South

For coconut farmer KK Chinnayan in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur, the nightmare has just begun. After Cyclone Gaja uprooted nearly 1,500 of his coconut trees, he is left with a staggering loan of Rs. 40 lakh. The 56-year-old, once a wealthy landlord who had a monthly turnover of Rs. 5 lakh, is now left with almost nothing.

A four-member BJP team handpicked by party chief Amit Shah will visit Kerala on Sunday, to meet party workers in connection with the Sabarimala row. In Kochi they will meet the devotees and party workers today, to get a "firsthand account" of what the BJP called "atrocities being committed against the satyagrahis".

In an attempt to garner support following recent protests by Hindu groups across Kerala over the entry of women of all ages to the Sabarimala shrine post the Supreme Court verdict, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said a "women wall" would be formed on January 1 from the northern district of Kasargode to the state capital pledging support to the state government stand.

The Centre has approved the release of Rs 353.70 crore to Tamil Nadu as assistance for the damage caused by Cyclone Gaja last month.

Alleging that the TRS government in Telangana has failed to fulfill its promises, Chhattishgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today reminded TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao that elections cannot be won on false assurances.

Right-wing protesters forced two women to abandon their Sabarimala pilgrimage while they were still a few kilometres from the Lord Ayyappa shrine today. Police said they were not informed about their plan to attempt the climb.

Superstar Aamir Khan expressed his concerns over the devastation Cyclone Gaja wrought on Tamil Nadu and has urged his fans and followers to contribute generously to alleviate their suffering.

A day after the hilltop temple of Sabarimala was re-opened for devotees on November 16, the state president of Hindu Aikya Vedi, KP Sasikala, was taken into "preventive custody" by women police officials for trying to create a law and order problem. Today, the women cops were rewarded for their efforts -- a sum of up to Rs 1,000.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has requested his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar to lift the blanket ban on fish import, claiming that the crackdown has caused "huge losses" to the fishermen from the southern state.

Telangana Congress yesterday questioned the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on why it "failed" to mount pressure on the NDA-led Centre to realise the assurances given to the newly-formed state in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP K Kavitha yesterday dared Congress president Rahul Gandhi to support their demands in Parliament during the winter session next month.

The CBI yesterday accused the Andhra Pradesh government of leaking secret information to trap some corrupt officials, saying this resulted in the arrest of just one person, while the others escaped.

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan today accused the Tamil Nadu government of conducting an "armchair assessment" of areas hit by Cyclone Gaja and releasing a measly compensation that would do little to alleviate the people's losses.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, also known as KCR, has returned Congress president Rahul Gandhi's scathing attack with equal intensity on Friday.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that Hyderabad was like a "cooked biryani" which Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao got following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.