Teacher held for sexually assaulting her male students

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Tiruvannamalai:23.03.2019

A 32-year old teacher of a government school who had sexually assaulted some of her students for the past three years has been arrested and remanded by Arani all-women police. The woman, who used to lure the boys promising to buy them gadgets such as mobile phones, had sexually assaulted them on several occasions in the school and at home during tuition. She had sometimes even taken them to secluded spots and allegedly captured pictures and videos of their intimate moments.

A senior police officer said, Umesh Kumar, 37, a government school teacher was married to Nithya, 32, another government school teacher, 13 years ago and they were living with their 5-year-old child in Tiruvannamalai district.

In January, Umesh got to check his wife’s mobile phone when she threw it on the floor following a quarrel and was shocked to find photos and videos of her in compromising positions with her students. After transferring the evidence, he lodged a complaint with the Arani AWPS.

However, the then woman inspector refused to register a case without the intervention of District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) officials. On advise by a police officer, Umesh lodged a petition with the Tiruvannamalai collector in January. Based on the petition, the collector directed the DCPU officials to conduct an inquiry.

Speaking to TOI, Mythili, inspector of Arani AWPS, said, “DCPU has taken the photos and videos as evidence and conducted enquiry with some students and alumnus of Pudhu Palayam, Paiyur and Mammandoor government higher secondary schools where Nitya worked as English teacher from 2014 till date.” Some victims said Nitya used to target boys aged 15 to 17 (Classes X, XI and XII) luring them saying she would buy them cell phones, had sexually assaulted them on the school premises, at her home tuition and by taking them to lonely spots.

Based on a complaint by the DCPU, the Arani all-women police arrested Nitya and in her statement she confessed to sexually assaulting a Class X student while working at the Paiyur school near Arani in 2016 and a Class XII boy while working at the Pudhupalayam school at Chengam in 2017.

“We have registered a case under Sections 10 and 14 of Pocso act and remanded her in the Vellore special prison for women after producing her before the Tiruvannamalai fast track mahila court judge on Wednesday night. As we suspect more students may have fallen prey to her, we plan to conduct a fresh probe,” Mythili said.

Transfer of nurses: HC dismisses plea

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.03.2019

Dismissing a PIL seeking a detailed inquiry into the alleged illegal transfer of government nurses across the state after the model code of conduct came into effect in view of Lok Sabha elections, the Madras high court on Friday imposed ₹50,000 on the petitioner, the Tamil Nadu Health Employees Welfare Association.

A division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the dismissal order after recording the submission of the ECI that it is not concerned about such transfers as the commission would not require the services of nurses for election.

According to the petitioner, the health department announced counselling for availing transfer for government nurses working across the state. The counselling was scheduledon January 11.

The condition for participation was that the nurse should have completed at least one year of service and to prove the same, service certificate should be produced. It was made clear that nurses without service certificate would be disqualified, the petitioner added.

The association also alleged that sufficient time was not provided to obtain service certificate form the authorities concerned.

Though the counselling was challenged before the Madurai bench of the high court, the department continued issuing transfers based on the counselling and it continued even after the model code of conduct was announced, it alleged.

Therefore, the petitioner wanted the court direct the state to conduct a detailed inquiry into the transfers, relieving, and joining orders issued to nurses across the state after November 2018.

The HC passed the dismissal order after recording the submission of the ECI that it is not concerned about such transfers as the commission would not require the services of nurses for election

Gap between submission of thesis and PhD viva reduced

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.03.2019

University of Madras has decided to reduce the number of days between the final submission of PhD thesis and the public viva voce. It was decided at a syndicate meeting on Friday, sources said.

Currently, the university gives a gap of 30 days between the submission of all reports and the viva voce. The syndicate has decided to reduce it to 15 days, sources said. The decision will be taken forward to the senate due on March 30 for approval, sources said.

This regulation has remained unchanged for the past 40 years, say professors.

“Earlier, one had to send communications in the form of snail mail to the student and other stakeholders like examiners who would be present during the viva, which necessitated a 30-day gap. However, now with different electronic modes of communication, such a gap is not needed,” said a senior official.

Research scholars are supposed to face a viva voce in which members of the public are also allowed. One copy of the thesis would have to be kept at library for public scrutiny.

The syndicate also discussed the qualification approval to be given to the principals of three minority institutions which had approached the Madras high court against the university. A syndicate member said the body had resolved to allow the university to give approval to the colleges.

In less than month, Tejas has stinking loos, broken windows

Commuters Complain Of Services On Premium Train

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:23.03.2019

It’s less than a month since the Tejas Express, the premium train between Chennai and Madurai, started running, but already passengers are complaining of clogged toilets, cracked windows and TV sets that don’t work.

The train runs full on weekends and is more than half full on weekdays. And the summer holidays set to begin, it is likely to run full even on weekdays. The train starts from Chennai at 6am, reaches Madurai at 12:30pm and returns to Chennai from Madurai at 9:30pm. It has only two stops, Trichy and Kodai road.

Railways had great hopes that the passengers, who pay a premium to travel on the Tejas Express, would not complain about the toilets as they do about those on other trains. This train has bio-vacuum toilets meant to rival those on flights.

However, within the first few days, complaints started pouring in that the toilets was extremely smelly. “The odour is present even in the centre of the coach. The toilet is not flushing properly.”

These were some of the complaints posed by passengers tagging the twitter handles of railway officials. Some shared photos of faecal matter floating in water. This is when the train is not even running full.

G Jayakumar who travelled on March 8 said the comfort in the train was good but the toilets were not flushing.

Another passenger Peter who travelled two days later complained that the toilets were unclean and requested that they be cleaned enroute.

Sources in Southern Railway said the exit nozzle of the toilet was smaller than on regular trains. “So even if the passenger dumps a bottle or any cup, it gets stuck in the nozzle and this clogs up the bio-toilet system. We are already working on the issue,” an official said.

A senior railway official said there were issues with the bio-toilets installation as well and that the contractor was likely to be pulled up. Two coaches had already been sent to Integral Coach Factory (ICF) for replacement of bio-toilets, the official added.

Many of the windows are cracked as miscreants pelt stones at the train. At least 10 instances of stone pelting has been recorded and many of the cracked windows have not been repaired. “The glass is expensive, each pane costs around ₹10,000-₹15,000,” said an official.

There’s another problem with the windows. The blinds that cover them are operated mechanically, unlike on the Shatabdi, where you have to manually move them. On the Tejas, passengers have to push a button to move the blinds, but they complain that the mechanism malfunctions often.

The infotainment system was supposed to be one of the USPs of the Tejas Express, but passengers complain that 15%-20% of the TV screens are defective.

A broken windownpane of the express train

Many of the windows are cracked as miscreants pelt stones at the train. At least 10 instances of stone pelting has been recorded and many of the cracked windows have not been repaired

அமெரிக்க அரசு வங்கிக் கணக்கில் இந்தியா செலுத்திய ரூ.20,000 கோடியை கண்டுபிடித்த பாரிக்கர்

Published : 20 Mar 2019 07:50 IST

புதுடெல்லி




மனோகர் பாரிக்கர்


ஆயுத கொள்முதலுக்காக அமெரிக்க அரசின் வங்கிக் கணக்கில் இந்தியா செலுத்திய ரூ.20,676 கோடி நீண்டகாலமாக கவனிக்கப்படாமல் இருந்தது. அந்த தொகையை மனோகர் பாரிக்கர் கண்டுபிடித்து வரவு, செலவு கணக்குக்கு கொண்டு வந்தார்.

கோவா முதல்வராக இருந்த பாரிக்கர் கடந்த 2014 நவம்பரில் முதல்வர் பதவியை ராஜினாமா செய்துவிட்டு மத்திய பாதுகாப்புத் துறை அமைச்சராகப் பதவியேற்றார். அவர் பொறுப்பேற்றவுடன் பாதுகாப்புத் துறையின் நிதி நிர்வாகத்தை சீர்படுத்தினார்.

பழைய கணக்குகளை தூசி தட்டினார். அப்போது அமெரிக்க ராணுவ தலைமையகமான பென்டகனின் வங்கிக் கணக்கில் ஆயுதங்கள் வாங்குவதற்காக இந்திய தரப்பில் ரூ.20,676 கோடி செலுத்தப்பட்டிருப்பதைக் கண்டுபிடித்தார். நிர்வாக குளறுபடிகளால் அந்த பணம் பயன்படுத்தப்படாமல் இருந்தது.

நீண்ட காலமாக மறக்கப்பட்டு, கவனிக்கப்படாமல் இருந்த ரூ.20,676 கோடியையும் வரவு, செலவு கணக்குக்கு கொண்டு வந்த பாரிக்கர், அமெரிக்காவுடனான ஆயுத கொள்முதல் தொகைக்கு ஈடுகட்டினார். இதன் மூலம் கடந்த 2016-ம் ஆண்டு பாதுகாப்புத் துறையின் ஆயுத கொள்முதல் செலவு பெருமளவு குறைந்தது.

சில நிறுவனங்களுக்கு பணம்செலுத்தப்பட்ட நிலையில் அந்த நிறுவனங்கள் பொருட்களை விநியோகம் செய்யாமல்இருப்பதை பாரிக்கர் கண்டுபிடித்தார். இதுபோன்ற முறைகேடுகளைத் தடுக்க பாதுகாப்புத் துறையின் ஒப்பந்தங்கள், பணப் பரிமாற்றங்களில் கடுமையான கட்டுப்பாடுகளை அமல்படுத்தினார்.

கடந்த 2016-ம் ஆண்டு பட்ஜெட்டில் பாதுகாப்புத் துறையின் மூலதன செலவுக்கு ரூ.77,798 கோடி ஒதுக்கப்பட்டது. பாரிக்கரின் நிர்வாகத் திறமை, சிக்கனத்தால் ரூ.9,000 கோடி வரை மிச்சப்படுத்தப்பட்டது. தனிப்பட்ட வாழ்வில் எளிமை, சிக்கனத்தைக் கடைப்பிடித்த பாரிக்கர், அரசு நிர்வாகத்திலும் சிக்கனத்துக்கு முதலிடம் அளித்தார்.

8,000 hospitals, diagnostic centres apply for licences

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  03.2019

At least 8,000 clinical establishments — hospitals, clinics and diagnostic labs —have applied to the health department for licences under the Clinical Establishments Act. It is mandatory according to the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishments Rules notified in the state gazette in June 2018.

In March 2018, the state framed a legislation making it compulsory for all clinical establishments — hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries, consulting rooms, clinics or polyclinics — public or private, to register themselves with the government. The rules were notified in June. The directorate of medical services has developed a software to register all hospitals under a centralized process. The deadline for applications ends on March 31. Any institution failing to apply won’t be able to operate.

Director of medical services Dr N Rukmani said the department has trained staff at district level to upload data from onto the software before it is officially launched mid-January. These establishments will be inspected by respective district health officials to ensure they fulfil the infrastructure and human resources requirement. If they qualify, they will be given a licence for five years, she said.

The new rules will standardize establishments that serve in allopathic or Indian medicine streams. It specifies the floor space requirement, waiting area, safe drinking water supply, toilet for all clinical establishments to be registered.


While doctors’ bodies such as the Indian Medical Association have welcomed the move, the paramedical, laboratory education and welfare associations have asked for relaxations in the norms. “Many of them have not applied yet because they may not fulfil the requirement,” said DASE general secretary Dr GR Ravindranath.


His association estimates that around 20,000 laboratories will have to shut down and over 50,000 technicians to lose jobs in the next few months if the government decides to enforce the regulations. According to the rules, clinical laboratories in rural areas should have at least 500sqft for sample collection, first aid, processing and report presentation. In the urban area, space should be 700sqft to 1500sqft. The lab should ensure that adequate space is provided for reception, sample collection, isolation of biohazard, radioisotope-related work as per Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) rules.

In addition, the rules specify minimum qualification for the staff.

The deadline for application will end on March

31. Any institution failing to apply won’t be able to operate

After Koovathur baby death, TN govt orders compulsory doctor attendance at childbirth

Dr. Nimeshika Jayachandran 
 
Thursday, March 21, 2019 - 13:10 

This comes a day after a baby’s head was separated from its torso during the delivery.
A day after a baby’s head was separated from its body during childbirth at a public health centre (PHC) in Koovathur, Tamil Nadu, the state’s Health Department has issued orders for doctors to be present at all deliveries conducted in a PHC.

“This particular case occurred at an additional PHC, doctors there work from 9 am to 5 pm and there are staff nurses on call following that. The nurse who was handling the woman’s delivery has conducted several deliveries and is someone qualified to do so,” Dr VK Palani Deputy Director of Health Services (DDHS) said to TNM.

However, in view of the incident, all PHCs in the state have been ordered to ensure that a doctor is present during any deliveries which are conducted, he added.

“We have given strict orders to all the PHCs in the state, additional and otherwise, to ensure that doctors are called in even after hours to attend to deliveries. Earlier this was not a protocol, because the staff nurses are more than well equipped to handle these cases,” he said.

The case

On Wednesday morning, Bommi T, a native of Cuddalore, was taken to the additional PHC in Koovathur after she began experiencing labour pains. She had come to her maternal home for childbirth. When she was taken to the PHC, the nurse in charge who examined her noticed that there were no signs of life from the unborn baby. Upon further examination she suspected that the child had died in the womb and began to take the necessary steps to deliver the baby. During this time, the head of the baby was delivered while the torso remained in the woman.

After this, Bommi was rushed to Chengalpattu Government Hospital where doctors took her up for an emergency surgery and removed the torso of the baby.

She was then admitted for treatment and support to the hospital. Dr Usha Sadasivam, dean of the hospital, confirmed to TNM that as of Thursday morning, Bommi’s condition is stable and there is no danger to her at present.

Allegations of medical negligence

While officials have stated that it appeared as though the child had been dead in the womb for around 48 hours, relatives of Bommi are alleging that it was negligence on the part of the hospital staff which led to such an incident. They stated that there were no doctors present at the hospital and claim that this is the reason that the child died.

However, an inquiry conducted by a team of officials from the health department, consisting of the state health secretary and the deputy director of health services, concluded otherwise.

“When the dean of the hospital examined the baby’s body, she noticed there was some peeling of the skin and a few other signs to indicate that the baby had died in the womb itself. This and other examination findings point to some decay having taken place, that may actually have caused the baby’s head to have separated from its body,” stated Dr Palani. He further added that Bommi had conceived the child hardly two months after a previous abortion, which he says is a risk factor.

Bommi, the wife of Thiyagarajan, a daily wage labour, was also underweight and anemic according to Dr Usha, which further complicated her condition. Doctors also noted that Bommi had not gained much weight during the pregnancy and that the child was underweight. All of these factors could have led to the intrauterine death (IUD), according to doctors.

A post mortem is currently underway at the Chengalpattu Government Hospital to determine what caused the baby to die.