in a triangular contest in Asa-am with the BJP-AGP-BPF alli-ance and AIUDF. With severalof the 61constituencies having

a predominant minority popu-lation, the campaign in thisphase has revolved around the

Guwahati/Kolkata: Mondaywill see the second and conclu-ding phase of polling in As-sam, while West Bengal goesfor a crucial round in whichthe fate of top Opposition lea-ders is at stake.

Congress, led by chief mi-nister Tarun Gogoi, is locked

issue of infiltration from Bang-ladesh. Key candidates includeAGP’s Prafulla Mahanta andAUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.

In Bengal, it will be a tri-angular contest between theruling Trinamool, the LeftFront-Congress combine, andBJP in 31 seats across WestMidnapore, Bankura andBurdwan districts.

Bengal, Assam 2nd round polls today

Danceof Democracy

Times Classifieds | P 6

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BARACK OBAMA SET FORREPENTANCE VISIT TOHIROSHIMA IN MAY? 13

ANUPAM KHER STOPPED ATSRINAGAR AIRPORT, NOTALLOWED TO VISIT NIT 10

CRACKS IN GOP AS LAURABUSH SAYS SHE’D RATHERSEE HILLARY AS PREZ 13

Kollam: A massive fireworksdisplay, part of the concludingday of the annual festival at aKali temple in Paravur nearhere, rocketed out of control at3.30am on Sunday, killing 107people and incinerating andwounding nearly 400 others,turning a half-km blast radiusfrom the epicentre intoscorched, withered earth.

There were around 15,000people in the temple maidanand surroundings at the timeof the conflagaration, andtemple authorities were primafacie guilty of violating thedistrict administration’s or-

der against holding a fire-works show. It also violated theSupreme Court’s directivethat fireworks must not beused beyond 10pm.

Such was the impact thatthe glass façade of a show-room in the centre of Kollamtown 2km away shattered anda two-storey building in the vi-cinity caved in. Rescue effortsbegan in the dark with policeand fire engines having to ne-gotiate burning rubble.

With daybreak, rescuershad to contend with the sicken-ing sight of bodies charred be-yond recognition, and bodyparts littered on tree branchesand under concrete slabs: ifthere was hell on earth, it washere.

“It wasn’t the fire alonethat scorched people but the

way they were hit by brokenconcrete that flew like projec-tiles. People close to the fire-works display were flattenedby heavy stones and concrete,”said Biju G, who was present atthe temple at the time of the ex-plosions.

The fireworks display, in-volving an estimated 50 tonnesof gunpowder and assorted ex-plosives like potassium chlo-ride and ammonium nitrate,began at midnight and was atits fag end when sparks from arocket that exploded 50 feet

above the ground in the shapeof a sunflower fell on an autopacked with explosives, and onan adjacent storeroom wheremore explosives were stacked,leading to the inferno.

Sparks Fall OnStored Crackers,Trigger Inferno

112 killed after Kerala templefireworks rocket out of control

CONCRETE CHUNKS FLEW 2KM

➤ Up to 15,000 devotees throng Kollam’s 100-yr-old Puttingal Devi temple and narrow lanes adjoining it late on Saturday

➤ Fireworks display begins at midnight. At 3.30am, sparks fall on an auto packed with crackers and shed storing more crackers,setting off a massive explosion

➤ Flames engulf temple, sparking further blasts which send chunksof concrete and iron grills flying as far as 2 kilometres. Many die when debris falls on them

➤ Parts of temple roof cave in andpower supply goes off. Thousands run helter-skelter in dark. Charred bodies and human remains later found in the complex

An injured devotee is rescued from the temple early on SundayFULL COVERAGE: P 5 & 9

The Kollam administrationrecently issued an order

denying permission for any sortof fireworks at the temple,contrary to the temple com-mittee’s claim that the ban wasonly on fireworks competition.The committee reportedly hadthe backing of local politicians,who put pressure on cops forthe show to take place. P 9

No permission, butnetas pulled strings

PM Narendra Modi rushed toKerala to take stock of the

situation along with a team ofdoctors and burns specialists.He also directed IAF and theNavy to join the rescue efforts.But critics on social media saidthe coming polls in the stateprompted the PM’s reaction.Later, Rahul Gandhi also visitedthe ravaged temple. P 9

Modi dashes tosite, Rahul follows

Pankajakshi, an old womanliving by the temple, raised

her concerns in 2012 after theannual unregulated fireworksdisplay damaged her house.This year, she took up thematter with the districtcollector following which sheand her daughter were threa-tened by locals and told towithdraw their complaint. P 9

Woman saw itcoming 4 yrs ago

Chennai: Unlike other pati-ents in the hospital ward, K Ramani, 83, had no tubesrunning across his body orsaline solutions attached tohim. An attendant would givehim his meals and medicinesthrice a day and accompanyhim on his evening walks. So-metimes, a curious fellowward-mate would ask detailsof his ailment.

“I tell them the truth: Myfamily is on a holiday andthey admitted me here becau-se I’m too old to travel,” saysRamani, a retired schooltea-cher who lives with his sonand his family in Kilpauk.

While Ramani’s familygoes on a vacation every year,44-year-old home-maker Vi-mala will be going on a holi-day next week, for the first ti-

me in a decade, leaving hermother in the care of a home-nurse. “I feel guilty , but we allneed a break,” says Vimalawhose 87-year-old motherwas diagnosed with Alzhei-mer’s three years ago. “Shehad mobility issues from ve-ry early on, and travellingwasn’t easy. It was hard onher and us,” says Vimala.

City nursing homes re-port a spike in calls from peo-ple looking for care-givers fortheir elderly kin as they planholidays. Some ask for nurseswho can take care of them athome, others for short-termstay overs for the elderly.

R Muthukrishnan, seniormanager at HelpAge India,says the organisation recei-

ves at least two calls a day inthe summer and wedding sea-son asking for referrals forshort-term stay.

“Sometimes caregiversneed time off to relax too ortake care of other responsibi-lities. This can’t happen ifthere’s an elderly person athome, especially if they havemobility issues or dementiaor Alzheimer’s,” says Mut-hukrishnan. While the cityhas facilities for long-termstay for the elderly, there areonly a few that cater to thoseseeking short-term stay.

Recognising this need,Krishna Kavya, co-founder ofFront-Enders Healthcare,started a service for the elder-ly three years ago where trai-ned attendants are sent to the-ir clients’ homes.

Demand for nurses on rise as families,with elderly to care for, go on vacation

Ekatha.Ann@timesgroup.com Shinod Akkaraparambil

Chennai: The DMK manifes-to released on Sunday had afew big bangs. One was a free-bie promise. The party prom-ised to give smartphones topoor people and free 3G/4Gservices along with free lap-tops and tablets to 16 lakh stu-dents in the state.

The other was a crop andeducational loan waiver,which according to the partywill lead to a one time outgo of`̀11,000 crore. Yet another wasthe promise to bring in prohib-ition, which would mean los-ing nearly one-third of the gov-ernment’s revenue.

There were innumerablesmall bangs, too, which soughtto attract all sections of voters,including farmers, fishermenand first-time voters. Amongthem is a promise to reduceprice of Aavin milk by `̀7 andseveral job creation measures,especially in the government.

To woo fishermen, the par-ty has promised to includethem in the scheduled tribe

list and call them as marinetribes. The manifesto alsopromises to construct five lakhhouses for fishermen and pro-

vide `̀5,000 during the fishingholiday and as monsoon relief.

DMK eyes poll victory withsmartphone, 4G, cheap milk Manifesto AlsoPromises Farm,Edu Loan Waiver

BOUQUET OF GOODIES

Reducing price of Aavin by `7 per litreWhat it means | Agency came out of red recently; Aavin’s margin is `9 per litre, move will reduce margin

Smartphones to families who can't afford such phones at government expenditure and students to get 3G and 4G connection for freeWhat it means | Only freebie in manifesto but expands digital connectivity

Free education for first generation students joining professional courses irrespective of casteWhat it means | Progressive move that will build tech base of state

DMK head Karunanidhi releases poll manifesto in Chennai

Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com

Chennai:Lack of high qualityoffice space is pushing up ren-tals in key business districtsacross the city. Rentals are upbetween 10% and 12% over thepast two quarters, in prime lo-cations like the Ramanujam ITPark, Ascendas and other pro-minent business destinations.

Chennai’s real estate market attracts 4.5 and 5 mil-lion square feet worth dealsevery year. The city was percei-ved to have excess office spaceinventory till 2013-14. Uponstoppage of additional officespace, the inventory has redu-ced sharply.

“There is a genuine shorta-ge of office space,” said the di-rector of real estate advisoryAsset Advise S Ramaswamy.“Since the stock of quality spa-ce is coming down and thesupply is also in the lower side,rentals are expected to firm upin the medium term,” he said.

With restricted or littlesupply, rentals have already

started to head north. “We ha-ve transacted business atAscendas IT park at nearly ̀̀ 65a square foot, which is nearly8% higher while in Ramanu-jam IT Park it’s ̀̀ 80 to ̀̀ 85 a squ-are foot from ̀̀ 70 to ̀̀ 75 earlier,”said director of Chennai re-gion Kanchana Krishnan atconsultancy Knight Frank.

Office rental rates inspace-short Chennaigo through the roof Rajesh.C@timesgroup.com

Rentals have seen a 10-12% increase over the past two quarters in prime locations like Ramanujam IT Park, Ascendas and other prominent business destinations in Chennai

The city was perceived to have excess office space inventory till 2013-14

With restricted or little supply, rentals have already started to head north

Main reason is the city’s shift from commercial to residential

A COSTLY AFFAIRChennai: The city is missingout on the summer T20 actionfollowing the ban of ChennaiSuper Kings, but the TamilNadu Cricket Association(TNCA) is trying its best to en-sure that the fans don’t missout on all the fun.

The TNCA on Sunday an-nounced an IPL-style fran-chise-based Tamil Nadu Pre-mier League (TNPL) that willtake place from the last weekof August till the second weekof September. It will haveeight teams taking part andtenders will be floated for theallocation of the franchises.But the tournament will be re-stricted only for the state andoutstation players who play inthe local league.

“Our aim is to ensure a tal-ent pool for state cricket. Itwill also help the fans get ataste of T20 cricket after mis-sing out on so much action,” aTNCA official said. P 18

State cricketbody launchesIPL-style T20league in city

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

� Central Chennai, P 12

� Appointments rare, P 4

� Waive all farm loans, P 4

The DMK manifesto has gone slow on freebies – if you ignore thesmartphones – though it is not short on welfare. It does not

extensively address the perception that the pace of industrialisationhas slowed and job creation has stalled in the state. The manifestodoes talk about single-window clearance for entrepreneurs within100 days and promises sops for MSMEs. Bold proposals on attractingbig-ticket investments are lacking, however. DMK leaders say thatthe cost of all the welfare promises has been worked out and is withinlimits. But the absence of liquor revenue of nearly ̀̀ 30,000 crore peryear may well make some of the welfare measures untenable.

Times View

A powerful 7.1 magnitudequake on Sunday jolted

many parts of Pakistan, in-cluding PoK, killing six peo-ple and forcing people toflee their homes in panic.The epicentre of the quakethat lasted 10-15 secondswas in the border region ofAfghanistan and Tajikistanin the Hindukush moun-tains. Tremors were alsofelt in parts of India. P 13

6 feared dead as earthquakestrikes AfPak

Bihar CM Nitish Kumarwas on Sunday elected

as JD(U) president, a movethat would put him in com-plete command of the partyas it seeks to prepares forthe 2019 Lok Sabha polls.His unanimous election tothe top post at the party’sNational Executive meet-ing brought an end to thedecade-old tenure of Sha-rad Yadav. P 11

Nitish electedJD(U) president,replaces Yadav

It’s that time of the year,when students have to

make choices that will definetheir careers. To have choic-es is wonderful, but when theoptions are many making aninformed decision is a chal-lenge.TOI’s ‘Mission Admis-sion’ guides studentsthrough the season. Today’sfocus: Digital Marketingand Social MediaPAGE 2

MISSIONADMISSION

On day one of their week-longtour of India, Britain’s

Prince William and the Duchessof Cambridge Kate Middletoncharmed the children they metat Oval Maidan in Mumbai asthey sportingly joined a game of dodgeball and cricket withthem on Sunday afternoon.They were escorted by SachinTendulkar and Dilip Vengsarkar,who runs a cricket academythere | REPORT, P 10

WILLKAT BAT FORNGOS IN MUMBAI � Experts stay back, P 12

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

PAGES 8 & 12

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

The Centre has okayed afive-layer elaborate plan

to completely stop infiltra-tion on the 2,900-km west-ern border with Pakistan. Itentails round-the-clock sur-veillance through sophisti-cated technology which ineffect will totally “lock” In-dia’s western border to pre-vent Pathankot-like terrorattacks and smuggling. P 11

India plansfive-layer ‘lock’for Pak border

Pic: AFP

Pic: B A Raju