vrat’ to express their disappointment. They had come prepared with placards that said “yes or no”, insisting the government must reply to their demands in yes or no. “After we flashed placards, Tomar huddled with other ministers inside a room and came out to tell us the Act involves a lot of ministries. They sought two days time and proposed a meeting on December 6 or 7. We told them December 8 is Bharat Bandh so we can meet on December 9,” Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Buta Singh said. “The ministers said nothing will be left in the three laws after the amendments. But we told them clearly to repeal these laws,” said Bharatiya Kisan Union, Punjab (Lakhowal Group), general secretary, Harvinder Singh Lakhowal. Another farm leader, Balbir Singh Rajewal, said the government wanted a discussion on the Act but “we told them they are wasting their time.” After the meeting, Tomar appealed to the farmers again to end the agitation and also thanked them for their disci- DACA Farmers staging a protest against the Centre’s agricultural reforms at Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border on Saturday; (below) Representatives of farmer unions on a ‘maun vrat’ during their meeting with govt | Shekhar Yadav, PTI pline during the protests. He also appealed to them to send back the senior citizens and children from the protest site. Before the meeting, the agriculture minister accompanied by defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah and Goyal briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the situation. “We are trying to double farmers’ income. With further dialogue we will try to clear their remaining issues,” said junior agriculture Kailash Choudhary . P7 reinstatement gets U.S. court’s sanction Express news service SHE lost her dad when she was barely 15, and was raised by her single mother who made ends meet working as a tailor. She was poor, went to a modest government school, but was not afraid to dream big. She wanted to become a doctor, serve the poor and needy who lack access to quality healthcare. P9 and Technology Harsh Vardhan had on Friday announced that the research facility — which is ready for dedication to the nation — will be named as ‘Shri Guruji Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar National Centre for Complex Disease in Cancer and Viral Infection.’ On Saturday, Pinarayi wrote to Harsh Vardhan demanding that the campus be named after an eminent Indian scientist of international repute. “Naming the campus after an eminent Indian scientist will keep up the reputation of the institution and help avoid controversies in the public domain,” said Pinarayi. modi facing biggest test of his tenure New Delhi: The three agrarian laws have become the biggest test for Narendra Modi in his six years as Prime Minister. The scale of protests has surpassed the agitations against the Ordinances to amend the Land Acquisition Act, the CAA and even the Supreme Court order on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. “The border state is far more sensitive than any. The PM may need to show tactfulness,” an agriculture advisor said | P7 WITH THIS ISSU E Primary Character PLUS 12 PAGES A dream that came true, thanks to 7.5% quota A US court has ordered reinstatement of a programme that protects illegal immigrants, brought to US as minors, from deportation. The ruling is expected to help many Indian migrants E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ T’puram The Union Government’s decision to name the second campus of the Thiruvananthapurambased Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) after RSS ideologue M S Golwalkar has kicked up a major political row in Kerala, with the Left parties and the Congress alleging that the move is aimed at creating communal polarisation. While Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the Centre urging it to name the campus after an eminent Indian scientist, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sought to name the second campus too after Rajiv Gandhi. Meanwhile, the BJP asked the Left parties and the Congress not to give communal colour to everything. “Golwalkar is a nationalist. Don’t put him in a small circle,” said BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan. Union Minister for Science camps and 43 mobile camps have been set up in the districts affected, and as many as 13,556 people have received treatment. The officials have been told to estimate the damage caused to standing crops, provide appropriate compensation and also ensure the payment of insurance claims to farmers,” Palaniswami said. P4 Round five ends in stalemate, Ethics debate as next meeting on Wednesday minister gets Covid Surappa being targeted for being honest: Kamal Chennai: Actor-politician Kamal Haasan, through a video statement on Saturday, backed Anna University V-C M K Surappa, who is facing a probe over corruption charges. Haasan said that he will rise in defense when “honest people are targeted.” The State last month asked retired HC judge P Kalaiyarasan to look into charges of financial irregularities against Surappa | P4 aged, 410 tiled houses were partly damaged. Appropriate compensation would be given to the owners.” A total of 66 trees were uprooted in the cyclone, all of which were cleared on a war footing, Palaniswami said. “Steps were taken to replace 27 electric poles that had fallen. A total of 34 stationary medical @ Chennai If not for the State govern- is not affected at any point. ment’s 7.5 per cent quota, her But, all their efforts hit a wall dreams would have rewhen the lockdown mained as just that — was imposed to contain mere dreams. The quoCovid-19. ta added meaning to all Jayakumari lost her her hardwork. job, and even ensuring Meet RJ Nandana, a their daily needs are native of Kanniyakumet became a chalmari, who is now enlenge. Nandana moved rolled in a medical colto her uncle’s house to RJ Nandana l e g e. H e r m o t h e r prepare for National Jayakumari managed to en- Eligibility Entrance Test sure her daughter’s education (NEET). This year, she man- aged to clear the test. “But, had the government not given us quota, my dreams could not have materialised,” says Nandana, a sentiment shared by almost all students who made the cut for medical education under the new quota. She also says that on completing MBBS, she would work only at a government institution and serve the poor and needy . P4 c h eers t o h ea l t h Madras Univ student develops India’s first seaweed beer SV KRIS H NA C H AITANYA @ Chennai U Vignesh IF there were fortune cookies in beer bottles, they would, perhaps, foretell all the consequences of drinking — most of them to do with health and some about social behaviour. A Chennai-based youngster, however, is trying to rescript that story by making beer a “health , drink”. U Vignesh, a postgraduate student and researcher at the biotechnology department in the University of Madras, has made a beer from seaweed, which, he claims, has anti-cancer, anti-genotoxic, and antiinflammatory properties. “This beer is made from a seaweed found in abundance along the Tamil Nadu coast, and meets all key parameters laid out by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for commercial beer brands,” says the M.Sc student. Vignesh is planning to approach the authorities to apply for a patent. He has submitted a dissertation on the subject as part of his course in the university. “India has about 844 species of seaweeds. Our investigation showed a specific brown seaweed found near Mandapam coast has high nutritional value compared to any other variety. An attempt was made to brew an alcoholic beverage and it became a success,” says Vignesh. P5
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