Rajasthan initiates austerity measures

Rajasthan initiates austerity measures

CM, Ministers to forego week’s salary

06/09/2020

Mohammed IqbalJAIPUR

The Congress government in Rajasthan has started taking austerity measures in view of a massive decline in revenue collections amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost cutting will apply on all government departments and institutions and involve restrictions on new purchases, travel, official banquets and opening of new offices.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Cabinet colleagues will forego one week’s salary every month. Senior government officers will go without salary for two days and other employees for one day each month.

Mr. Gehlot has ordered a 30% reduction in the expenditure on government offices, travel, computer, stationery, etc. The government has also suspended leave encashment and restricted the spending on petrol and diesel. No new offices will be established. The official meetings will be held through videoconferencing as far as possible.

Allow us to practise, foreign medicos’ body urges PM

Allow us to practise, foreign medicos’ body urges PM

06/09/2020

Staff Reporter VIJAYAWADA

The Indian Foreign Medical Students (IFMS) Welfare MCI Gurukul Trust has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deploy Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) on COVID-19 duty by providing them registration in view of the health emergency.

The move can ease the shortage of medical staff, and add thousands of doctors to the Indian healthcare system with immediate effect, representatives said.

IFMS MCI Gurukul Trust members Dr. G. Gurusaran and Dr. A. Shiva (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) said that for the past three years, MCI and NBE were reducing qualifying marks of NEET-PG and NEET-MDS for filling empty seats in private medical colleges. However, the same is not being done for FMGs, which is a discrimination, they said.

It should be noted that for the past two months, the FMGs were very active against this indiscrimination, and many managed to get letters from more than 50 MPs and mailed/faxed the letters to Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan. All the letters clearly mentioned the legitimate demands of Foreign Medical Graduates and the discrimination being meted out to them,” they said.

No free darshan tokens till Sept. 30

No free darshan tokens till Sept. 30

06/09/2020

Special CorrespondentTirumala

In a sudden turn of events, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has resolved to temporarily suspend the issuance of ‘sarva darshan’ (free darshan) tokens from Sunday.

The decision is believed to have been taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at Tirumala, where the annual Brahmotsavams of Lord Venkateswara are scheduled to take off from September 19.

No darshan tokens will be issued at the TTD counters in Tirupati till September 30.

First unlock Sunday sees crowds back on the roads

First unlock Sunday sees crowds back on the roads

Personal distancing norms go for a toss and many people fail to wear face masks

07/09/2020

Back to business: People throng East Masi Street in Madurai on Sunday . R. Ashok

Madurai Bureau Madurai

It was like any other Sunday in the city after several weeks following lifting of the complete lockdown. There was heavy movement of people on roads and crowds thronged the markets.

M. Mohammed Najumudeen, a shopkeeper at Nelpettai, said a large number of customers visited the meat-and-fish market in Nelpettai on Sunday morning. “The crowd was almost like that of pre- COVID-19 time,” he said.

Personal distancing norms were flouted and many customers and shopkeepers failed to wear face masks, he said. “Police personnel fined all those who failed to wear face masks,” he added. Similarly, residents thronged the four Masi streets, Netaji Road and Town Hall Road with total disregard to social distancing norms.

“Relaxation of lockdown will help improve business of street vendors,” said G. Mohan, a vendor on Netaji Road.

Concurring with this viewpoint, Ashraf Yusuf, secretary of Tamil Nadu Textile Merchants Association, said that there was good footfall in textile shops on Sunday.

“Circles and squares which were earlier drawn in front of shops to maintain adequate distances are missing now,” said V.P. Manikandan, a resident of S.S. Colony.

Collector T. G. Vinay said that mask usage and personal distancing was essential to contain spread of pandemic.

“Flying squads have been deployed to ensure that everyone wears face masks. We are sensitising the public to come forward to get tested in case they display any symptom. Early identification will help to reduce the severity of the infection and help in containing the spread of COVID-19,” he added.

Tirunelveli

Residents came out for shopping and visited churches for mass.

Absence of police personnel led to people neglecting physical distancing norms. However, a policeman at the VVD intersection said there has been a tangible improvement as people voluntarily covered their faces with the masks

LPG consumers worried about subsidy withdrawal

LPG consumers worried about subsidy withdrawal

Govt.’s silence on issue adds to woes

07/09/2020

Beneficiaries under the Ujjwala scheme are given three free cylinders.

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan CHENNAI

With LPG subsidy falling under ₹30 per cylinder from June, many consumers are wondering if they are getting any money at all in their bank accounts. Rumours of the government stopping the subsidy are also adding fuel to the fire.

“At least five customers walk in seeking clarification on a daily basis, especially since they do not get text messages from banks as the amount is too small. They are used to the subsidy being over ₹200. During this time last year, it was over ₹100. This month it is ₹24 in the city. The amount varies according to the market. The government gives more subsidy to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana customers. In fact, it has given three free cylinders to them,” an LPG distributor in the city said.

Bharat Petroleum’s sale

Oil industry sources said the government was planning to do away with the LPG subsidy.

“The proposed sale of Bharat Petroleum Corporation is causing disturbance in the market. Consumers are apprehensive about how the new owner will treat them. They wonder if the subsidy will continue and if the same level of service will be maintained,” another distributor said.

Distributors said there should be some kind of announcement regarding this to reassure the consumers.

On the other hand, consumers are facing issues with the receipt of delivery authentication codes (DAC) that they have to provide to the delivery personnel.

“Many times they don’t get the code because their message inbox will be full or the mobile number might have changed. Around 15%- 20% of consumers walk in daily with issues relating to the DAC,” the manager at an agency said.

Oil industry officials said deliveries would be carried out even if the consumers did not get the DAC. It is a mode of contactless delivery, they said.

COVID-19 norms violated on lockdown-free Sunday

COVID-19 norms violated on lockdown-free Sunday

Many throng public places without wearing masks

07/09/2020

Warnings ignored: Many families spent time on Marina Beach on Sunday, though officially, it remains closed to visitors. R. Ragu

Vivek Narayanan CHENNAI

Basic COVID-19 safety protocols, like maintaining adequate physical distance and wearing masks properly, were compromised in many places across Tamil Nadu, particularly in Chennai, during the first lockdown-free Sunday following the unveiling of ‘Unlock 4.0’.

Crowds thronged public places, including open markets, playgrounds and Marina Beach (though officially, the beach is closed to visitors), with people moving about shoulder-to-shoulder in some areas.

Crowds everywhere

In Srirangam, devotees were seen standing in close proximity to each other. In Chennai, families, including children, thronged Marina Beach, and youngsters were spotted playing cricket and football on the Corporation playgrounds. The Marina Service Road was busy, with walkers, joggers and skaters using it.

“Most of them had masks but they wore it on the jaw. A few helpless police personnel were watching people walk past. It appeared as if the city [believed it] had become COVID-19-free,” said M. Jaishankar, an autorickshaw driver.

In the evening, many families spent time on the beach, again without wearing masks. “The police are unable to control [the situation] as the number of visitors is more,” said S. Ethiraj, a resident of Nochikuppam.

Youngsters had a field day, playing outside after a long time. Somasundaram Ground in T. Nagar, Chennai, was full of youngsters, many of whom were not wearing masks.

“Grounds have been opened for morning walks. Now, it is up to the public to follow safety measures and be cautious till the virus goes away. Though the government cannot be blamed, it could put in place a mechanism to monitor the crowd, especially after seeing such incidents,” said V.S. Jayaraman, a T. Nagar resident.

Out in the open

“We were happy to hear that the grounds have been opened. Many of those who had come to play wore masks. Most of them used kerchiefs to cover their nose and mouth. We were not standing close to each other,” said Raju, who was playing in Pallavaram.

People were playing football on the ground behind the Foreshore Estate Police Station. Many were not wearing masks, according to residents.

Maths teacher in Tamil Nadu buys 16 smartphones for her students to attend online classes

Maths teacher in Tamil Nadu buys 16 smartphones for her students to attend online classes

Taking their financial background into account, K Bairavi bought the smartphones and even recharged the sim cards for the students to avail lessons.

Published: 06th September 2020 08:14 PM 

Students show their new smartphones with maths teacher K Bairavi at Elambalur Government Higher Secondary School Perambalur district. (Photo | Express)

By P Thiruselvam

Express News Service

PERAMBALUR: In an effort to catch up with the ways of the ongoing pandemic, a government school teacher has spent a lakh from her savings to buy 16 smartphones and sim cards for her students. A teacher of Elambalur government higher secondary school, K Bairavi, told The New Indian Express that she wishes to conduct online lessons for her students just like private schools. 

Her students, who study in standard 10th, will be appearing for board exams next year. Taking their financial background into account, she bought the smartphones and even recharged the sim cards for the students to avail lessons.

"We went to various villages to approach parents and convince them to admit their children. Here I saw several students living under poverty without any basic facilities at their homes. I was very sad after seeing this," K Bairavi said.

"Due to lockdown, I have been teaching my students through WhatsApp for the last few weeks. But some of them do not own a smartphone and no money to recharge. This is why I decided to buy smartphones and distributed them to my students. The idea was given by my daughter. I have set up a blackboard at my house to record online classes for my students."

Bairavi, who distributed phones to 16 students including the new joinees, has assured them that she will continue to recharge their smartphones till the school reopens. 

One of Bairavi's students, Priyadharshini, said, "When my teacher came to our house during a door-to-door campaign, my parents asked her about online classes. After telling my parents about the classes, we were invited to the school. Bairavi madam surprised us by giving us a smartphone. I am very happy as nobody in my family has one. I will use it for my studies."

Schools in Tamil Nadu have remained closed for over five months. In this situation, the state government declared all students as 'pass' in the annual exams. Subsequently, enrollment in government schools began two weeks ago.

Teachers at Elambalur government higher secondary school in Perambalur district have been doing a door-to-door and distributing leaflets describing the features of government schemes available for the students. Also, they are raising awareness among parents about the special features of their school.

They are conducting lessons through 'Kalvi Tholaikatchi', a government-run TV channel.