Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

SPOTLIGHT
B R I N G I N G

For Private Circulation Only

N E W S

T O

T H E

S P O T L I G H T

Department of Journalism

Volume VII , Issue I

Madras Christian College

Traditional Newspapers Versus Newspaper Applications

Newspapers usually have
to succumb to the will of the
advertisers who are inevitable
Elavarasan

ewspapers though are being printed on a

regular basis and almost every house in
the country receives a newspaper. Newspaper
started out to be the main medium through
which news was passed on and read by people across states and cities. Earlier, people did
not have gadgets which can bring instant news
right to their finger tips, people read what happened yesterday in a very brief manner in a
very ethical language. Now, the trend has
been slightly changing to suit the digital era.
I do not use newspaper because I like my
news without any agendas. Newspapers usually have to succumb to the will of the advertisers who are inevitable the big and unethical
corporations, said Rowan, Social Media consultant. Although newspapers carry lot of advertisements news values doesnt seem to be
decreasing. I only rely on social media these
days because I follow private journalists and
people with some credibility, he added. Social media has made it possible for the news
presenters, journalists, editors and others to
be able to communicate and their voices and
opinions through it people get to know the latest information on the news that is happening.
Applications have dominated the smart
phone industry right from the beginning and
when applications for news organizations or
companies have come up, it has been much
easier for the people to get the news on the
go which is not possible in a newspaper. The
industry adapts to the changes the happens

The Hindu newspaper and The Hindu Application on a smart phone.

around the world, it realized that people have
no time to go through the newspapers in the
morning as they rush to the office, hence for
them they have created the phone application
for their newspapers which will have the same
article as in the paper except that it is in the
phone and not on the paper.
When it comes to news reading, I go with
the traditional newspapers because I feel that,
it is an exercise to hold the paper, turn the pages, cut articles and file them. Though the digi
tal media is fast, it makes me feel it is always
temporary. Well what happens if you want to
see a news and the batter runs out? From digi-

Photo - Elavarasan

tal media, the articles can be saved only when

we print them, But the newspapers are already
printed, said Hari Vikram, App designer.
I dont think this is true. India is a different country, newspaper and magazines are the
first step of getting to know about news, and
India now leads the world in terms of production and publication because of the population
which has now started to read and gain information through the newspaper.
Print media is easy to access for people,
whereas a gadget is difficult for people as
many wouldnt know even how to operate it. I
definitely think that the newspaper will dom-

inate and prevail in India for the next coming

years without any doubt Said Sriram, Student
of Loyola.
Advent of phone technology has brought
the whole world into your hands. People are
now going into a digital world and people
prefer getting their news on their gadgets instantly. Newspapers are finding alternatives to
cope up with the change. I prefer reading and
getting news on my mobile applications rather
than reading a day old news on the newspaper.
Yes some people still prefer reading newspapers , but when the whole world is going teach
savvy people have to adapt, says Dhanvin,
Software Analyst.
Newspapers and Newspaper applications
do the same job, bringing the news to the people as it happened. The only difference maybe
the time in which people get to know about
the news.
Although the mobile applications for news
is growing steadily in India with promising
performances, the newspaper will still prevail
because of different languages spoken by the
people in India, not many will have a gadget
to access the applications and most importantly because India relies on newspapers and has
been relying on it for accurate news for many
number of years.

I only rely on social media these

days because I follow
private journalists and
people with some credibility.
-Rowan, social media consultant.

Share auto the new auto in the city Mobile Number Portability Nationalized
Elavarasan

ver the past few years there has been an

increase in the number of share autos that
run in the city. Share autos are very affordable
and the passengers can alight at any stop they
want. This is very convenient as most of the
people in the city just live above the poverty
line. Chennai has a majority of middle class
families and share autos are more convenient
than a bus and more cheaper than an auto.
Auto men have thus lost a lot of business
and many auto drivers have begun to shift
over to driving share autos as it is more in demand. Share auto run along the major routes
that are often travelled by the buses. They also
branch into smaller roads that the buses do not
travel on. Some of the routes that the share
autos run along are ECR, OMR, Mylapore,
Nungambakkam, T.Nagar, Ashok nagar and
more.
The people of Chennai were so relieved
when the auto meter system was put in place
mandatorily by the state government. This decision although benefitted the people didnt

help the auto drivers a lot. Earlier before the

auto meter system came in auto drivers used
to charge their own price for the fare depending on the distance, This was during the time
when MTC buses were always crowded and
when share autos werent that popular. Share
autos and MTC buses have increased in n umber than before.
If we run our daily lives by charging the
customers by meter price we will always go
on a loss everyday of nearly 200 or 300 rupees
than what we earned before. It is making lives
very difficult for us and we are unable to pay
debts as the money we earn is just getting used
up for household payments said auto driver
N. Ravi, Mylapore.
A few reason as to why there has been this
shift from auto to share autos is the charge the
auto drivers charge a customer after a fare, for
a 50 rupees fare some might charge 80 or even
100 rupees. Even after the meter system came
in place a few auto drives had tampered the
auto meters which causes it to show the fare
very high and people had no other way but to
pay the amount.
Continued on Pg 2

Jerusha Roy Festus

This is a full-fledged roll out after initial efforts for MNP started in 2011.
Given the rate of re-locations between citull MNP (Mobile Number Portability) ies/states owing to job transfers and student
has been a topic of discussion for a long exchanges in particular, it definitely is a huge
time among the subscribers and telecom op- advantage.
People dont have to take up the process
erators. Initially, the Government
of looking for local alternahad asked the telecom opertives and going through the
ators to roll out full MNP by
formal process of obtaining
March 31st. However, blaming
fresh mobile numbers, says
TRAIs delay in publishing the
Mr.Vikram Reddy, a student at
amended regulations and diffiLoyola.
culties in removing the techniMobile numbers have
cal glitches, operators requested the Government to extend (ForRepresentation purpose only) become an identity for certhe date, which was announced
Photo: Jerusha tain individuals. One cannot
change his/her number easily.
on 3rd May 2015.
So I think that mobile number
The telecom players in the
country rolled out full-MNP from July 3, portability is very essential, says Mr.Russel
2015. National Mobile Number Portability Nixon, a student doing his PGPBM at IIM.
Since the IT field has developed, it involves
is a boon to subscribers who wish to sustain
their mobile numbers during their relocations alot of moving and transfers. It is thus a great
to different circles and states. Both pre-paid step forward for the nation as a whole as one
and post paid subscribers can avail full MNP can use the same number everywhere in Inservices. So far, the facility was available dia as the same service provider in a different
only within a telecom circle or service area. state without having to pay for roaming.

SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

A DEVELOPED STANLEY HOSPITAL

How the concept of franchises work

Elavarasan

The Subway franchise in Chennai .(For representation purpose only)

Jerusha Roy Festus

cross India, the taste for American

culture is growing. That, combined
with the young population and growing middle class, means it is now one of the
top three target markets for US franchises
looking to expand. Franchising is the practice
of the right to use a firms business model and
brand for a prescribed period of time. Basically, the franchisor is a supplier who allows an
operator, or a franchisee, to use the suppliers
trademark and distribute the suppliers goods.
In return, the operator pays the supplier a fee.
The concept of franchises is one that seems
attractive in terms of achieving quick return
on investment because were using an established brand name and process. However there
are many entrepreneurs out there like me who
wish to create something original and unique
says Mr.Vikram Reddy, studying PGDM at
Loyola. Emerging Sectors are firstly the apparel retail which is a franchising sector that
is growing fast with the approach of numerous
international brands in India.
The apparel Industry in India is one of the
leading apparel industries in the world. Young
entrepreneurs prefer to start Franchises rather
than starting a company of their own as they
know that the brand name will definitely draw
customers to their branch.
I think that I will start a small franchise
after I complete my MBA because a franchise
is very profitable as the customers trust the
brand name. Also if you have enough capital,
it is safer to start a franchise than a company of
your own says Mr.Sajan, student of Loyola.
Indias franchising industry is expected to
quadruple in volume in the next five years,
accounting for almost 4% of Indias gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017.
The industry was worth $13.4 billion in
2012, contributing 1.4% of GDP. That compares with almost 10-25% of GDP in most
OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. The industry is projected to provide almost 11 million
employment opportunities by 2017.
Emerging Sectors are firstly the apparel retail which is a franchising sector that is
growing fast with the approach of numerous
international brands in India. The apparel Industry in India is one of the leading apparel
industries in the world.
Primarily it was quite unorganized but the
scenario has been changing with time. Secondly, the food service industry is set to offer
a full platter of opportunities to the investors
in 2015. With rising trends like delivery services and flexible packaging, the sector is
already shining. The packaged food industry

Photo: Elavarasan

is the fifth-largest sector in India. The Indian

packaged food industry is worth US$39.7 billion and is expected to reach US$65.41 billion
by 2020. With more than 50 per cent of the
population younger than 25 years, increasing
disposable incomes, a growing middle class,
ongoing urbanization, changing lifestyles and
a rising number of modern retail formats like
supermarkets, the country enjoys highly favorable demographic patterns. Thirdly, salon
market in India is about $US 2.6 billion and
beauty at $US 3.4 billion which also includes
spas, cosmetic treatments and cosmetic products.
The Indian salon franchise ecosystem today has a support of over 5,000 salon franchisees. Franchise salons will stand to cover 25
per cent of the overall organized industry by
2015 and will grow to be more than $1 billion.
However, the industry is facing issues in getting standard skilled manpower.
Lastly, the wellness industry in India
is poised to touch Rs 1, 00,000 crore (Rs 1
trillion) by 2015, with a compounded annual
growth rate of 15-17 per cent, from about Rs
70,000 crore in 2012. This was revealed by a
study jointly conducted by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) and global consulting firm.
Brands like VLCC, The Four Fountains Spa,
IOSIS, Gold Leaf etc are set to see diverse
trends in the sector.
The scope in the wellness market in India is immense. Even one per cent increase in
consumer expenditure can potentially create
an additional opportunity of Rs 600 crore for
wellness players. Many wellness segments are
extending beyond traditional gender boundaries. Societys fascination with celebrities is
increasing the involvement of celebrities in
the wellness industry. Advantages of buying a
franchise are that franchises offer the independence of small business ownership supported
by the benefits of a big business network. You
dont necessarily need business experience to
run a franchise. Franchisors usually provide
the training you need to operate their business
model. Franchises have a higher rate of success than start-up businesses. You may find it
easier to secure finance for a franchise. It may
cost less to buy a franchise than start your own
business of the same type.
Franchises often have an established reputation and image, proven management and
work practices, access to national advertising
and ongoing support. Franchises help entrepreneurs to make use of the existing brand
image and customer base to help them start up
their business in their location . It eliminates
the need for proactive marketing and advertising that is normally required when an individual desires to create his/her own brand.

echnological advancements have entered the government hospitals in

Chennai predominantly over the past
few years. One government hospital in North
Chennai has got the latest technology that
even a few private hospitals dont have yet.
Stanley hospital has now got all the latest advancements in the field than what it had before
to treat and cure patients.
In the laboratory section the hospital now
has an automated analyzer where the test results can be obtained in a fraction of a second
instead of doing it separately and waiting for
the results. This Hospital earlier had only ultrasound section but now this hospital has got
a CT scan in a much advanced version. Stanley has 60 slice CT scans, 120 slice CT scans.
60 slice or 120 slice means that the scanner
will cut through the area being scanned into
60 or 120 slices and produce an accurate image and result told a general surgeon in Stanley. There has also been an increase in number
of MRI machines in the hospital than what it
had earlier.
Laparoscopy was performed in MMC in
Chennai alone in one unit, but now with the
advancement of technologies every unit in
Stanley have skilled laparoscopy surgeons.
The only government hospital in Chennai
to have laparoscopy in emergency theatre is
Stanley, said a PG trainer cum general surgeon. Endoscopy was lacking in government
hospitals and finding out stomach cancer at
the earlier stages was difficult, but now as endoscopy entered Stanley it have been benefitting for the people.
Stem cell research has taken Stanley to
greater heights as they were able to generate
new organs through cells for the patients who
need it. After the technological changes have
come in, Stanley doesnt look like a government hospital anymore, it looks more like a
advanced private hospital offering free of cost
treatments for the people. The only government hospital to have a institute for plastic
surgery is Stanley.

From the day the patient enters the hospital their details will be collected and enclosed
and they will be given an OP slip. This OP
list can be used to access various information
of the patient in the hospital as to what tests
they have taken, which doctor consulted them,
what medications they are on so on.
The most important thing in any hospital
management is the waste management. The
different wastes like used syringes, surgical
wastes, human waste etc are separated into
various coloured bins and are then taken far
away from the city for incineration, deep burial etc and Stanley shares its part in this development across all hospitals, told Chandra
Shekaran, General Surgeon.
The new technologies have not just helped
the patients but also is helping the post graduate students to learn about the new technologies and learn them so that once they get into
the field they will be fully aware as to how to
use these technologies.
Stanley has now a frozen section. If we
are not sure if a swelling is normal or cancerous, we cut the part of the swelling and send
it to the pathologists who will test it and send
it back to us in around 8 to 10 days. But nowadays is we take a pinch of the swelling and
send it for testing and get the results back soon
to know whether it is cancerous or not, told
Kumaran, General Surgeon.
Over the past years the technological advancements in Stanley has gone off the charts
and it has been with the only motive of treating and finding cure for people easily and in
an effective manner with not much cost.
Government hospitals have been looked
down by many people, but in reality the government hospitals are more developed and
advanced than most of the private hospitals
and they are proving to be as equal as they can
be with the advancements seen in the private
hospitals.
Stanley has already proved that its an
advanced government hospital and it is still
looking forward for more innovations and advancements to make in terms of medical technologies. Stanley hospital haas developed
hospital beyond imagination.

Share auto the new auto in the city

Continued from Pg 1
Share autos are very convenient and I can
travel for a very less cost from one place to
another than autos. There is also no bar gain
problems when it comes to a share auto and
that is why I prefer share auto, said Prem an
usual commuter.
Mariappan, an auto driver along the Nungambakkam side said that It is very sad to see this
change happening because we (auto drivers)
are finding it difficult to even save something
for the kids or for the family as every money
is used for debts or for bills. I follow the meter
rule properly and I dont charge a single rupee more than the meter rate and still if people
find that very high, then what are we supposed
to do? The only way is that we change to some

other job or we get a share auto and keep earning like them.
Makkal auto or Namma auto are the most
genuine autos as their auto meters are following the guidelines set and also they provide a
bill after the fare, but that isnt to be the case
when it comes to a normal auto.
Nowadays one can book an auto online
just like a cab and they even charge you the
right fare, one can also take a prepaid auto
where you can pay the fare to an official in an
auto stand who charges you the correct fair according to the distance and the only job of the
auto driver is to take you there safely, these
are all small changed being brought into the
auto rickshaws in the city and itll be interesting to see what other plans they have to compete against the share autos dominance over
them in the city.

A Shareauto taking customers from Valluvarkottom to T.Nagar.

Photo: Elavarasan

SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

IS ART LOSING ITS VALUE IN THE CITY OF CHENNAI?

Jerusha Roy Festus

A lot can be said about Chennais lack of

interest in art matters, but I believe that we
can pump fresh blood into this scene which is
largely overlooked only if better understanding and appreciation of Madrass intrinsic role
in the history of art, that dates back to British
times is understood by the people, says Miss.
Roshini, a student of Art History.
Chennai, a city that has contributed to art
from the early 1850s no longer has an eye for
art and craft. The history of Chennais association with art is important. The Government
College of Fine arts in Chennai is the oldest
art institution in India. The institution was established in 1850 by surgeon Alexander Hunter as a private art school. In 1852, after being
taken over by the government, it was renamed
as the Government School of Industrial Arts.
In 1962, it was renamed as the Government
School of Arts and Crafts and the Government
College of Arts and Crafts, before finally being renamed as Government College of Fine
Arts.
Cholamandal Artists Village, established
in 1966, is the largest artists commune in
India, whose artists are credited for the Madras Movement of Art (1950s1980s), which
brought modernism to art in South India. Their
work is widely recognized as some of the best
art produced in postwar India. Situated at village Injambakkam, 9 km from Chennai, India,
it has over twenty resident painters and sculptors, who live as a community and pool their
skills. They also run the Artists Handicrafts
Association, a cooperative which manages
the village and sale of works through the per-

manent exhibition at the complex, which includes paintings, sketches, terra-cotta, stone,
metal sculptures, batiks and handicrafts etc.,
made by the artists living the village, making

pal 1957 to 1967. These artists desired to form

a congenial space for practicing their art. Thirty eight of them got together and formed the
Artists Handicrafts Association (AHA) in

A Handmade Artifact with work of art on it. (For representation purpose only) Photo: Jerusha
the village a self-supporting entity.
Most of the original founding creative artists, painters and sculptors were students and
artists associated with the Government College of Fine Arts, where K.C.S. Paniker, noted
metaphysical and abstract painter, was princi-

1963 initially to sell the works of artists. The

community was founded by K. C. S. Paniker,
the principal of the Madras School of Arts,
along with his students and a few artists associated with the college. It used the `art-meetscraft approach where artists made handicrafts

for a living even as they pursued their art. By

the 1970s, the village became self-sufficient,
and grew into one of the most important meeting places for international artists in India, and
today, it remains one of the few artist-driven
movements in India. Four decades on, it is
one of the few artists colonies in the world
to survive successfully and its foundation remains one of the 10 biggest art moments
in India.
The Government Museum or Madras Museum is a museum of human history and culture located in Egmore, Chennai, India. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in
India after the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It
is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It has the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe.
Among them, the colossal Museum Theatre is
one of the most impressive. The National Art
Gallery is also present in the museum premises. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, it houses
rare works of artists like Raja Ravi Varma.
According to R.S Kishore, supervisor of the
Madras Museum around 200 to 250 persons
come on an average day. These visitors are
largely those who come as part of the TTDC
tour of the city and students coming on field
trips, or foreigners. It is rare to see visitors
come to simply know more about the citys
past, he says. While the scholarly audience
has increased in the Government Museum,
Egmore, the number of regular visitors has
decreased, he says.
Chennai takes pride in the craft based art
it produced in the past and understanding the
history of Chennai and art might be the key to
unfolding the interest of art in all the people of
Chennai which as of now has reduced.

EVENTS IN CITY

The Mahratta Education fund

104th founders day celebration,
T.T.K. Road, Alwarpet, 4:20 p.m
Pammal Sankara Eye Hospital
Free eye screening camp for catract,Sholavaram, Thiruvallur district, 9 a.m
Bharat Vikas Parishad (Anna
Nagar) Talk on common cancers
and cancer awarness, Jaigopal Garodia Vivekananda Vidyala, Seventh
street. Anna Nagar, 6 p.m.
Dravidar Kazhagam Free Legal
consultation camp, Periyar Thidal,
E.V.K Sampath Salai, Vepery 9 a.m.
Balavidyalaya The School For
Young, Deaf Children World Deaf
day carnival, first cross street, Shastri Nagar, Adyar, 10 a.m.
Organising Committe Sathyajothi
2020, a state-wide torch rally to
spread awarness on the principles
of former President Dr.A.P.J Abdul
Kalam, Marina Breach (Near light
House) 3:30 p.m
Narcotics Anoymous Meetings:
Good Company Group, St. Theresas Church, Assumption School,
Nungambakkam, 11 a.m;
Miracle on Marina Group, Corporation school, Triplicane; Annai Velankanni Chruch, Besant Nagar 7
p.m.
Advertisment designed by: Elavarasan

SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

SPOTLIGHT

Im p o r t ance of ser vice tax num ber

EDITORIAL

DOMINANCE OF S NO O KER

Over the past few years, a majority of cue sport players have begun to favour snooker over
billiards. This change is very evident as one can easily observe the number of players who
turn up for both the games during various tournaments and also by observing the number
of players who train in these two sports. People say that billiards is a game which requires
knowledge of the table, split , weight of the balls, knowledge of angles, positioning skills
much more than just practice. However in snooker one is just required to have good potting
skills, positioning skills and also to play defence whenever necessary during the game. At a
global level snooker is being played professionally by many players and the spectators for
snooker are large in number when compared to billiards. Couple of reasons for this difference
is that snooker is a fast moving game and is both fun to play and watch, whereas billiards is
a slow moving game and involves greater use of the mind to keep scoring. Coaching centres
and clubs for billiards are very limited across the globe when compared to snooker, one reason for this could be because of the lack of awareness of the game.
Cue sports collectively has snooker, English billiards (billiards), 8 ball pool, 9 ball pool, and
carom billiards. Out of these 5 games under cue sports category only Snooker, 8 ball and 9
ball pool are played on a larger scale because these are fast moving games and require only
good potting skills to keep playing. Billiards does have all the possibilities to become a popular game if the players begin to play it well, and that has already started in Australia where
currently the world billiards championship is happening for both the seniors and the juniors.
The IBSF (International Billiards And Snooker Federation) is working to make billiards a
game as popular as snooker and in the coming years it would be welcoming to see the game
being play by a majority of people from across the world. With that the efforts to promote
the game further amongst the youngsters is a necessity. At the end of the day billiards and
snooker go hand in hand, a player must have the basic knowledge of both the games to reach
great heights in his/her professional career.

Divulging Cartoon

The bill on the left doesnt have a service tax number wheras the one on the right has a service
tax number printed on it.
Photo: Elavarasan

Elavarasan

By Elavarasan

Anna Memorial
Remembering The Past
Photo: Elavarasan

ervice tax is a tax which is payable on the

services rendered by the service provider, just like how excise duty is payable
on goods manufactured. A service tax number
is a 15 character code which consists of letters
and numbers. This number tells us that whether the company we are paying the service tax
for is registered with the government. The tax
we pay will be given to the government by the
service provider.
Every invoice is supposed to have the service tax number printed on it if they have collected service tax from a person. If the service
tax number isnt printed people have the right
to ask as to why it is not printed and can deny
payment until they show the certificate issued
by the government which says that the company is registered to it for the collection of
service tax. Only with the service tax number
would people come to know whether they are
paying it to the government or not.
Two food joints had no service tax number
printed in their bills in the city. One in Nungambakkam and another in Adyar. On asking
to the employee working in the Nungambakkam food joint said Sir I have no idea Ill notify about this this to my superiors. The same
reply given by an employee where he said
Sir well look into it and make the necessary
changes. When they clearly know that service
tax is collected from the people they also have
the right to be informed whether they are registered to the government or not.
When people are charged 14% as service
tax in every air conditioned restaurant, they
should mention the service tax number which
indicates that the money people pay goes to
the government.
As per the service tax act any bill which
has been raised for a service along with the
taxable portion separately mentioned in the
bill it should contain definitely the service
tax registration number of the assesse, told
Sundar, a well-known auditor in and around
Mylapore.
Service tax act is very vast and it identified 30 services where once should pay service tax and then slowly it come to 100 and
now it the government has come up with a
list which has a list for the services which has
no service tax and for the rest there is service
tax, he added. Service tax number is a PAN

based income tax registration number and it

should be mentioned just like TIN number
and other numbers, so that the customer can
cross verify and has the satisfaction that the
money he pays is going to the government,
he exclaimed.
Then after taking this issue to the service
tax office in Anna Nagar, I was asked to meet
the PRO in the office. Bills for eatable items
and other things purchased, we were not able
to check individually and verify the service
tax or the service tax number but while the
companyfiles their income tax returns they
will pay the service tax to us and that is when
we will verify them., he said.
The government does not have the man
power to employ over a lakh employees to
look into the bills of each and every company, he added. When questioned on how a
normal person can find out whether the company is registered to the government or not he
told It can be found out by knowing the TIN
number or the PAN number of the company
After going through the internet and providing the TIN number and finding out the
Pan number of the companies in the government website. It still did not show any proof as
to the service tax number, the internet had no
records of the company regarding to service
tax. One reason could be that since theyre a
private company the details are withheld in
the internet. But even then if a company collects service tax it is mandatory to provide the
service tax number to notify the people. When
questioned about this to the common man who
pays the service tax only a handful were aware
of the fact that service tax number should be
printed. Others had no idea as to what it is
and paid the service tax amount blindfolded.
Every person should know as to whether the
money he pays as a service tax goes to the
government, and service tax number is what
that tells a common man that his money is
reaching safe hands.

As per the service tax act

any bill which has been
raised for a service along
with the taxable portion
sepa rately mentioned in the
bill it should contain definitely the ser
vice tax registration number of the assesse.
-Sundar, Auditor.

SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

Scrub Typhus: underdiagnosed and undertreated

In some areas, more than 3% of
the population is infected and
re-infected each month.

Jerusha Roy Festus

Jerusha Roy Festus

iseases are very common in todays

world and so are medicines to cure.
Some diseases are under diagnosed
and under treated. Scrub Typhus can be classified under this category of under diagnosed
diseases. It is very important to know what
diseases are prevalent in todays world especially if these diseases can lead to death.
Scrub Typhos is called by an agent called
etiologie which is small, obligately intra cellular bacterium of the family Rickettsiaceae. On
hatching, infected larval, inoculate organisms
into the skin while feeding. Scrub Typhus is
found in environments that harbor the infected Chiggers, particularly areas of heavy scrub
vegetation.
Also, it is found where the forest is regrowing after being cleared along riverbanks.
Infections occur during the wet season, when
the mites lay their eggs. It is endemic in Eastern and Southern Asia, Northern Australia and
islands of the Western Pacific Ocean. Finally,
it is also found in temperate areas of Japan,
Korea, far eastern Russia, the mountains of
Northern India, Pakistan and Nepal and in
non-tropical areas of China, such as Tibet and
Shangdong Province.
Those who are affected are usually indigenous rural workers, residents of suburban
areas and Westerners visiting endemic areas
for professional or recreational purposes. Infections are more prevalent than the number
of clinical diagnoses would suggest. In some
areas, more than 3% of the population is infected and re-infected each month. Immunity wanes over one to three years and there is
remarkable antigenic diversity. The clinical
manifestation varies in severity from mild and

Graphical representation of areas affected by scrub Typhus.

self limiting to fatal. After an incubation period of six to twenty one days the onset of the
disease is characterized by fever, headache,
myalgia, cough and gastro-intestinal symptoms. Some patients develop no further signs
or symptoms and recover spontaneously after
afew days.
The disease appears very severely in persons with G6PD deficiency as it is accompanied by hemolysis. The case fatality rate for
untreated classic cases is 7% but would probably be lower if all relatively mild cases which
are under diagnosed were included. If not diagnosed and not treated, there is a 30% mortality chance says Dr.Dhavapalini, H.O.D of
Emergency Medicine, Apollo Hospitals.
If the eschar can be identified it is quite diagnostic of Scrub typhus, but this is very unreliable in the native population whom have
dark skin, and moreover, the site of eschar
which is usually where the mite bites is often
located in covered areas. History of mite bite

Designed by: Jerusha

is often absent since the bite does not inflict

pain and the mites are almost microscopic to
be seen by a naked eye.
Other methods which are effective are
IFA of more than or equal to 1 : 200 or PCR (
Polymerase Chain Reaction ) amplification of
Orientia tsutsugamushi DNA ( Deoxyribose
Nucleic Acid ) from blood of feeble patients.
The cure is to give Doxycycline (100 mg)
for seven to fifteen days or Chloramphenicol
(500 mg) for seven to fifteen days for children.
Some cases of Scrub Typhus in Thailand are
Orientia tsutsugamushi strains that are resistant to Doxycycline or Chloramphenicol.
These strains are susceptible to Rifampicin, Azithromycin and Clarithromycin. These
have been used successfully on a small number of patients. All the doctors of Apollo
have now been informed about Scrub Typhus
as it is under diagnosed and under treated. We
are now well aware of it and can cure it says
Dr. Hubert, Apollo Hospitals.

Apollos mission to help air bound patients who need help

Jerusha Roy Festus

pollo Hospitals operates at the Anna

International Airport in Chennai to
cater to emergencies that occur during
travel. It has an efficient set of nurses and doctors who work at the airport day and night in
shifts to provide emergency care to the passengers who suffer from various diseases or
sicknesses. The airport emergency room is
not equipped with all the equipment that the
main hospital is equipped with. It only helps
to provide immediate, emergency care to the
patients. If the disease is very fatal or very serious, the patients are then shifted to the main
Apollo Hospital located on Greams Road.
One such case handled by the airport doctors was a 56 year old male with diabetes
mellitus and hypertension on treatment who
arrived at the arrival terminal and collapsed
to the floor. He was immediately brought to
the Apollo emergency located at the airport.
On examination, he had no signs of life, only
two agonal breaths. He had no palpable pulses. CPR was then started and continued. IV
Adrenaline 1 mg of 1:10,000 was given to the
patient and CPR was continued for 40 minutes
but there was no pulse. He was then declared
dead.We hoped we could revive him said
Mrs. Archana, a nurse at the Apollo emergency in the airport
A 20 year old gentleman who was an electrician working on a makeshift roof of the air-

Genetically engineered
babies now reality

port which was about 10 to 15 feet high. He

has fallen down from the roof and was rushed
to the Apollo emergency room in the airport.
He was conscious and oriented but was in severe pain, especially his lower back.

Emergency care in Chennai Airport.

Photo: Jerusha

He had no signs of head injury, nor did

he have loss of consciousness. He was able
to talk and could move all of his four limbs.
I spoke to him and he responded well. We
asked him for his name and other details and
he could reply which showed that his brain
was not injured said Dr. Ram. He did not
have sensation in his lower back. The team
then formulated a plan to help him. They first
gave him pain relief with IV (Intra venous)
morphine and paracetamol. He was then shifted to a nearby hospital for X-ray imaging and
for further care.
A 23 year old woman, of British nationality, on her way back to England from Thailand
who had severe abdominal pain associated

with vomiting and a couple of episodes of

fits lasting 30 seconds to 1 minutewhich was
witnessed by an airhostess. She had been given a few pain killers and anti-emetics in the
air during the flight. When the flight landed
in the Chennai she was off loaded at the airport and brought to the Apollo emergency facility at the airport. She was brought in with
stable. Her pain was very severe and she was
in need of pain relief. As her blood pressure
was slightly low, she was given IV fluids and
shifted to the main hospital. She completely
denied any history of previous fits or seizures
and treatment for the same. She was also pregnant, in her first trimester. In the main hospital
she was said to have a few episodes of fits but
the ultrasound of her abdomen was normal.
a 35 year old Pilipino lady who was travelling to the Philippines and was married with
no co-morbid conditions was off loaded the
aircraft due to severe abdominal pain and
vomiting. She had to be rushed to the emergency due to the pain.She was shifted to the
main hospital after the pain was brought down.
Travelers are thus taken care of by an efficient set of doctors and nurses at the airport.
Anna International airport is trusted with the
Apollo Emergency team and they help a number of patients everyday. More than taking the
flight when one has a health problem, its better to get it checked than opting to fly. Flying
is more pleasant when one travels healthy and
these doctors ensure that one travels healthy
and safe.

enetic engineering, a field that has been

gradually developing over the past few
years is now showing great results. Genetic
engineering, also called genetic modification,
is the direct manipulation of an organisms
genome using biotechnology. An organism
that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be a genetically modified
organism (GMO). Genetic engineering techniques have been applied in numerous fields
including research, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, and medicine.
In medicine, genetic engineering can be
used to produce designer babies. Designer
baby is a term that refers to the product of a
genetically engineered baby. These babies are
designed or fixed or changed while still in the
womb of the mother to achieve more desired
looks, skills, or talents.
In medicine and genetics pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD or PIGD) (also
known as embryo screening) refers to procedures that are performed on embryos prior to
implantation, sometimes even on oocytes prior to fertilization. PGD thus is an adjunct to
assisted reproductive technology, and requires
in vitro fertilization (IVF) to obtain oocytes or
embryos for evaluation.
We can check the genes of an unborn baby
while it is still in the womb by assessing the
chorionic villi sampling or by amniotic fluid
sampling says Dr.Arulmozhi, a gynecologist
who is a private practitioner. Chorionic Villi
sampling, is a diagnostic test performed between 12 to 13 weeks of pregnancy and involves aspiration of some trophoblastic cells.
The amount of tissue obtained is mall but sufficient for karyotyping. It requires ultra sound
guidance and can be performed trans-abdominally or trans-cervically.
Gene therapy is also possible in todays
world. Gene therapy is a collection of methods
that allows correction of a gene defect that has
been diagnosed in a child or an embryo. Here,
genes are inserted into a persons cells and
tissues to treat a disease. Correction of genetic defect involves delivery of a normal gene
into the individual or embryo to take over the
function of and compensate for the non-functional gene. The first clinical gene therapy was
given in 1990 to a four year old girl with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency.
The ultimate goal of gene editing technologies is the capacity to make precise, controlled modifications to very specific areas of
the genome. This would be a powerful ability. Gene editing unlocks access to an entirely novel way to fight disease which has been
unreachable until now. Many fear that such
research will lead us on a path to designer
babies.
Widespread access to gene editing technologies could harm children and damage the
gene pool. Genes fashionable in one generation may prove to be harmful in the next. In
addition, parental control of the gene pool
could reduce valuable forms of diversity. If
every parent picks the same immunity genes
for their children, it may make them collectively as vulnerable to pathogens.
The manipulation of living organisms
by the human race cannot go on any further
without regulation. Some ethical standards
are required to evaluate the morality of all
human activities that might help or harm living organisms. Genetic modification can have
unpredictable results when such organisms
are introduced into the environment. Therefore, the Indian Government has set up organisations such as GEAC which will make
decisions regarding the validity of genetic research and the safety of introducing genetic
modified organisms to the nation.

SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

Relators woes in the city market

Dental laser surgeries to take over

Elavarasan

The beautiful strech alongside Marina Beach, santhome high road. Photo: Elavarasan
Elavarasan

ver the recent years there has been a

steady decline for real estate markets
for the real estate agents who work
individually or in a small firm. Multinational
real estate companies and corporate real estate companies have stepped in and taken over
the market in a jiffy. Before these MNCs or
corporates came in, real estate in the city was
taken care of by real estate agents who had
good contacts with people and got to know
about the sites and buildings coming up for
sale around the city. It seems like these individual agents have no other choice but to tie
up with these reputed companies or make their
own firm bigger and better.
We have been in the real estate field for
the past 35, until 2000 the business was good
and the market was good. After the MNCs
slowly came in and occupied the center stage.
Then step by step we lost our business. Corporates and very reputed companies along with
the land owners they maximum utilized their
own services in field. By this way we have
gotten affected in the real estate market., said
Senguttuavn, a real estate agent.
When a person wants to sell his flat or land
to a buyer, he contacts a real estate agent or
broker and gives the entire job of selling it
to his hands. The agent then works on advertising about this in the newspapers and as he
receives calls from the interested buyers. He
takes them to the site and shows them around.
Once the best buyer has come to the satisfaction of the sellers interest, the agent finalizes the paper works and finishes the work as
the buyer gets the papers and seller gets his
money. The agent gets a fixed commission for
this intermediate job he does. This is the job
of a real estate agent or a broker. Now as the
corporate and MNCs have come up, they hire
people preferably real estate agents and they
create a name for themselves in the market.
Then when a person wants to sell a property
he will call the reputed corporate or MNCs
to finish the job just like the real estate broker
does.
For individual realtors reaching or identifying the clients would be difficult, they might
not get the supply or demand on the properties
like how the corporate real estate or companies get, possibility of getting dropped by clients after showing the property since the client has the possible ways to contact the owner
directly and there is also a possibility for the
agents to lose their commission margin or bargain from the clients once the deal is done.
Whereas in the corporate there would a fixed
agreement before the process can take place
said a real estate corporate worker when questioned about why individual real estate agents
are getting affected.
Large real estate companies enter the markets without local presence and with the hold
of clients start executing large transactions.

Moreover smaller real estate agents are not

given opportunity in such large deals since
corporate land owners prefer to engage companies instead of individual agents told a real
estate company worker in Chennai.
Construction companies are also one of
the biggest reason why real estate agents
lose out on their market. These construction
companies would buy the land and build an
apartment or sell plots of land to the people
directly by advertising and therefore there is
an direct link between the owner and the buyer leaving out the role of a broker in between.
The market for the real estate agents depends
on people who are willing to sell their already
built houses or people who are willing to sell a
land which they previously owned. Building a
profile and a name is very important to be able
to sustain oneself in this field.

decade back if there were to be any

surgical procedure done by a dentist to
a patient, it will be a very anxious and
scared process for the patient, because of the
fear of pain and the discomfort faced by the
patient. Lately there have been laser surgeries
replacing the actual dental surgeries, although
with a few restrictions for few cases. These
lasers are tested and authorized by FDI World
Dental Federation.
Tooth decay, gum diseases, lesion removal, teeth whitening, expose partially erupted
wisdom teeth, reduce cold sores, and treat
infections of root canal. All lasers work by
delivering energy in the form of light. When
used for surgical and dental procedures, the
laser acts as a cutting instrument or a vaporizer of tissue that it comes in contact with.
When used for curing a filling, the laser helps
to strengthen the bond between the filling and
the tooth. When used in teeth-whitening procedures, the laser acts as a heat source and enhances the effect of tooth-bleaching agents.
(source: webmd)
There are two types of lasers in the dental
world, hard tissue laser and soft tissue laser.
Soft lasers like diode lasers are used for soft
tissues inside the mouth for treating gingivae
and ND:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet) lasers are used for soft tissue
surgeries in the oral cavities. Hard tissue laser
like Er.YAG (Erbium- doped yttrium aluminium garnet) can be used for procedures like
bone cutting.
Lasers are more sterile than regular surgical procedures. The laser light itself has the
properties of reducing the bacterial infection.
Amount of blood lost is very minimal and

the area of surgery will be less contaminated.

Chances of infections are greatly dimished.
Lasers are generally a slow procedure than
the other procedures and it is also necessary to
wear protective glasses by the doctor and the
helping doctor to avoid damages to the eyes.,
said Dr. Ashwin Gorge. No major problems
arises after a laser surgery, tooth sensitivity
and scarring which is temporary are the only
effect that will happen after a laser procedure.
But the post operative pain is marginally reduced in laser than in normal surgical procedures, he added.
Lasers will not completely replace normal surgical procedures any time soon. But
in the laser procedure there is no need to cut
open any tissue by hands as the lasers penetrates through it. No need of anaesthesia in
some procedures. The idea behind a laser
surgery is that it should be a painless surgery. Lasers can be done hundred percent for
gum related problems, said Dr Anil, Dentist.
Root canal procedure cannot be done with
lasers, it is a common misconception that this
procedure can be done with lasers. This is no
scientific proof till today that root canal can be
done by lasers. It can only do a disinfectant
job. Lasers still have a long way to go and the
normal surgical procedures will last long even
though lasers come in. he added
People prefer less pain and best outcome
after any surgical procedure and laser are now
slowly trying to gain that trust as innovations
and changes are being brought in the world of
dental lasers. The only concern for any person
is the cost which is set very high at around 2-4
lakhs. But doctors hope that as people opt for
laser more in the coming years the cost will
eventually drop to make it available for everyone. Lasers still have a long way to go before
they take over the normal surgical procedures.

Advertisment designed by: Elavarasan

SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

Over priced pharmacy drugs

Different laser treatment for myopia

Jerusha Roy Festus

Elavarasan

he advancement of science and technology has provided the world with

advanced medicines that can cure a
variety of diseases. Hospitals and pharmacies
obtain these medicines either directly from
manufacturing companies or through intermediate sources.
These intermediate sources run a business
of their own by obtaining drugs or medicines from certain manufactures who sell at
low cost with low taxes and the intermediate
source sells it for a larger cost and thus obtains a good profit from the business they run.
Some intermediates operate on a very large
scale obtaining money in the leagues of crores
per, while some operate on a comparatively
small scale obtaining money in the leagues of
thousands or lakhs.
Claymond Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical marketing company, managed by
Mr.Surjeet Khanna (marketing manager), obtains its medicines from Jharkhand, a special
economic zone which gives Claymond Pharmaceuticals tax benefit. Cost of procurement
is low because Jharkhand has lower taxes
as compared to other manufacturers located
across the country.
One of the drugs that is procured from
Jharkhand is HP-Lac. It is a pre biotic drug
equivalent to the lactobacillus that is taken to
soothe the stomach before taking an antibiotic. HP-Lac is procured at 120 rupees per box
from Jharkhand from the manufacturer. Each
box contains ten strips. Transport and packing
for one box is ten rupees.
Packing includes sticking the name of
Claymond Pharmaceuticals over the manufacturers name or company. So, the total cost
of procurement, transport and packing is 130
rupees per box. The pharmaceutical company
then sends out people from its company to
meet with different doctors in different areas
to advertise the drug and to sell it in the pharmacies. Doctors with attached pharmacies are
preferred as the company people do not have

Picture of drugs (For repreentation purpose only)

Photo: Jerusha

to ask the doctors and the pharmacy separately to stock their medicines. The doctor then
buys four boxes of HP-Lac for 800 rupees
from Claymond Pharmaceuticals. Claymond
Pharmaceuticals has thus made a profit of 280
rupees selling four boxes of HP-Lac. The doctor will then sell each box of HP-Lac at 800
rupees per box. Since most OTC (Over The
Counter) drugs are not under any price regulation the marketing personnel and doctors are
free to fix market prices of these drugs. So finally, at the customer or patient end, each box
has an MRP of 800 rupees.
Similarly, Claymond Pharmaceuticals also
procures and sells another drug this way. The
second drug is known as Diamond-P which
is a pain killer commonly called Diclowin.
Diclowin comes in combination with paracetamol.
The procurement of one strip of Diamond-P
is 2.40 rupees from Jharkhand. Transport and
packing is 20 paisa per strip. So, the total cost
of procurement, transport and packing is 2.60
rupees per strip. Finally, at the patient end one
strip is sold for Rs.30 in the pharmacy.
People have various occupations and
knowledge about it is needed in order to know
the working of various processes. The obtaining of drugs has a long process and it is necessary to bring to light the behind the scenes
processes which occur every day.
One must be fully aware as a consumer on
how the drugs are procured, labelled and how
the MRP is set for the drugs.

yopia or nearsightedness is the condition where a person cannot see

a distant object clearly. The light
coming in does not fall directly on the retina
but before it. Myopia occurs when the eyeball
is too long. This causes light rays to focus at
a point in front of the retina, rather than directly on its surface. Nearsightedness also
can be caused by the cornea or lens being too
curved for the length of the eyeball. In some
cases, myopia is due to a combination of these
factors. Normally the
cornea and the lens inside the eye are the two
parts that focus the rays
on to the retina. In this
the cornea plays a major part.
Correction
and
treatment for myopia
involves wearing negative power glasses or
contact lenses which
focuses the rays onto
the retina giving clear
vision for viewing distant objects. People
sometimes find difficulties in removing them every night and taking care of it, hence for those people a special
lens called orthokeratology lens enables them
to wear the lens even during the night and go
about without any corrections for it during
the morning. wear the lens even during the
night and go about without any corrections
for it during the morning. This lens controls
the progression of myopia. A few who find it
cumbersome even to wear any type of lenses.
For them laser treatment is the only option.
When power correction is done with laser what essentially happens is that the laser
reshapes the cornea by dissolving part of the
central layer of the cornea. The amount taken
away depends upon the amount of correction
needed. So if the cornea is already thin and

the power to be corrected is high, this cannot

be done says Dr. K Vasantha M.S. , F.R.C.S.
Director and head of the department of ophthalmology M.M.C. (Rtd). Previously the laser was just focused on the part after removing
the superficial layer of the cornea.
Then came a special type of automated
blade which would cut the cornea to the required level, the laser is then applied over the
exposed area then the flap created by the blade
is the replaced back. Of late the laser is used to
create this flap itself instead of a blade. This is
even more precise and the surface is smoother.
But the cost is doubled as another laser is to be
used for this, she adds.
LASIK
involves
removing the flap in
the cornea by a blade
and the surgeon gets to
move the blade around
and then the laser is
done. This cannot be
done for a thin cornea.
Whereas IntraLase is a
process which removes
the flap by laser itself
and then the laser is
done. The new and the
trending one is called
the SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extaction) process where a part of the cornea tissue
is removed by keyhole incision and the laser
is done to correct the power.
This process completely avoids the flap,
visual correctness will be accurate, recovery
is faster than the other process and most importantly the post surgery dryness or complications is be ruled out to the maximum, says
Dr. V Palanivel who is an Ophthalmologist
amd specializes in retina. SMILE is going
to change the future of refractive surgery he
adds.
Although the cost of these laser procedures
are over 90 thousand Rupees to more than one
and a half lakh, people with different types of
myopia have different correction procedureds
to choose from.

Murray and Co : The auctioning house in Chennai from 1927 now set to take it online
Murrays Said Sujan Gangadhar, one of the
partners of Murrays. People are interested in
objects of curiosity, artifacts, ornaments, brass
items, small objects and old items along with
industrial goods and furnitures. He added.
On questions about the feedback of the customers Sujan had told that there has been a
mixed feedback and since we are conservative
certain people feel that we should increase our
market.
Murrays have been successful over the
past ninety years and hopefully it will be the
same in the next ninety, god willing said
Hemant. Murrays has now entered a very exciting phase in its long journey. Murrays are
also in the process of setting up a path breaking online auction platform to serve the needs
of all sectors across the country.

Elavarasan

In an auction we make a market, we create

a market for a particular product and we
bring sellers and buyers together. There is 100
percent transparency said Hemant Srivatsa,
one of the partners in Murray and Ceo. The
journey of Murrays started at a small office
space near the High Court of Madras on 10th
February 1927 by Shri. S Vedantam. Over
the next few years, Shri. Vendantam and his
brother Shri. S Rajam worked tirelessly and
firmly established Murrays as the premier
auction house in Madras. (Source: www.muray-auctions.com)
As of 2014, Mr. Hemant Srivatsa a Mechanical Engineer and M.B.A by qualification
and Mr. S. Sujan Gangadhar, also a Mechanical Engineer, are the partners of the firm.
The best price is what a willing buyer is
prepared to pay to a willing seller. We as auctioneers know what type of item it is, what it
is made up of, whether it is a useable or not.
We publicise the auction, display the products
and conduct the auction, when the process are
determined by market forces Said Hemant.
The main principal of sale to by auction is
caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) and the
auctioneer plays a critical role. The auctioneers statements on the particular products are
taken as a statement of facts, this is an important part that Murrays look into very seriously
and often the buyers perspective ensures that

Mr. Sujan taking care of the auctioning process during the auctioning day. Photo: Elavarasan
what you see is what you get. The company
does not provide wrong facts in the auction.
In the auctions we have custody of the
sellers goods and we act on behalf of the seller to get you the best possible price. The seller
is bound to deliver what he promises. In the
case of a direct sale by a seller to a buyer if
a seller collects money and gives the buyer
a wrong product, the buyer will be sent from
pillar to post and might not know what to do.
But in the case of an auction by Murrays, we
hold the custody of the goods and the buyer
get the items as promised as described in the
auction. Kind of an escrow mechanism gives
the buyers confidence in the products sold by

Hemant said. What should be sold is the

commodity and not for the fame of auctioneer
or our firm. We would rather promise less and
deliver more he added.
The philosophy of Murrays is to serve and
that anyone who steps into their office should
leave in a better frame of mind than what they
enter. Murrays sees that serving the people is
very essential and Murrays as a group of people is doing business in a gentlemanly manner.
An Auctions basic principle is transparency and ethics is the principle we follow very
strictly. Every article we sell in Murrays is important and we have tackled several products
with concern in my 15 years of working in

DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions in the articles of
Spotlight are those of the reporters and
does not reflect the views of the department of Journalism, Madras Christian
College.
Published by the editor: Elavarasan S
(Responsible for the selection of news
under PRB Act)
Printed At: Adyar Students Xerox,
No.27, 1st Floor, Sardar Patel Road, Adyar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600020.

SPOTLIGHT

8
A developing village called
Padur gains attention

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Chennai

Tamil Nadu Premier League cues off from this year

Elavarasan

T
Jerusha Roy Festus

beautiful village located 25 kilometers away from the heart of the city of
Chennai is Padur. It is a village that
comes under the Kanchipuram district. In the
early 1990s, it was just a small village with
thick forest like regions. People lived in small
huts with thatched roofs and mud walls. The
only significant aspect of the village was the
Hindustan Engineering College which was
founded in 1985 by K.C.G. Verghese. There
used to be no proper cement roads in Padur
back in 1996. There were only two banks.
Punjab Sind Bank and Government cooperative bank. says Mrs. Jaya Sunder, a resident
living in Padur.
Padur was a rural area and had narrow mud
roads and very few concrete buildings. The
roads were used by cows and buffaloes more
than vehicles. There was only one gas agency
which supplied gas to Padur which was Vijay
gas agency which was in Kelambakkam and
it was highly inefficient. I had to complain
to the branch in the city and then they sent
the gas on time says Mrs. Jaya Sunder. Padur
also had lots of unclaimed lands which were
used by the people illegally. Padur had a panchayat which was corrupt and they used to try
to take over the unclaimed lands and sell it to
the people of the city .
Later, after 2008, the old Mahaballipuram road (OMR), also known as the IT corridor was renovated and the city of Chennai
was linked to Padur with great ease. The corridor, an ambitious six-lane project with service lanes and landscaping, is well developed
now. Important colleges along OMR include
National Institute of Fashion Technology
(NIFT), Asian College of Journalism, SSN
College of Engineering, St. Josephs College
of Engineering, Sathyabhama Deemed University, Hindustan College of Engineering,
etc. Plots of land have begun to be bought in
and around Padur as the Hindustan University is doing very well and the Siruseri IT Park
has been developed. Hostels and apartments
have started to be constructed at Padur. After
SIPCOT was established, Padur became very
visited by people.
There are about 70,000 people employed
in the IT and BPO companies along this corridor alone. Many now stay at Padur and thus
the last years have seen activities from leading real estate and construction companies
from other states. Most of the developers are
offering amenities like health clubs, sports facilities, supermarkets, etc. in this belt so that
the residents dont need to travel to the city
for them. Construction of a state-of-the-art
shopping mall with a hotel and cinema is in
progress. Nilgris, the supermarket was very
recently set up in Padur in the year 2014. A primary school has been started for the children
in Padur to receive free education till the 5th
std. Some children now receive a basic education. Also, other good schools have branches
in and around Padur, St. Marys, etc., has its
branch there. I do not believe the changes
that have happened in a span of 10 years. It
is very unbelievable. So many apartments and
hotels have come up now says Mrs. Radhika,
a resident of Padur.
So, Padur which was once a rural village
with no concrete infrastructure is now turning into a small concrete jungle as the areas
around Padur begin to turn into small cities
and IT Parks. This village has come a long
way from being what it was to what it is now.

amil Nadu billiards and snooker

reached a new height as the new tournament called Tamil Nadu Premier
League (TPL) was conducted last month in
Madras Cricket Club (MCC), Chennai. The
tournament was organized by Mr. S Surendran, Sports Committee Secretary, Erode District Billiards & Snooker Association and by
Mr. R.B Ganesh, International referee.
This did not turn out to be normal tournament, the organizers wanted to make it an
interesting one. Its not just the prize money
which is Rs. 4 Lakh for the winners, and Rs. 3
Lakh for the runner ups, but also the fact that
the teams had a team owner who bought the
players by an auction process.
The auction process which was just as similar as to the auction process held by the IPL
had little constraints however, the minimum
base price for a player will be Rs.5000/- and
the auction value for one player cannot exceed
over Rs. 25000/-.
A total of 8 teams were formed in this
years TPL and they are India pistons ltd,
Elecktronik Lab, Cues and You, Lanson
Knights, Madras Rockets, Madras Super Devils, Erode Emperors and Team 147.
The tournament was held in a league cum
knockout formant. With total number of teams
as 8, maximum players a team can have are 9
and a single player can only play for one event
and not more than that. The tournament began
last month and the team members met with
each other and started to play as a team getting to know each other well. Many upcoming
young players had an opportunity to play with
the best players in the country.
It was a very interesting tournament. I
never imagined that I would be playing along

Team 147 with the winners trophy in this years TPL

with players who used to be my opponents
once. This tournament has helped me to get
insights of the game from other players and
I hope this tournament continues every year
with more and more participation said Loganathan R, SIAA, and State ranked number 4.
There was a lot of tension while playing as a
lot depends on every event. It was a very interesting format and also judging who will play
against who was very intriguing. I find this
tournament very encouraging. said Jagadesh,
TNBSA, India number 4 in junior billiards.
One of the organizers Mr. R.B Ganesh said
that it wasnt any easy to get this tournament
started and organized as getting sponsors and
venues itself was a very difficult job. It isnt
like any other sports were things can happen
in a swift. I thank the event organizers Sports
Eventra Chennai Pvt Ltd.

Photo: Elavarasan

The tournament went on for four days

and the two finalists who faced off for the
trophy and the prize money were Team 147
and Erode Emperors. The finals were keenly
watched by the spectators as it went down to
the final event of the tournament to decide the
winner. Two Juniors Saran and Ashutosh from
Karnataka who played for Team 147 defeated
the senior players of Erode Emperors to be the
first team to win TPL.
We are planning to make the tournament
even better in the coming years and definitely
TPL will take place every year Said Mr. R B
Ganesh in the prize distribution ceremony after the winners and the runners were awarded.
The tournament came to an end with as it was
announced that the same type of tournament
will be happening around December of this
year.

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