Covid claims lives of 162 docs, 107 nurses

Covid claims lives of 162 docs, 107 nurses

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:03.02.2021

Covid-19 has claimed lives of 162 doctors, 107 nurses and 44 Asha workers in India till January 22, minister of state for health Ashwini Choubey told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday based on information received from the states on insurance claims under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.

Given the vulnerability of health and front-line workers at the forefront of the Covid fight, the government has also prioritised this category for receiving vaccination. So far, over 40 lakh healthcare workers have received the first dose of the Covid vaccine in the country, whereas the Centre has asked states to start inoculating front-line workers from this week.

“The process of insurance disbursement has been de-centralised under the PMGKP insurance scheme. Accordingly, the verification of a person who is affected or died due to Covid-19 vests with the state government and central government authorities concerned,” Choubey said.

The central insurance scheme provides a comprehensive cover of ₹50 lakh to healthcare providers, including community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact and care of patients suffering from Covid-19 infection and who are at risk of being impacted. It also includes accidental loss of life on account of contracting Covid-19.

The scheme also covers private hospital staff, volunteers, local urban bodies, contract daily wagers and outsourced staff requisitioned by states. The insurance provided is over and above any other cover being availed of by the beneficiary.

Pallavaram has toll free no. for plaints, but no feedback

Pallavaram has toll free no. for plaints, but no feedback

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:03.02.2021

Residents of areas under Pallavaram municipality have been given a toll free number they can call to complain about civic problems but they have no idea if anyone is taking action.

Official data shows that the municipality on the city’s southern fringes on GST Road, which comprises 80,000 households, outsourced operation of toll free number 18004251600 to a private firm, which acts as the consultant.

There are five public grievance operators and one supervisor in charge of ensuring complaints are taken from residents 24x7 in a system to maintain which the municipality pays ₹15 lakh annually.

Around 700 complaints are registered every month on the helpline but there is no feedback mechanism.

Social activist David Manohar on January 27 raised a complaint about aggressive stray dogs on Pillaiyar Koil Street. “I have no idea whether the issue has been resolved or not. When we call the number, they ask us to contact the municipality official,” he said.

A call to the number showed the process was exactly as Manohar said. The call centre executive gave the contact number of the sanitary inspector saying he would respond.

Pallavaram municipality commissioner C Mathivanan told TOI resolution of complaints depended on the issue.

“We got 248 complaints regarding street lights in January. A majority were regarding cables and were resolved within 48 hours,” he said.

However, complaints about water supply or a block in the main sewage line are more complex and could take up to 15 days to resolve, Mathivanan said.

The civic body was also in the process of collecting contact numbers of all households and linking them to their property tax numbers, so that they could be intimated when such issues were notified through the helpline, the commissioner added.

NEET fraud: Dentist, daughter get bail

NEET fraud: Dentist, daughter get bail

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2021

The Madras high court on Tuesday granted bail to a dentist and his MBBS aspirant daughter, who were arrested for forging NEET score to secure admission. Justice V Bharathidasan granted the relief while allowing the bail applications moved by K Balachandran and his daughter B Deeksha.

Balachandran and Deeksha, natives of Paramakudi, had allegedly forged the NEET scorecard and the provisional rank list to secure a medical seat for Deeksha. The girl had scored only 27 marks in the test, but appeared for the counselling claiming to be another aspirant, who had scored 610 marks. They submitted fake documents to the selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education to support their claim. However, the committee found that the documents were forged and filed a complaint with the Periamet police. Subsequently, the father-daughter duo failed to appear before the investigating officer despite repeated summons. On January 2, Balachandran was arrested from Bengaluru. When the bail applications came up for hearing, counsel for the petitioners submitted that Balachandran has been in jail for over 30 days now and even custodial inquiry of the duo was over. They further submitted to abide by any condition imposed by the court to enlarge them on bail. Recording the same, the court granted the relief and directed Balachandran to appear before the investigation officer daily till further orders.

Balachandran and Deeksha had allegedly forged the NEET scorecard and the provisional rank list to secure a medical seat for Deeksha. The girl appeared for the counselling claiming to be another aspirant

‘Rajini didn’t say he’s quitting politics forever’

‘Rajini didn’t say he’s quitting politics forever’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2021

Actor Rajinikanth’s associate and Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam founder Tamilaruvi Manian on Tuesday said the actor could not enter electoral politics now, but has not said he would never enter politics. He has also not disbanded the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), Manian said in a statement. “If tomorrow Rajinikanth says he is entering politics, Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam will associate itself with him on his journey. If Rajinikanth does not enter politics also, it will continue to function as a sister organization,” Manian said.

Interestingly, this was the first statement Manian made after December 30, 2020, when he had announced that he was quitting politics forever and would never return until his death. His statement came a day after Rajinikanth expressed his inability to enter electoral politics by launching his own party on December 29, 2020. “Political forces are trying to wean away RMM functionaries. While some of them have joined other parties, several others are looking for sanctuaries like migratory birds. While I do not want to fish in troubled waters, the party’s general council will meet on March 7 in Tirupur,” Manian said.

DMK walks out of assembly, to boycott session

DMK walks out of assembly, to boycott session

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2021

The DMK, the principal opposition, staged a walkout when governor Banwarilal Purohit started his address to the state assembly on Tuesday. The party was protesting against the governor’s inaction on the petition it had submitted listing out corruption charges against the ruling establishment. The party also questioned the governor’s inaction over a cabinet resolution urging the release of the seven convicts undergoing imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

“When the governor started his address, I drew his attention to the petition that we have submitted to him, listing corruption charges against the chief minister (Edappadi K Palaniswami), deputy chief minister (O Panneerselvam) and a few other ministers in the cabinet,” Stalin told reporters, at Kalaivanar Arangam, where the assembly session was held to ensure Covid protocols such as social distancing.

“He neither acted on our petition nor on the cabinet resolution seeking release of the convicts held in the Rajiv Gandhi case,” Stalin said. Instead of responding to the DMK’s questions, the governor referred to the central budget and the announcement of ₹1 lakh crore for the highways project, he said. “I have already termed the central budget a lollipop. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced setting up of AIIMS, Madurai in 2015. They enacted a drama of laying the foundation stone ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But not even a brick has been moved there so far,” Stalin said. “Hence, we have decided to boycott the entire assembly session,” he added.

PMK founder S Ramadoss too felt the governor’s address did not have anything new to offer, other than praising the state government for its efforts during Covid-19 and attracting industrial investments. “Other than giving a telephone number ‘1100’ to enable people to address their grievances, there was nothing new in the address. I hope there will be new announcements at least in the reply to the governor’s address,” Ramadoss said. MDMK general secretary Vaiko said the governor’s address merely reflected the failures of AIADMK’s 10-year rule in the state.

IN PROTEST: DMK president M K Stalin outside the Kalaivanar Arangam, where the assembly session was held, on Tuesday

Sasikala posters: AIADMK expels 3 more partymen

Sasikala posters: AIADMK expels 3 more partymen

Padmini.Sivarajah@timesgroup.com

Madurai/Trichy:03.02.2021

On a day the ruling AIADMK expelled three more party functionaries for putting up posters welcoming former general secretary V K Sasikala from prison, fresh posters, in praise of her, surfaced in many parts of Madurai and Sivaganga.

One set of posters describing her as the “permanent general secretary of AIADMK” appeared in many parts of Madurai city with due credit to K Bhoominathan, Amma Peravai secretary of 8th Block. Madurai district MGR Mandram deputy secretary T Thirumaran, Veerapandi panchayat president V Sugapriya Vijaykumar and another AIADMK functionary, A Muthukumaran, were among others who also put up posters. They hailed her as the epitome of sacrifice.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the chief minister and deputy chief minister in their capacity as party organisers, expelled the Andipatti west union MGR youth wing president Pannai M Chinnaraja for putting up posters hailing Sasikala. In Trichy and Mayiladuthurai, the party expelled two more functionaries for activities against the principles of the party. They were former district panchayat vice-president of Thiruverumbur union, Arasangudi A N Saminathan, and minorities’ welfare wing secretary of Sembanarkovil north union in Mayiladuthurai district, A Qutubuddin.

Meanwhile, son of deputy chief minister Panneerselvam, Jeya Pradeep, who created a flutter last week when he tweeted for Sasikala’s health, clarified that he had only wished Sasikala well on humanitarian grounds.

(With inputs from R Gokul in Trichy)

FRESH TROUBLE: A poster praising Sasikala in Madurai on Tuesday

Scrapped MTech courses: HC tells Anna University to explain

Scrapped MTech courses: HC tells Anna University to explain

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2021

The Madras high court on Tuesday made it clear that it would be constrained to stay the decision of Anna University in scrapping MTech Biotechnology and MTech Computational Biology programmes for the academic year 2020-21 if the university failed to give a proper explanation for arriving at the decision.

The courses have been scrapped due to a difference of opinion between the university and the AICTE in following reservation in admission.

Justice B Pugalendhi made the observation while adjourning the plea moved by R Chitra, a student of the university challenging the decision.

When the plea came up for hearing, counsel for the petitioner, Saravanan Annadurai, submitted that the decision to scrap the courses has to be stayed as it is against the interest of the students. However, the counsel representing the university sought time to get appropriate instruction from the university. “The university must give proper and appropriate explanation, or the court will be constrained to grant interim stay as sought by the petitioner,” the judge said and adjourned the hearing to February 3.

According to the petitioner, the central government’s insistence that the university follow only 49.5% reservation and not the state’s 69% quota policy in admission is arbitrary. “The entire infrastructure, resources, salaries of staff and the teaching faculty are all taken care of by the state government. The Centre through its department of biotechnology only provides Rs 12,000 for MTech Biotechnology and Rs 12,500 MTech Computational Biology as stipend. This will not give them any right to insist that only the reservation policy of the Centre should be followed,” she said.

Since the courses are sponsored by the central government, the AICTE wanted the university to follow the 49.5% reservation policy of the centre. But the state government has directed the university to follow 69% reservation. Due to this tug of war between two agenciesour future is at stake, the petitioner said.