A strip of wood removed from man’s abdomen

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

TIRUCHI, FEBRUARY 03, 2019 00:00 IST

It penetrated him during accident

A team of doctors at Kauvery Hospitals, Cantonment, Tiruchi, successfully removed a strip of wood that had penetrated through the abdomen of a lorry driver during a road accident recently.

After a successful surgery and post-operative treatment, the 30-year-old driver, Thamarai Kannan of Vedasundur in Dindigul district, is back to his profession now.

Addressing a press conference, doctors of the hospital said that a wooden strip, nearly one feet in length, had penetrated the abdomen of Thamarai Kannan from the back. The injury was accentuated by the presence of multiple nails on the wood, resulting in severe damage to his vertebrae, intestines and other organs.

A team of doctors headed by S.Velmurugan, Head, Gastroenterology Department, and Jos Jasper, Head, Brain and Spine Centre, performed a complex surgery by first removing the wooden strip from the vertebra and then repairing the damages to the abdomen.

“Treating a polytrauma case is always a challenge and we are happy to have treated the patient successfully and help him to resume his profession within four months,”said Dr.Velmurugan.

“Dislodging the wooden strip without affecting the nerve connections was a big challenge,”observed Dr.Jos Jasper. D.Senguttuvan, Executive Director of the hospital, said that multi-disciplinary approach had helped the accident victim get back to his profession in quick time.

The hospital has also successfully treated a morbidly obese patient weighing 191 kg recently. The patient had lost 88 kg in 12 months and is now leading a normal life with substantial improvement in the quality of life, the doctors said.

Hospital gets better amenities

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

THANJAVUR, FEBRUARY 03, 2019 00:00 IST

The inauguration of the 290-bed super speciality blocks at the Government Medical College Hospital here recently has augmented its treatment facilities for patients.

It attracts thousands of outpatients every day and treats about 2000 inpatients on any given day.

Now with the new super speciality blocks, housing 90 intensive care unit beds, where additional beds for departments such as Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Urology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Vascular Surgery and operation theatres, have been provided, the hospital is all set to provide a holistic treatment to the people of this region comprising the core delta districts, besides those from neighbouring Pudukottai, Tiruchi, Perambalur and Ariyalur districts.

Among these blocks, constructed at a total cost of Rs. 150 crore of which Rs. 120 crore was contributed by the Union Government, registration of patients, radiology department, ICU, ICCU and operation theatres are housed in the first block. While Rs. 80 crore was spent for infrastructure facilities and electrical provisions, Rs. 55 crore was spent for setting up of the departments, laboratories, blood bank, Rs. 80 lakh for fire fighting equipment, Rs. 50 lakh for solar power provisioning, and Rs. 30 lakh each for installation of closed circuit cameras and communication facilities.

BSNL to launch 4G services in Salem, Coimbatore

STAFF REPORTER

SALEM/COIMBATORE, FEBRUARY 03, 2019 00:00 IST

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will soon launch 4G services in Salem and Coimbatore cities and asked its customers to replace the SIM cards before February 10.

According to a press release from the BSNL, its mobile customers need to have mobile handsets capable of supporting 4G services and also have BSNL 4G SIM for their handsets. All the 3G customers in the two cities should replace the existing 2G/3G SIMs with a new 4G SIM before the launch of 4G services.

The release asked all its customers in Salem Urban and Coimbatore to approach their nearest BSNL Customer Service Centres and get their SIM replaced by a 4G SIM free of cost before February 10. They need to bring their ID card in original and a photo copy of the same, the release added. For further information, contact 0427- 2412795 (Salem) and 0422-2431800 (Coimbatore).

Hardship unavoidable: Minister

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, FEBRUARY 03, 2019 00:00 IST



The new park that was inaugurated by Minister for Cooperation 'Sellur' K. Raju in Madurai on Saturday.G. MoorthyG_Moorthy

Minister for Cooperation ‘Sellur’ K. Raju on Saturday said that some hardship to the public was unavoidable during the reconstruction of Periyar Bus Stand in the city under the Smart Cities Mission.

Addressing the media after inaugurating a park at Ramanasri Garden at Kovalan Nagar, he said that the public would gladly accept these hardship keeping in mind development of the city in the long run.

Periyar Bus Stand, the crucial hub for town buses in the city, was closed last week to commence construction of a new bus terminal at a cost of around Rs. 150 crore.

Concerns had been raised over alternative arrangements made for the construction that is expected to take at least 18 months.

Mr. Raju, however, added that Madurai Corporation and the district administration were making all possible alternative arrangements to ensure that the difficulties to the public were reduced to the maximum extent possible. “Even for the shops located inside the bus stand, we have provided alternative places to set up shops temporarily till the construction is over,” he added.

Earlier, he inaugurated a newly constructed park at Ramanasri Garden at a cost of Rs. 65.91 lakh and measuring 23,760 square feet.

Another new park at a cost of Rs. 63.81 lakh, measuring 20,138 square feet, was inaugurated at Singarayar Colony.

Collector S. Natarajan and Madurai Corporation S. Aneesh Sekhar were present during the inauguration.

Ministry approves Amrita Express stoppage at Udumalpet railway station

STAFF REPORTER

COIMBATORE, FEBRUARY 03, 2019 00:00 IST

The stoppage for Amritha Express (16343/16344) plying between Thiruvananthapuram Central – Madurai at Udumalpet railway station was commissioned on Saturday by C. Mahendran, MP.

Mr. Mahendran, said the stoppage for the train at Udumalpet was a long-pending demand of rail-users from the region and the Ministry of Railways accorded approval for it on an experimental basis.

According to him, the public have been raising a demand for an additional train in the sector over the past few years. Representations were made to the Ministry of Railways for introduction of more trains, duly providing stoppage at Udumalpet railway station. He requested the railway authorities to complete the electrification work on the route.

Divisional Railway Manager Neenu Ittyerah said that the experimental stoppage provided at the station will be very useful for the public and temporary stoppage will be extended based on passenger response. Already two passenger trains and two express trains have halts at the station. “The Udumalapet railway station has a patronage of 663 passengers on an average per day and fetches earnings of Rs. 64, 000 per day, an increase of over 87% than last year. The station will soon get an ATM and parking facility,” she said. Lalit Kumar Mansukhani, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Southern Railway,

Over 11,000 candidates qualify in PG NEET

R. Sujatha

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 03, 2019 00:00 IST



Doctors hopeful that 50% seats of all-India quota will be filled by T.N. students

Nearly 65.1% of the candidates from the State who appeared for the Postgraduate NEET have qualified, indicating that participants from Tamil Nadu have done well this year.

The exam results were released on Wednesday and of the 17,067 candidates who took the test 11,121 qualified. The synopsis of the results by the National Board of Examinations shows that Kerala (75.1%) and Delhi (75.7%) are the two other regions that have done well. This performance has led the doctors’ associations to believe that in the coming year, the 50% seats that are surrendered under the all-India quota would be taken by students from the State.

More specialists

Tamil Nadu has the most number of government medical colleges and it has evolved a public healthcare system that encourages students to study speciality medicine.

This helped the State build its medical facilities considerably. When the Central government introduced NEET as the sole entrance for all PG seats, there was much opposition. Some doctors associations, however, maintained that in just a few years students from the State would manage to grab all the seats despite NEET.

K. Senthil, president, Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association, said, “Earlier, students from the State occupied only the 1,800 seats that the State could offer. Less than 50 students got seats under the AIQ. This year, at least 4,000 students from the State will get into PG programmes across the deemed universities and self-financing colleges. With merit, the scope for getting a seat has widened.”

According to him, with the inclusion of the rural category along with difficult and remote, doctors in the public sector were likely to get 70-75% seats in the State quota this time.

However A. Ramalaingam, who represents the Service Doctors Association, believes fewer students will opt for clinical subjects. “Last year only 65% of service candidates were admitted. The number of such PGs in general medicine in the Stanley Medical College was three. This number could fall further this year. Before NEET, we used to have seven to eight candidates,” he said.

Incentive marks

But the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association has a different take. The incentive marks offered for the service quota enabled compartmentalisation of speciality medical seats, which improved public health facilities, said secretary J. Kathirvel.

The association wanted objective geographical classification of the healthcare facilities.

Candidates who have worked in remote and difficult areas should get 10% additional marks; while candidates working in rural areas should be given 8% more marks; those in urban PHCs should get 6% more marks; and candidates employed in government medical colleges should be awarded an additional 4% marks.

Passenger carrying leopard cub detained at airport

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 03, 2019 00:00 IST



In transit:Customs officials found the animal to be in a state of shock.Special Arrangement


Animal rehabilitated in the Arignar Anna Zoological Park


Authorities at the international airport on Saturday detained a passenger who was carrying a leopard cub in his baggage.

He was handed over to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department for further inquiry.

Based on intelligence that prohibited wild animals were likely to be smuggled from Thailand, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) were on special alert at the Customs arrival hall.

The team noticed a nervous male passenger rushing out after collecting his luggage. A faint sound was heard coming from his luggage.

Passenger intercepted

He was intercepted and brought to the AIU room for questioning. The passenger was identified as Kaja Moideen, 45, who had arrived from Bangkok by a Thai Airways flight. Inside his luggage, they found a pink plastic basket, in which a leopard cub was found. The animal was in a state of shock and appeared to be weak. The Customs officers fed milk to the cub through a feeding bottle. This seemed to revive the animal.

Commissioner of Customs Rajan Chaudhary said, “Officials of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) were called and they identified the animal as a leopard cub of the Panthera pardus species. To ascertain the health status of the cub, a veterinary doctor was called from the Arignar Anna Zoological Park. They inspected the cub and told us that it was a one-month-old female, weighing 1.1 kg, measuring 54 cm and that it was in good health. The leopard cub was seized under provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, read with the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).”

The cub was rehabilitated in the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Chennai, and the Forest Department will take appropriate action under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, against the passenger.