Chennai, Sep 16: The Tamil Nadu government will launch the expanded Perunthalaivar Kamaraj Breakfast Scheme for students of Classes 6 to 8 on September 22, following the postponement of the programme that was originally scheduled for Thursday.

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will inaugurate the expanded scheme after returning from his official visit to London, where he is holding meetings aimed at attracting fresh investments to Tamil Nadu.

The programme was initially scheduled to be launched on Thursday, coinciding with the birth anniversary of social reformer Periyar. However, the government deferred the inauguration as the Chief Minister was unavailable due to his overseas visit.

Social Welfare Secretary Pallavi Baldev has written to all District Collectors informing them about the revised launch date and directing the administrations to make the necessary arrangements for implementing the programme.

The scheme will be introduced across Tamil Nadu, except in Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts, where Assembly by-elections are currently underway. The exclusion of the two districts is understood to be linked to the Model Code of Conduct in force for the elections.

After the TVK government assumed office, the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme was renamed the Perunthalaivar Kamaraj Breakfast Scheme in honour of former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, who played a pioneering role in expanding school education and introducing welfare measures for students in Tamil Nadu.

The breakfast programme, which had initially covered children studying in primary classes at government schools, is now being extended to students from Classes 6 to 8. The expansion is expected to benefit a large number of pupils, particularly those belonging to economically disadvantaged families.

The government believes that providing nutritious breakfast to students before classes begin will improve attendance, reduce classroom hunger and help children concentrate better on their studies.

Officials have been instructed to ensure proper coordination among the Social Welfare Department, School Education Department, local bodies and school administrations.

District Collectors are expected to supervise preparations, including the identification of beneficiaries, supply of food materials, kitchen facilities, hygiene standards and the timely distribution of breakfast.

Detailed instructions regarding the inauguration and implementation of the expanded scheme are likely to be communicated to schools before September 22. Ministers, elected representatives and senior officials are also expected to participate in launch programmes organised in different districts. The statewide rollout will mark one of the government’s major education and child welfare initiatives since taking office.

Agartala, Sep 16: In a major narcotics haul, the Tripura Police have seized highly addictive methamphetamine tablets worth over Rs 40 crore and arrested a drug peddler on Wednesday.

Informing about the drug seizure, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, in a post on his X, said, “A major breakthrough in our fight against drugs ! In a significant operation, North Tripura Police under Panisagar Police Station seized 50 kg of Yaba tablets valued at approx. ₹40 crore, a major blow to the illicit drug network.”

“This success reflects the unwavering commitment of our police and security forces to protect our youth and society from the menace of drugs and strengthens our mission towards a Nasha Mukt Tripura,” said CM Saha, who also holds the home portfolio.

Police said that the seized drugs were suspected to have been smuggled from Myanmar, and through Mizoram, the narcotics entered Tripura to be smuggled to neighbouring Bangladesh. Tripura shares a 109 km interstate border with Mizoram, and the 856 km international border with Bangladesh.

The methamphetamine tablets, also known as Yaba or “party” tablets, contain a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine and are misused as high-dosage drugs in Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, besides India.

The drugs were banned in India. Various types of cough syrups containing codeine phosphate are also commonly misused and illegally smuggled into Bangladesh.

Mizoram and Manipur have emerged as major drug-trafficking corridors in the Northeast due to their long and porous international borders with Myanmar and proximity to the Golden Triangle, one of the world’s major illicit narcotics-producing regions. Six districts of Mizoram and five districts of Manipur share around 910 km of unfenced international border with Myanmar.

CM Saha had earlier said that his government follows a zero-tolerance policy towards the drug menace. “Law enforcement agencies must take all-out measures to curb drug-related activities,” he had said.

The Chief Minister also said that the state government has decided to set up drug de-addiction centres in all eight districts of Tripura, with Rs 20 crore earmarked for each centre. He said the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has already sanctioned Rs 198 crore to set up a special drug de-addiction centre at Bishramganj in Sepahijala district.

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Patiala House Court on Tuesday granted three weeks’ interim bail to self-styled “influencer” Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is in judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a minor activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of the Patiala House Court passed the order granting Bhardwaj interim relief.

The development comes a day after the court had reserved its order on Bhardwaj’s regular bail plea. During the hearing on Monday, the court had questioned the Delhi Police on whether Bhardwaj had used caste-indicative words at the time of the alleged incident. The prosecution had submitted that the initial complaint did not mention the use of any such language and that the allegation was made subsequently when the complainant’s statement was recorded again, following which provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were added to the FIR.

Bhardwaj’s counsel had sought bail, while the prosecution opposed the plea. Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Kumar, father of a minor protester, during a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in July.

The police had earlier said that the injuries sustained by the victim were “simple” in nature and were allegedly caused by a steel bracelet.

The FIR invokes relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and provisions relating to criminal intimidation.

The development comes days after the Patiala House Court had declined an out-of-turn hearing on Bhardwaj’s bail plea and listed it for September 14.

Bhardwaj was held in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district on September 4, hours after representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) met senior Delhi Police officials and demanded his arrest.

The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhardwaj challenging his arrest in the alleged assault case.

A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja rejected the petition after the Delhi Police submitted that it was not maintainable as Bhardwaj had already been sent to judicial custody.

The CJP had also demanded the invocation of an attempt-to-murder charge, with the police stating that the provision would be considered after obtaining an expert medical opinion.

A separate FIR was also registered against Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the complaint of the minor activist, who alleged online rape threats and harassment.

The controversy erupted after a purported viral video in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had physically assaulted the father of the minor activist during the Jantar Mantar demonstration and allegedly said that he was let off because of his “political connections”.

Bhardwaj later told the media that he had allegedly acted in self-defence.

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (LJP-RV) chief Chirag Paswan had said that his name was “misused” by Bhardwaj in the purported video. Paswan had said that he filed an official complaint against Bhardwaj and would ensure justice for the minor victim and her family.