Man held for marrying minor

Madurai: A 22-year-old man hailing from a village near Thirumangalam was arrested for marrying a minor girl from the same village on Sunday. R Alagar, 22, from Chinnaulagani village, married a 17-year-old girl who is studying in Class XII. He had approached the girl’s father a week back expressing his wish to marry her.

As he refused, he threatened him and left. Alagar eloped with the girl on Sunday and took her to a temple in Virudhunagar district, where they got married. The couple returned to the village after marrying. A dispute broke between Alagar’s family members and the minor girl, which was pacified by fellow villagers.

Based on a complaint from the girl’s father, a case was registered with the Thirumangalam all women police station under sections of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. While Alagar has been arrested, an inquiry is underway to find out those who helped conduct the marriage.

Farmers protest against power bill

Thanjavur: Opposing the Centre’s decision to privatise power distribution through the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020, a section of farmers staged a protest by carrying black flags on agriculture lands in Thanjavur on Monday.

A section of farmers affiliated to Thanjavur District Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, headed by secretary Swamimalai S Vimalnathan protested on an agriculture field carrying black flags and raised slogans against the bill. They said the bill would be against the welfare of farmers and weavers across the country. They expressed fear that the amendment would deny free power to farmers and weavers and the free 100 units of power now provided to domestic consumers. They also alleged that the move by the Union government was to take away the rights of states by unilaterally deciding to draft a new electricity bill and circulate it to states. They appealed to the state government to vehemently oppose the bill on behalf of lakhs of farmers and weavers benefiting from the scheme.

Over 500 students apply for e-quiz

Trichy: The e-quiz organised by the statistics department of Periyar EVR College in Trichy received an overwhelming response as 500 students applied while only 100 were given access as the rest were asked to try again on Tuesday. A set of 25 questions on fundamental of statistics were asked and e-certificates were issued for those who secured over 60% marks.

“When the ministry of human resource development urged colleges to engage students through online classes, it wasn’t easy to make them use their smartphones for attending online classes which they have been using only for leisurely activities so far,” said B Senthil Kumar, coordinator of internal quality assurance cell of Periyar EVR College.

“It wasn’t easy to focus on curriculum while sitting at home. But this e-quiz was interesting which provoked me to improve my understanding of the subject,” said D Soundararajan, a student from the college. “We will increase the difficulty level in the coming days for the e-quiz,” said Senthil Kumar. The college is planning to extend the e-quiz to other department and has asked them to submit their questions.

Spl buses for evaluation duty

Trichy: TNSTC will operate 15 special buses to help teachers assigned for evaluating answer scripts of the higher secondary board examinations to reach their centres in Trichy district from Wednesday. The 15 buses assigned for ferrying school teachers will have a conductor who will verify the ID cards of the teachers and other government employees. Except for government staff, others will not be permitted to board the buses.

Facemasks are mandatory to travel in these special buses, TNSTC said. Only about 30-35 people will be permitted to travel against the average seating capacity of 55.

“We will register the details of passengers with their ID proof. The travel is not free, passengers have to pay the ticket fare,” a TNSTC official said. With over 2,000 teachers expected to take part in evaluation duty across 13 centres, the buses will connect Manapparai, Musiri and other towns.