Clean up after your pets or pay the fine

Pet owners who fail to clean up after their pets may now be penalised if the city corporation’s draft solid waste management by-laws, 2016, is given the go-ahead.
 
Published: 19th June 2018 10:32 PM | 

 
Photo for representation
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Pet owners who fail to clean up after their pets may now be penalised if the city corporation’s draft solid waste management by-laws, 2016, is given the go-ahead. The draft, which lists out duties of both waste generators and of Chennai corporation, states, “It shall be the responsibility of the owner of any pet animal to promptly scoop/clean up any litter created by pet animals on the street or any public place, and take adequate steps for the proper disposal of such waste possibly by their own sewage system. Failure to do so will attract fines as per the Schedule of Fines.”

The fine proposed for the said violation is `100, alongside street vendors who do not keep garbage containers and defacement of public places inclusive of littering/urinating/open defecation/spitting, all attracting a fine of `100. However, event managers who violate the by-laws may not have it easy, standing to pay up to `25,000 for violations.

The draft specifies that the organiser of an event or gathering of over 100 persons should ensure the source segregation of waste which should later be handed over to waste collectors or agencies specified by the local body. The civic body also seems keen on tightening its grip on waste segregation that finds mention throughout the draft.

It states, “All resident welfare and market associations shall, within one year from the date of notification of these rules and in partnership with the local body ensure segregation of waste at source by the generators as prescribed in these rules...” The draft has also proposed a user fee ranging from `10 to `50 for residential premises and `25 to `500 for commercial premises.

A senior corporation official said that the draft would be open to public suggestions for 30 days following which the suggestions would be analysed and the final draft would be pu blished.

Now, a BEd course in special education

Graduates who are interested in educating children with disabilities can get specialised training through the new ‘BEd special education — multiple disabilities’ programme that has been launched by Vi
 
Published: 19th June 2018 10:38 PM | 

By Express News Service
CHENNAI: Graduates who are interested in educating children with disabilities can get specialised training through the new ‘BEd special education — multiple disabilities’ programme that has been launched by Vidyasagar, a city-based NGO.

The two-year full-time programme aims to create multifaceted professionals equipped to work with persons with disabilities in all settings. The 33-year-old NGO runs a special school in the campus, which will help students get comprehensive training, said KS Uma from Vidyasagar.

This course is affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Teacher Education University and recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India. The course will comprise three main papers: education, special education and subject of expertise.“Special instructors from Vidyasagar itself will train all students and guest lecturers will be invited for other subjects,” said Uma.

After completion of the BEd programme, students can either work at special schools, inclusive institutions or write standard qualifying examinations to apply for different government jobs. Students with disabilities are often forced to drop out because teachers are not trained to meet their special needs.

For details contact 9840035203 or mail hrd@vidyasagar.co.in

Shortage of manpower blamed for clashes between doctors, attenders

Two days after a doctor was assaulted by a patient attender in Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, a meeting of the hospital doctors has identified shortage of staff in the hospital.
 
Published: 20th June 2018 05:48 AM  

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Two days after a doctor was assaulted by a patient attender in Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, a meeting of the hospital doctors has identified shortage of staff in the hospital as the root cause of the issue.

Attenders accompanying the patients have to run from pillar to post since there are usually very less people to man the wards and this frustrates them attenders, sometimes making them to assault doctors or other hospital staff, doctors said.

The meeting took place on Tuesday with the Director of Medical Education chairing it.

“Usually, only one staff nurse and doctor would be posted for two floors in the night hours, which in total has nearly eight wards. So, every time the patients’ attenders have to walk up and down the building searching for the staff nurse or the doctor.

“Due to this, the treatment of patients gets delayed and causes frustration for attenders. They end up showing their anger at the duty doctor,” said a doctor at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. Most of the assaults on doctors occurs only at night.

“The Stanley Medical College Hospital has only over 80 security personnel and over 200 contract workers which is nothing when compared to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where over 1,000 workers and over 400 security personnel are in place. Often, there would be no worker to even push the stretcher, and only the attender has to perform these tasks,” the doctor said.

A few of them were of the opinion that arresting the attenders who attack doctors is not the solution. “This problem can’t be resolved unless the root cause of the triggering points are addressed,” another doctor told Express.

The Director of Medical Education is likely to have another meeting with the PG and trainee doctors to further discuss about the issue on Wednesday.

G Ravindranath, general secretary of Doctors’ Association for Social Equality, said “Administrative flaws should be addressed. Also, the Hospital Protection Act is not being implemented effectively. Lack of manpower and other services is the root cause of the problem,” he said.

The Director of Medical Education A Edwin Joe said, “We are also planning to form a doctors team for patrolling the hospital. If there are more than one attender for a patient, they will be asked to leave.”

‘State has asked Centre to start two medical college hospitals’ 

Special Correspondent 
 
RAMANATHAPURAM, June 20, 2018 00:00 IST

IT Minister says Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar districts likely to get them

The State government has written to the Centre to start medical college hospitals in Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar districts – two of the 115 aspirational districts identified for all-round development and quick transformation, Minister for Information Technology M. Manikandan has said.

Talking to reporters after chairing a review meeting with B. Chandramohan, Secretary, Information Technology, who is the monitoring officer for the district, and Collector S. Natarajan here on Tuesday, the Minister said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

The Minister said as the State government faced a severe financial crunch, it had been decided to seek the assistance of the Centre for starting the medical colleges in the two districts.

He wrote to J.P. Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, requesting him to start a medical college hospital in the district and the Union Minister replied that his request was being looked into, Mr. Manikandan said. “The Centre might come out with the announcement at any time” and the district administration had been asked to identify land for the purpose, he added.

The Minister said an information technology (IT) park was being set up in the district to invite IT companies to open shop and offer employment opportunities to educated youth in the district. Land had been identified for the purpose and the work would start soon, he said.

He had discussed with Minister for Higher Education K.P. Anbalagan opening of a government arts college at Peikarumbu near the memorial of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, exclusively for those residing in Rameswaram island, he said.

As all the three government employees’ quarters here were in a dilapidated condition, the government had decided to pull them down and build new structures. He said the district monitoring officer reviewed the performance of all departments and expressed satisfaction with the overall progress, he said.

As the State government faces a severe financial crunch, it has been decided to seek the assistance of the Centre for starting the colleges

M. Manikandan

Minister for Information Technology

Engineering college told to return fees 

Staff Reporter 
 
Madurai, June 20, 2018 00:00 IST

The Madurai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Vellammal College of Engineering and Technology here to return the fee collected from a student who had discontinued his studies due to jaundice.

The forum, comprising president V. Balasundarakumar and member C. Packialakshmi, directed the college to return Rs. 82,240, the fee collected from the student (after calculating proportionate deduction), and also pay an additional amount of Rs. 13,000 for the mental agony suffered by him.

The complainant V. Bala Vignesh, joined the college in 2010 by paying Rs. two lakh as fees, which included capitation and tuition fees. But he had to discontinue his studies as a result of severe typhoid fever and jaundice.

The complainant produced a medical certificate to the college through his father. The college, considering the health issues, told his father that he would be admitted for the following academic year without any fees.

When the complainant approached the college for re-admission to the first year the following year, it asked him to pay Rs. three lakh as capitation fees.

AIIMS at Thoppur 

Ramya Kannan B. Tilak Chandar 
 
CHENNAI/MADURAI, June 20, 2018 00:00 IST

Central committee picks location from list of five places

The Centre’s committee to finalise the location of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-like institution in Tamil Nadu has zeroed in on Thoppur in Madurai, choosing it over the four other locations identified by the State government.

It is learnt from sources in Delhi that the location was decided upon at a meeting convened there on Monday. A formal communication to the State government is on its way.

With this decision, the hotly-contested issue of location of AIIMS that evolved into yet another political issue with allegations and counter allegations flying fast comes to an end. The five locations proposed by the Tamil Nadu government were Pudukottai town in Pudukottai district, Thoppur in Madurai, Perundurai in Erode, Sengipatti in Thanjavur and Chengalpattu in Kancheepuram. While the State puts forth the proposal, it is the Central government that takes the final decision on the location of the institution.

The Rs. 1,100-crore AIIMS project will envisage building an integrated state-of-the-art institution in the available 300 acres of land. The 750-bedded institution will have 100 medical seats, and a nursing college, besides giving an added thrust to research education. The committee has recommended that the State government could go ahead with the project, subject, of course, to the fact that all conditions will be adhered to.

While the delay in finalising a venue for the institution created some bad blood in Tamil Nadu, the row escalated after Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, on more than one occasion, mentioned Sengipatti as the Centre’s choice. He was accused of being partisan, and pandering to a certain lobby while he sought to distance himself from the decision, claiming it had been communicated to him by the Centre.

The Madurai-based lobby, both political and trade-related, also campaigned vigorously to choose Thoppur, as it would serve as an integrated centre for all the southern districts. A series of demonstrations, protests and signature campaigns were conducted over the last two years by a coalition of trade bodies, with the participation of political parties, to urge the Centre to choose Thoppur.

The delay by the Union Ministry in finalising one of these five locations also led to litigations in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. At least two public interest litigations were filed in the court in this regard.

The High Court Bench directed the Ministry to announce the location by December, 2017. But when the decision was not announced by then, a contempt petition was filed, which was heard in February and adjourned till June. The petition, interestingly, comes up for hearing on Wednesday.

Doctor jumps to his death 

Staff Reporter 
 
CHENNAI, June 20, 2018 00:00 IST

A government doctor jumped to his death from his fourth-floor apartment in Pallikaranai.

Anand Nataraj, 32, who worked at the Government Super Multi Specialty Hospital at Omandurar Estate in the city, died around 11.30 p.m. on Monday.

A resident of Jeyachandran Nagar, he lived with wife Shalini and two four-month-old twin babies.

The son of a doctor, he was working as a general physician at the hospital. The reason behind his drastic step was not clear, the police said, as he had not left behind a suicide note.

Sources, however, said Anand seemed to be disturbed for the past few days.

(Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)