Tamil Nadu enticing NRIs with tour packages

September 2nd, 2009 CHENNAI - Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and the current Leader of the Opposition J. Jayalalithaa has demanded regularisation of 1,600 casual workers at Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd (TNPL), the country's second largest paper maker.

June 20th, 2009 CHENNAI - The Tamil Nadu government, planning to set up windmills to generate 1,000 MW, has sought financial assistance from the central government for the project, state Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami said here Saturday.

May 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran said Saturday that the victory of his party in the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu showed that the Sri Lankan issue had failed to sway voters in the state. As the DMK proved pollsters wrong with a strong performance in a majority of Tamil Nadu's 39 Lok Sabha seats, Maran told NDTV TV: 'People (of Tamil Nadu) have given a clear mandate.' Asked if the emotive issue of Sri Lanka's military offensive against the Tamil Tigers had played a role in balloting, as many had expected, he said: 'That has not played a role.' AIADMK leader J.

May 16th, 2009 CHENNAI - The counting of votes cast for the 15th Lok Sabha polls began at 8 a.m. Saturday in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

May 8th, 2009 CHENNAI - Congress president Sonia Gandhi will address an election rally here Sunday along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Congress party members said Friday.

May 8th, 2009 SIVAGANGA - Congress general secretary and the party's star campaigner Rahul Gandhi Friday reached out to the youth of Tamil Nadu, promising to work with them after the elections to change the face of the state. 'For the future and for the Congress party in particular, we are going to work with the youth of Tamil Nadu to change the face of the state,' Rahul Gandhi declared at a rally here, held in support of the party's candidate and Home Minister P.

May 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - Top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are set to make a whirlwind tour of Tamil Nadu, where elections are to be held May 13 in the last phase of the staggered Lok Sabha polls. 'Prime ministerial candidate L.K.

May 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - Top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including L.K. Advani and Narendra Modi, are set to make a whirlwind tour of Tamil Nadu, where elections are scheduled May 13 in the last phase of the staggered Lok Sabha polls.

April 25th, 2009 CHENNAI - At least 25 people were arrested Saturday in Tamil Nadu for attempting to burn the Indian flag while protesting the killing of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, police said. The 18 people held in Chennai and seven in Thanjavur district, 300 km south of here, belonged to various Indian Tamil extremist factions associated with Tamil nationalist leader P.

April 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress Thursday nominated Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar to contest the Lok Sabha election from Sivaganga and Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu respectively as it released its list of candidates for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

April 16th, 2009 CHENNAI - AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa will be setting a trend in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by flying to all the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in a helicopter.

February 5th, 2009 AGARTALA - Hundreds of students from the northeast studying in Tamil Nadu are stranded and facing severe hardship after the state government closed educational institutions, apprehending violence over the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. 'Over 15,000 students from the northeast in Tamil Nadu are facing lots of hardship after the state government announced closure of educational institutions and adjoining hostels for an indefinite period anticipating violence over the Sri Lankan Tamil issue,' anxious guardians here said.

February 4th, 2009 PATNA - Hundreds of students from Bihar studying in Tamil Nadu have returned home fearing violence in the wake of Sri Lanka's military offensive against the Tamil Tigers. Many of the students, looking frightened, reached Patna by train early Thursday.

February 4th, 2009 CHENNAI - The Tamil Nadu government Thursday ordered the reopening from Feb 9 of most colleges that were closed down to prevent the spread of student protests over Sri Lanka's war. 'The presently closed medical, veterinary, engineering and agricultural colleges will reopen from Feb 9 (Monday),' Chief Secretary K.S.

January 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - What better time to hardsell tourism packages than the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas? The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corp (TTDC) is offering two tour packages for participants at the seventh edition of the diaspora meet here. Targeting the 1,500-odd delegates arriving from over 40 countries, TTDC is offering one-day and two-day tour packages.