CONNECTED EVEN IN AIR

Airtel arm gets licence to provide on-board Net

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: 06.04.2019

Leading telecom player Bharti Airtel has got the licence to provide inflight connectivity for on-board Internet in Indian airspace. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued Indo Teleports Limited (ITL), a subsidiary of Airtel, the inflight and maritime connectivity service provider licence. State-run BSNL has also been granted the same licence and its partner Inmarsat, a leading global mobile satellite communications player, earlier this week said they expect “to commence services later this year once the ground infrastructure and associated approvals are in place.” Once that happens, airlines can provide on board WiFi in Indian airspace on flight to, from, within and overflying India, enabling flyers to surf the net and send mails and WhatsApp messages.

Airlines that have on board WiFi let passengers surf, tweet, send text or WhatsApp message on their personal electronic devices at reasonably fast speeds in good connectivity zones.

Inflight WiFi connectivity is subject to factors like the number of concurrent users, satellite coverage, and weather conditions. Most airlines discourage voice calls to avoid inconvenience to fellow passengers. Till now, flight to, from, over and within India are not able to provide onboard WiFi as the same was not permitted in Indian airspace. While foreign airlines like Lufthansa and Qatar Airways have long said they want to provide this service here, Indian airlines like SpiceJet have also expressed a desire to provide onboard WiFi.

Failing to find sex worker, he raped 61-yr-old

New Delhi:06.04.2019

On Sunday night, Sudhir Kumar, 30, left home after having two bottles of liquor, one of which was stolen from a former colleague.

He looked around for a sex worker near Lajpat Nagar metro station, but failed to find one. He then entered the park near the metro station where he spotted an elderly mentally challenged woman sitting on a bench. He dragged the 61-year-old sitting to a corner and raped her. Sudhir had come to Delhi five years ago along with his elder brother, who got him a job at a dhaba in Lajpat Nagar.

During interrogation, Sudhir said he had seen the victim several times earlier in the park. When he found the woman sitting at her usual place on Sunday night, he decided to assault her. TNN

This doc prescribes voters alternative poll medicine

Devanathan.Veerappan@timesgroup.com

06.04.2019 TOI 

Electioneering by the Makkal Needhi Maiam candidate for Nilakottai assembly segment in Dindigul district is in complete contrast to the high-decibel campaigns of the established political parties.

Dr C Chinnadurai, a paediatrician, travels to villages in his own car, with only his driver, an assistant and a lawyer friend. Once they reach the village square, they set up a public address system – a mike and amplifier – and the doctor begins speaking. On the day before his campaign in an area, he makes sure pamphlets carrying the party’s manifesto reach the villagers.

“In minutes, crowds gather and start listening to my speech. Being a doctor, many people in each village recognize me and I can easily connect with them,” says Chinnadurai.

While candidates of established political parties are pumping in money into their campaigns, he says he has spent only ₹22,000 so far and already covered around 60 villagers. His budget is a maximum of ₹2 lakh and he is planning to spend it all from his own pocket.

“Kamal sir has told us to be frugal with election expenses. If one spends more money, he will be forced to embezzle public money to recover expenses and that’s where corruption starts. We are presenting alternative politics and people like it,” says Chinnadurai, who served in a government hospital in Nilakottai.

Chinnadurai says he has entered politics only to give back to society. His two sons are doctors now and live in Chennai. He has suspended practice until after the elections. The doctor says partymen are upbeat after Kamal Haasan’s campaign on Thursday, which received a huge response with a large number of people turning up on their own.

Basic amenities such as water and roads are big issues in Nilakottai. Some villages do not allow politicians to campaign saying they have done nothing to improve the situation. Chinnadurai says he hopes to change this. The basic requirements of the people can be fulfilled if MLAs and MPs use their local area development funds honestly, he says.


UNCOMPLICATED: Dr C Chinnnadurai travels in his own car with just his driver, an aide and a lawyer friend for campaigning

I HAVE SPENT ₹22,000 TO COVER 60 VILLAGES AND WILL SPEND A MAXIMUM OF ₹2 LAKH

Dr C Chinnadurai, MNM candidate for Nilakottai assembly seat

Hope appropriate appointment is given to para-athlete, says high court

Madurai:06.04.2019

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court has expressed hope that the district administration will give an appropriate appointment to the multiple medal winning para-athlete who was relieved of his night watchman job in a government department on a frivolous charge.

In March, a division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and S Ramathilagam had observed that it is disheartening that an athlete who has won so many medals is being treated in such a way and wondered why he was given only a watchman’s post.

When the petition came up for hearing again on Friday, the authorities concerned were not ready with the counter after which the court adjourned the hearing to April 15. The authorities are expected to respond to the queries raised by the court and file a status on the para athlete’s appointment by then. A Gopikannan Gopikannan, 36, of Madurai, in his petition stated that he has so far bagged 41 gold, 19 silver and 17 bronze medals in events up to international level.

In 2003, he was appointed as watchman of District Rural Development Authority. For this job, he had swept clean the backyard of secretariat wearing all medals and trophies to attract the attention of the chief minister’s special cell.

Gopikannan said he was issued employee identity card by the rural development department of Madurai district with the state government emblem. TNN

2 men snatch 23-year-old’s cellphone, stab him to death

Chennai:05.04.2019

A 23-year-old man was stabbed to death while resisting two cellphone snatchers in Shankar Nagar on Wednesday night.

The deceased, Raja Kanna of Mayiladuthurai, had come to the city in search of jobs 20 days ago. He was staying in a rented house in Pozhichallur and had started working at a food stall near Polichalur bus stop.

Around 11.30pm on Wednesday, two men on a two-wheeler intercepted him in Ponurangam Nagar and threatened him with a knife. When they realized he didn’t have any money, they tried to snatch his cellphone. When Raja tried to fight them, they attacked him with a knife. Raja was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries on Friday. Shankar Nagar police have registered a case. TNN

50k hosps, clinics yet to register with state

Directorate Has Received 18k Applications

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:05.04.2019

At least 50,000 clinical establishments, including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, laboratories and scan centres may have to close down if they fail to apply for registration with the state health department under the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishments Act, 2018 before May 31, the directorate of medical services has said.

Until Friday, the directorate had received just 18,000 applications from various establishments against the expected 75,000.

In March 2018, the state framed a legislation making it mandatory for all clinical establishments — public or private — to register themselves with the government. “The deadline for registration ended on March 31. As per the Act, from June 31, we can initiate action or close down those establishments which have not applied for registration. They still have some grace period left to register themselves,” said director of medical services Dr N Rukmini.

The directorate has a software that centralizes the whole process and enables online registration. Joint directors of medical services in the districts have also collected hand-filled applications along with a demand draft towards registration. The joint directors will inspect these establishments to ensure they fulfil the infrastructure and human resource requirements as specified in the Act. If the hospitals qualify, they will be given a licence for five years.

The new rules, health department officials say, were brought in to standardize establishments under the allopathic or Indian medicine stream. It specifies the floor space requirement, waiting area, safe drinking water supply and toilets. While doctors’ bodies such as the Indian Medical Association have welcomed the move, associations of Unani practitioners and diagnostic laboratories associations have moved court seeking exemptions or relaxations in the norms. “There are several single room labs in the state in many rural areas. They have not applied yet because they may not fulfil the requirement,” said Doctors Association for Social Equality (Dase) general secretary Dr G R Ravindranath.

The legislation mandates clinical laboratories in rural areas to have at least 500 sqft for sample collection, first aid, processing and report presentation. In the urban area, space should be 700 sqft to 1,500 sqft. 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.

The labs’ association have moved court seeking exemption. “The overheads will go through the roof if we are made to follow the rules. Eventually, we will have to bill patients more. In rural areas, people will not be able to pay so much and we will go out of business,” said Karthirvel R, who runs a lab in Nagercoil. “We hope rules are relaxed for us,” he said.

Man murders friend, posts pic on WhatsApp

Sindhu.kannan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:06.04.2019

A32-year-old man,who allegedly murdered a man in a drunken brawl and shared the photograph of the body on a WhatsApp group boasting of the act,was pickedup in Puducherry on Friday. A search is on for four others.

On Thursday, the Nandambakkam police received a message through Whatsapp saying a man could be have been murdered and buried in bushes at Army quarters in the Cantonment area. A team arrived and, in the presence of the tahsildar, dug up the body.

Residents told police many used the vacant plottosmoke ganja andbooze,buton Wednesday night they found a few going into bushes with shovels. Police identified the body identified it as that of Nandambakkam resident Subesh, 37, a history sheeter facing a murder case and several burglary cases. Investigations revealed that Subesh and his five friends went into the bushes to drink. Due to previous enmity over a love affair, his associates plotted to murder him. Anandan and Karthik hit Subesh with empty beer bottles and murdered him. Anandan then took a picture of the body and shared it on a WhatsApp group.