Flood row: Didi blocks entry of J’khand trucks Trucks seen in a long queue on National Highway 19 in Dhanbad after the West Bengal-Jharkhand border was sealed by the Mamata Banerjee government. The heavy vehicles are stuck at the border after the Bengal government restricted their entry in protest against the release of water from two dams in the neighbouring state, which resulted in flooding of parts of Bengal | PTI | P10 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l saturday l September 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Mother’s warmth, love lost E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi KAVIYOOR pONNAMMA10 SEPT 1945 - 20 SEPT 2024 Cremation today Kaviyoor Ponnamma’s mortal remains will be kept at Kalamassery Townhall from 9am to noon on Saturday for public to pay homage, and cremation will be held at 4pm at her residence in Aluva. Actor Kaviyoor Ponnamma, known for portraying the mother of lead actors in hundreds of Malayalam films, passed away in Kochi on Friday She . was 79. Ponnamma, who acted in over 700 Malayalam films over 60 years, was admitted to a private hospital on September 3 after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Born in Kaviyoor, a village in Pathanamthitta, in 1945, Ponnamma began her artistic journey as a singer. However, destiny led her to acting, where she would embody the quintessential mother—loving, kind, and compassionate. Ponnamma was just 14 when she acted in Thoppil Bhasi’s drama, Mooladhanam, in late 1950s. She made her Malayalam film debut in 1962 with Sreerama Pattabhishekam directed by G K Ramu. She was part of the KPAC drama troupe as well. The next year, in 1965, 20-year-old Ponnamma played the mother of actors Sathyan and Madhu in Thom- Bombay High Court quashes amended IT rules They violate Article 14 & 19 of Constitution, says HC’s tie-breaker judge A S Chandurkar E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Mumbai tHE Bombay High Court on Friday struck down the amended Information Technology Rules, specifically Rule 3, which empowered the Centre to form fact checking units (FCUs) to deal with ‘fake, false, or misleading’ content about the government on social media and online platforms. The ‘tiebreaker’ verdict was delivered by Justice A S Chandurkar. He held that the amended rules violated constitutional provisions, including Article 14 (right to equality), Article 19 (freedom of speech and expression), and Article 19(1)(g) (freedom to practice any profession), and that Rule 3(1)(b) (5)—the provision dealing with establishment of FCUs—was ultra vires to the Constitution. The case was referred to Justice Chandurkar following a split verdict by a bench of Justices G S Patel and Neela Gokhale in January While Justice Pa. tel struck down Rule 3 citing concerns about the potential for censorship, Justice Gokhale upheld it. The bench also differed on whether a stay should be granted to the setting up of the FCU. Justice Patel said the FCU should not be notified until the matter was heard by a third judge, while Justice Gokhale said it could be notified. Following this, HC Chief Justice D K Upadhyay appointed Justice Chandurkar to provide a tiebreaking opinion. In an interim order in March, Justice Chandurkar refused to grant any stay Consequently the Cen. , tre notified the FCU. However, the Supreme Court stayed the notification pending disposal of the petitions in the HC, noting that the petitions raise serious constitutional questions. mante Makkal. The role would become a defining aspect of her six-decade-long career. Through iconic characters like Sharada teacher in Amma Ammayiamma (1998), Unni Amma in Nandanam (2002), and Meenakshiamma in Baba Kalyani (2006), Ponnamma showcased the selfless love and forgiveness of mothers. Though typecast as a mother figure, she explored negative roles in films like Thinkalaazhcha Nalla Divasam (1985), Oppol (1981), and Karinizhal (1971), acknowledging later that the roles drew criticism. Nakhangal (1973), Satyavan Savithri (1977), Kodiyettam (1977), Kireedam (1989) Dasharatham (1989), Chenkol (1993), Vatsalyam (1993) and Aanum Pennum (2021) are her other notable works. The actor bagged the state film awards four times: in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1994. She appeared in about 20 television serials from 1997 to 2018, and even sang for a few films. She was most noted for playing the mother of actor Mohanlal, appearing in over 50 films with him. P4 Saseendran on way out of Pinarayi 2.0 A R U N M @Kochi It’s final. Forest Minister A K Saseendran’s fate has been sealed, he’s on his way out making way for Kuttanad MLA Thomas K Thomas to be the NCP’s nominee in the state cabinet. The decision was taken at a top-level meeting that party president Sharad Pawar convened in Mumbai on Friday sources said. As quid pro quo, Saseendran , is likely to be made the NCP state president. A formal announcement will be made only after the state NCP leaders meet CM Pinarayi Vijayan and officially convey the party’s decision. The decision to replace the minister should also get approval from the LDF. Though Thomas, brother of the A K Saseendran late Thomas Chandy, had managed to garner support from the NCP it was the , stand of the CPM, especially Pinarayi, that proved to be a stumbling block for his ministerial aspirations. Saseendran had threatened to quit as MLA if he was forced to step down as minister. The CM had warned the NCP that in such a scenario Pawar’s party would be left with only one MLA, and it was not necessary it should be considered ● More on P7 for a cabinet berth. E X P RESS REA D Laddu row: Centre seeks report New Delhi: As row over allegations of animal fat in ghee being used to make Tirupati laddus escalates, the Centre on Friday sought a ‘detailed report’ from AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu. P7 18 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express stronger Surveillance Local pharmacies to help govt identify outbreaks through drug usage patterns U nn i k r i s h nan S @T’Puram Local pharmacists in Kerala are set to play a crucial role in detecting outbreaks of infectious diseases in their communities, as the health department looks to involve them in disease surveillance efforts. The Drugs Control Department (DCD) aims to transform nearly 27,000 licensed pharmacies across the state into ‘Sentinel Pharmacies’, which would report drug purchases. The DCD is developing a framework to accredit these pharmacies, which will help identify unusual patterns in medicine usage. “A sentinel network will enable us to detect disproportionate use of medications,” said a source. Historically, health sentinel networks have relied on data from pri- mary care physicians and hospitals, often overlooking the expertise of community pharmacists in drug-related matters. The new network aims to address this by enabling earlier interventions. “Fever is a common symptom of many communicable diseases. Many people visit a pharmacy for fever medication before seeing a doctor. By including pharmacies in the sen- Potential challenges Welcoming the proposal, All Kerala Chemists & Druggists Association state president A N Mohan urged the Drugs Control Department to take pharmacies into confidence before implementing the project. O C Naveen Chand, president of Kerala State Pharmacy Council noted some pharmacies might be hesitant to share sales data. tinel surveillance network, we can track spikes in medications like paracetamol, which may signal an outbreak. This approach allows for early intervention based on regional drug utilisation patterns,” said Dr Viswanathan K V joint director (Medicine), , Directorate of Medical Education. The health department also intends to enhance drug dispensation practices through proper counselling and educating the public on the rational and safe use of medicines. The Union government has agreed to fund the initiative based on the DCD’s proposal. The department plans to develop software for pharmacies to update drug information and has initiated discussions with pharmacy organisations. Accreditation by the DCD is expected to enhance the pharmacies’ credibility among the public. Maha BJP will hit century: Fadnavis E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mumbai Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday expressed confidence in the BJP winning 100 seats on its own in the forthcoming assembly elections in November. He attributed his confidence to the slew of development projects his government initiated across the state. Fadnavis was speaking at the first edition of The New Indian Express’ Mumbai Dialogue — a platform for exchange of ideas on politics, economy and other social issues — in Mumbai. However, Opposition leaders did not share Fadnavis’ optimism. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray shared his concern over Maharashtra losing several development and job-generating projects to Gujarat during the current regime. The event was also attended by Congress MLA and Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, Rajya Sabha member of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) Milind Deora and film director Kiran Rao. Chennithala listed the failures of From left: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray and Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala participating in the first edition of The New Indian Express’ Mumbai Dialogues, in Mumbai on Friday the Maharashtra government and expressed confidence that the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) would come to power in the state. The counterpoint came from Milind Deora who said during the MVA’s rule, infrastructure development of Mumbai city came to a standstill due to internal politics. In contrast, under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, infrastructure projects like coastal road, Atal Sethu and airport at Navi Mumbai came up and got completed, he said. Two sessions on economy bank, ing and equity markets discussed the challenges ahead, particularly those on job creation. “Creating jobs is the most critical aspect to sustain the current growth rate, which will lead to the country becoming a middle income economy ,” said banker Keki M Mistry. The former Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of HDFC said while the economy is on a solid footing growing at over 7%, to sustain this level of growth “we need to create more jobs”. To a question on the controversies around the Sebi chairman, he said the country’s regulatory framework is extremely strong and robust.
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