TNSTC runs 120 spl buses to Chennai

TNN | Mar 24, 2020, 04.45 AM IST

Trichy: The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Trichy operated 120 special buses to clear the rush for people to reach Chennai ahead of the Tamil Nadu lockdown announced from Tuesday evening till March 31. The transport division has also announced that no buses will be plying after 6pm on Tuesday.

“There is a heavy rush among people to reach Chennai. So, we will be operating special buses on Monday night and Tuesday morning. We will operate the special buses in a manner that the fleet will return to Trichy depot before the lockdown,” an official with the TNSTC said. tnn

Rumour mongering can hamper govt’s efforts

TNN | Mar 24, 2020, 04.35 AM IST

Madurai: At a time when Covid-19 scare is looming large, some mischief mongers are spreading rumours on social media, which could torpedo various measures taken by the state government in general and the health department in particular.

A video by a youth, criticising people for taking various precautionary measures in the wake of Covid-19, is being circulated largely through WhatsApp and Facebook. While in some of the houses people have started using turmeric powder mixed water and neem leaves to clean their front yard, he is seen criticising the precautionary measures done by a particular community, from which he too purportedly hails from.

He goes on to say that Covid-19 will not affect people from a particular community, who are strong by nature. In another video the same youth is seen asking people not be afraid of the virus at it would not affect the community. People, who are unaware of the strict warnings given by the Madurai district police and city police, have been circulating such videos.

A police official from Madurai district police said that they are scanning social media for rumour mongers and will be taking appropriate action against them. People have been asked to contact the police control room created for this purpose through 7708806111.

Wrong info makes tracking patient movement difficult

TNN | Mar 24, 2020, 04.40 AM IST

Madurai: With district officials facing difficulties in tracking the movement of the 43-year-old male Covid-19 patient admitted to the isolation ward at Tirunelveli medical college hospital (MCH), collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish on Monday urged the people to follow home quarantine more strictly.

The collector told TOI that though the patient is showing improvement he is still undergoing treatment at the isolation ward. “I spoke to the patient. His symptoms had reduced compared to Sunday and he was able to communicate without difficulty. We are making all efforts to not miss any person who may have been in contact with him and quarantine them,” she said. However, sources said that local district officials were apprehensive when putting together the patient’s contact history.

“The whole purpose of putting together contact history is to ensure that infection doesn’t spread even by mistake. However, on investigation and cross-verification, it was found that the patient may have been staying for four days at a hotel room though the patient himself has insisted till Monday morning that he had been just staying with one friend at a room in a village,” a source.

The source from the health department further added that whatever information the patient gives for contact history could not be 100% accurate or trustworthy, so it has been difficult to track his movements. So far, the co-passenger of the car by which he came to Tirunelveli from Madurai and the friend staying with him have been quarantined as a precautionary measure.

On the other hand, Madurai district health officials said that the patient was screened on March 17 at Madurai airport. “He was not symptomatic then, so we advised home quarantine as per protocol. I urge the public to be more responsible when in home quarantine and immediately seek medical help if any symptoms of Covid-19 appear,” said Dr P Priya Raj, deputy director of health services, Madurai.

Covid-19: Tamil Nadu to be under lockdown from Tuesday evening, Section 144 to be in force

TNN | Mar 23, 2020, 03.55 PM IST

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu will be under lockdown from 6pm on Tuesday till March 31 to prevent spread of Covid-19, and Section 144 of the CrPc will be in force to prevent people from gathering in any place, chief minister Edappadi K Palanisami announced in the assembly on Monday.

“Following the Centre recommending steps to ward off Covid-19, the state government has decided to lockdown all districts from 6pm on Tuesday. People must follow social distancing to prevent the virus from spreading,” said the chief minister.

He said though the Centre had recommended lockdown only in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Erode districts, the government decided to lockdown all the districts.

“From 6pm Tuesday, all district borders will be closed till March 31. A detailed order on this will be released in the evening. All district collectors and police officials have been asked to implement the order under Section 144 of the CrPC,” the chief minister said.

Only essential vehicles would be allowed and all other vehicles like government buses, private buses, any other private vehicles, autos, taxis and others would not be allowed to go from one district to another.

“Essential commodities like milk, vegetables, groceries, fish and meat shops will remain open along with medical stores. All other shops, malls and others will remain closed till March 31. Similarly, essential government services and departments will work, and all other departments will remain closed,” said the chief minister.

The essential departments include police, health, district administration, fire services, prison and local bodies.

“All private company employees will have to work from home. These companies include IT companies. But private hospitals will continue to work. Essential commodity manufacturing companies will be allowed to work with less number of workers,” said the chief minister.

Except urgent construction, all other construction work will have to be stopped and the companies must pay the employees for the days when there was no work, he said.

“To help homeless and other workers who don’t have any roof above their heads, hotels will be allowed to function. Amma canteens will also work,” he said.

Those who come from abroad must quarantine themselves. They must compulsorily screen themselves either in government hospitals or in private hospitals and take proper medicines, Palaniswami said.

Steps would be taken by district collectors to help pregnant women and senior citizens during the lockdown. “We are thinking about helping families which have been affected due to the lockdown and order will be released separately,” said Palanisami.

The chief minister sought the public support to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Crowd before the curfew

TNN | Mar 24, 2020, 04.19 AM IST

Chennai: The Koymabedu bus terminus was a nightmare on Monday. No one cared about social distancing, as thousands crowded the terminus pushing and shoving to board the few buses that were plying in their bid to leave the city before the lockdown from 6 pm on Tuesday.

There are no trains and on Monday, the state cut by half the usual 3,000 buses operated along 700-odd routes within the state. Almost all the government buses were packed and many women, children and the elderly were unable to board a bus even if they were willing to stand and travel. Men jumped into buses through the windows even before incoming passengers had got off.

“We can clearly see people are risking their lives. Even if one or two were affected by coronavirus, it will easily spread to thousands. The government is solely responsible for this. There is no way they could track patients in this chaos,” said V Prasanna,who ended up taking a taxi for Rs.6,000 to his native place (Thanjavur) after waiting at the terminus for an hour.

The situation was no different at Perungulathur and Tambaram and it took almost two hours for buses to cross Chengalpet.

To clear the rush, Tamil Nadu transport minister M R Vijayabaskar announced that 100 Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses were diverted to ply to Trichy, Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai and other districts.Buses from other districts were also told to report to Chennai to transport more people out from Chennai.

Besides, private omnibus operators were told to run all available buses from Chennai to other districts. Earlier, private operators told the government they were not willing to run buses till March 31. But they have now responded to the government’s request and started transporting people. Despite warnings, many operators charged exorbitant fares.

As for commuting in the city, no MTC buses, local trains, metro rail, autos or taxis will be allowed to ply after 6 pm on Tuesday. Movement of private vehicles within the city and to neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpet and Tiruvallur will be restricted to emergency trips. Checkposts would be erected to curb any movement between districts. "We will have checkposts near Meenambakkam and Kundrathur, where Chengalpet district meets Chennai and Kancheepuram districts, respectively, to prevent movement of people between districts. However, there would not be any restrictions on movement within a district," a revenue official in Chengalpet district said.

Chennai district with a radius of 426 sqkm shares borders with Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. The arterial roads in the city covers a distance of about 20 kilometres in all directions. Moulivakkam and Karambakkam form the borders of Kancheepuram district in the western suburbs. However, the restrictions may also be done based on police districts. Greater Chennai Police jurisdiction expands till Perungalathur in Chengalpet district, Kundrathur in Kancheepuram and Redhills at Tiruvallur district. "It is more practical because cops would be manning these check posts," the official added.

Covid-19: Tamil Nadu govt operates additional buses to clear extra rush ahead of lockdown

TNN | Mar 23, 2020, 07.25 PM IST

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu transport minister M R Vijayabaskar on Monday announced that 100 Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses are being diverted on mofussil routes (inter-district trips) to clear extra rush of passengers after the government announced that a lockdown would be in place starting Tuesday evening to combat spread of Covid-19.

These buses were operated from Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT), Koyambedu, from Monday evening to clear extra rush. As all trains were cancelled, more people crowded at CMBT.

MTC buses, which usually ply only in the Chennai, were diverted to Trichy, Villupuram, Thiruvanamalai and other districts.

Also, private omnibus operators were told to operate all available buses from Chennai to other TN districts on Monday, Vijayabaskar told reporters. Earlier, private operators informed government they were not willing to run buses till March 31. But they have now responded to the government's request and started transporting people.

Koyambedu was chaotic till late evening as all buses were packed and many people were unable to find a bus even if they were willing to stand and travel.

There was no way one could think about social distancing in such a situation, said passengers. It was all about getting home.

கொரோனா வைரஸ் அபாயம் மின் கட்டணம் செலுத்த சலுகை

Added : மார் 22, 2020 22:25

சென்னை:இந்த மாதம், மின் கட்டணம் செலுத்த வேண்டிய நுகர்வோர், முந்தைய கட்டணத்தையே செலுத்தும்படி, தமிழக மின் வாரியம் அறிவித்துள்ளது.

தமிழகத்தில், வீடுகள், கடைகள் உள்ளிட்ட தாழ்வழுத்த பிரிவு மின் இணைப்புகளில், மின் ஊழியர்கள், இரு மாதங்களுக்கு, ஒருமுறை நேரில் சென்று, மின் பயன்பாடு கணக்கு எடுக்கின்றனர். கணக்கு எடுத்த, 20 தினங்களுக்குள் மின் கட்டணத்தை செலுத்த வேண்டும். இல்லையேல், மின் வினியோகம் துண்டிக்கப்படும்.பின், அபராதத்துடன், கட்டணம் செலுத்தியதும், மீண்டும், மின் வினியோகம் வழங்கப்படும். கொரோனா வைரஸ் தாக்குதலில் இருந்து பாதுகாத்து கொள்ள, பலரும் வீடுகளை விட்டு வெளியே வருவதில்லை.இதனால், மின் பயன்பாடு கணக்கெடுக்கும் பணியில் ஈடுபடுத்த வேண்டாம் என, ஊழியர்கள், மின் வாரியத்திற்கு கோரிக்கை விடுத்தனர். எனவே, இம்மாதம் கட்டணம் செலுத்த வேண்டியவர்கள், முந்தைய மாத கட்டணத்தையே செலுத்துமாறு, மின் வாரியம் அறிவுறுத்தி உள்ளது.இது குறித்து, மின் வாரியம், நேற்று விடுத்த செய்தி குறிப்பு:கொரோனா வைரஸ் பரவல் பீதி காரணமாக, தாழ்வழுத்த இணைப்புகளில், 2020 மார்ச் மாத பட்டியலுக்கு, 22ம் தேதி முதல், 31ம் தேதி வரை, 'மீட்டர் ரீடிங்' எடுக்க முடியாத நிலை ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இதனால், ஜனவரி, பிப்ரவரி மாத கணக்கீட்டின்படி, பணம் செலுத்த கோரப்படுகிறது.

இவ்வாறு செலுத்திய கட்டணம், பின்வரும் மாத கணக்கீட்டு மின் கட்டணத்தில் சரிசெய்யப்படும். மின் கட்டண மையங்களுக்கு வருவதை தவிர்த்து, ஏற்கனவே தெரிவித்தபடி, இணையதளம், மொபைல் செயலி போன்ற, 'டிஜிட்டல்' முறையில்மின் கட்டணத்தை செலுத்தலாம்.இவ்வாறு அதில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.