Govt allows buses to operate with 100% seating capacity

Govt allows buses to operate with 100% seating capacity

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 08.12.2020

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday passed an order allowing state transport undertakings and private bus operators to run buses with 100% seating capacity. Till now, occupancy was restricted to 60% of the seating capacity.

This order will be applicable for those operators engaged to transport employees of private companies and schools and colleges as well. State transport undertakings can now operate more number of bus services as well by following all standard operating procedures as mandated in the May 31, 2020 government order. This decision comes after deliberations which indicated that buses need to have more available seats as there is an expected increase in the number of commuters.

Around one-third of its fleet strength has been kept idle by Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) which runs bus services in Chennai. MTC owns 3,300 buses.

Though patronage has been improving, officials said many services, especially on uneconomical routes run half-empty even during peak hours.

The transport corporation was operating 600 extra buses to ensure that the standard operating procedures could be followed.

Now, with all seats allowed to be filled, it is likely that the number of services may increase.

This order will be applicable for those operators engaged to transport employees of private companies and schools and colleges as well

Phone seller delivers empty box, arrested

Phone seller delivers empty box, arrested

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 08.12.2020

An 18-year-old student of an arts college was arrested for cheating a woman while selling a phone. The boy had handed over the woman an empty box and collected cash.

Police said Padmapriya, 45, a resident of Taylors Road, Kodambakkam, was browsing the internet for phones at a cheaper price.

Padmapriya came across an advertisement and contacted the seller. She gave her address and asked the person to deliver her the phone. The seller said he would collect the money after delivering the phone, said an investigating officer.

On Sunday morning, a youth came to her house, handed over a box and took ₹20,000. When Padmapriya opened the box, she found it empty. She raised alarm and her neighbours caught hold of the man. They bashed him up and handed him over to the police.

Police identified the man as Nithesh Kumar of Kottur. He was arrested and produced before a magistrate who sent him to judicial custody.

Tejas Exp rolls into Egmore stn with severed leg

Tejas Exp rolls into Egmore stn with severed leg

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 08.12.2020

A leg, severed from the thigh of a man’s body, was recovered from the undercarriage of a compartment of a Tejas Express train which arrived at Egmore railway station on Monday morning.

The government railway police from the station sent the leg to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for an autopsy. The GRP officials sent a message to all railway police stations seeking information about any death on the railway tracks in the state.

Preliminary inquiries revealed that a man, aged about 40, was found dead near the Dindigul railway station and a GRP team recovered the body. Police informed the Chennai GRP team that one leg was missing from the body.

The Tejas express train started from Madurai on Sunday night and it dragged the leg from Dindigul to Chennai Egmore for about 431km, said police.

The police team has taken samples from the leg which has been preserved. Doctors will check if it was severed from the body recovered from Dindigul.

The government railway police have registered a case.

Chennai may get light rain for two days

Chennai may get light rain for two days

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:08.12.2020

After two storms and the second highest rainfall recorded at the Nungambakkam weather station since 2015, the city’s weather may still not be calm. It rained on Monday night in some areas and weathermen have forecast light spells of rain for at least the next 48 hours.

Private forecasters and bloggerssaidthestate may see a break in monsoon for about eightdaysstarting from December 9.

On Monday, IMD said the low pressure area over the Gulf of Mannar, which has weakened in stages from Cyclone Burevi, has become less marked. “However, the associated cyclonic circulation persists over the same area and now extends up to 3.1km above mean sea level,” said IMD’s bulletin.

For the next 48 hours, the agency has forecast light rain in some areasof thecity with partly cloudy skies. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 30o C and 24 o C. As for the rest of the state, the agency has forecast light to moderate rain to occur at a few places for the next two days.

As of Monday, Nungambakkam had recorded 1003.7mm since October 1, which is 249.7mm excess for the season so far. The previous highest was in 2015 when the city weather station registered around 1663mm that resulted in floods. Meenambakkam has so far recorded 896.3mm since October 1 which is 211mm in excess. Other locations which recorded high rainfall includes DGP office with 1451.5mm, Red Hills 986.2mm, Tambaram 905.9mm, Chembarambakkam 706.5mm, Mahabalipuram 955.4mm and Kelambakkam 787.8mm.

As of Monday 8.30am, Nungambakkam recorded 3.8mm and Meenambakkam 7.7mm. Weathermen said the city has been receiving some morning spells and while the rest of the day is relatively dry due to the incoming easterly winds converging closer to the coast during the day and moving to interior regions later in the day. “This is likely to continue for the next two days,” an official said.

WET WEATHER TO REMAIN: It will continue to rain in Chennai

‘Are new govt medical college buildings following norms?’

‘Are new govt medical college buildings following norms?’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:08.12.2020

Wondering whether guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC) are being followed while constructing medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, the Madras high court has directed the state health secretary to file a detailed report on the compliance of building norms.

A division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice R Hemalatha passed the interim order on a public interest writ petition moved by N Rajasekaran of Tiruvarur for a direction to the state to constitute a committee to supervise and find out whether such norms are followed while constructing new government medical colleges.

Admitting the plea, the bench directed the health secretary to file his response by February 11, 2021.

According to the petitioner, the NMC has prescribed norms for construction of buildings for medical college, hospital and even auditorium in such institutions which have been published in the gazette of India as early as April 1999.

The rules provide for the requirement of built-up area in consonance with the sanctioned strength of students in the medical college. It clearly states the extent in which the administrative block, residential quarters and hostel have to be constructed for establishing a new medical college hospital, the petitioner said.

While so, the state government is constructing new medical colleges in the state in violation of such rules and to the whims and fancies of the PWD contractors wasting several hundred crores of public money, he added.

Claiming that his representation made to the authorities concerned in connection with the issue has not has not been responded to, the petitioner wanted the court to interfere and restrain the state from violating the building rules.

The state government is constructing new medical colleges as per the whims and fancies of PWD contractors wasting public money, the petitioner said

Ordering probe against Surappa unfair, says guv in letter to TN

Ordering probe against Surappa unfair, says guv in letter to TN

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:08.12.2020

Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit has written a letter to chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami expressing displeasure over his government setting up a committee, headed by a retired judge, to probe the alleged “financial irregularities and abuse of power” by Anna University vice chancellor M K Surappa, multiple sources told TOI.

The governor had certified the good conduct of the vice-chancellor, who was appointed by him in April 2018, to run the premier institution. “In his letter to the chief minister last week, the governor said the inquiry is not correct and needs to be closed. The state government neither acknowledged nor has it replied yet,” sources said.

The government had appointed Madras high court retired judge justice Kalaiyarasan on November 11 to head the probe committee after it found prima-facie all the allegations against the vicechancellor, including the ₹200 crore corruption charges, were serious in nature. The higher education department issued the order for a committee after the chief minister gave the go-ahead.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit & Anna Univ VC M K Surappa

Guv upset that state govt formed committee without his knowledge

Chennai: “The governor, who is also chancellor of the universities, is upset because the state government constituted the committee without his knowledge,” said another source. Academicians say if the government could start an inquiry against the vice-chancellor based on anonymous petitions, the governor could grant sanction to prosecute the ministers based on complaints received from the public.

Incidentally, Purohit has still not cleared the bills to bifurcate Anna University, despite lapse of three months of its unanimous passage in the legislative assembly. He took more than a month to give assent to 7.5% NEET quota bill and not before the state government issued an order.

On a public interest litigation seeking to quash the government order on setting up the inquiry committee, the Madras high court on Friday added chancellor Banwarilal Purohit as a party in the case and adjourned it to December 9 for further hearing. The state government earlier objected to the vice-chancellor seeking to get impleaded in the case.

Three months since bill to bifurcate Anna University was passed in the state assembly, the governor is yet to clear it

No permission for medical colleges to reopen in Telangana

No permission for medical colleges to reopen in Telangana

To this effect, Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), Warangal, has directed the medical colleges to reopen only after the government releases orders with specific guidelines.

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By TelanganaToday | Published: 3rd Dec 2020 8:28 pm

Hyderabad: In view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the State government on Thursday has decided not to allow medical colleges to reopen in Telangana.

To this effect, Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), Warangal, has directed the medical colleges to reopen only after the government releases orders with specific guidelines.

On November 25, the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to Chief Secretary, Somesh Kumar urged the State government to take necessary measures and open medical colleges for undergraduate MBBS students of 2021-22 academic year in Telangana on or before December 1.

The MOHFW had permitted reopening of medical colleges following the recommendations by National Medical Commission (NMC) which also released academic schedule and advised that sufficient number of non-Covid beds be made available in teaching hospitals to facilitate undergraduate medical training.

However, certain Covid guidelines and conditions that were issued by the NMC made it difficult for medical colleges in the State to follow. Moreover, parents of MBBS students in the State had favoured sending their children to colleges after a vaccine was available. As a result, the State government decided not allow medical colleges to reopen.