‘Mazumder no longer with Dental Council’

Health Ministry says DCI president has crossed age limit

12/09/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Dibyendu Mazumder

Noting that the Dental Council of India (DCI) membership of Dibyendu Mazumder came to an end on the day he attained 65 years of age, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has written to the DCI to take necessary action to ensure that he did not access official files or discharge any of the functions of the DCI. Action taken may be intimated to the Ministry immediately, the letter said.

Shaji K. Joseph, president of the Kerala Dental Council and a member of the DCI, had written to the MoHFW on July 15 this year, seeking Dr. Mazumder’s removal as DCI president and member. This was after he completed 65 years of age on July 10, and as per regulations, the maximum age limit for a faculty member is 65 years.

In the complaint, Dr. Joseph said Dr. Mazumder was flouting rules and regulations, and continuing as the DCI’s president. “Based on my complaint, the Ministry asked the DCI for clarifications,” he said. He also wanted a Commission of Inquiry to look into irregularities in the DCI.

Referring to a complaint against Dr. Mazumder, the Union Ministry, in a letter dated September 11 to the DCI secretary, noted that as per the Dentists Act, 1948, one member from the dental faculty of each university is elected as a member of the DCI. Under the provisions of the MDS Courses Regulations, 2017, the maximum age limit up to which a person can be appointed or granted extension or re-employment in service for the posts of dental teachers or Dean or Principal is 65 years.

On the day an elected member ceases to be member of such faculty, his/her DCI membership will also come to an end. Noting the DCI had intimated that Dr. Mazumder had attained the age of 65 years, he could not be treated as dental teacher/faculty though the University had designated him an honorary professor/professor emeritus, the Ministry said.

Traffic fines may be cut in Karnataka

12/09/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU

In the wake of Gujarat reducing hefty traffic fines, Karnataka is set to do the same.

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Wednesday directed Transport Department officials to examine the Gujarat government’s order on a drastic cut in fines for traffic violations under the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act and take immediate action to reduce the penalties in Karnataka.

Addressing reporters, he said: “I have directed officials to get the order [of the Gujarat government] and take immediate action after examining the order.”

Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who holds the Transport portfolio, said a decision would be taken in three or four days on reducing the penalty.

Govt. yet to respond to GRH proposal for rebuilding paediatrics department

If you look at the building even today, the entire place is broken: senior doctor

12/09/2019, SANJANA GANESH,MADURAI

The Institute of Child Health and Research Centre at Government Rajaji Hospital that is awaiting a new lease of lifeR. Ashok

The paediatrics department at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), which has been in a dilapidated condition for years now, is yet to be rebuilt.

Although a proposal to improve hospital infrastructure was submitted to the State government a year ago, no steps have been taken so far, doctors allege.

Everyday, the GRH sees a footfall of at least 10,000 patients and as many attenders.

According to a senior doctor at the paediatrics department, the State government allocated funds to tear down and rebuild any building at GRH that needed stability. “If you look at the building even today, the entire place is broken. The wards too are in a really bad condition,” he said.

In order to ensure that the department and its sub specialities will function in better hygienic conditions, the hospital administration decided to tear down the block and build a seven-storey building, which will also house the oncology department.

Architects appointed by the government inspected the site and discussed plans with the administration. Eight months have passed since then. The Directorate of Medical Education and the government are yet to take the project forward, the doctors point out.

Staff nurses, who do not wish to be named, say the sanitation in the department is particularly bad.

A former employee of GRH says toilets at the department constantly leak near the surgical ward, which must be immunised at all times.

S. Sitalakshmi, who brought her newborn for consultation, says the wards too are not properly maintained. “I have come here since the days of my delivery. Nothing much has changed,” she rues.

Water too is not supplied properly here. Administrative delays should not make wards prone to diseases inside the hospital, says a former employee.

According to GRH Dean K. Vanitha, the proposal has been submitted to the government and its response is being awaited.

Health Secretary Beela Rajesh says she will check the details and look into the matter.

NRI from Kerala stabs wife to death in UAE
Incident followed a heated argument

12/09/2019, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ,DUBAI

An Indian national in the United Arab Emirates allegedly stabbed his wife to death, a media report said. The 43-year-old man, identified as U.C, killed his wife C. Vidhya Chandran, 39, after a heated argument in a car park at Al Quoz here on Monday, Khaleej Times reported. The couple’s daughters, aged 16 and 5, live in Kerala with the victim’s parents.

The woman’s brother Vinayachandran said his sister was supposed to come home for Onam. He said the family came to know about the incident through the victim’s colleague, who told them that “he [the husband] stabbed her in a car park and he is now in police custody. We don’t know what happened exactly.” Mr. Vinayachandran alleged that his sister was in an abusive relationship. “The man has been abusing my sister for long. Last year, she even filed a police complaint against him for domestic abuse. They appeared for counselling and things got a little better,” he said.

“Vidhya’s husband had taken a huge loan, and they were under financial pressure. That is why Vidhya quit her job in Thiruvananthapuram and joined her husband in Dubai,” he said.

Vidhya was working in a private company at Al Quoz.

“We knew she was going through a difficult time. We decided to keep the children with us because of his abuse. But we did not expect that he would kill her,” he said.

Non-functional street lights put Pammal residents to hardship
Officials failed to act despite numerous complaints: activist

12/09/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

An official of the municipality said they lacked funds to repair the LED lights installed by a private builder.File Photo

The residents of Shankar Nagar Second Street in Pammal have to navigate their way in darkness as the street lights have stopped working.

The street is an important access road for several residential areas in Pammal including a multi-storey apartment building with over 650 flats. Pedestrians and motorists have been facing difficulties due to poor illumination.

R. Sridhar, a resident, said officials of the Pammal municipality had not taken any steps to repair the lights.

‘Feel unsafe’

Mariappan, a social activist from Pammal, said the residents felt unsafe walking down the streets in the dark and added they have made multiple representations to the officials which have had no effect.

A senior municipal official said LED lights were installed in a few streets by the builder who had constructed the multi-storey apartment and that the civic body does not have the financial means to replace the defunct ones.

“We have requested the builder to repair them and the firm has assured that they would replace the street lights within next week,” the municipality official said.

VIT placement drive: over 2,000 land jobs

12/09/2019, STAFF REPORTER,VELLORE

The placement drive at Vellore Institute of Technology saw as many as 719 companies visiting the campus making a total of 4,397 offers.

Campus recruitments at VIT for the batch of 2020 started on May 1, 2019, with postgraduate internship placements. As many as 150 companies recruited 788 students from M.Tech and MCA courses.

Microsoft recruited 14 students offering a cost to company (CTC) of ₹39.5 lakh per annum, from the batch graduating in 2019. From the batch graduating in 2020, Microsoft has recruited seven students with a CTC of ₹41.6 lakh per annum, the highest offer so far.

This year, 245 companies have so far visited the campus and 2,026 students have been recruited by different companies. The placement schedule is packed till the end of October.

Companies offering CTC of more than ₹10 lakh were invited for the first phase of campus recruitments for the batch graduating in 2020. Amazon (17), Pay Pal (3), Cisco (21) and De Shaw (2) were the slot 1 recruiters. As per data, 92 companies have visited VIT.

Post-study work visa back in the U.K.

12/09/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

From next year, international students in the United Kingdom — including Indians — will be able to stay on after graduation for a period of two years to work or look for work using a new post-study work visa.

Announcing the new graduate immigration route on Wednesday, the British government said the move would help to attract “the best and the brightest” to the U.K. and expand opportunities for international students to build successful careers within the country. Graduates may apply without leaving the U.K.

It could also help to increase the number of Indian students heading to the U.K., which dropped drastically after a similar visa was withdrawn in 2012.