HC dismisses woman’s plea for compassionate appointment

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:23.03.2020

The Madras high court has dismissed a plea of a woman seeking compassionate appointment after her mother, who was working as a sanitary worker, died in 2011.

Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order while hearing the plea moved by P Sathya who sought compassionate appointment after the demise of her mother, Pavunthai.

Pavunthai was working as a sanitary worker in Usilampatti municipality in Madurai district.

The judge observed that as per the GO passed by the labour and employment department in 1995, time limitation of three years has been fixed for the legal heirs to submit an application for compassionate appointment. Her mother had died in 2011 while she filed an application seeking compassionate appointment in 2013, according to her counsel.

The same was rejected in 2018 on grounds that it was not submitted with three years. The authorities stated that she had submitted her application only in 2017.

The judge noted that the petitioner could not produce any proof to show she had submitted an application within three years. Hence, the judge dismissed the petition. “The object being of providing compassionate appointment is to enable the family to get over the financial crisis which it faces at the time of the death of the sole breadwinner. Compassionate appointment cannot be claimed when the crisis is over,” said the judge.

The judge noted that the petitioner could not produce any proof to show she had submitted an application within three years

TN’s move to provide reservation in MBBS may revive govt schools

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:23.03.2020

The state government's move to provide special reservation for NEET qualified government school students may revive the staterun schools as it gives hope to the students to join MBBS.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced that the state government would form a committee headed by a high court retired judge to make recommendations on this regard. The special reservation would be provided within existing 69% reservation.

The number of students joining medical colleges from government schools has reduced from 34in 2016 to 2 last year following the NEET based medical admission. Though more than 2000 students from government schools qualified in NEET only two students were able to join due to the increase in the MBBS cut-off last year.

"It is an excellent move. More students will join the government schools thereby they would flourish again. It also would help government school students to study in government medical colleges," said G Shanmugavel, headmaster, Government Higher Secondary School in Chennai.

He said government school students are equally talented when compared to the private school students but not able to give repeat attempts to crack the test.

Last year, about 70% of students joined MBBS courses were old students.

"We have been demanding it for many years. Students' strength in government schools would be increased," said R C Saraswathi, headmistress of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ashok Nagar.

Another headmaster from a city school requested the government to relax the Class I to XII rule and asked to make it either Class I to XII or Class VI to XII. "Many government schools do not have primary sections. So, parents are admitting their wards in neighbourhood primary schools. They mostly come to government schools only in Class VI," he said.

A Peter Raja, president of Tamil Nadu High School and Higher Secondary Schools Headmasters' Association said the reservation would be a big encouragement to the government school students. "Parents also will get motivated to put their children in government schools. Bright students also will stay back in government schools after completing Class X," he said.

However, educationist Prince Gajendrababu called it as a populist announcement. "The state government has failed to understand the problem. The move has to clear several hurdles," he said.

‘Thanked you doctors, police’

23.03.2020

I am a dentist and I put on my scrubs and went to work in the morning. Every day we handle dental emergencies such as extractions. We have a thorough screening of patients and inform authorities whenever we come across people with a travel history.

At 1pm, I decided to do a small five-minute Bharatnatyam performance on Facebook Live wearing my scrubs as a tribute to healthcare workers and the police who are bravehearts. I choreographed the piece, where I emoted how the emergency services have been working in this time, how they check on those who are quarantined, how they treat people, how they follow up, and, in the end, I saluted them for their services. It was a personal experience that inspired me to do this – I was impressed by the beautiful way in which they did the follow-up for my uncle, who was in quarantine after returning from Australia. The dance was dedicated to healthcare professionals and essential services staff on the front lines. I salute you!

— Dr Sahana Selvaganesh, dentist

Govt cancels passenger trains, crisis looms at Central station

100s Of Migrants Stranded Without Food And Water

L R Shankar & V Ayyappan TNN

Chennai:23.03.2020

Hundreds of passengers, most of them labourers from other states, are stranded at MGR Central railway station struggling for food and water after the Centre decided to suspend all passenger train services across the country till March 31. 

They thronged the station premises, starving in the morning but queuing up for hours to get food packets brought by volunteers and water by Metrowater authorities at noon. They didn’t care about social distancing. All they wanted was food and water and a train to go home.

The authorities should have seen this coming when they cancelled trains.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel wielding lathis tried to chase them away, announcing over a megaphone that there will be no trains for a week. However, the irate crowd stayed put, shouting “Chalo Bihar, Chalo Bihar”. Totally outnumbered, the RPF personnel allowed the people to settle down in different parts of the station campus. A few hundreds would have left if railways had operated a special train which they had announced to Santragachi for Saturday night.

ENDLESS WAIT: Hundreds of workers are stuck as train services stand cancelled till March 31

Cancellation of trains comes as a surprise for many

But, a rethink on the part of the officials that they would be encouraging more people to travel in crowded coaches made them cancel the service. “The special train was cancelled because it is risky for people to travel because of the spread of the virus,” said an official. However, the total cancellation of trains has now stumped them.

Ram Kumar, a load worker, said he needed to return to his village in Bihar. “There is no work here. I have come to the station from Chengalpet with my family. We all came here a day earlier. We have confirmed tickets. But they now say trains are not there. There is no way for us to go back. Staying back is difficult as there is no work.” The workers have been flooding the station in the last two days.

Many said they did not know about the janata curfew and train cancellations. And they were not ready to believe that there would be no trains on Monday. “We will wait and see,” said a worker.

Ashish Kumar, who was at the station on Friday, said that for many of them returning to their worksite may not be an option. “No point in going all the way back because I have told them that I will not be returning for a few months. So if there are no trains, people will have to stay here till trains resume.”

Those who had confirmed tickets bought from the counter cannot cancel the tickets and get the money back because railways have also closed reservation counters till March 31.

A senior railway official said that “We have moved them out of the station building to prevent them crowding there. That defeats the purpose of cancelling the trains. Now, it is the responsibility of the state government to move them to a safe area or a shelter.”

The mass of people who used to work at restaurants, small eateries, paan shops, ice cream shops, small firms, industrial units in the city and its suburbs have suffered the most because of small businesses either cutting down staff or closing.

With a lockdown on the cards from Monday, they now have nowhere to go but to sleep on the pavements near central station waiting for trains to resume.

Coronavirus In Karnataka: RGUHS suspends all classes, lays down instructions for medical colleges, details

Coronavirus In Karnataka: RGUHS suspends all classes, lays down instructions for medical colleges, details: Karnataka: With the continuous spread of Covid-19 across the state, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka issued a circular suspending all classes till 31st March, 2020. In a letter to...

The particular susceptibility of old people to COVID-19

22/03/2020

In India, the first three deaths due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were among the elderly. There might be a number of reasons for the potency of such viral infections in old age, one being ageing itself as the immunity levels drop after the age of 50.

Secondly, multiple diseases – high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney diseases, strokes and cancer – are responsible for lowering the immunity. Thirdly, taking multiple drugs such as steroids and chemotherapy agents will definitely reduce the immunity. The fourth is the lack of proper nutrition. Elderly people, including in the rural areas, do not take a nutritive diet. So, more than one factor is responsible for lower immunity in elderly persons, putting them at high risk of infections.

Unlike earlier, we see that the immunity levels go down at the age of 50 as diseases start at the age of 40. This is why the older population picks up infections easily.

Normally, we see pneumonia that is commonly caused by bacterial infection. That is different. Coronavirus induces two major problems – chest infection and renal problems. Chest infection causes cough, breathing difficulty, and phlegm leading to respiratory failure. The lungs of a 20-year-old man are much better than the lungs of a 60-year-old. So, this is the reason for deterioration of health.

Coronavirus affects the lung, causes pneumonia and when pneumonia is not treated properly or persons do not respond to treatment, they go for respiratory failure and should be put on ventilator. Approximately 30% of persons affected by COVID-19 died due to kidney failure.

How can we protect ourselves? Elderly persons should avoid going out. Stay indoors, no small walks, no visits to parks or shops. Within the house, it is important to take care as children can easily transmit the infection to the grandparents.

They should always use a tissue or handkerchief when coughing or sneezing, and wash hands on returning from outside. In case of mild temperature or sore throat, they should isolate themselves immediately, and consult the family physician. It is important to keep all existing diseases such as diabetes under control.

They can drink hot water, and take a diet that helps in improving immunity. Gooseberry that is an anti-oxidant and rich in vitamin C, citrus fruits such as orange and lemon, nuts such as almonds, bitter gourd, honey, curd and mushroom, could boost immunity.

If they start adding such food a little more to their diet, the immunity levels will start rising after two or three weeks. Many of them are house-bound and not exposed to sunlight.

As a result, many of them have low vitamin-D levels. So, they can try and sit just outside their homes or walk within the premises for 30 minutes in the morning and evening for exposure to sunlight. If elderly persons take all these precautions, they can be safe.

Passport office to only handle urgent cases

22/03/2020, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

The Regional Passport Office here and all Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office PSKs will be handling appointments of only those who have emergencies, from March 23 to April 3.

The offices will not be functioning in full capacity.

In a statement, Ashok Babu, Regional Passport Officer, requested all those who have scheduled appointments for this period to reschedule them to a date after April 3.

The release added that social distancing was key to prevent COVID-19.

Retired doctors to be roped in

22/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

The Health Department has invited retired doctors to serve in government hospitals for the management of COVID-19.

“Our doctors, nurses and paramedical staff are working round-the-clock in government hospitals. We are now inviting retired doctors, experts and ex-servicemen. We have formed a team to identify retired doctors to be ready to come and work in government hospitals at any time,” said Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.

“Though the present situation in the State does not warrant such measures, we are looking at what happened in China, what is happening in Italy and the United States. When tackling COVID-19 is a huge challenge for even developed countries, we are looking at how we can face such challenges,” he told reporters, after inspecting the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on Saturday.

A health official said that they would be calling both retired doctors and voluntary private doctors.

Former TNPSC official booked for cheating

22/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

When Mathuruban, son of a local resident, Shanmugasundaram, received mail from Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) in January 2016, stating that he was selected in Group II.

Within a few days, he was approached by three persons, who demanded payment of ₹27 lakh to get the job. He was told that if he failed to honour the demand, all further communication would be suspended and his name blocked from the selection list. So, his father arranged for the money and the payment was made. However, when he neither got the job nor the money back, he approached the police and lodged a complaint a week ago. On Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar’s directive, police registered a case against Siva, a retired TNPSC officer in the rank of deputy secretary, Nagendra Rao, a broker, and Ramani alias Rajendran, a retired TNPSC office assistant.

Police said no arrests had been made so far.

DAE issues advisory to residents

22/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

The Department of Atomic Eenergy Department (DAE) has issued an advisory to all the employees and residents of DAE townships in Kalpakkam.

In the advisory, it has requested people to avoid social gatherings and functions where large numbers of people assemble unless it is absolutely necessary. The residents should avoid non-essential travel out of the township. All non-residents will be allowed inside the township only after thermal scanning.

Meetings, as far as feasible will be conducted through video conferencing. Thermal scanning will be carried out at all vehicle entry gates and DAE hospital, it said.

54 Indian tourists stranded at Kuala Lumpur airport

Over 30 are from T.N.; they were to return on March 18

22/03/2020, KATHELENE ANTONY ,TIRUCHI

An official of the Indian Embassy in Malaysia has met the tourists. LIM HUEY TENG/REUTERS

Indian tourists, stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport for the fourth day, have appealed for intervention from the Union Government, to facilitate their travel back home.

A total of 54 tourists, with over 30 from Tamil Nadu, were scheduled to return to India on March 18, but they have been stuck with no means to return, as all flights from the country to India have been cancelled.

The travellers, who were to return home by a SriLankan Airlines flight via Colombo, had completed emigration and security checks and were seated at the waiting hall of the airport, when the Centre announced the cancellation of flights, said the passengers.

When an Indian flight, which arrived at the airport to airlift Indian students stuck in Malaysia on March 19, refused to board them, their hopes were shattered.

An official of the Indian Embassy in Malaysia met the passengers and said that measures to take them home were under way.

S. Sivarasu, Tiruchi District Collector, who received a copy of the letter from the Indian Embassy in Malaysia to the Indian Government, said that efforts to bring them back were on.

Judge donates ₹2.25-lakh salary towards unorganised workers’ welfare

Justice S.M. Subramaniam says it is the duty of every citizen of the country to pool resources and help the hapless

22/03/2020, MOHAMED IMRANULLAH S.,CHENNAI

Justice S.M. Subramaniam of the Madras High Court on Saturday donated a month’s salary — ₹2.25 lakh — towards the welfare of labourers in the unorganised sector, whose earnings have taken a substantial hit as a result of the COVID-19 threat.

According to High Court officials, the judge handed over a cheque for the amount to Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam at the Secretariat, with the hope that it would serve as an impetus for further donations towards the cause.

When contacted, the judge confirmed that he had made the donation. He expressed deep concern over domestic helps, construction labourers, sanitary workers and many others having lost their livelihood due to the pandemic.

“People are willing to grant leave to domestic workers to avoid the spread of COVID-19, but not many are willing to pay the wages for the period of leave. How will those poor men and women run their families without any pay? That is why I thought of kickstarting a movement,” he said.

“We cannot depend upon the government for everything. Provisions supplied through ration shops will be hardly enough for the unorganised labourers. It is the duty of every citizen of the country to pool resources and help the hapless,” he said.

The judge went on to state: “I could have chosen to call the Health Secretary to my residence or even to my chambers in the High Court and handed over the cheque to her, but this is a time when we should not disturb government officials who are burning the midnight oil.”

The judge was also the first in the High Court to discourage lawyers, litigants, court staff and others from entering his court hall if they were suffering from a cough, cold or fever. He had announced that no case shall be posted under the caption ‘For Dismissal’ till March 31.

He had taken the decision even before the Administrative Committee of the High Court met and decided to restrict hearings to only urgent and admission cases in all courts, till March 31. .

Three more test positive, take total of COVID-19 patients to six

Number under home surveillance jumps from 4,253 on Friday to 8,950; app launched for medical advice

22/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Three more persons — two of them Thai nationals — have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu. This takes the total number of persons who have tested positive in the State to six.

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, in a tweet, said: “The three patients were already quarantined and on the radar. They were admitted to isolation wards in government hospitals.”

He added that, so far, all six COVID-19 patients in the State were “imported cases”, with a travel history, and did not involve community transmission.

Screening had been intensified at railway stations, at domestic and international terminals of airports and on the borders with States, he informed.

The Minister later told reporters that two of the new cases were tourists from Thailand, while the third person had arrived from New Zealand. The Health Department had begun tracing the contacts of all three persons. However, he refused to divulge details on where the three patients were admitted, citing “medical ethics”.

However, late on Saturday, officials said that the two Thai nationals were lodged at the isolation ward of Government IRT Perundurai Medical College. The third patient has been admitted to a private hospital in Chennai.

Home quarantine

The number of persons under home surveillance for COVID-19 in the State has doubled. From 4,253 persons on Friday, the number has gone up to 8,950. Chennai accounts for the highest number of persons in home quarantine, at 2,904.

Currently, 221 asymptomatic passengers from highly-affected countries are being quarantined in centres near the airport, according to a bulletin released by the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine.

The number of persons admitted to isolation wards increased from 32 to 54. The number of persons screened at airports crossed the two lakh mark. A total of 2,01,672 persons have been screened so far. The total number of samples taken for testing also went up to 412 from 333. Of this, 67 samples were under process.

The Minister urged people to stay at home and cooperate to prevent community spread of COVID-19. He added that they were following the guidelines issued for testing.

The number of beds in isolation wards in government medical college hospitals is all set to increase. Presently, there are a total of 1,120 beds in isolation wards in government medical college hospitals, headquarters hospitals and private hospitals.

As of now, government medical college hospitals have 20-bedded isolation wards. Now, all hospitals have been instructed to increase the number of beds for isolation wards up to 100 along with ventilators, step-down wards and observation wards. Private hospitals empanelled under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme have been roped in, he said.

The Minister held a meeting with deans and chiefs of medicine of private medical college hospitals and asked them to ready 100-bed isolation ward facilities in their institutions. The Minister said that the 24-hour control room of the DPH, which is manned in three shifts by 50 persons each, was also involved in contact tracing of COVID-19 patients.

Those under home quarantine — those with a travel history from affected countries or other States — were usually contacted on their phones to check on their health status every day, he said.

App launched

“Now, we have launched an app through which our doctors can provide medical advice to those under home quarantine through video calls. This app has a capacity to connect one lakh persons,” he said. Officials said that a video call facility would be provided on the portal.

The Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic Association, in a press release, advised its members to cancel all elective procedures. The association advised members to cut down regular outpatient department appointments, attend only to emergences and request patients to get back after a couple of weeks or till further communication.

If patients need hospital visits, members must ensure that all necessary precautions were in place, the association said.

T.N. plans reservation for govt. schoolchildren in medical colleges

Panel headed by an ex-judge to make recommendations

22/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Edappadi K. Palaniswami

22.03.2020

The Tamil Nadu government plans to enact a law to grant special reservation to students of government schools in medical colleges even as it wages a battle in the Supreme Court against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that quota would be for students who had studied from Class 1 to 12 in government, corporation or municipal schools. It would also cover Kallar reclamation schools and institutions run by the Forest Department.

“Entry of government school students into medical colleges has come down drastically after the introduction of NEET. The government is keen to stop the trend,” Mr. Palaniswami said.

The CM said that the government would constitute a commission under the chairmanship of a retired High Court judge to collect details and make recommendations. It would get a month’s time to hand in its recommendations.

The secretaries of health and law and two educationists would be its members. The Director of Medical Education would be its member-secretary.

Big rush at vegetable markets, Uzhavar Santhai ahead of Janata Curfew

TNN | Mar 22, 2020, 04.44 AM IST

Trichy: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for observing a ‘Janata curfew’ on Sunday, residents in city flocked the vegetable markets including the Uzhavar Santhai, Gandhi Market to buy vegetables and essentials. Meanwhile, most of the eateries in Trichy have declared holiday till March 31.

Except for essentials, the government has ordered to close down all commercial establishments. Traders and vegetable vendors have promised to observe the curfew on Sunday. Agriculture marketing officials also announced that Uzhavar Santhai would down shutters on Sunday.

In order to avert scarcity of essentials, people thronged all the Uzhavar Santhai located in seven places in the district, Gandhi Market as well as various local vegetable markets to stock vegetables, greens and fruits.

To cater to the needs of customers, all the Uzhavar Santhai in the city were kept open till afternoon, skipping evening sales. A large number of people gathered at the markets in Tennur Anna Nagar, KK Nagar, Lalgudi to purchase things.

According to Gandhi Market vendors, around 2,000 wholesale mandis are there exclusively for vegetables, onion, potato, fruits and banana. As per the call made by the PM, they have decided to close down all the mandis and retail shops in the market. Several customers from the city and from the outskirts of the city arrived at the market till late in the evening.

“I have never seen such a huge crowd even during festivals in the recent past,” S Ramesh, a vegetable vendor in Gandhi Market, said.

Railways relaxes reservation refund rules

TNN | Mar 22, 2020, 04.45 AM IST

Trichy: As per the government advisory in the wake of Covid-19 to avoid crowding and practice social distancing, Railways has relaxed refund rules for tickets generated through passenger reservation system (PRS) counters.

All rules for e-ticket are remaining the same, as a passenger does not need to come to the station for a refund of the ticket. The relaxation is for journey period between March 21 and April 15.

In case, trains were cancelled by Railways during the journey period, refund across the counter can be taken on submission of the ticket up to 45 days from date of journey, instead of extant rule of 3 hours or 72 hours, a release from Trichy Railway Division said.

If the train is not cancelled and the passenger does not want to travel, ticket deposit receipt can be filed within 30 days from date of the journey at the station, instead of the extant rule of 3 days.

Ticket deposit receipt can be submitted to claims office for getting the refund with 60 days of the filing of ticket deposit receipt subject to verification from train chart, (instead of the extant rule of 10 days). For passengers who want to cancel ticket through 139 can get refund across the counter within 30 days from the date of journey. (Instead of the extant rule of up to scheduled departure of the train), the release said.

Railway authorities have asked passenger to avail the facility by avoiding coming to the railway station during the spread of the virus, the release added.

58 inmates given bail to decongest Madurai jail

TNN | Mar 22, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

Madurai: As many as 58 inmates of Madurai Central Prison were released on bail on Saturday in order to bring down congestion in the jail in the wake of Covid-19 scare. These inmates include two women, who were lodged in special prison for women, where 105 have been lodged.

The decision was taken at a special camp that took place on the prison premises, which was chaired by justice P N Prakash from Madurai bench of Madras high court. Madurai city police commissioner S Davidson Devasirvatham, south zone IG K P Shanmuga Rajeswaran, and Madurai district superintendent of police N Manivannan took part in the camp. A panel of judges from Madurai district court and officials from prison department also took part.

The 35-acre Madurai Central Prison, located in the heart of the city, has a capacity to accommodate around 1,300 inmates, but more than 1,550 inmates were lodged in the prison.

Deputy inspector-general of prisons D Pazhani told TOI that it was an initiative by the prison department and the judicial department. The inmates considered for release on bail was based on a report prepared by the police department. It was held in order to bring down the strength in the prison in the wake of Covid-19, he said.

There are around 960 convict prisoners and 630 remand prisoners in Madurai Central Prison. Out of the 630, the authorities released 58 inmates, DIG said.

Sources from the prisons department said that a camp will be held on Monday too in order to further bring down the numbers. The list of prisoners to be released was carefully selected based on the eligibility norms laid down under the law. It was scrutinized in such a way that these people will not create any unrest in society.

Meanwhile, various measures are being taken in the prisons department in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among inmates and one such measure was suspension of interview with their family members and lawyers for two weeks.

Rush for vegetables causes price rise in city markets

TNN | Mar 22, 2020, 04.49 AM IST

Anticipating uncertain times, all vegetable markets in the city witnessed a huge turnout of customers on Saturday as they made bulk purchases. The increase in the crowd also saw vegetable prices rising by at least 30%.

Central vegetable market, Paravai market, farmers market at Anna Nagar and Bibikulam, K Pudur market, Thayir market as well as roadside markets on Bypass Road witnessed a sudden throng of men and women. Most of them purchased vegetables to stock up to 15 days instead of their usual one week. “Janata curfew has been called on Sunday. But we do not know what lies ahead and if it all it is a pandemic, how long will it last. What if markets are also shut like parks and large commercial establishments. I have purchased double the quantity of vegetables than my usual weekly quota,” said K Vijayalakshmi from Surya Nagar.

J Velavan from Ponmeni said there is panic among the public because of rumours that markets too will be closed as a preventive measure. With the public transport system also curtailed, the price of vegetables may increase further, he said. “The increased demand for vegetables has resulted in price rise. It is only 9 am, but more than half of the vegetables I purchased today has been sold out. Though it is only a one-day voluntary curfew, panic among the public is quite evident through the way they purchase,” R Selvam, a vegetable seller said.

Prices of all vegetables including onion, tomato, carrot, beans, coconut, brinjal, ladies finger and cabbage have gone up. While already they have witnessed an increase of up to 30%, it may rise further depending on how people react to the situation, he added.

Many residents said they have already purchased essentials required for the next one month from grocery stores and medical stores. It has resulted in the increased crowd in grocery stores, be it at the ones next door or wholesale grocery stores.

MKU to hold online classes

TNN | Mar 22, 2020, 04.50 AM IST

Madurai: The Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) has urged its students to make use of the digital education platform being provided by the consortium for educational communication (CEC) to study university course subjects from their homes. The university, following the government’s orders for COVID-19 prevention, has been shut down from March 16 till March 31.

In a formal notification issued on Friday, the university said that e-content courseware for 87 under graduate subjects are available on the CEC website (http://cec.nic.in/). “Two weeks is a long time, so we, of course, want to keep students engaged. We told our students to consider as if still they were at the university and spend at least a minimum of four to five hours studying or doing assignments,” said Dr R Sudha, director, educational multimedia research centre (EMMRC) at MKU. The EMMRC, Madurai has so far hosted 1,570 e-contents in CEC website.

The notification further mentioned that students can make use of study webs of active learning for young aspiring minds (SWAYAM) platform, a programme by the Ministry of human resource development that enables professors and faculties of centrally funded institutions like IITs, IIMs, etc., to offer massive open online courses (MOOCs). In the current semester, CEC is also delivering more than 150 SWAYAM MOOCs for under graduate and post graduate courses. Students can also study from CEC-UGC YouTube channel and make use of the educational curriculum-based lectures for free. Some MKU departments have also prepared timetables for online seminars and assignments and sent them via email for students to follow and learn from home.`

Meanwhile, on the TV platform, 11-subject based SWAYAM Prabha DTH channels are available on DD free dish, Dish TV and Reliance Jio mobile App.

‘Identifying and isolating contagion is key in battle against coronavirus’

22.03.2020

South Korea has set an example in tackling the coronavirus. How did they do it and what was behind some of the steps the country took. Talking to TOI’s Indrani Bagchi, South Korea’s ambassador Shin Bong-Kil spelt out the steps taken by his country and how democracies have to do things differently. Excerpts:

• Korea tackled the coronavirus issue very aggressively, resulting in fewer deaths. Tell us what was the thinking behind these moves.

We thought that identifying and isolating the contagion in the early stages was the easiest way to fight coronavirus. We were successful. Also, we could treat patients well, which lowered the death rate. We developed the drive through test kit in early stages. Our bio companies worked at top speed to make both reagent and equipment. We could identify the geographical area of the infection and group early. It is an opaque religious group (Shincheonji) in the Daegu area, which has a church in Wuhan. They were heavily contaminated. We got a list of the group members and we made a comprehensive test of them. 60% of all Korea’s infected individuals cases were from this group. This province had almost 90% of all of Korea’s contamination.

• What is Korea doing to prevent the outflow of Covid-19?

The Korean government is strictly controlling outbound travellers who could be described as “close contact”, i.e. one who has been within 2 meters of an infected person. These people are prohibited from leaving Korea. Until March12, we had identified 22,000 of such “contacts”. They are not infected but they could be vectors. Our main airport is Incheon International Airport. We made it into a Covid-19-free zone. We have made mandatory, multi-step fever checks on all outbound passengers. We are screening strictly — three times in airport — departure hall, security checkpoint and boarding gate.

• What innovative steps did you take to fight this virus?

Our drive-through test centre has been popular and is very effective. Now we have developed a walk-through test centre. You get the results by text message on your phone. Korea is a heavily wired country, so this is possible. We have six firms already manufacturing testing kits. If India has an interest, we can connect them. We have developed an app for fighting the virus. When you move, the GPS on your phone detects where you are and where you have travelled. That helps us quarantine areas where infected persons have visited. The app also helps us monitor the ‘self-quarantined’. If you break quarantine, you are detected. Yes, there are privacy issues, but we feel safety and health are more important. We are now producing a health certificate for travellers. Korea is the first to make this health certificate. Now India is asking for a similar certificate. We proposed that our authorised medical institutions produce this health certificate. Indians have called it a “ very good idea”.

• China says they have a model to deal with pandemics like coronavirus. Do you think democracies have a different model?

The principles that governed our response are important — openness and transparency. At every stage, we were open to what was going on, numbers etc. That way we earned the trust of the people. They believed the government and are more open about obeying government instructions. In a democracy, we believe, this is most important. If you are an authoritarian government, you can control this information. But people don’t believe it. Like in North Korea — they say there is no coronavirus infection. But they have shut down the capital Pyongyang, even shut down embassies. India, the world’s largest democracy, should be open and transparent so that a nation of 1.3 billion could believe in the government to follow decisions.

Full interview on www.toi.in

We’ve developed an app for fighting the virus. When you move, the GPS on your phone detects where you are and where you have travelled. That helps us quarantine areas where infected persons have visited. The app also helps us monitor the ‘self-quarantined’

40% of cases in India recorded in last 2 days

New 1-Day High Of 77 Takes Total To 332

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:22.03.2020

The Covid-19 count continued to surge across the country with at least 77 new cases reported from states on Saturday, surpassing Friday’s figure of 57 as the highest for a single day and taking total number of cases to 332.

Kerala (12), Maharashtra (10) and Punjab (10) reported new cases in double digits even as the national count in the past two days alone stood at 133, accounting for 40% of all cases since the first one was confirmed on January 30. While Maharashtra and Kerala together account for more than a third of all cases, government data shows new hotspots are emerging.

Govt sending spl flight to bring in 262 Indians stuck in Rome

In Rajasthan’s Bhilwara, 11 new cases have been reported in the past 48 hours. Punjab and Gujarat have also witnessed significant spike in Covid-19 cases.

Meanwhile, Assam may become the 22nd state in the country to report a Covid-19 case. A four-and-a-half-yearold girl, who had recently travelled from Bihar, tested positive for the infection in Jorhat. Her sample has been sent for re-confirmation to an ICMR lab in Dibrugarh.

In all, fresh cases were reported from 13 states, indicating the spread of the infection across the country. The Union health ministry confirmed 283 cases, including 23 who have recovered. The ministry’s count of Covid-19 cases includes 39 foreign nationals, one who has migrated and four persons who have died.

The government admitted that Covid-19 infections were spreading but said there was no evidence yet of community transmission, which happens in stage three of an outbreak. Joint secretary (health) Lav Aggarwal said on Saturday that more cases have been found in some locations.

“Yesterday (Friday), there were 6,700 contacts (of Covid-19 positive cases) and now it is 7,000. This number is going up and if factual information shows there is community transmission we will tell the nation about it,” he said.

Also, the government is sending a special flight to bring in 262 Indians stuck in Rome in Italy where the Covid-19 outbreak has claimed over 4.000 lives. On Sunday, PM Narendra Modi’s has appealed to people to observe a “janata curfew”.

All cops using police vehicles in Delhi will blow siren at 5 pm for a minute and the PM has urged people to express their appreciation for the work being done by those in hospitals, airports, by banging utensils, or by clapping for five minutes. Meanwhile, the central government on Saturday held a video conference for training of hospital staff across states for critical care management in case of need for more hospitalisation with surging Covid-19 cases.

Gujarat seems to emerging as a new hotspot for the virus. Between March 19 and March 21, the number of Covid-19 cases in the state has risen from two to 14. While 13 positives had a history of foreign travel, the state also recorded its first Covid-19 patient, a 67-year-old Surat man, who had no international travel history but had visited Delhi and Jaipur recently for work.

Bhilwara, meanwhile, could be sitting on a ticking bomb as 11 cases have been reported in the past two days. All of those infected are doctors and nursing staff with no recent travel history abroad.

In Odisha, where two Covid-19 cases have been confirmed, CM Naveen Patnaik announced complete lockdown of five districts and eight major towns, including Bhubaneshwar and Puri for a week to control disease spread.

Full report on www.toi.in

Scared migrant workers ‘quit Maharashtra’ amid shutdown

Mumbai:22.03.2020

Amid a near-total shutdown in the country’s commercial capital, several thousands of panicky migrant labour from different parts of India are bolting the city daily to escape the clutches of coronavirus pandemic as the state led with 63 cases on Saturday.

Since the past four-five days, various railway termini in the city, particularly the Central Railway (CR), have witnessed hordes of migrant workers jostling to catch trains bound for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other locations.

Migrant labour from different parts of India forms a significant chunk of the state’s workforce with many working in Mumbai, Raigad, Thane, Palghar districts, besides Pune and Nagpur.

Many apprehend that they would face pay-cuts or job losses, but a Maharashtra government order has decreed all public-private sector not to cut wages or terminate casual, temporary or contractual workers.

“The termination of employee from the job or reduction in wages in this scenario would further deepen the crisis and will not only deepen the financial condition of the employee but also hamper their morale to combat their fight with this epidemic,” Maharashtra commissioner of labour Mahendra Kalyankar said.

Kalyankar added that if any worker takes leave, he/she should be deemed to be on duty without consequential deduction in wages of this period with the coronavirus pandemic, in tune with the appeals made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

The problems of the migrants hopeful of returning to the safe havens of their native homes were compounded with the Central Railway (CR), Western Railway WR) and Konkan Railway (KR) together cancelling around 275 long-distance trains till March 31. IANS

LAST-MINUTE PANIC: Migrant workers try to board an overcrowded passenger train on Saturday after government imposed restrictions on gatherings in Mumbai

KLM flight with 100 Indians asked to return

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:22.03.2020

A KLM flight was asked to return to Amsterdam after it took off for Delhi on Friday with about 100 Indians transiting back home from US and Canada. Since India has barred entry of anyone from Europe, UK and Turkey — including transit passengers from there — aviation authorities here asked the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operating as KLM 871, to return to Amsterdam. On humanitarian grounds, sources say, this flight is likely to be allowed to operate on Sunday.

Air India also sent its 342-seater Boeing 777 on Saturday to bring Indians back from Rome. The flight is expected to return to Delhi by 7.30am on Sunday. “The number of passengers will be known when boarding is completed in Rome,” an AI official said.

Quarantine-stamped caught on public transport in Maha

Many Arrived From Dubai Or Been To Qatar

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:22.03.2020

The city witnessed many cases of people with ‘home quarantine stamps’ on hands being caught during travel at railway stations, in trains and on buses from where they were sent to hospitals or handed over to the police or BMC. At CSMT, 16 persons with a home quarantine stamp were found by railway security agencies while they were preparing to board trains to travel to their respective homes.

“On enquiry, it was learnt they had landed from Dubai and had directly come to CSMT from the airport to go home to Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and other states,” said senior inspector Hemant Bavdhankar, CSMT GRP. Medical teams were informed and the 16 were taken away.

In another incident, Railway Protection Force personnel (RPF) at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus did not allow eight Dubai-returned people to board a train to Allahabad. They were instead sent to Andheri’s SevenHills Hospital quarantine centre.

At Kalyan station, RPF constable S N Mundey noticed a 30-year-old man with the home quarantine stamp. He told Mundey that he had a Dubai travel history and had come to the city from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh on March 17. He was sent to a nearby hospital.

In another incident, two passengers, aged 27 and 42 years, who had arrived from Dubai, were forced to get off the Bandra-Surat intercity train at Virar station.

On noticing their ‘home quarantine stamps, fellow passengers pulled the train chain and complained to Western Railway officials. Railway cops told the two passengers to get off the train. The two later left for their destinations in Vadodara and Jamnagar by road.

A man who had returned from Qatar a couple of days ago and had boarded a train from Mumbai to Kalaburagi in Karnataka in Udayan Express was deboarded at Daund station after passengers raised an alarm about his constant sneezing and coughing.

A similar scene panned out in a BEST bus. A foreign national with a home quarantine stamp was found travelling in a BEST bus on route number 309 from Goregaon to Kurla on Staurday. The conductor and driver handed him over to the police near Jari Mari in Kurla.

Full report on www.toi.in

PM: Listen to docs, don’t violate home quarantine

Govt Collaborates With WhatsApp For Credible Info

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:22.03.2020

With reports of people leaving cities in droves by taking crowded trains because of the coronavirus scare, PM Narendra Modi on Saturday took to Twitter to put out a strong “ stay put” appeal saying that it would increase the risk of infections.

Modi also exhorted quarantined people to heed doctor’s advice not to venture out. He said: “I pray that the city you are in, please stay there for a few days. With this, all of us can stop the disease from spreading. We are playing with our health by crowding railway stations, bus stands. Please worry about yourself and your family, do not leave your house if it is not necessary.

He also asked those quarrantined to abide by the advice of doctors. Using the hashtag #IndiaFightsCorona and sharing videos on precautions that can be taken against the infection, he said on Twitter: “This is the time we should all listen to the advise given by doctors and authorities. All those who have been told to stay in home quarantine, I urge you to please follow the instructions. This will protect you as well as your friends and family.”

In line with his address to the nation on Thursday where he announced a voluntary 14-hour citizens’ “curfew”, the PM sought cooperation of people in staying home and avoiding unnecessary travel.

Also in a move to provide correct information and bust myths around the coronavirus, the PM announced the launch of a Government of India collaboration with messaging service WhatsApp for a ‘Corona Helpdesk’ which would help disseminate authentic information on Covid-19.

“Sharing correct information, avoiding incorrect panic. Here is an effort by WhatsApp and @mygovindia to ensure you receive accurate and verified information on Coronavirus. Please click on this link https://wa.me/919013151515?text=Hi…or send Hi on +919013151515,” the PM said on Twitter on Saturday.

Full report on www.toi.in

Establishments advised to blow sirens at 5pm

New Delhi: In view of Prime Minister’s appeal to countrymen to observe a14-hour ‘janata curfew’ on Sunday and applaud all those in the forefront of fighting Covid-19 at 5pm, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to chief secretaries and administrators of all states/Union Territories asking them to widely disseminate the PM’s message to the community at large. He also asked the state governments and UT administrations to advise urban local bodies, panchayati raj institutions, fire services, police services, civil defence and industrial establishments, etc. to ring a siren at 5pm for intimation of all citizens. TNN

Large crowd at ‘Panguni’ fest despite Covid-19 warning

Procession Takes Place, Prasadam Distributed

Padmini.Sivarajah@timesgroup.com

Madurai:22.03.2020

Large temples across the state have been closed as a precautionary measure against Covid-19, smaller temples managed by the HR & CE department and those in villages where thousands gather at a time are continuing to conduct the annual ‘Panguni’ festival, showing that people are still unaware of the lurking danger.

On Friday night, more than 1,000 people participated in the Panguni festival of Veerakaliamman temple near Melur. The people took out a procession to the temple carrying idols in decorated palanquins. “We are doing it for the good of the world and the health of the community,’’ said Selvam, a participant, saying that this was an annual festival that no family usually wanted to miss.

Pongal was also cooked on the premises and distributed to the people who came there. While the government’s directive to bar devotees is in place for bigger temples, the festivals in smaller temples are going to draw larger crowds. While the district administration and local body administrations are taking many steps to create awareness of hand hygiene in markets, bus stands, stations and other public places, no awareness was created at this specific temple festival.

Meanwhile, a small temple at Maravar Chavadi in Madurai conducted a ‘yaga’ seeking protection against the fastspreading Covid-19 virus. ``A large number of people also gathered there and it was clear that they did not give much thought to social distancing while participating in this puja,’’ said Krishnan of Arapalayam. The Thayamangalam festival in Sivaganga is another temple that draws lakhs of people from various parts of the state for the Panguni festival and the culminating event is to be held on Sunday. Sivaganga district collector J Jayakanthan said that he would look into the issue. Thousands gathered there on Saturday when a large number of goats and chickens were sacrificed. As there is a water scarcity in the temple, thousands entered the village tank simultaneously for bathing after tonsuring their heads.

DEFYING GUIDELINES: At least 1,000 people gathered at Veerakaliamman temple near Melur on Friday

2 docs offer med to cure Covid, flee

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Salem:22.03.2020

Two homoeopathy doctors are likely to face legal action for misleading the public stating they had preventive medicine for Covid-19. The two deployed a man at Uzhavar Shandy in Hasthampatty area on Saturday to distribute pamphlets to the public. When TOI tried to talk to him, he fled. The pamphlet had contact details of Dr P Elango and Dr E Indrakumar, who were practice at a clinic on Gandhi Road. TOI alerted deputy director of health services Dr J Nirmalson, who tried to reach the two on their mobile phones. “No one picked up the calls. They managed to escape and the clinic was found closed when our team went there,” Nirmalson said. He has lodged a complaint with the Hasthampatty police, seeking action against the errant homoeopathic consultants for trying to cheat people.

Gold worth ₹17L stolen from house of collector

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thanjavur:22.03.2020

Unidentified miscreants broke into the house of Cuddalore collector V Anbuselvan at his native village near Peravurani taluk in Thanjavur district and decamped with gold jewellery worth about ₹17 lakh on Friday. The incident came to light only on Saturday and police are investigating.

According to police, Anbuselvan is a native of Nadiyam village and has been residing at the collector's camp office in Cuddalore along with his family. He had hired Selvam, 62, a native of the village, to guard his house during the night. On Friday night, Selvam was near the front gate when some miscreants managed to break open the back door and get inside. They looted gold jewellery weighing about 55 sovereigns from a bureau in the bedroom. Before stealing the valuables, the burglars damaged five CCTV cameras fixed in and around the house as well as the recorder and dumped them in the water tub in the backyard, police said. Selvam noticed the robbery on Saturday morning and subsequently informed the police. Pattukottai deputy superintendent of police Subramanian and Sethubavachathiram inspector V Annathurai along with their police team rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry.

Govt school students may get reservation in med colleges

Eligibility: Class I-XII In Govt School

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:22.03.2020

The Tamil Nadu government is set to pass a new law to create special reservation for students of government schools in medical college admission, said chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, making a suo motu statement in the assembly on Saturday.

“The state is still fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Neet). The reservation will be for students who study from Class I to XII in government, corporation, municipal or adi-dravida schools as well as those run by the forest department,” said Palaniswami.

“The number of government school students entering medical colleges has come down drastically after the introduction of Neet. The government wants to stop this trend. A committee under the chairmanship of a retired high court judge will study the issue and make recommendations to the government. The commission will have secretaries of the health and law departments as members. Besides, two educationists named by the school education department will be included in the commission. The director of medical education will be the membersecretary of the commission,” said the chief minister.

The commission will study the reason for the poor entry of government school students into medical colleges and assess their social conditions before making recommendations to rectify the trend, Palaniswami said. The commission will submit its recommendations in a month.

Though NEET was introduced in 2016-17, late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had obtained an exemption for a year. “We have been opposing NEET. We adopted a resolution in the assembly and sent it to the Centre. We have also approached the Supreme Court and explained how the examination had severely affected the poor and students from rural areas,” he said.

A commission will study the reason for the poor entry of government school students into medical colleges and assess their social conditions before making recommendations to rectify the trend