Customers opt for healthier Diwali sweets
People are opting for healthier snacks like nutritional bars made of millet, nuts, dates, dry fruits and honey instead of the traditional ghee and sugar-loaded Indian sweets like laddoos, jalebis and gulab jamuns for the Hindu festival of Diwali this year.
Other options are bakery products like eggless and fat-free cakes, biscuits, biscottis and millet-based south Indian savouries. Some sweet shops are selling goodies made with sugar substitutes.
Customers in Coimbatore and Chennai are choosing baklavas, frozen puddings, bottled fudges and chocolates.  
Gifting sweet packs - either homemade or commercially produced - is an age-old tradition during Diwali. However with growing health concerns like diabetes, hypertension and blood pressure, customers have become selective.
Meanwhile, villagers have decided to abstain from the customary bursting of firecrackers for the festival to protect hundreds of migratory birds that visit their tank at Nanalkulam in southern Tirunelveli district.
Villagers said that birds like black-headed Ibis, little Cormorant, Indian Cormorant, oriental Darter, Purple Heron, Grey Heron and Spoon bill come to the Vagaikulam tank to breed every winter.
Appeals are also being made in cities across Tamil Nadu to prevent noise and air pollution.

Heavy rains flood several districts in state
Incessant rains flooded Erode, Tiruchi, Namakkal, Dindigul, Theni and other districts of Tamil Nadu last week.
In Erode and Tiruchi several low lying areas were flooded, bridges submerged and canals and embankments were broken. In Namakkal, villages became marooned and residents had to use ferries, coracles and makeshift boats to reach their destinations.
In Theni and Dindigul districts, uprooted trees and flooded streets made traffic movement difficult. Heavy inflow into the Hogennakkal water falls near Salem prevented tourists from visiting.
As many as 12 trains were delayed because of erosion of stones and soil from the railway tracks near Kalingarayan canal in Erode. However no loss of human lives was reported.

50 held after beef eating festival
A festival to celebrate beef eating organised by Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association ended with the arrest of 50 people at Tiruvannamalai, about 250km from Chennai, last week.
Police reportedly became angry that the organisers had served beef against their specific orders. The organisers also boldly honoured local butchers with poems and a beef pilaf or biryani at the venue. They condemned the federal government’s beef ban that has caused communal tension and led to murders in several states in recent months.
Irked policemen raided the venue and beat up the slogan-shouting crowd after the arrests.

Railway uses bio-diesel to cut pollution
The Southern Railway (SR) has begun using bio-diesel in its mainline diesel locomotives to reduce pollution at three locations in Erode and Tiruchi this year.
The bio-diesel is sourced from private manufacturers and stocked at Railway Consumer Depots in the two cities. The SR is also planning to commission a bio-diesel plant at Tondiarpet. Bio-diesel is cheaper by Rs3 and could save Rs1.2mn for the railways everyday, said some SR officials.

Scientist wins Australian award
Ramamoorthi Jayaraj, a Namakkal-born scientist has won the Pride of Australia medal for his path-breaking research on cancer and social work.
Jayaraj who did his schooling and college in Tamil Nadu migrated to Australia 13 years ago and is now a researcher at the Charles Darwin University. His work designation is as cancer researcher and educator for Australian Aboriginal and Tories Strait Islanders.
He shared the award with 11 others.

Man dies in firecracker blast
A 70-year-old man died when a stockpile of firecrackers at a house in Kemapatti Colony near Selvapuram in Coimbatore exploded last week.
Police suspect that the explosion occurred due to the combusting of chemicals from poorly manufactured firecrackers.
The house owner and his family have been arrested for unlicensed storage. The impact also damaged walls of nearby houses.