Flood scare messages back on social media

 Naomi N  October 31, 2017  

Chennai: As the North East monsoon has set it, social media is flooded with all kinds of information you need to get through the day – the favourable routes to take and giving out latest weather reports. Some frequently asked questions are – Which parts of the city are water-logged, which route is traffic congested? How long will the rains last for? These dedicated Facebook pages, news outlets and Twitter hash tags are doing great service by helping people in need.

But unfortunately, the same social media is also used to spread unverified and wrong news.

This morning (Tuesday) many woke up to WhatsApp messages saying that Sathyam Cinemas in Royapettah was being opened for people to come and stay and food packets will be available for those in need along with a list of help line numbers of volunteers.

The incessant rains which began on Sunday evening does bring back memories of the 2015 floods, it was social media which helped several people from flooded buildings and homes. Rescue missions were carried by simply posting a message, raise an alert and circulated emergency numbers.

However, this time around all the messages being circulated in 2015 are doing the rounds now.

On WhatsApp, several texts messages surprised users, ‘I got text message on a group saying that people living in inundated areas can reach a list of numbers for rescue and 5000 food packets and bed sheets were ready to be distributed along with phone numbers for it.

I was surprised and I thought things were really bad out there. Then the text message appeared very familiar and I found it was a message from the 2015 floods and pointed out in the group asking people to stop spreading such news,’ says Arvind, a resident of Pallavaram.

Anand Vaidyanathan, who runs the Facebook page TN Flood Support, now called as The New face of society was one of the active pages channelising information and relief material during the 2015 deluge.

He says, “Since the rains began, any negative news brings in hysteria. So on our page we share only weather and traffic updates. If we put out any kind of information which affects people, they will pack their bags and leave the city in fear, so we are very wary of it”, he said.

A long text message doing the rounds said, “Indian Navy- 10 of their expert divers and rescue personnel with boats at Gandhi Nagar (along with a contact number),  food packets are ready for distribution. SRM University is accommodating people in their buildings, whoever stranded in GST please go there. Sathyam Cinemas (Royapettah) will be open for everyone tonight for stay, do get in touch. Similar texts conveyed a number of phone numbers of people willing to help and another text with these information ended with the statement, “If you don’t share this, you are not a true Tamilan.”

When News Today dialed the numbers, the users either disconnected the call at the first ring or never picked the calls.

THE PROMINENT ONES

* Sathyam Cinemas (Royapettah) will be open for everyone tonight for stay, do get in touch. * SRM University is accommodating people in their buildings, whoever stranded in GST please go there. * Indian Navy- 10 of their expert divers and rescue personnel with boats at Gandhi Nagar (along with a contact number), food packets are ready for distribution.

Fatima students helpless, threatened to commit suicide

November 1, 2017, 10:36 PM IST




The 2015-16 batch MBBS students of Fathima Institute of Medical Sciences (FIMS), Kadapa, have urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to intervene and address their “life and death” problem, Even as the students of Fathima Institute of Medical Sciences (FIMS) in Kadapa threatened to commit mass suicide if the State government does not help them in getting admission to any other medical colleges with retrospective.

On Tuesday, Fathima students along with their parents organized a two day hunger strike at Dharna Chowk

As many as 100 students got admissions in FIMS in the 2015-16 batch. As there was no approval from Medical Council of India (MCI) for the seats in that academic year, the Supreme Court cancelled their admissions 10 months after the commencement of academic year.

Driver who robbed ATM cash caught with accomplices

 PTI  November 1, 2017  

Chennai: Four persons, including a van driver, who escaped with Rs 28 lakh meant to be filled in a public sector bank’s ATM at the airport here last week, were arrested, police said.

The driver Udayakumar, Devaraj, Karthikeyan and Pandian, were arrested and an amount of Rs 16.04 lakh and gold jewellery worth Rs 5.01 lakh purchased using the booty were recovered from them, police said in a release here.

Udayakumar was driving the vehicle carrying the cash to be deposited in the ATM and arrived at the Chennai airport on 26 October.

After dropping the personnel involved in filling the cash at the ATM kiosk of the bank, he later stopped the vehicle at a near by spot along with the security, the release said.

Then he gave a letter to the security and asked him to hand over it to the others, whom he dropped off near the ATM kiosk.

When the latter left the place, Udayakumar escaped with the vehicle containing Rs 28 lakh, the release said. A police complaint was immediately filed.

A special police team was formed to probe the case and the accused were arrested today, the release said, adding they were remanded to judicial custody.

The four-wheeler used by them to flee with the cash was also recovered from their possession, it said.

Neuro pioneer, Krishnamoorthy Srinivas passes away

 NT Bureau  November 1, 2017  

Chennai: Dr Krishnamoorthy Srinivas, the first person to achieve the qualification of DM (Doctor of Medicine) in neurology, in the country, passed away due to age-realted illness today.

Having been inactive in the field for a while, due to his ailment, he was admitted to a private hospital in Mylapore two days ago, where he passed away this morning at the age of 85.

He is survived by his wife Padma Srinivas and his children Dr Ennapadam S Krishnamoorthy, Aparna and Saikrishna Rajagopal and grandchildren.

His last rites were performed at the Mylapore crematorium later in the day.

Doctor Krishnamoorthy was a true pioneer in the field of neurology and to him goes the credit of improving treatment and diagnosis in stroke, epilepsy and related stuff in the country.

A disciple of the founder of the Voluntary Health Services Medical Centre, the legendary K S Sanjivi, prof. Srinivas set up the department of neurology there, which later became the much-acclaimed of Institute of Neurological Sciences.

Ata a time when he was flooded with offers from abraod, Dr Srinivas chose to cast his lot here in Chennai itself. In his own words, he said, “I needed to be at a place where I could treat anybody, including poor patients and have the freedom to do what I chose to do.”

More than five decades ago (1965, to be precise), he set up an outpatient clinic at the VHS, that functioned out of a corridor in the building, with minimum furniture.

Srinivas dedicated his life to the development of neurology community. The two full-fledged departments of community neurology that he set up in Chennai, at the Voluntary Health Services and at the Public Health Centre, are models in community neurology that many find as inspirations even today.

Fully focused on serving the community at large, he willing waived off patients’ fees if they were poor. Prof Srinivas has rubbed shoulders with the high and mighty of the country (he had treated, among others, Jawharlal Nehru, Indra Gandhi, long before he settled down in Chennai), but he always remained close to his roots and treated every patient the same.

Professor Krishnamoorthy Srinivas was also inducted into the American Academy of Neurology, the largest body of professional neurologists worldwide, in July.

He was the first Indian to become an honorary member of the two top neurology associations in the world, having got a membership at the the American Neurological Association in 2003. He is also the first Indian neurologist to be elected to the Royal Colleges of London, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

His famous quote suggesting doctors to take the news slowly to the families of the patients, reads, “We cannot break the news of the disease immediately to the patient’s family. We have to do it slowly. Otherwise, the family will go away and may even go for multiple consultations, aggravating the condition of the patient.”

Srinivas was Emeritus Professor of Neurology at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, and an Honorary Visiting Professor of Neurology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Madras, and at the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in Tirupati. He was honorary consultant in Neurology for the armed forces between 1979 and 1995. He had published over 50 research articles in neurosciences in several national and international journals.

Over several years, through his Institute, Srinivas brought thought leaders and practitioners of neurology to the city and helped further research and treatment facilities in this part of the world.

Prof. Srinivas had established eight endowment orations, which have over the past 25 years brought to India more than 70

Rlys extend free travel to awardees

Posted on 2/11/2017 by Dailyexcelsior

NEW DELHI, Nov 1:

Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra awardees can now travel for free in executive class in any train for life, giving them travel benefits at par with the recipients of Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra, according to the railways.

As per a 2014 policy, the Railways Ministry provides free travel passes for 1st AC Class/Executive Class to Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra awardees.

However, Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra awardees, and widows of posthumous gallantry awardees are entitled to lifelong free rail travel in 1st AC Class/2nd AC Class along with one companion over the entire railways network except the Metro Railway, Kolkata.
The decision to raise the entitlements of Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra awardees was made in August and a letter was issued on October 13 by the Railway Board to all zonal railways for necessary action to be taken in this regard.

“Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra awardees will now onwards be entitled to the same free rail travel facilities as admissible to the recipients of Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra awardees”, the letter stated.

With the free rail pass, recipients of Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra will now be able to travel free of cost with a companion in not only the existing 1st AC coaches but also executive class on all trains including the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto.

The executive class is the railways’ version of business class in an aircraft, and is only found on Shatabdi Express trains, Tejas Express and a few Duronto Express trains. Fares of the Shatabdi Express executive class are generally double the normal AC chair car fares. (PTI)

Rural service bond for Maha doctors

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

The Maharashtra government is planning to retrospectively implement the mandatory rural service bond for MBBS students who took admission to the course in 2010, state medical education minister Girish Mahajan has said. For doctors, working in rural areas for a year is a mandatory provision made by the state government.

Mahajan said a list would be compiled online of the students completing their medical education, for their requirements in rural, semi-rural and tribal areas.

"The state government is also working on shifting online the entire allocation of rural areas to students. The plan is to implement the mandatory service for the students who took the admission in 2010. Those who have not yet completed their mandatory service, they will be given a period of next two years to complete it," he said in a statement. The bond is necessary so that the newly graduated students get an experience of working in rural areas.  It will also benefit  rural areas and this whole exercise will also help in developing a sense of social responsibility.'

40 percent seats on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route vacant, loss of Rs 29.91 crores in 3 months

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

By Philip Varghese


Activist Anil Galgali has expressed that the maximum load of passengers on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is for sleeper class seats and it can be seen from the RTI that the ‘upper class’ seats are going vacant and the occupancy ratio is very poor

More than a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has found that in past three months, 40 per cent of the seats on the Mumbai to Ahmedabad route are empty and 44 per cent of the seats on the Ahmedabad to Mumbai route are also empty.

It will be recalled that PM Modi on September 14, announced that India’ first bullet train would be launched in 2022, coinciding with 75 years of independence, and dubbed it as a definite step towards ‘New India’.

Advancing the scheduled launch from March 2023, the Modi Government will make the high-speed train operational between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in August 2022. The project will be funded by Japan.

However, activist Anil Galgali has claimed that the Modi Government, which is over enthusiastic to spend more than Rs. 1 lakh crores for running the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, seems to have not done it's homework properly.

According to an information obtained on the basis of response by the Railway to a RTI query filed by Galgali, the railways have an accumulated loss of Rs 29.91 crores for the past three months as 40 per cent of the seats on the Mumbai to Ahmedabad route were empty and 44 per cent seats on the Ahmedabad to Mumbai route was also found empty.

Galgali had sought various information from the Western Railway (WR) about the seat occupancy on all the trains running between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to and fro for the past three months. The Chief Commercial Manager of the Western Railway (WR), Manjeet Singh, provided the information to Galgali pertaining to period from July 1, 2017, to September 30, 2017.

As per the information received through RTI on the 32 Mail and Express trains running from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, only 4,41,795 seats got booked out of the 7,35,630 seats on all the trains, thus, generating a revenue of Rs 30,16,24,623 out of the total expected revenue of Rs 44,29,08,220. “This means it has incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 14,12,83,597 in just three months. On the Ahmedabad to Mumbai route, a total of 31 Mail / Express trains are running on which 3,98,002 passengers traveled on the route on which the total capacity was 7,06,446 seats. This route accumulated a loss of Rs 15,78,54,489 as it could generate a revenue of only Rs 26,74,56,982 as against the expected capacity of Rs 42,53,11,471,” Galgali said.

The trains running on the route such as Duranto, Shatabadi, Gujarat Mail, Bhavnagar, Saurashtra, Vivek, Bhuj, Lokshakti are included in the data provided. The Ahmedabad Division Engineer informed in the reply that there is no fresh proposal for any new train on this route with them. The 12009 Shatabdi is the most famous and favourite train for Chair Car service. This train enroute to Ahmedabad had the capacity for 72,696 seats out of which it managed to sell only 36,117 seats. Of the total expected revenue of Rs 7,20,82,948 it could garner, only Rs 4,11,23,086. The Executive Chair Car consisted of 8216 seats, whereas only 3468 could be sold garnering a revenue of just Rs 64,14,345 out of the total expected capacity of Rs 1,63,57,898. The Shatabdi's 2010 Ahmedabad-Mumbai route story is no different. Out of the total 67,392 seats, only 22,982 seats got sold and revenue received was Rs 2,51,41,322 against expectation of 6,39,08,988.