College principal on sit-in protest for basic facilities

College principal on sit-in protest for basic facilities

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Puducherry:21.01.2021

The principal of a government college in Puducherry has launched a novel protest to highlight the problems students and faculty face.

From Wednesday, Sasi Kanta Dash, principal of Tagore Government Arts College, refused to use his chamber and instead set up office on the floor near a bust of Tagore at the entrance to the institution. He’s also decided to spend his nights at the college until the government fulfills a 12-point charter of demands.

These demands are to provide basic amenities for students such as classrooms with adequate seating, toilets and common rooms for girl students, and renovation of the computer laboratory, physics laboratory and auditorium. From just 647 students in 2016, the college no had more than 14,000 students, but infrastructure had not kept pace. The result: The 45-year-old dilapidated auditorium now houses three classrooms without partitions. The toilets for girl students are inadequate and computer and physics laboratories have not been upgraded. "How will the toilet facilities set up for 600-odd students cater to the needs of 14,000-odd students. Within 30 minutes the toiletsrun dry and we have to call the services of water tankers. The auditorium is dilapidated and if any untoward incident happens the teachers must not be made scapegoats," said the principal. He said repeated pleas to the officials concerned fell on deaf ears.

"My conscience does not allow me to sit in the principal's chamber while all my students and staff members are suffering in this pitiful environment. Therefore from January 20, I shall discharge my official duty by sitting on the floor of the college and staying in the college day and night till the grievances are met. I wish to categorically declare that my action is not a protest against the government or any authority but an expression of the unbearable anguish I feel when I see my students and staff members suffer," said Dash.

From Wednesday, Sasi Kanta Dash, principal of Tagore Government Arts College, refused to use his chamber and instead set up office on the floor near a bust of Tagore at the entrance to the institution

Sasikala admitted to hospital in B’luru with fever, breathlessness

Sasikala admitted to hospital in B’luru with fever, breathlessness

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

21.01.2021

Expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, who is about to complete her four-year jail term in the disproportionate assets case, was shifted to a hospital in Bengaluru after she suffered fever and breathlessness on Wednesday. Parappana Agrahara prison officials shifted Sasikala to Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College Hospital around 5.30pm.

"Sasikala, 63, with comorbidities of hypertension, diabetes and hypothyroidism has been admitted with cough and fever," Dr Manoj Kumar HV, dean and director, Bowring hospital, said late at night.

Sasikala, who is slated to be released from jail on January 27, was put in an isolation ward after she had fever and breathlessness. A Rapid Antigen Test of her throat swab sample tested negative for Covid-19. However, the results of her RT-PCR tests are awaited. “She’s being treated with high flow nasal oxygen. Necessary investigations are being done and results are awaited,” said hospital medical superintendent Dr Vijayalakshmi GN.

When Sasikala was brought to the hospital, her oxygen saturation level was 80%, as against the normal of 95% and above. “With oxygen support, she is maintaining oxygen saturation level of 97 %,” the superintendent told TOI.

Prison officials have already officially communicated the date of Sasikala’s release to her advocates. However, there is no clarity on when her fellow convicts in the case — sister-in-law J Ilavarasi and nephew V N Sudhakaran — will be released. All three were imposed ₹10 crore each as fine, besides four-year jail term. Failure to pay fine entails another year in the prison.

Sudhakaran’s jail term ended on January 14. “We wonder why he hasn’t paid the fine as he has been fighting a legal battle for early release,” an official said. A special court in Bengaluru had deducted 89 days of imprisonment of Sudhakaran, permitting him to walk out any time after paying ₹10 crore. Ilavarasi, slated to be released in February, too has not paid the fine.

“Sasikala’s release formalities will begin on January 26. An official communication will be made to Sasikala, asking her to get ready to walk out on January 27. That morning, she has to sign a few documents, including the prison register she had signed on February 14, 2017,” prison officials said.

Asked if she had deposited any property or gold, prison officials said, “There was no gold ornament on her when she walked into prison. She didn’t have any cash either.”

While the charges against the prime accused, J Jayalalithaa, lapsed due to her death before the Supreme Court judgment on February 14, 2017, the three other convicts walked into central prison the next day.

Sasikala paid the fine in November 2020 and sought an early release. In her application to the home department, she sought remission, enabling an early release. The papers are with the home department.

HEALTH SCARE: Parappana Agrahara prison officials shift Sasikala to Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College Hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday

I-T searches properties of private varsity

I-T searches properties of private varsity

Pan-TN Raids Initiated Over Tax Evasion

Mayilvaganan.V@timesgroup.com

21.01.2021

Income tax department sleuths descended on several properties linked to a private university and a missionary institute across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

Sources said searches were conducted in 28 places in Coimbatore and Chennai belonging to Karunya University and Jesus Calls, a missionary institution. The simultaneous searches were conducted by 300 personnel split into several teams drawn from the I-T department in Chennai, Trichy, Madurai Coimbatore and Kerala.

In Coimbatore, searches were conducted at Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences run by the university, Karunya Christian School’s Avinashi Road campus as well as residences of some of the senior officials of the varsity and Jesus Calls ministry.

Though I-T department officials were not available for comments, sources said the searches were due to alleged tax evasion. Searches were on at the time of going to the press.

The searches shocked the students and faculty members of Karunya University, located on the outskirts of the city, on Siruvani Road. Karunya Institute of Technology was established as an engineering college in 1986, while Jesus Calls ministry was founded in 1962.

It is the third such raid in the district in the past two months. In November, I-T officials had raided three places belonging to DMK’s Coimbatore west district in-charge R Krishnan in Kalapatti. It was also part of a state-wide raid related to an educational institution. It was reported that the raid was carried out at Krishnan’s house after the sleuths found a land transaction between him and the chairman of an educational institution in Erode.

Corrupt govt staff are like weeds, must be nipped early: Court

Corrupt govt staff are like weeds, must be nipped early: Court

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  21.01.2021

Government servants who demand bribe are like weeds that need to be nipped early for the general public to have faith in the system, observed a special court in Chengalpet while sentencing a city traffic police inspector to three years imprisonment under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Iyappan, who was with the Valasaravakkam police station, had demanded bribe from the staff of a contractor hired by the city corporation after seizing his two-wheeler.

According to the prosecution, during the early hours of November 19, 2018, Thangadurai was overseeing stormwater drain work along Arcot Road when the inspector seized his two-wheeler stating they did not have police permission to carry out the work. Despite several attempts to meet the inspector at the station, he was unavailable, and a week later, when Thangadurai requested the two-wheeler, the inspector demanded ₹10,000 bribe. The contractor alerted DVAC (Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption) officials and Iyappan was caught red-handed while taking ₹8,000 near a traffic signal along Arcot Road, the prosecution submitted. The prosecution submitted 17 witness statements.

In response, the counsel for the tainted police official submitted that the prosecution has not submitted enough evidence to prove the allegations against the inspector and contended that the complaint itself was fabricated due to previous enmity. The counsel further argued that the seized money was not sent for chemical analysis.

After perusing all submissions and documents, A K K Rajini, principal sub-judge, Chengalpet, said the arguments by the inspector’s counsel were far-fetched and stated that if the inspector did not have the intention to take a bribe, there was no reason for him to have seized the two-wheeler and kept it in custody for over a week. Based on the evidences submitted, the special court held Iyappan guilty and sentenced him to three years imprisonment with a fine of ₹10,000.

117 MBBS seats, 459 BDS seats wasted due to delay in intake

117 MBBS seats, 459 BDS seats wasted due to delay in intake

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  21.01.2021 

At least five MBBS seats in government medical colleges and 112 seats in self-financing medical institutions are vacant in TN this year after two rounds of counselling. This is not because of the dearth of qualified students but because of the state’s own admission policies and “early” deadline for admission procedure due to the pandemic.

The state selection committee says it will not be able to allot these seats as the deadline set by the National Medical Commission for the admission process ended on January 15. Besides, 12 undergraduate dental seats in government colleges and 447 management seats in self-financing dental colleges are vacant. In the second round, students were allowed to “upgrade” seats — take admission in colleges where seats weren’t available during first allotment. The committee could not fill the vacancies created, particularly in government colleges, with giving the option of “upgrade” to other students.

On January 15, when the second round of counselling ended, one seat each at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital and Government Vellore Medical College Hospital and three at Rajah Muthiah Medical College were vacant. “All seats in colleges were taken in the first round. During the second round, a student allotted a seat in Kilpauk Medical College, opted for Christian Medical College. We can’t allot the vacant seat to the next student without giving “upgrade option” to all students below his rank,” said selection committee secretary Dr G Selvarajan. The council didn’t have time to fill 112 lapsed NRI MBBS seats and 469 BDS seats. The state has set a separate fee structure for lapsed NRI seats, he said. The counselling process was also slowed because officials had to ensure pandemic protocols were followed.

The directorate of medical education has now moved the Supreme Court seeking additional time for mop-up counselling. “At least 23,000 students had applied for government quota seats and more than 14,000 students had applied for management quota seats. A week-long mop up will give others a chance,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayanababu. The case is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday.

While states such as Karnataka have also reported vacancies in MBBS/BDS seats this year, student counsellors say TN has not just been “slow” with counselling, but also did not plan ahead of time.

5 months on, MTC patronage yet to touch pre-Covid levels

5 months on, MTC patronage yet to touch pre-Covid levels

Reopening Of Schools Pushes Footfalls To 18L A Day; Corporation Has Not Deployed Full Fleet

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

21.01.2021

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation resumed bus services in Chennai five months ago, but daily passenger footfalls crossed the 20-lakh mark only on Tuesday.

While this can be largely attributed to post Pongal crowd and reopening of schools for Classes 10 and 12, average daily patronage for MTC buses remains at 17 lakh-18 lakh, almost half of pre-lockdown levels.

With many offices yet to reopen, ticket sales on key stretches like Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) — where the number of services dropped from 450 a day to 250 a day — and Mount-Poonamallee Road were much lower than normal, said an MTC official.

With local trains too resuming operations, demand for MTC buses along GST Road, Avadi High Road and Marina Beach Road too dropped. As a result, MTC has diverted some buses to suburban areas like Walajabad (579A), Thiruvallur (572) and parts of north Chennai.

Patronage for small buses too has dipped, forcing MTC to operate just 110-120 of the 200 buses. Operated along interior roads to boost last mile connectivity, these buses are causing heavy losses to a corporation already under a financial crisis.

Official data shows that MTC, on average, spends ₹40 per kilometre to operate a small bus, but is not able to get even half of this back through ticket sales. Passengers on the other hand say that only if the timings are regular can MTC gain their trust and more of them will start using the services.

Share auto drivers have taken advantage of the prevailing situation and increased their rates from ₹5-₹10 per head in areas where MTC has reduced services. T Sadagopan, a transportation activist from Avadi, says there is so much anger when MTC increases fares by ₹2-₹4, but there is literally nothing when it comes to share autos. “Why doesn’t the government take any initiative to regularise this mode of public transport,” he wonders.

The cab industry appears happy. Drivers in Chennai say there was a 25% increase in bookings last week. Apart from the fact that it was a festival weekend, there were two ‘muhurtham days’ (considered auspicious for weddings) last week, increasing their daily income to ₹3,500.

Excluding those days, the average daily booking increased from mere two or three last month to 10-12 now. “A majority of these bookings are in core city areas like Anna Nagar, Adyar, Royapuram and railway stations. More importantly, 100-odd business trips happen from Airport to industries in suburbs every day. This has boosted the morale of drivers,” said T Ramanujam of the Tamil Nadu Call Taxi Drivers Association.

CAB DRIVERS SAID THEY HAVE SEEN A 25% INCREASE IN BOOKINGS IN THE PAST WEEK DUE TO THE FESTIVAL AND WEDDING SEASON

தொடரும் 'சர்வர்' பிரச்னை ரேஷன் கார்டுதாரர்கள் அவதி

தொடரும் 'சர்வர்' பிரச்னை ரேஷன் கார்டுதாரர்கள் அவதி

Added : ஜன 19, 2021 23:02

சென்னை:ரேஷன் கடைகளில், விற்பனை முனைய கருவியை இயக்கும், 'சர்வரில்' ஏற்பட்ட பிரச்னையால், இம்மாதத்திற்கான அத்தியாவசிய பொருட்களை வாங்க முடியாமல், ரேஷன் கார்டுதாரர்கள், ஏமாற்றத்துடன் திரும்பிச் சென்றனர்.

தமிழகத்தில், 2020 அக்டோபர், 1ல், 'ஒரே நாடு; ஒரே ரேஷன் கார்டு' திட்டம் அமல்படுத்தப்பட்டது. அத்திட்டத்தின் கீழ், ரேஷன் கடைகளில், கார்டுதாரர்களின் கைரேகை பதிவு செய்து, பொருட்கள் வழங்கப்பட்டன.கைரேகை பதிவில் தொழில்நுட்ப பிரச்னை ஏற்பட்டதால், அக்., இறுதியில், அத்திட்டம், தற்காலிகமாக நிறுத்தப்பட்டு, ரேஷன் கார்டு, 'ஸ்கேன்' செய்வது உள்ளிட்ட பழைய முறைப்படியே பொருட்கள் வழங்கப்பட்டன.

பின், விரைவாக கைரேகையை பதிவு செய்யும் வகையில், தொழில்நுட்பம் மேம்படுத்தப்பட்டு, டிசம்பர் இறுதியில், மீண்டும் செயல்படுத்தப்பட்டது.இருப்பினும், அரிசி கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கு, தலா, 2,500 ரூபாய் ரொக்கம் அடங்கிய பொங்கல் பரிசு தொகுப்பு வழங்கும் போது, பிரச்னை ஏற்படக்கூடாது என்பதற்காக, கைரேகை பதிவுக்கு பதில், பழைய முறையே பின்பற்றப்பட்டது.

ரேஷன் கடைகளில், நேற்று முன்தினம் முதல், இம்மாதத்திற்கான ரேஷன் பொருட்களும், விடுபட்ட கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கு, பொங்கல் பரிசு தொகுப்பும் வழங்கப்படுகின்றன.இந்நிலையில், ரேஷன் ஊழியர்கள் கடைகளை திறந்து, விற்பனை முனைய கருவியை, 'ஆன்' செய்த போது, அதன் மென்பொருள் இயக்கம் செயல்படவில்லை. தொடர்ந்து, அவர்களால், பொருட்கள் விற்பனையை பதிவு செய்ய முடியவில்லை.

இதனால், காலை முதல் சுட்டெரிக்கும் வெயிலில், கால்கடுக்க காத்திருந்தும், பொருட்களை வாங்க முடியாமல், கார்டுதாரர்கள், ஏமாற்றத்துடன் திரும்பி, சென்றனர். டிசம்பர் மாதத்திலும், அதே பிரச்னை காரணமாக, கார்டுதாரர்கள் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தனர். ரேஷனில், 'சர்வர்' பிரச்னை தொடர் கதையாவதற்கு, ஒப்பந்த நிறுவனத்தின் அலட்சியமே காரணம் என்ற, புகார் எழுந்துள்ளது.