Over 26,000 people with vehicles have left T.N.

After inter-State borders opened, 2,000-odd persons have entered the State

08/05/2020, DENNIS S. JESUDASAN,CHENNAI

Nowhere to go: Migrant workers cycling from Puducherry to their hometown in Odisha. B. Velankanni Raj

Over 26,000 people have left Tamil Nadu and 2,000-odd persons have come into the State ever since the inter-State borders were opened for movement of people using their own vehicles.

Meanwhile, over 54,000 natives of Tamil Nadu stranded abroad have registered for returning to India.

An officer involved in the coordination of movement of people across inter-State borders acknowledged that there were some issues being sorted out with other States, even as the Centre’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) were being followed by Tamil Nadu.

He told The Hindu that e-passes were being issued for either going out of the State or coming in after considering certain aspects regarding whether people were residing in “red zones” and whether they were vulnerable in terms of their age.

Asked about the possibility of special trains for migrant workers, a senior official said: “We were planning for two trains, but since the Odisha High Court has passed an order, we are rescheduling the plan.”

The Odisha High Court had on Thursday directed the Odisha government to ensure that only persons who have tested negative for COVID-19 were allowed to return to the State.

“In light of this order, we may finalise a train for taking migrant workers from Coimbatore to West Bengal,” the official added.

No shortage of beds in govt. hospitals, says Health Minister

‘Indian medicines proving to be effective immunity boosters’

08/05/2020, S. VIJAY KUMAR ,CHENNAI

C. Vijayabaskar

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar has said that there is no shortage of beds in government hospitals across the State.

In Chennai, the occupancy in the 1,800-odd beds in the Omandurar Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Specialty Hospital, the Rajiv Gandhi General Government Hospital, Stanley Government Hospital and others is currently just above 50%.

“The number of patients in government hospitals in many districts is in single digits. Asymptomatic patients who cannot afford home quarantine facilities are being moved to care centres. In Chennai, we have about 500 such patients quarantined in the Trade Centre and two private colleges,” the Minister told The Hindu on Thursday.

Asymptomatic persons testing positive for COVID-19 and opting to remain quarantined at home are being allowed to do so after a 24-hour hospitalisation at a government facility, the Minister added.

Chronic conditions

After ascertaining their health parameters through a series of tests, such patients with no co-morbid conditions like diabetes, uncontrollable hypertension or other chronic underlying conditions will be given a kit containing medicines as per the treatment protocol and discharged on doctors’ advice.

“Allowing asymptomatic patients to remain under home quarantine is a recommendation by the Government of India and other medical experts. We closely follow up on the health condition of those under home quarantine and render medical advice through video-conferencing from the control room,” he said.

“A mobile X-ray unit is also being deployed for their benefit,” he said.

Medical kits

A medical kit given to a patient under home quarantine has 20 face masks, Zinc supplements, Vitamin-C tablets, a diet chart and Indian medicine packets. Nilavembu and Kabasura Kudineer have proved to be good immunity boosters, effective in recovery.

“Since Indian medicines are also considered effective in prevention, we are distributing about 2 lakh sachets to front line workers, including police personnel,” he said.

Thousands throng liquor shops disregarding distancing norms

Protests held in several places in State against reopening of Tasmac outlets

08/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

Anger and anxiety: Women and children staging a protest in Madurai against the opening of Tasmac, top left, while physical distancing goes for a toss outside Tasmac outlets in Tiruvallur district.G. Moorthy, B. Jothi Ramalingam and M. Vedhan

Thousands of tipplers crowded Tasmac shops across Tamil Nadu (except those in Chennai) on Thursday, as liquor outlets reopened after 43 days.

COVID-19 safety protocols like physical distancing and the wearing of masks were thrown to the wind, sparking serious concerns about the spread of the virus. Protests were held in several places against the reopening of liquor outlets in the midst of a pandemic.

Though customers were required to maintain a six-feet distance between each other, and the Madras High Court had ordered the ‘rationing’ of liquor, such directives were hardly put into practice. Serpentine queues were seen in several places, and many customers were either not wearing masks or wearing them improperly.

Despite the police having warned that residents of Chennai would be arrested if they travel to the neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur or Kancheepuram just to buy liquor, some managed to get hold of a few bottles. Though some of them were caught by the police, others escaped scrutiny due to the difficulty of verifying Aadhaar cards in crowded shops. Only 100 shops in the three neighbouring districts were opened, as the remaining 400-odd outlets were located in covid-19 containment zones or areas bordering Chennai.

Spike in cases

Though Tasmac had earlier said it would open 3,850 shops across the State, 150 outlets were not opened, in the wake of the spike in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. “If new cases emerge [in] fresh spots, we will close the outlets there,” an official said. The police, however, said people were stopped a few hundred meters away from the shops, and tokens were issued to them.

Tipplers in Tiruppur, who were asked to bring umbrellas to maintain physical distancing, were seen using them to “reserve spots”.

Scores of women and children in Sellur, Madurai, attempted to block the reopening of the two shops in the locality.

Power shutdown

08/05/2020,MADURAI

There will be power shutdown in the following areas between 10 a.m. and 12 noon on May 11 (Monday):Ayyankottai, Vairavanatham, Nagari, C. Pudur, Mariammalkulam, Kondayampatti, Kilakarai, Kuttimeikipatti and Sembukudipatti.

Eight sustain burns in fire

08/05/2020, S. PRASAD,CUDDALORE

Eight persons, including two employees of NLC India Ltd (NLCIL), were seriously injured when a fire broke out in a furnace of a boiler in one of the units of Thermal Power Station II in Neyveli on Thursday.

Engineers and contract workers were at the spot at the time of the accident and thick smoke billowed out of the unit.

Two employees — Sarbudin and Paavadai — and six contract workers — Ranjith Kumar, Manikandan, Balamurugan, Jaishankar, Anbalagan and Shanmugam — sustained burns. Two persons were in critical condition with 70% burns..

Power generation in three units of 210 MW unit each was stalled following the accident while all other units in the station and the other thermal power plants functioned as usual.

According to a senior official of NLCIL, “the accident occurred at around 5 p.m. in Unit VI. A loud explosion was heard on the furnace of the boiler located at a height of 82 metres.”

The temperature in the furnace on the top of the boiler was typically above 1,000 degrees Celsius when a fire broke out. Fire emanated from the boiler injuring the workers who were at the site.”

Preliminary investigations revealed that a fire broke out in the furnace. It could have been either due to an implosion or the structure could have been weak.

Womenfolk tremble as TASMAC outlets reopen

08/05/2020, P.A. NARAYANI,MADURAI

For 30-year-old Panchu, a domestic worker from Thuvariman near Madurai, opening of TASMAC liquor outlets on Thursday rekindles haunting memories of the violence that she had to endure from her alcoholic husband before the lockdown. She says denial of access to liquor during the lockdown had actually motivated her husband to give up alcohol.

However, now the hope of a positive change in her family has been replaced with fear and anxiety. “The COVID-19 outbreak had, indeed, a positive impact on our family. During the lockdown, my husband worked in farmlands for two days a week and earned ₹500 per day. It was the first time he gave his full earnings to the family. But, all our hopes of a better life have been dashed now,” she says.

Like Ms. Panchu, wives of many alcoholics, who are from low-income families, are worried that the reopening of Tasmac outlets will further worsen their economic condition, pushing them to the brink of starvation.

K. Kala, who also works as a domestic worker, says many households have not paid her salary due to the lockdown and that the family solely depends on her husband’s income. “With the relaxation of lockdown norms, my husband can work at construction sites and earn around ₹500 per day. However, all the money will now be used by him to purchase alcohol,” she says.

The move has also instilled the fear of contracting COVID-19 infection from their husbands. “We are worried as physical distancing will go for a toss when they stand outside TASMAC outlets. Also, they tend to spend extra time with their friends after consuming alcohol, exposing themselves to many people,” she adds.

The reopening of the outlets has also robbed addicts of the opportunity to give up liquor, says C. Ramasubramanian, a senior psychiatrist and founder of M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation. “The permanent solution to alcohol addiction is a change of mental attitude, for which restricting easy access to alcohol is important,” he says.

Sekar (name changed), chairman of Alcoholics Anonymous group in Madurai, says many alcoholics had overcome withdrawal symptoms in the initial days of the lockdown and started to adopt more positive practices in their everyday routine.

Dr. Ramasubramanian also says when addicts consume liquor after a gap of a few weeks it might affect their physical and mental health. “It can also lead to a spike in the number of alcoholics who might need medical help at de-addiction centres, further burdening the health infrastructure,” he adds.

Not much crowd in Virudhunagar

08/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,VIRUDHUNAGAR

Virudhunagar district did not see any uncontrollable crowd at the 166 TASMAC shops that opened across the district on Thursday.

While eight shops could not be opened as they fell under containment zones, authorities did not open two other shops in Watrap and Seithur following local opposition against the opening.

A police source said that only a handful number of people were on the queue when the shops opened at 10 a.m.

In many shops, police did not face any trouble in regulating the crowd as it was smooth going. By and large, there were no complaints of people not following social distancing.

“Probably, people were getting liquor bottles in black market like some of the cases reported in few places. Similarly, local people were also involved in illicit brewing of arrack. Hence, there was no excitement among tipplers,” an official said.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties staged peaceful protests in various parts of the district against the opening of TASMAC shops.

DMK MLAs, including Thangam Thennarasu, Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore and CPI district secretary P. Lingam participated in the protest and displayed placards.