Yenepoya Founder's Day celebrated and Yenepoya Teacher Award 2018 presented
Mangaluru, Nov 14: The founder's day of Yenepoya Group and The Yenepoya Teacher Award -2018 presentation programme was held on the premises of Yenepoya School and Yenepoya PU College auditorium located at Jeppinamogaru on Wednesday.
Delivering YMK Memorial Lecture, the Chief Guest Prof. Karanam Uma Maheshwar Rao, Director of NITK Surathkal , said "education plays a prominent role in the society. With mobile phones, the world is becoming smart. As time goes on, the teacher and student need to adapt to it. Teachers should not stop learning after completing their graduation."
Prof Karanam stressed the importance of values in our society. He said , " Life without ethical values and compassion is of no use. We should be the teachers who will develop engineers who cannot a finish (Pumpwell) flyover in 8 years or doctors who don't have any mercy for their patients."
Yenepoya Group's Director Yenepoya Abdullah Javed presided over the program. Yenepoya University Chancellor Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi ,his wife Nasreena Abdullah, Yenepoya University Vice Chancellor Dr. CV Raghuvir, registrar Dr. KS Gangadhar Somayaji, Yenepoya School Campus Director Misriya Javed, Kannur and Calicut University's former VC Prof. Abdul Rahiman, Dr. Arun Bhagwat, Dr. KK Achar, Purushottham and others were present.
Yenepoya Teacher Award presented : Head Teacher of Kavala Paduru High School in Bantwala taluk Shaikh Adam Sahib and Anantadi government school's Head Teacher Dodda Kempaiah were honored with Yenepoya Teacher Award 2018 and Rs. 10,000 cash each.
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Virudhunagar firecracker unit blast: Toll climbs to 25, Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia announced
Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): With most bodies charred beyond recognition, identification remains difficult, police said on Monday, as the toll in the massive explosion at a fireworks unit near Kattanarpatti here rose to 25.
The Virudhunagar district administration has announced Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of deceased.
The accident is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the region in recent years.
"Bodies were so badly charred that we were able to identify mostly with jewellery that the victims were wearing," a police official told PTI.
He said that the families have not yet claimed the bodies due to the uncertainly in the identities.
The factory owner is absconding, he added.
The accident occurred at the Vanaja firecracker unit, owned by one Muthumanickam, which functions under the Vachakarapatti police station limits.
The unit is reportedly licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur.
Post-mortem reports have established that the 25 victims, include 22 women and three men, the police official added.
Eight workers, mostly women, are critically injured with 60 per cent burn injuries. Twelve others, including eight policemen, were injured in a second blast on Sunday evening while rescue operations were underway.
Rescue operations were severely hampered for hours, as unexploded materials continued to detonate.
A second blast at 7.20 pm, triggered as an earthmover was clearing debris, caused chaos and injured several responders, including a revenue official.
Meanwhile, sources said about 1,000 people, including the families of the victims and residents of nearby villages, are threatening a road roko, demanding the arrest of the owner of the factory.
Local eyewitnesses, including Ranganathan from the nearby Seervaikarampatti village, described hearing a massive blast that sent "thick black smoke" into the sky.
"Nothing was recognisable. We saw bodies being loaded four at a time into vehicles," he told PTI Videos.
Many of the deceased were from Seervaikarampatti village, with residents claiming that at least 20 victims belonged to their village.
Among those killed was 46-year-old Indrani, a veteran worker of 25 years.
"My mother was the sole breadwinner. My father is disabled and stays home. I have an MSc degree, but I’m working at a petrol bunk to help out, and we haven't even paid my brother's school fees yet," said Madhubala, Indrani’s daughter, while pleading for government employment assistance.
Virudhunagar Collector N O Sukhaputra confirmed that the unit was operating without permission on a rest day.
Preliminary findings suggest the blast originated in a chemical mixing shed, where nearly 40 workers were busy making crackers, a violation of safety norms that typically limit occupancy to four workers per shed.
"Had these workers followed primary safety norms, the casualties could have been minimal," a senior official stated.
Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a high-level probe and directed ministers to oversee relief efforts.
The tragedy follows a similar accident in Vembakottai just days earlier, which claimed four lives, intensifying calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations in the district’s firecracker hub.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3.15 pm on Sunday. Although the fireworks industry is officially shut on Sundays, over 100 workers were reportedly engaged in production.
Later in the day, Sukhaputra said Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia each has been finalised for the families of 25 persons killed in the explosion.
Speaking to PTI Videos, he said the ex gratia cheques are ready for immediate distribution to the legal heirs.
"Out of 25 deaths, we have finished conducting post-mortems on 22 bodies. Already we have cheques (that) are ready,” Sukhaputra said.
The announcement followed intense demands from grieving relatives for financial security and government employment.
