4 மணிநேரம் மட்டுமே வங்கிகள் செயல்படும்: இந்தியா முழுவதும் இன்று அமல்

Updated : மார் 23, 2020 01:13 | Added : மார் 23, 2020 01:12

புதுடில்லி: கொரோனா பரவலால் இன்று முதல் வங்கிகள் 4 மணிநேரம் மட்டுமே செயல்பட உள்ளது.



கொரோனா தாக்கத்தால் வங்கிகள் பல்வேறு புதிய விதிமுறைகளை பின்பற்றும்படி இந்திய வங்கிகள் சங்கம் பரிந்துரைத்துள்ளது. அதன்படி வங்கிகள் காலை 10:00 மணி முதல் பகல் 2:00 வரை மட்டும் செயல்படும். சில வங்கிகள் வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கு ஏற்ப காலை 11:00 மணி முதல் 3:00 மணி வரை இருக்கலாம்.



பணம் எடுத்தல், பணம் கட்டுதல், காசோலை, அரசு தொடர்பான பணிகள், மற்ற வங்கிகளுக்கு பணம் கொடுத்தல் பணிகள் மட்டுமே நடக்கும். நகைக்கடன் வழங்கப்படமாட்டாது. புதிய வீட்டு கடன் உள்ளிட்ட கடன் வழங்கும் பணிகளும் நடக்காது. இத்தகைய விதிமுறைகள் இன்று 23ம் தேதி முதல் உடனடியாக அமலுக்கு வருகிறது. சில வங்கிகள் இந்த நேரத்தை அமல்படுத்த ஒரு சில தினங்கள் எடுத்துக் கொள்ளவும் அனுமதியளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

‘COVID-19 is a new animal in the zoo’

States have been told to marshal all resources to contain the virus, says NITI Aayog member

23/03/2020, YUTHIKA BHARGAVA, BINDU SHAJAN 

PERAPPADAN

Co-chair of the Empowered Committee for COVID-19 Response, India, and Member of the National Institution for Transforming India, NITI Aayog, Dr. V.K. Paul said the changed circumstances of the spread of the disease called for a revised testing strategy and marshalling of all resources to contain the pandemic.

Why has India revised its testing strategy making it more inclusive and now also allowing private laboratories to test? Is this an indication of the trends that you may be seeing in terms of a wider spread of COVID-19?

It’s best to align our thoughts with what the Prime Minister has articulated. We know we have a problem. We have been containing it to a large extent but the way these things pan out, emerging scenarios are unpredictable and can be very serious, so let us put our act together.

Why have we changed criteria? Because we think it is time to get the first indications to know if it is spreading in India. If it spreads, serious patients will come in and we cannot miss this indication. COVID-19 is a new animal in the zoo, we are still understanding the virus. We know that it is a pandemic, it is somewhat explosive and somewhat delayed. We may be better-off currently but be prepared for the worst. We should be sensible for the next two months.

NITI Aayog had advised the government to rectify the lack of health infrastructure, skewed patient-bed and medical staff ratio…keeping this in mind how prepared is India if we do slip into community transmission? The trends currently indicate massive spikes.

It is no secret that India’s health infrastructure needs to be augmented. Currently, States across India have been instructed to marshal all their resources to ensure that we are able to contain the virus. They have been asked to use all legal and emergency powers and funds to cater to any medical situation that may arise. You know, it is a situation for which you have to pull out all the stops and get makeshift arrangements if need be.

How does the 14-hour ‘Janata Curfew’ help?

This one-day bandh is the only way we can cut down or dent transmission. Though we are still at stage 2, what if we moved further? Since we cannot create a perfect situation, social distancing is key and this drill is essential. Perfect social distancing cannot happen under normal situation. What the Prime Minister has done is say “OK guys, we have been making an effort to break this chain.”

Where are we in terms of making available testing kits and vaccine?

We are looking at two types of technologies/products — one is diagnostic kits and the other, of course, vaccine which is a long term solution.

Currently, everything related to COVID-19 is new but I am very happy to be able to tell you that we are very close to making available a simpler and indigenous diagnostic test. There are four to six promising projects being carried out and we are very close to an early validation and early scale up. I am hoping this could be in a matter of weeks.

Also, remember if a vaccine comes out somewhere else, they may find it very sensible to manufacture here in India. So that’s the silver lining, we have a huge vaccine production capability.

(Read the full interview at: https://bit.ly/VKPaulInterview)

Families impose self-restriction for marriage

Only core members of the families take part in ceremony, advanced 

to 4 a.m. to comply with the curfew diktat

23/03/2020,S. SUNDAR  MADURAI

Unforgettable: This couple got married early in the day before the beginning of Janata Curfew in Madurai on Sunday. R. Ashok

After a long and meticulous planning for a marriage by two families from Chennai and Madurai, the ceremony took place on Sunday with a handful of people, following the Janata Curfew announced by the Prime Minister.

Seven months back, the bridegroom’s family near Chennai and the bride’s family in Madurai had booked a marriage hall in the heart of Madurai. Over 900 invitations were distributed and everything was set for a grand reception on Saturday followed by ‘muhurtham’ on Sunday morning.

But when the families and friends of the groom were planning to leave Chennai for Madurai, the news about the curfew reached them. By then it was too late for them to do anything. Only the core members of the groom’s family came to Madurai.

With the curfew beginning at 7 a.m. with no public transport, the families decided to advance the ‘muhurtham’ for the convenience of the guests. From 7.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., it was advanced to 4 a.m.

“We informed about the change in timing to those who were in Madurai. For the rest, we requested them to not take pains to make it to the marriage function. We told them that we will not feel bad about their absence,” said J. Sampath, 58, uncle of the groom.

Masks and sanitisers

Initially, the family planned to provide masks to all the guests and place sanitisers outside the hall as a precautionary measure. However, they could not manage to get both masks and the sanitisers.

All that the family could do was consciously avoiding handshake. “Instead we welcomed people with folded hands,” he said.

With only a few guests turning up, the marriage was solemnised early in the morning. By 7.00 a.m. most of them had left after having breakfast.

“Only the close relatives of the bride and groom stayed back. There was no disappointment at all for any of us. It is only a small contribution from our side to stop spreading COVID-19,” said Mr. Sampath.

Another couple

R. Kayalvizhi and I. Paul Vinoth was another couple who married at Poonga Murugan Temple in Madurai between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Mr. Vinoth said around 2,500 invitations were distributed and a private hall was booked.

Earlier, the muhurtham was fixed between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. “We changed the entire plan after the announcement from the Prime Minister. We realised the gravity of the situation and decided to contribute our little part to curb the spread of COVID-19,” he said.

Thoothukudi

Shankar and Sivasankari from Thoothukudi had planned to get married at a Siva temple, but the permission to conduct the ceremony was denied after the Prime Minister’s announcement. So the couple got married at a Mariamman temple in Muniyasamypuram with just a limited number of family members. The couple also wore face masks during the ceremony to send home the message of social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

(With inputs from

P.A. Narayani)

Weddings in the time of a virus

Notwithstanding the ‘Janata Curfew’ , some couples tie the knot

23/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

DMDK leader Vijayakant presiding over a wedding on Sunday.

Amidst the ‘Janata Curfew’, some families managed to conduct weddings in the city and elsewhere in the State.

While some cut down on the number of guests, others decided to hold the receptions at a later date.

The wedding of V. Vimalkumar and K. Kamali of Saidapet was held at the house of DMDK founder Vijayakant. “We had planned to conduct it in a temple, but since temples were closed, we had no place to go. When we informed the Captain (Vijayakant) about this, he welcomed us to his house. We will never forget his gesture. The wedding was held with a priest officiating it and 17 members from the families of the bride and the groom taking part,” said P. Venuram, the groom’s father and DMDK’s labour wing deputy secretary. Mr. Venuram, who runs a tiffin centre at Venkatapuram in Little Mount, arranged for breakfast at his house after the wedding. “There was a very different feel to it. We were concerned about whether we would be able to pull off the wedding, since the van driver refused to come,” he said.

L.N. Srinivasan of LVN Catering, Mylapore, said they seated two persons in place of the usual three at each table. “The wedding party ensured that the guests were safe and arranged for hand sanitisers. In place of 800 guests, they had 150,” he said.

In Tiruchi, events held in a couple of prominent wedding halls witnessed a muted attendance of family members. “A majority of our relatives arrived here last night, knowing full well that there will be a lockdown, and stayed put at the wedding hall to participate in the event on Sunday. We went ahead with the wedding as it could not be cancelled, given that all the arrangements had already been made,” said K. Ravi, an uncle of the bridegroom. In some wedding halls in Thanjavur districts, face masks were provided to the participants.

In Madurai, Thoothukudi and Thiruchendur, couples advanced the muhurtham to between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., before the start of the curfew.

As in other places, weddings in Udhagamandalam and Krishnagiri took place with very small gatherings. In Udhagamandalam M. Jayanandhini and R. Mathan Raj called off their reception on Sunday due to the curfew. The wedding took place in a temple, with just 20 participants.

The wedding plans of Revathi from Krishnagiri and Sharath from Bengaluru got derailed by the virus. The couple wed in the presence of just eight persons. In Dharmapuri, a Muslim couple got married in the presence of a modest gathering.

(With inputs from R. Rajaram in Tiruchi, P.A. Narayani in Madurai, Rohan Premkumar in Udhagamandalam, P.V. Srividya in Krishnagiri and Deepa H. Ramakrishnan in Chennai).

For city residents, it was a stay-at-home Sunday

With public transport off the roads, traffic was down to a bare minimum; in the evening, many came out to applaud health workers

23/03/2020, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday to encourage social distancing among the public, to contain the spread of COVID-19, received an overwhelming response in Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, with the entire State observing a near-complete shutdown.

With the State government fully backing the initiative by suspending public transport and later extending the curfew till 5 a.m. on Monday, all roads and public places wore a deserted look. Heeding the government’s call, the public largely remained indoors. A negligible number of vehicles were seen plying major roads and highways.

In Chennai, all the arterial roads, including Anna Salai, looked deserted. Many government-run Amma Unavagam outlets providing food at subsidised prices, which were kept open, reported a considerable turnout of people from marginalised sections of society.

While fuel stations were open with a minimal number of staff, they hardly had any customers. “I have never seen such a complete shutdown. We have not had a single motorist coming in for fuel till the afternoon,” said A. Kathirvel, who works at a fuel station on Cathedral Road. In a few places, however, the curfew was not complied with. For instance, in some areas in and around Royapettah in Chennai, small groups of children and youngsters took to the roads to play cricket. On the Beach Road, a few youngsters who came in bikes clicked pictures of themselves sitting on the vacant road.

In South Boag Road and Wallajah Road, where small groups of people assembled late in the evening, the police made announcements asking them to disperse.

The Prime Minister’s appeal to the public to come to their balconies and windows to give a round of applause for the health workers and other professionals who are on the front line in the fight against COVID-19 also received a resounding response. In most places, particularly apartment complexes, people came out with their families to clap and clang on plates as a gesture of appreciation. Social media was flooded with such images and videos.

Though the Centre and the State governments had said that shops selling essential commodities can remain open, such establishments remained closed.

T.N. to decide on curbs in three districts today

Inter-State bus services suspended

23/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

Residents of an apartment complex in Chennai beating vessels. B. Jothi Ramalingam B. Jothi Ramalingam

The Tamil Nadu government will on Monday take a decision on imposing stringent restrictive measures in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Erode districts, which figure among the 80 districts countrywide where the Centre has advised maintaining only “essential services” in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. On Sunday, three more patients tested positive for COVID-19, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said.

“We will take a decision on imposing severe restrictions in these districts at a high-level meeting on Monday morning. We want to be cautious before announcing closure of establishments in Chennai and elsewhere,” a government official said.

Another senior official said that the State government is taking stock of the situation and will come up with a notification. “No lockdown as of now. It is a normal day tomorrow [March 23]. The State government will take a call,” he added.

Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami issued an order suspending till March 31 operation of all government and private inter-State bus services. Earlier, the State had operated minimal bus services to Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Chennai Metro services have been cancelled till the month-end.

Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar said from Monday minimal bus services would be operated within Chennai and the rest of T.N.

“Only inter-State bus services have been stopped. If there is any change, the decision will be taken tomorrow [Monday],” Transport Secretary Dharmendra Pratap Yadav said.

4 pvt hospitals allowed to treat Covid-19 patients

Mar 22, 2020, 04.25 AM IST

Coimbatore: The district health department has allowed four private multispeciality hospitals in the city to set up 50-bed isolation facilities to treat patients with Covid-19 symptoms

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Collector K Rajamani on Saturday said the government has decided to allow Kovai Medical Center and Hospital, PSG Hospitals, Royal Care Hospital and Abhinand Hospital to admit and treat patients suspected of having Covid-19 and those tested positive.

“The hospitals have been asked to keep ready isolation wards that have 50 to 60 beds,” he said.

While the hospitals can admit and treat patients, the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital will be the authorized centre to do the test.

The health department is asking all those who were travelling and have Covid-19 symptoms to undergo the test, unlike earlier, when they were only testing people with specific symptoms so as to not overburden test centres and waste testing kits.

The collector also oversaw screening activities at the Walayar check post and Anaikatti. “All vehicles carrying essential commodities and patients with medical emergencies are allowed to enter the state,” said the collector. “We are also planning to establish another makeshift corona observation centre at Othakkalmandapam.”

Seven people who were tested at the Covid-19 test centre in CMCH have tested negative and so have four people tested on Thursday, health department sources said. This includes a 77-year-old man who visited Mumbai, a couple from Mettupalayam who returned from Sweden and a girl who returned from Spain.

Three patients were isolated at the CMCH and ESIC Hospital on Saturday include a three-year-old boy who has cold and fever. The boy and his family had recently returned from Rajasthan. The others are a 45-year-old man who returned from Odisha and a 35-year-old man who had been to Germany.