chennai l friday l october 22, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION India, others lobby to soften U.N. report on climate change? Saudi, Japan and Australia are also putting pressure on the UN to play down the need to move away from fossil fuels, BBC reports ‘Coal to remain India’s energy mainstay’ Draft paper downplays n-power India wants to keep coal as the mainstay of energy production for many decades to come due to the huge challenge in affordability of producing electricity through other means, the BBC report said. New Delhi is also batting for more focus on nuclear energy saying “almost all chapters” in the draft COP26 report contain a bias against the clean energy source ■ ■ According to India, nuclear energy is “established technology” with “good political backing except in a few countries” Many European countries have also said the draft report should be more positive about the role nuclear power can play in meeting the UN’s climate targets, the BBC report added | P12 450 GW The renewable energy capacity that India plans to have by 2030 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 6,68,91,331 The illuminated Red Fort to mark the occasion | PTI peak weeks in race to 1 bn SRK visits jail, NCB lands up at his home 2,34,46,468 4,12,02,974 2,47,46,875 S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai  Total doses  Dose one  Dose two 16-22 23-29 30-05 06-12 13-19 20-26 27-05 06-12 13-19 20-26 27-02 03-09 10-16 17-23 24-30 01-07 08-14 15-21 22-28 29-04 05-11 12-18 19-25 26-02 03-09 10-16 17-23 24-30 31-06 07-13 14-20 21-27 28-03 04-10 11-17 18-24 25-01 02-08 09-15 16-22 Mt 100 cr scaled January February March S u m i S u k a n ya D u tta @ New Delhi Two hundred and seventynine days after a massive nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive, the country on Thursday pulled off a remarkable feat by administering 100 crore jabs, largely supported by Covishield, which has remained the lynchpin of the exercise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a triumph of Indian science and that of the collective spirit of the people. “India scripts history he tweeted. ,” “We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and the collective spirit of 130 crore Indians. Congrats India on crossing 100 crore vaccinations. Gratitude to our doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat.” Of the total doses administered, over 88% were that of the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin remained a minor player. Russia’s Sputnik V also avail, April May June July able in India since May, had a very limited footprint. India started the vaccination campaign on January 16 last, beginning with shots for healthcare workers. It was later extended to frontline workers, before being opened up for the 60-plus population and those in the 45-60 age group with specified co-morbidities. From May Jab-o-meter Take your shot October 20 62,46,931 doses October 21 56,11,985 doses Total doses: 1,00,53,63,691 NATIONWIDE oct 20 oct 21 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 14,623 18,454 19,446 17,561 197 160 tamil nadu oct 20 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 1,170 1,418 20 oct 21 1,164 1,412 20 August September October 1, the vaccination programme was opened to all adults. It picked up speed from June 21 when the Centre revised its inoculation strategy . However, the target to fully vaccinate all 93 crore adult population by this year-end might still be a long shot as only 31% in the 18-plus group have been double-jabbed. Experts said India would need nearly 1.2 crore doses everyday from now if it has to completely vaccinate all the adults by this year-end. Besides, nearly 25% have not received even one dose of the vaccine while 44% are partially vaccinated. The Centre itself recently flagged concerns that a large number of people with one dose of Covid vaccine are missing out on their scheduled second dose. Team india responds to adversity with achievement, writes modi Page 6 Shah Rukh Khan leaves Arthur Road Jail after meeting his son on Thursday | PTI Six lawyers from TN barred from practice as they face criminal charges R SIVAKUMAR @ Chennai Six lawyers, allegedly involved in different criminal activities, were barred from practice in courts and tribunals until disciplinary proceedings pending against them are disposed of. Two of them face murder charges while one is booked in a child sexual abuse case. The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry took the decision after it received reports of the cases filed against them. “They are prohibited from practising as advocates in all Could stay EWS quota benchmark, warns SC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi An angry Supreme Court bench on Thursday warned that it could stay the Centre’s decision to fix the income limit of `8 lakh for availing reservation under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category if the rationale behind the decision was not revealed. A bench headed by justice D Y Chandrachud was piqued because the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Department of Personnel and Training failed to file their affidavits in response to pointed questions framed by the court last week. “We may stay the government notification fixing `8 lakh criteria for determining the EWS and you can keep filing the affidavits,” the judges warned. The court said it is not entering the policy domain but was only trying to ascertain whether constitutional principles were adhered to while arriving at the `8 lakh benchmark. “Tell us if you want to revisit the criteria or not. If you want us to discharge our duties, then we are ready to do so. We are formulating questions which you need to answer them.” The bench was hearing petitions challenging the Centre’s notice providing 27% reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) and 10% for EWS category in NEET admissions for medical courses. The court asked Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj whether a report of the Major Gen (retd) S R Sinho panel constituted in 2010, which recommended measures for the EWS category was considered before , fixing the criteria. Natarajan said the panel’s report was one of the elements for determining the criteria. “Fixing of criteria of `8 lakh is a pure policy matter and the court should not interfere with it. It was decided after proper application of mind,” he said. ahead of polls TN Guv issues ordinance for 4 new corpns courts, tribunals, and other authorities in India either in their name or in any assumed name till the disposal of the disciplinary proceedings pending against them,” the Bar Council said on Thursday . Y Vigneshwarraj of Kadapakkam, Cheyyur, was barred for his involvement in a murder of a person in connection with money transaction. He was booked by the Chunambedu police in Kancheepuram under IPC Section 302 (murder), and SC/ST Act was also invoked. Another lawyer, G Krishna- E X P RESS READ kodanad case Fresh probe into death of Kanagaraj Salem: The district police on Thursday started fresh investigation into the death of C Kanagaraj, former car driver of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa and prime accused in the Kodanad estate heist and murder case, four years after he was killed in a road accident. Salem Superintendent of Police (SP) M Sree Abhinav confirmed that investigation into Kanagaraj’s death has begun but refused to divulge details. Kanagaraj’s elder brother Dhanapal told TNIE, “We want the death to be investigated and truth brought out.” | P4 family first Trouble in MDMK as Durai elevated E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Chennai Governor RN Ravi has promulgated separate ordinances for upgrading four municipalities — Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Karur, and Sivakasi — into municipal corporations. The move assumes significance in the backdrop of the Supreme Court directive to complete the elections to urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu within four months. Earlier, during the budget session of the Assembly , it was announced that six municipalities and 28 town panchayats would be upgraded as municipal corporations and municipalities respectively . A senior government official said the notification for upgrading 28 town panchayats into municipalities has already been issued, and that the public has been given six weeks’ time to express their views or objection to the proposal. As in the case of Tambaram and Kumbakonam, where a few municipalities and local bodies are to be merged, the government needs to seek public views. “However, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Karur, and Sivakasi have been upgraded with their existing boundaries. As such, there is no need to give time for eliciting public views,” he said. Hours after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan visited Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail to meet his son Aryan, some officials of the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) landed up at the actor’s home ‘Mannat’ in suburban Bandra. NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede later clarified that it was not a raid and that the officials visited SRK’s residence to collect some documents related to the cruise ship drugs case. On Thursday morning, the 55-year-old superstar had a 20minute meeting with his son at the high-security prison, where the latter is lodged after he was arrested in connection with the drugs case. This is the first time the Bollywood actor is meeting his son since his arrest by the NCB on October 3 connection with the alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship. Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan had spoken to Aryan via video call when he was in NCB custody . Apart from Aryan Khan, his friends Arbaaz Merchant and yoga in the air It’s fun time after heavy rains receded in southern districts paving the way for clear skies. A youth in Madurai takes a dive into the waterbody that reflects the historic Arittapatti hill on Thursday | kk sundar Coimbatore/Tiruppur: V Eswaran, youth wing secretary, quit the MDMK on Thursday to protest the elevation of party chief’s son Durai Vaiko as headquarters secretary. “I am not against anyone getting inducted but could not accept his decision of asking leaders who are in the party for a long time to serve under his son’s leadership, “ he said. Meanwhile, speaking to media, Durai said, “Our party has six per cent vote share in TN. But, over the last few years, this vote share has taken a hit. So, my first job is to recover that.” | P4 kumar of T Nagar in Chennai, is also booked for murder by the Krishnagiri town police. He was involved in the kidnap and murder of an auditor, Janaranjan Pradhan, sources said. Similarly, a Tiruppur-based advocate, K Rajendran of Tiruchy Main Road, Vellakovil, was caught for filing fake court fee stamp papers for motor vehicle accident cases. MG Ashok of Coimbatore, was prohibited from practice after a case of child sexual assault was registered against him at the AWPS in Madipakkam, Chennai. p3 Munmun Dhamecha are also accused in the drugs case. In a related development, the NCB on Thursday recorded the statement of Bollywood actor Ananya Panday. Earlier NCB officials had visited her residence to issue summons after her name was found in the WhatsApp chats during its probe against Aryan Khan in the drugs case. Ananya’s actorfather Chunky Pandey accompanied her to the NCB office to record her statement. She was called again on Friday for further questioning. FATF Adds Turkey to grey list, keeps Pak The global money laundering watchdog placed Turkey under surveillance over the country’s shady financial operations. Pakistan will continue to be on the grey list as it needs to prove action against UN-designated terrorists such as Hafiz Saeed P9 Slowdown looms over infrastructure sector C SHIVAKUMAR @ Chennai Construction activity in Tamil Nadu has slowed down with prices of raw materials doubling in the past one week. Steel prices hover around `60,000 a tonne, up from `45,000 (XXXX WHEN). So have cement prices, that have sneaked past `500 for a 50kg bag. The price of m-sand which was around `48 per cubic feet is now at `60 to 70 per cubic feet while blue metal that was at `40 per cubic feet is now at `60 per cubic feet. Apart from the rising prices, shortage of blue metal and msand have also hit the industry badly Not only the residential . projects but major infrastructure projects, including the work on second phase of modernisation of Chennai Airport, have seen a sudden slowdown. “The works have been hit. We don’t know how long will the government take to resolve it. The rates have gone up and supplies are not there. It is a temporary phase,” said airport sources, adding it could also impact the multi-level car parking project scheduled to open on December 15. Even National Highways projects have not been spared. “The impact is being felt by contractors who have signed the concessionaire agreement,” said an NH official. ‘Demand not much in rest of Tamil Nadu’ Of the total 3,000 stone quarries in Tamil Nadu, only 1,500 are operating currently. The demand for m-sand and blue metal is not much in the rest of TN than in Chennai, says quarry association K Venkatesan, a railway contractor and zonal secretary of Builders Association of India (BAI), says cement prices are not reflected on the RBI index rate, and contractors are unable to get compensated. Meanwhile, investment advisor and research analyst, Sandip Sabharwal, quoting Asian Paints has termed the inflation as the highest in the last 40 years with 15 to 18 per cent rise in the last six months itself.  continued on: p3 a hard-knock life Off Chennai’s pavements, these bright stars seek a roof over heads OM J ASVI N MD @ Chennai Fifty families were in the eye of the controversy when they were evicted without notice from payments outside the Egmore Railway Station in Chennai. One of the things that went unnoticed was that two girls completed their graduat i o n a s t h e y l ive d o n platforms. “Living on the pavements, the social factors were challenging daily but we knew only completing college would bring us a better future. So, we kept our focus on education despite the odds,” says 21-year-old Suganya A, sitting at a Corporation shelter, along with her friend Rafisha A. Having passed class 12 from a Corporation school in the locality the two girls are the only , ones to have finished graduation among the 50 families evicted a week ago. While Suganya has studied B.Sc Tourism from Queen Mary’s College, Rafisha is an economics graduate from the New College. Rafisha A (L) with her friend Suganya A at a corporation shelter | ashwin prasath “After graduation in 2019, I also worked as a tourist guide for six months and travelled to Rajasthan and Punjab,” says Suganya. The duo have overcome many a challenge such as inadequate lighting, constant pollution, high noise levels, mosquito menace, wine-shop crowds, and more importantly , lack of adequate space, through their graduation days. “We did not have to worry about college fees or education expenses as we had scholarships opportunities,” Suganya says. Rafisha (21), who also graduated in 2019, says she used to stay in the college campus during semester exams. “With routine disturbances, we sought permission from our professors to allow us to stay in the campus. They readily agreed.” “I was looking forward to apAt least 40 students have dropped out due to social conditions. We can only study well if we have a roof over our head Suganya A plying for an MA in Economics and I want to become a professor. But now, we have been displaced to a corporation shelter. Commuting at nights, too, have become a horrendous task,” she adds. Suganya says the police question them when they travel after 9 pm. While they felt safe in Egmore, they do not feel the same in Periyamet. A house for themselves within the city would put an end to most of their issues, say the young women.