Passengers alight at smaller stations to avoid quarantine

Passengers alight at smaller stations to avoid quarantine

IRRESPONSIBLE Officials Claim These Travellers Contributed Significantly To Surge In Cases

Facilities Ready But No Manpower

Christin.MathewPhilip@timesgroup.com

23.07.2020

Bengaluru: Several passengers coming to Bengaluru in interstate trains from Mumbai and Danapur (Bihar) are said to be evading Covid-19 screening and home quarantine stamping over the past few weeks. In view of this, the railway board has decided to restrict stoppages of these trains from Friday. Officials claim these passengers have contributed significantly to the recent surge in positive cases.

Many passengers from these states alight at smaller stations like Krishnarajapuram, Bengaluru East, Bengaluru Cantonment and Yelahanka. BBMP and health and family welfare department officials screen passengers only at KSR Bengaluru City railway station.

“We used to request passengers to alight only at city station but some passengers wouldn’t agree. Passengers of 01301 Udyan Express (CSMT Mumbai-KSR Bengaluru City) would de-board at Yelahanka and proceed to their homes,” said sources.

Closer home

SWR shares details of passengers travelling on these trains on a daily basis. “It is difficult to trace such passengers. Some of them would claim they had de-boarded in Andhra Pradesh. Many were not ready to travel all the way to the city station as they prefer to get down at the nearest station citing poor transport options. This has prompted the government to approach the railway board to eliminate stoppages at small stations,” said a SWR official.

The first train from Mumbai reached Bengaluru on June 2. Initially, the state government insisted on institutional and home quarantine of seven days each, and also organized swab collection from those coming from Maharashtra since Mumbai was a hotspot. Later, the sevenday institutional quarantine and swab collection were stopped. Now, only 14-day home quarantine is required for interstate passengers and only ‘home stamping’ is being done at the city station.

Both 01301 Udyan Express (CSMT Mumbai-KSR Bengaluru City) and 02296 Sanghamitra (Danapur-KSR Bengaluru City) will now stop only at city station. “There were fewer checks at smaller stations which is also one of the reasons for the rise in Covid-19 cases,” said a government official.

Asked why the problem was with only these two trains, SWR officials said: “Other inter-state trains do not stop anywhere in BBMP limits apart from the city station. For instance, New Delhi-Bengaluru Rajdhani stops only at city station in BBMP limits, while Howrah-Yeshwantpur and New Delhi-Yeshwantpur Sampark Kranti Express halt only at Yeshwantpur in the city limits. We’re conducting thermal scanning for passengers at stations for outbound-trains. The health department protocol applies only to inter-state incoming trains, so intra-state ones will not have any problem,” they added.

LOST IN TRANSLOCATION: A file pic of people who arrived on Udyan Express from Mumbai making their way out of KSR City Railway Station, Bengaluru

157 goods trains ferry essentials

SWR has operated 157 parcel trains carrying 9,032 tonnes of essential items including dairy products, and perishables between April 1 and July 19. Of these, 78 trains were operated from Bengaluru. SWR also operated parcel trips between Belagavi, Hubballi, Davanagere and Bengaluru, carrying medicines, essentials, spices etc. The Bengaluru division on Wednesday transported 172 tractors from Doddaballapur station to Rajasthan.

Caution for those going to Howrah

With the West Bengal government announcing a complete lockdown in that state on July 23, 25 and 29, South Western Railways has urged passengers travelling from Bengaluru to Howrah to make appropriate arrangements. “West Bengal government has announced a complete lockdown in that state including suspension of public and private transport services and passengers arriving in West Bengal on these dates are advised to make appropriate arrangements,” an official said.

Asked why the problem was with only two trains, Udyan Express and Sanghamitra, SWR officials said: “Other interstate trains do not stop anywhere in BBMP limits apart from the city station. We’re conducting thermal scanning for passengers at stations for outbound-trains.”

Private unaided colleges laying off senior faculty

ADMISSION CRISIS

Private unaided colleges laying off senior faculty

Shrinivasa.M@timesgroup.com

Mysuru:  23.07.2020

Citing uncertainty over admissions, private unaided colleges across the state are laying off thousands of faculty members, many of whom have been teaching for decades. The preference appears to be for younger, tech-savvy teachers who can handle the transition to online classes — a trend which academics fear could impact the quality of education.

Sources in the Directorate of Collegiate Education (DCE) said the pandemic has affected 315 private aided colleges and an equal number of private unaided colleges across the state. “Even in aided colleges, the services of temporary faculty members are being terminated,” said a lecturer who has been asked to resign.

Faculty members in various colleges said the managements are seeking resignations of both teaching and non-teaching staff, citing lack of revenue due to which it has become difficult to run the institutions.

Around 60% of teachers in degree colleges have been sacked. The need of the hour is strict action against these private institutions which deny salaries and dismiss faculty members,” said YA Narayana Swamy, MLC from teachers’ constituency. “The government must insist at least 10 years’ audit of the institutions to find out the truth. It is not fair to sack teachers on the ground that no fees is being collected.”

“One or two junior faculty members who are conversant with technology have been retained after a 50% salary cut to conduct online classes. The remaining teachers have been sacked unceremoniously without taking into consideration their academic track record. This is the trend in all unaided colleges,” said a lecturer who declined to be named. “There is no government agency to look after our grievances.”

R Mugeshappa, joint director in the Department of Collegiate Education, said, “The colleges get affiliation from universities and their decision doesn’t come under our jurisdiction.”

Raju CR, president of University of Mysore (UoM) Teachers Association said depleting resources of college managements has resulted in this unprecedented crisis. “The higher education sector is among those badly hit by the Covid crisis,” he said.

KR Venugopal, VC of Bangalore University, said colleges are presented with a dilemma now. “It is true that colleges are sacking lecturers but we don’t have any jurisdiction on these colleges. If we question them, they cite no fee payment by students. We don’t have an answer for this. Since the government itself has asked them not to collect fees, colleges are in a financial crisis,” he said.

We will look into this issue though we don’t have any jurisdiction over private colleges. I am aware of salary cuts. When engineering colleges have opted for salary cuts, first-grade colleges naturally will be in a weaker position

G Hemantha Kumar |

VC, UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE

Act on Rajiv convicts or will step in: HC to TN guv

Act on Rajiv convicts or will step in: HC to TN guv

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  23.07.2020

As Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit is yet to act on a state cabinet recommendation made in September 2018 favouring release of all seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Madras high court on Wednesday said if a decision is not taken (by the governor) within a reasonable time, the court would be constrained to intervene in the matter.

“No time limit is prescribed for such authorities to decide on such issues only because of the faith and trust attached to the constitutional post,” a division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and V M Velumani said. The bench made the observations while hearing a habeas corpus plea moved by T Arputhammal, mother of life convict A G Perarivalan. She wanted the court to grant 90 days of parole to her son as he needs medical attention in view of various ailments.

She said he is vulnerable to Covid-1 inside jail as he suffered a chronic illness. The bench directed the prosecutor to get instructions from the state government regarding the parole request. It also directed the registry to inform counsel for the governor’s office to get appropriate instruction with regard to the disposal of the recommendation to release the life convicts. The court adjourned the hearing to July 29.

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Haryana received ₹300cr in donations for state Covid relief fund: RTI reply

Haryana received ₹300cr in donations for state Covid relief fund: RTI reply

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh: 23.07.2020

The Haryana government has received around Rs 300 crore in donation from persons and organisations for the state’s Covid-19 relief fund.

The amount is being used by the state government to provide aid to the needy who are facing hardships due to Covid-19 pandemic in the state.

The amount of donation under Haryana Covid-19 Relief Fund is being received in the shape of NEFT, RTGS, netbanking, UPI, IMPS, and cheques directly to the bank accounts.

As per RTI sourced information, the state received Rs 300.86 crore, of which Rs 265.36 crore had been deposited at Sector 10, Panchkula, branch of State Bank of India (SBI), Rs 34.91 crore at a private bank’s branch in Sector 22, Chandigarh, and Rs 59 lakh at Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) Sector 17 branch.

The information has been provided by the state public information officer (SPIO), Haryana Covid Relief Fund cell, finance department of Haryana, to Gurgaon-based RTI activist Aseem Takyar.

While details of amount received by the state has been provided, the department has asked the applicant to deposit an amount of Rs 11,000 for getting complete details of persons who had contributed to the fund. The demand of Rs 11,000 has been made from the applicant, as the information sought by him contained is in 55,00 pages and he has to pay Rs 11,000 at the rate of Rs 2 for one page of information, to get the complete information.

In his RTI application, Takyar sought the total amount received by the state in the Covid fund and the list of citizens, individuals, companies, government and non-government organisations, and others who had contributed amount towards Covid fund from March 2020 to date.

On Covid duty, varsity staff say pay salary on time

On Covid duty, varsity staff say pay salary on time

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Rohtak:23.07.2020

The non-teaching employees’ association of University of Health Sciences (UHS), Rohtak, on Wednesday raised concern over delay in the payment of their salaries by the Haryana government.

In a letter to the state chief secretary on the issue, the union said even as the employees of the health university are doing their duties roundthe-clock from day one of Covid-19 pandemic, they are not being given their salaries on time, creating financial problems for them.

The non-teaching employees’ association appealed that the salaries should be released in time so that they can focus on their work unhindered and serve the cause during the pandemic more efficiently.

Tarif Singh Nandal, president of UHS non-teaching staff, said the Union ministry of health and family welfare (medical education division), on June 18 ordered all states to release salaries of doctors and health workers doing Covid-19 duty on time.

The chief secretaries of all states/UTs were directed to ensure compliance of this order, violation of which was to be treated as an offence under the Disaster Management Act read with the Indian Penal Code and action would be taken against defaulting authorities, he added.

PGI revises rules for testing medical staff

PGI revises rules for testing medical staff

Shimona.Kanwar@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:  23.07.2020

Worries about more healthcare workers contracting the deadly virus have spurred PGI to revise its old guidelines for testing contacts on a day when a professor of pathology and a senior resident from the department tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.

As things are changing and numbers picking up, the previous guidelines were unable to trace the origin and resulted in the spread of the virus to 39 healthcare workers in the institute, according to doctors. As many as 25 healthcare workers are quarantined following the recent cases that came to light in two days at PGI.

The ICMR had suggested to test only close contacts of a positive case in a hospital — a protocol laid out at the start of the pandemic in March. “A discussion was held regarding the need to develop SOPs for management of positive cases as being reported from non-Covid areas/wards,” said a PGI spokesperson.

The cases in the ICU rattled the authorities to revise the testing guidelines. The new guidelines propose testing for all contacts present in the cubicle where the patient or healthcare worker developed symptoms.

Sources said the outdated guidelines of contact tracing and testing was followed until there was an outbreak in one of the ICUs. Moreover, the committee in the PGI for the testing missed out on one of the nurses who was the origin of the outbreak. “A patient developed symptoms and was tested for the virus. As all patients are admitted only when they test negative, the patient was not the source. So, we decided to test all the health workers in our department. And traced a nurse who had travelled to Punjab without informing her superiors and getting quarantined,” said a faculty member. He said, “Another patient in the ICU also contracted the virus.”

Cash-strapped AI cuts crew salaries by 40%

Cash-strapped AI cuts crew salaries by 40%

New Delhi:  23.07.2020

Cash-strapped Air India has cut the pay of its cockpit and cabin crew with retrospective effect from April 1, 2020 till further orders.

While the airline management puts the reduction at 40%, pilots say their flying allowance — which comprises a majority of their total pay — has been slashed by almost 85%. A captain with 10 years of command on a wide-body aircraft will now take home about Rs 2.1 lakh, from Rs 5.5 lakh earlier, say senior pilots.

AI has a monthly wage bill of Rs 230 crore and did not say how much it expected to save from this move. For pilots, the order says 11 allowances, like flying allowance, special pay and instructor/examiner allowance, have been cut by 40%. For cabin crew, the order says standby, flying, wide-body, domestic layover and quick return allowances will be cut by 20% and the same will be paid on actual flying hours. TNN

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