Candidates file nominations for by-election
Candidates have begun filing nomination papers for the December 4 by-election in Yercaud in Salem district.
The chief contestants are P Saroja, the nominee of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and N Maran, the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate.
Saroja is the widow of S Perumal who represented Yercaud and died in July.
Other political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, AISMK, DMDK and PMK have either supported the AIADMK or decided not to contest.
A heavy security patrol has been deployed in Salem city and Yercaud hill resort whose duty is to prevent poll malpractices like bribery, rigging and violence.


CM launches test run of Metro rail
Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa launched the test run of the Metro rail network at Koyambedu station in Chennai on November 6.
The four-coach train took a test run of 1km on the newly laid tracks. The project is expected to be functional by mid- 2014.
Similar projects are already running successfully in New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore.
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials said they have commissioned a control room for their trains. These trains have new features like power regeneration during operation, spacious seating and entrances with facilities for disabled.


Land, marriage registration goes online
The Tamil Nadu Registration Department has gone online for land and marriage registration.
Applicants have to visit the department’s website www.tnreginet.net and fill in their requests a month in advance. After the registration is filed, the applicant gets six tokens indicating the time slots when he can visit the nearest sub-registrar office.
There are 575 sub-registrar offices in Tamil Nadu but the 12 offices in Salem will not be functional until after the December 4 Yercaud by-election.


Memorial to Lanka martyrs
A memorial to Tamil martyrs who were killed during the Sri Lankan ethnic war titled Mullivaikkal was inaugurated in Thanjavur, about 400km from Chennai, last week.
Overcoming opposition from AIADMK government who feared public unrest, P Nedumaran, the leader of World Tamil Confederation, commenced the function.
A court had earlier dismissed a petition by the AIADMK on the grounds that the memorial was an unbiased portrayal of freedom fighters.
The vast complex located at Vilar village in suburban Thanjavur has stone sculptures and a museum depicting Tamil freedom fighters like Kattabomman,Vanchinathan and others.


Typewriters for railway exams
In a comic rule, the Railway Recruitment Board has ordered candidates applying for its clerical accountant posts to bring their own typewriters to the exam venue in Chennai.
Hundreds of candidates from across India complied by borrowing typewriters and queuing up for their skill tests. They grumbled that they had to relearn their typewriting skills from computer keypads to metal keys.
Railway officers defended the outdated practice.