For this Tiruchy govt school headmaster, discipline is a walk of life

It was about to be break time at the Government Higher Secondary school in Papanasam. There were some papers and leaves lying on the ground.

Published: 22nd January 2020 05:39 AM |

Students cleaning their school premises at Papanasam on the motivation of their headmaster | Express

By Sowmya Mani

Express News Service

TIRUCHY: It was about to be break time at the Government Higher Secondary school in Papanasam. There were some papers and leaves lying on the ground. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, the boys stepped out of their classes and started picking up the garbage and throwing it in the dustbin, leaving the ground spick and span.

The man behind the routine is V Maniarasan, headmaster of the all boys school, which has 522 students from class 6-12. Maniarasan, who came to this school 2.5 years back, believes that cleanliness begins at home. “If we teach our students to keep their school clean, they will learn a life lesson. By taking ownership of their surroundings, they learn leadership qualities,” said Maniarasan.

The school was recognised as one of the cleanest schools in the State by the government. Maniarasan was presented with a ‘Gnanachooda Award’. At the morning assembly, the students are taught about cleanliness. The headmaster has also coined the slogan ‘Your cleanliness, your duty’ for his students. 

The teachers said that besides cleanliness, the school has improved on other fronts as well in the past 2.5 years.

“From infrastructure to attendance and to the results, the school has really improved. I have been teaching here for more than 10 years and I see real change now. He has instilled the idea of cleanliness in every child. Drop out rates have reduced and the attendance has improved,” said K Vijayalakshmi, a teacher at the school.

In his latest endeavour, the headmaster got funds from the ONGC worth `6 lakh. He utilised the money to build a 4,000-litre capacity water tank. The school already had a borewell and with the tank, all water requirements of the students and teachers would be sufficiently met.

“The headmaster has got all infrastructure requirements covered. With new benches, new paint and new walls, it is an absolute 360-degree improvement. He even painted the school at his own expense,” added Vijayalakshmi.

The attendance of students has gone up from 70% to 95% in 2 years. Drop outs, which used to be 10% of the students, has come down to 1 or 2 students in the current year. “When I came here, I started visiting the student’s house if he didn’t come to school for 2 days. We also arrange parent teacher meetings every month. This has greatly improved the attendance,” said Maniarasan.

For the headmaster, this school is even more special as it is the same school that he studied in. He wants to make it one of the best schools in the country. “We will now focus on results. Everything will fall in line if they are disciplined. We are working on it, one step at a time,” said Maniarasan.

Here is the list of areas in Chennai facing power shutdown on January 23
Here are the areas where power suppy will be suspended from 9 am to 5 pm on January 23.

Published: 21st January 2020 11:53 PM 

Image for representational purposes (Express Illustration)

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: In view of maintenance works, power supply will be suspended from 9 am to 5 pm on January 23 in the following areas.

Nolambur: NNS, HIG, MIG, Chinna Nolambur, Adayalampet, Kongu Nagar, Mogappair West Block 1 to 8, Rajan Kuppam, Panneer Nagar, Mohanram Nagar, Jaswanth Nagar, Reddy Palayam area AIBEA Nagar, Vellalar St, Eri Scheme, Gangai Amman Nagar, Ponniamman Nagar, Keel Ayanambakkam.

Besant Nagar: Kakkan colony, Lotus colony, 1 st avenue, 3rd avenue part, 16th cross st, Food World, 29th and 30th cross sts, Tiger Varathachari Road, 1st main road, 6th to 15 th cross sts, 7th avenue.

Manjambakkam: North Telephone Colony, Ramana Nagar, Kamban Nagar, MMC, AVM Nagar, JJ Nagar, Perumal Koil St, Venkateswara Nagar, Mandaveli 1st to 7th st., Eswari nagar, Telugu Colony, Chelliyamman Koil st, VGK Nagar, ACC Nagar 5th to 10th sts, Thirumurgan Nagar.

Mangadu: Full areas of Mangadu town panchayat , Rangunathapuram, Kollumanivakkam , Sivanthangal, Chikkarayapuram and Pattur, Bathirimedu, Then Colony, Srinivasa nagar, Nellithoppu, Mahalakshimi Nagar, Chakra Nagar, Sadhik Nagar, Sakthi Nagar, KK Nagar, Melma Nagar.

Avadi Kamaraj Nagar: Lazar Nagar, Kumaran Nagar, Barathi Nagar, Ram Nagar, Periyar Nagar, Kamaraj Nagar 4th , 6th & 9th sts, Salavaiyalar Colony.

Madhavaram: KKR Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Kannabiran Koil st, Thiruvalluvar st, Micetic Colony, Sathiya Raj Nagar, RC Queens Appartment, Jambuli Colony, KKR Estate, Kalkatta shop.

Multi-modal complex at Broadway soon?

According to the report, UG floor and lower ground (LG) floor will be allotted for parking buses.

Published: 22nd January 2020 06:16 AM |

By KV Navya

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Broadway may soon house a 21-floor multi-modal facility complex, that will have 97 bus bays, and parking space for 1,904 cars and 1,820 two-wheelers, to be constructed at a cost of `900 crore, according to the feasibility report submitted by Greater Chennai Corporation to State Government. The first-of-its-kind facility will spread across 9.98 lakh sq feet. It will act as an interchange hub for intra-city buses, Metro Rail, MRTS and para-transit modes of transportation in Public- Private Partnership mode. It will also have a commercial space of more than 90,000 sq m.

“The proposed facility will be integrated on upper-ground (UG) floor level with Metro Rail and people who come to Broadway bus terminus or High Court Metro station can park their vehicles here. With over 40 lakh two-wheelers and more than eight lakh cars in the city, parking issue is getting worse by the day and this is a move to address that,” a corporation official said. Currently, Metropolitan Transport Corporation operates more than 650 services on 70 routes to several parts of the city from Broadway.

According to the report, UG floor and lower ground (LG) floor will be allotted for parking buses. While 53 buses can be parked in LG 44 can be parked in UG. Parking for two-wheelers and four- wheelers will be in the basement and rest of 21 floors will be ultilised for commercial purpose, which is the main mode of revenue. The revenue share from bus operation is only around one per cent. For four wheelers, the parking fee may be fixed at `50 for the first hour and `15 for every additional hour. Similarly, for two-wheelers, it is `20 for the first hour and `10 for every additional hour. City corporation has also proposed three other options with seven floors each.

According to the proposal, the number of bus bays will be anywhere between 80 and 120, parking space for about 1,800 four-wheelers and more than 2,500 two-wheelers.A few years ago, the civic body had planned to build a multi-level car parking at Broadway, but dropped the plan owing to underground Metro Rail works.“Once the government approves the plan, we will call for tenders and works will begin, soon after that,” the official said.

Apollo hospitals group launches ‘health EMI card’

The Apollo Hospitals Group has launched ‘Health EMI card’ in association with Bajaj Finance Limited.

Published: 22nd January 2020 06:16 AM |

Apollo Health EMI Card launched in the city on Tuesday | p jawahar

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Apollo Hospitals Group has launched ‘Health EMI card’ in association with Bajaj Finance Limited. According to a release, “Users of this card will be able to convert medical expenditure into easy no cost equated monthly installments (EMIs) that can be repaid over a period of 12 months. The card also offers easy EMI financing and quick loan processing with minimal paperwork.”

Patients who do not have health insurance or whose insurance limit is lower than the treatment cost can also avail themselves of the card benefits. The card will be accepted across the entire Apollo Hospitals network.

Special counters have been set up across all Apollo Hospitals where patients and their families can sign up for the card by submitting KYC documents as per RBI guidelines, such as PAN card, Aadhaar card, cancelled chequie and duly signed ECS mandate, the release said.

The emerging face of employment

The gig economy is nascent in India, but growing at a steady pace; and the time may just be right for professionals to prepare themselves for it

22/01/2020, LIFFY THOMAS

The gig economy is sometimes reduced to convenient terms — “project-based work” or “freelance employment” come up often in discussions about it. These terms are however too narrow in focus to do the concept any justice.

Gig economy suggests a paradigm shift in how organisations and their teams work.

Born in the cradle of technology, flexibility is its key defining feature, as it allows employers the option of cobbling together a distributed time-bound team, with the best talent from different parts of the world. For the employee, there is the advantage of moving quickly new pastures.

How developed is the gig economy in India?

Though nascent in India, it is growing at a steady pace. The Global Gig Economy Index report — drawn from a sample of three lakh freelancers, service providers and outsourcing professionals in the Payoneer network — has ranked India among the top 10 countries.

The report says there has been an increase in freelancers in India from 11% in the third quarter of 2018 to 52% in the second quarter of 2019, thanks to various initiatives including Startup India and Skill India.

Freelancing is said to be effective in improving the rate of participation from women in India’s labour-force.

From a talent-acquisition point of view, gig workers supplement skills provided by the existing workforce, reduce hiring costs and can be a viable solution in filling temporary vacancies in teams.

On the disadvantages side, though the gig economy has been growing in India, it is largely unregulated, which means there are no rules on how much a worker should be paid, how many hours they can work every day, on an average; and the social benefits they are entitled to.

Who can regulate the gig economy?

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has been working on a Social Security Code code to ensure labour benefits for gig-economy workers.

“Currently, these workers are not covered under health, ESI, PF or any other scheme as gig economy is not yet defined as a way of life,” says Neeti Sharma, senior vice-president, TeamLease Services, a staffing company that provides human resource services to various industries.

Regulation will help all stakeholders.

“Regulation will ensure fairness as well as accountability,” says Neeti, adding that when it is formalised, gig economy will draw more professionals.

How does one operate in the gig economy?

Networking is essential to getting good assignments. It is important to get the terms of the agreement right before signing up for a project. Freelancers should read through the agreement carefully, and look for clauses about payment timeliness, the time period and deliverables. A recent research by Flexing It, a platform for ‘on demand’ business consultants, says that some of the best practices followed by companies to develop a strong “Freelancer Value Proposition” include creating a technology-based solution, either internally or in partnership with a leading platform, to gain access to a trusted talent pool; and having a dedicated HR resource team to manage external talent; and having an on-boarding structure. With regard to compensation, the research says, more than 25-30% premium is paid as compensation. Some forward-looking companies also offer some benefits to gig workers.

Calls for V-C’s removal now unreasonable: HRD Minister
22/01/2020, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Calls for the removal of JNU Vice-Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar are now unreasonable as the basic demand of students on hostel fee hike has been met, said Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

The situation in the university is turning normal and students who want to study should not be disturbed, the Minister said.

Last year in October, JNU administration announced a hike in hostel fee, including introduction of service and utility charges. Following this, students took to streets demanding a roll back, prompting the HRD Ministry to form a panel to mediate between the agitating students and the administration.

“The basic demand of students about the hostel fee hike has been met. The calls for JNU V-C’s removal now are unreasonable,” Mr. Pokhriyal said.

8 tourists from Kerala found dead in Nepal hotel room

They are believed to have died of asphyxiation from 

malfunctioning gas heater

22/01/2020, STAFF REPORTER,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Tragic holiday: Hospital staff shifting the bodies of tourists into an ambulance at Kathmandu on Tuesday. At right, Praveen Krishnan Nair and his family who were among the victims.AP

A holiday in Nepal turned tragic for a group of friends from Kerala and their families, as eight of them, including four children, were found dead, presumably due to asphyxiation caused by a malfunctioning gas heater in their hotel room.

The deceased have been identified as Praveen Krishnan Nair, 39, his wife Saranya, 34, their children Sreebhadra, 9, Aarcha, 8, and Abhinav, 7, Renjith Kumar, 39, his wife Indu, 34, and son Vaishnav, 2.

They were part of a group of 15 members belonging to four families who had travelled to Nepal last week.

They were staying at a hotel in Daman, located in Makwanpur district, on their way back from Pokhara to catch a flight back to India. They checked in at the hotel on Monday night. Two of the families shared one room, while the others stayed in the second room. Gas heaters were switched on due to the cold weather. The room was bolted from inside and there was hardly any ventilation.

On Tuesday morning, all the eight in the first room were found unconscious. They were airlifted to the HAMS hospital in Kathmandu, where they were pronounced dead on arrival. The deaths are presumed to have been due to carbon monoxide poisoning, caused by a gas leak in the heater.

According to Kannan, Praveen’s cousin, the trip was a sort of get-together for four college friends and their families. Praveen, Renjith Kumar, Jayakrishnan and Ramkumar were batchmates at the Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering, Pappanamcode, from where they passed out in 2004.

Praveen, hailing from Chenkottukonam on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram city, was working at a private firm in Dubai. Saranya, his wife, had shifted back to Ernakulam a few years back to complete her M.Pharm, which she would have done in March.

Renjith Kumar, hailing from Kunnamangalam in Kozhikode district, was running an IT company, while his wife Indu was working at a co-operative bank. Their son Madhav, who was sleeping in the other room, survived.

After post-mortem, the bodies are expected to be brought here by Wednesday.