TN to wrap up1st dose for health staff by Feb 20

SHOT OF HOPE

TN to wrap up1st dose for health staff by Feb 20

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.02.2021

Healthcare providers, who have not taken the Covid-19 vaccine yet, will be asked to visit any government vaccine centres in alphabetic order as per their first name. Those who do not turn up will be moved to the “general category” on the CoWIN portal, the directorate of public health said.

Only 1.74 lakh healthcare providers have taken the vaccine though there are 5.5 lakh registrations. “We have directions from the Centre to complete vaccinations for healthcare providers by February 20 and start preparations for the second dose. The programme is voluntary but we cannot wait endlessly for people to shun their hesitancy,” said director of public health Dr T S Selvavinayagam.

Directions have been given to all district health authorities to vaccinate healthcare workers walking into any centre. “To restrict crowds, we are asking them to walk in according to alphabetical order. There will be two mop days on February 21 and 22 when all healthcare workers can walk in for the first dose. If they don’t, their names will be moved to the general public category,” he said.

On Tuesday, 7,436 healthcare workers, 1,480 frontline workers and 1,634 policemen took the vaccine, taking the day’s recipient tally to 10,550. The tally was higher compared to 8,619 the previous day.

Meanwhile, the state added 469 cases and four deaths to the state registry. There were 4,328 people still under treatment for the viral infection. While Chennai reported two deaths, its neighbours Chengalpet and Tiruvallur reported one death each.

339 vaccinated in Puducherry

The directorate of health and family welfare services administered vaccines to 317 healthcare and 32 frontline workers in Puducherry on Tuesday when 35 new cases and zero deaths were reported. With 37 recoveries, the number of active cases came down to 307. TNN

Pallavaram municipality is dumping raw sewage into lake again: Residents

Pallavaram municipality is dumping raw sewage into lake again: Residents

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.02.2021 

Even as a case is pending before the National Green Tribunal, activists of Kovilambakkam panchayat union caught on camera the Pallavaram municipality discharging raw untreated sewage into the Keelkatalai lake surplus channel from the Keelkatalai sewage pumping station.

Two large hoses were laid out for to transfer the raw sewage and the dumping has been on for more than a month, the union said, adding that a complaint has been registered with the CM cell and with concerned authorities. Putheri lake in Pallavaram municipality flows into the Keelkattalai lake and the channel then enters Kovilambakkam and ends at Pallikaranai.

“Openings have been made at several points along the canal to discharge sewage. We have taken photos, videos with GPS with date and time stamp and intend to submit to the NGT in the ongoing pollution case of the Kovilambakkam canal. We will demand compensation for the pollution as per the Supreme Court orders,” said J Sankar, coordinator of Federation of Sunnambu Kolathur Residents Welfare Associations. “Despite no rainfall for more than a month, the canal is brimming due to huge sewage inflow from the municipality and it can be inspected at anytime. We demand immediate stoppage of this illegal act and penal action on the erring officials.”

Poor maintenance of pumps, failure of power backup facilities, pipeline breakage are the main reasons behind the dumping, residents said. The NGT had taken up the case suo moto after a TOI report in January and sought a report from the authorities. However, there was a delay in submission and the panel was asked to submit the report this month.

The Pallavaram municipality filed an affidavit saying that there was no discharge from the municipality. Municipality commissioner C Mathivanan told TOI that all 70,000 households have underground drainage connections. “There is no way any sewage is illegally being pumped. Moreover, if there is some sewage, it is the water that is overflowing through manholes and getting mixed with the storm water drain,” he said.

At Kovilambakkam panchayat, residents said there was no sewage discharge into the lake as they used septic tanks and soak pits. The PWD, which owns the canal, remains a mute spectator.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: A screengrab from a video shot by residents shows the discharge of raw sewage into Keelkatalai lake surplus channel

Five members of family killed as car, truck collide, one arrested

Five members of family killed as car, truck collide, one arrested

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.02.2021

Five members of a family died after the car they were travelling in rammed a truck at Padalam in Kancheepuram district in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to police, the deceased were identified as P Subramani, 85, a retired PWD official from Karayanchavadi in Poonamallee, his wife S Indirani, 75, a retired head mistress, their daughter, S Mahalakshmi, 51, granddaughter S Shanthini, 18, and driver J Paul Dinakaran, 24, from Mangadu.

Police said that the family had gone to Samayapuram temple in Trichy on Monday and was returning when the accident happened. The family was travelling in their own car and Paul Dinakaran was hired to drive it.

When the vehicle was going on Trichy-Chennai National Highway near Athimanam village at Madurantakam in Chengalpet district around 2.30am, the driver of a truck that was moving in front of the car applied sudden brake. Paul lost control and rammed the truck. All the occupants in the car died on the spot and the car was completely damaged.

Soon after the accident, the truck driver escaped abandoning the vehicle.

Passersby alerted the highways patrol police who with the help of the registration number of the sand-laden truck arrested its driver P Thangasami, 31, from Manapparai. Police said that the driver had to apply brake as another car moving ahead of him suddenly slowed down.

Passersby rushed all the five to a nearby government hospital where they were declared dead. The bodies were sent to Chengalpattu Government Hospital for postmortem. Police are checking whether Thangasami dozed off and applied the brakes. He was also speeding on the stretch, police said. Following the accident, police are sticking flickering stickers on the back of vehicles to alert the ones trailing them.

TEMPLE TRIP TURNS TRAGIC: The mangled remains of the car

Hold classes only for students of any 2 years in a day, colleges told

Hold classes only for students of any 2 years in a day, colleges told

Quarantine Of 14 Days Must For Hostel Students

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.02.2021 

Classes of students of any two years alone should be held on any given day and hostels students should be under a14-day quarantine even if they test negative for Covid-19, the state government has directed arts and science colleges and polytechnics across the state. In engineering colleges, if there is space constraints to maintain social distancing, any two years have to attend classes in a day.

In an effort to ensure social distancing, the government came out with a fresh set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) a day after institutions across the state reopened for all under graduate and post-graduate students. According to the new guidelines, no more than 50% of the students should be present on the campus at any given point.

Institutions have also been asked to break each class into multiple sections, with one in every three seats kept vacant, and allowed to extend teaching hours as per the requirements.

While advising institutions to generally avoid holding cultural and sports activities, the government said such events could be conducted if physical distancing could be ensured. The SOP also mandated institutions to maintain air-conditioning in the 24°C to 30°C range.

In view of the Covid cluster at IIT Madras, the state government has added new protocols with regard to reopening hostels. “Since many hostel students come from different locations, they shall remain in quarantine and selfmonitor their health for a period of 14 days before being allowed to attend classes (even if they bring a negative test report),” chief secretary Rajeev Ranjan said in the order.

Sharing of rooms will not be allowed in hostels, meals should be served in small batches and takeaway options made available for students and staff. “Hostels should define the number of students in dining halls at any point in time. Mess timings should be increased to avoid overcrowding,” the order said.

Several college principals, however, said maintaining 14 days quarantine was not practically possible. “We can maintain less than 50% student strength by dividing classes into batches or asking only science students to attend physical classes. But, quarantining hostel students for 14 days is difficult,” said one principal.

Another principal, on a condition of anonymity, said the government was allowing 100% occupancy in buses and theatres but asking colleges to maintain 50% strength.

Anna University released a staggered academic schedule to maintain just one student per room in hostels after classes for first year students began on Monday. The state government also permitted teacher training institutes to function with up to 25 students per classroom. The authorities have also been allowed to conduct typewriting exams in March and April by following Covid-19 protocols.

HC mulls special team to investigate NEET marks fraud

HC mulls special team to investigate NEET marks fraud

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.02.2021 

Why should a special investigation team (SIT) not be formed to probe allegations of answer sheet tampering in NEET, asked the Madras high court on Tuesday.

Justice B Pugalendhi made the observation while hearing a plea moved by K S Manoj, a student from Coimbatore, alleging that his answer sheet had been tampered and two different marks were found for his single answer sheet.

According to the answer sheet downloaded from the official NEET website on October 15, his score was 594. But as per the answer sheet made available on October 17, his mark was 248, he said. When the plea came up for hearing, additional solicitor general R Shankaranarayanan submitted that the National Information Commission (NIC) is the competent authority to probe the allegation.

The petitioner, however, said probe by an independent agency is required as the allegations point out irregularities in the entire examination system.Tothis,theASGsubmitted that all the sheets that are provided by the agency cannot be manipulated since they are chemically treated and that in this case, there are signatures of two separate invigilators and that requires a thorough investigation to establish the case. NIC is also an independent agency, he said.

Recording the submissions, the court wondered as to why an SIT comprising representatives from the CBI, NIC and the state government should not be constituted to probe the allegation. After the ASG submitted that there is no need for constitution of an SIT with a state representative, the court directed the petitioner and the National Testing Agency to file their respective written arguments and adjourned the plea to February18.

Modi has developed habit of lying: CM

Modi has developed habit of lying: CM

Saibal.Gupta@timesgroup.com

Kolkata: 09.02.2021 

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday charged PM Narendra Modi with having “developed the habit of telling lies” and asserted that “Gujarat would not be able to rule Bengal”.

“I will be back. Some may harbour doubts but I will be back (in office),” Banerjee told MLAs during this assembly’s final session before the polls.

PM Modi, while speaking at a political programme in Haldia on Sunday, accused the Bengal government of not sharing with the Centre the farmers’ database for PM Kisan Nidhi benefits. “Modiji has developed the habit of telling lies,” Banerjee said in her response to Modi’s allegations. “Our database will not match the central government’s. Our criterion is different from theirs. We provide financial assistance to even farmers who own a cottah of land. But the Centre’s criterion for availing this scheme is a minimum of two acres of land. We have asked them to send their database so that we can verify it. So far 22 lakh farmers have registered for this programme. They have sent us a list of only 6 lakh farmers; we have already verified 2.5 lakh,” Banerjee said.

CM Banerjee greets MLAs on Monday, the last day of the assembly

Didi: We will come back with a huge mandate

Mamata Banerjee then spoke of the PM’s advance relief of Rs 1,000 crore during the Amphan disaster. “The PM came once after Amphan and announced an advance of Rs 1,000 crore. But the money came from our disaster management fund. We spent more than Rs 2,452 crore on this,” she said.

Banerjee mocked the BJPled Centre’s new-found love for Bengal and said she had never come across such a “cruel and heartless government” in her life. “They are suddenly in love with Bengal now that elections are approaching. They have even started speaking in Bengali. They are talking of Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. They are even saying Tagore was born in Santiniketan,” Banerjee said, having a dig at the BJP’s repeated slip-ups regarding Bengal’s icons.

“Let them bring a thousand people but Gujarat will not be able to rule Bengal. We will come back with a huge mandate,” she said, referring to the BJP’s plans to fly in a host of leaders from other states, including Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.

A small section of “about 1%” might have indulged in irregularities during Amphan relief distribution, Banerjee said. “But 99% did their work diligently,” she added.

Banerjee also spoke of the huge response to the Duare Sarkar scheme. “We have distributed 18 lakh caste certificates, 15 lakh old-age and widow pensions,” she said.

மரத்தில் கார் மோதி விபத்து ஒரே குடும்பத்தில் 4 பேர் பலி

மரத்தில் கார் மோதி விபத்து ஒரே குடும்பத்தில் 4 பேர் பலி

Added : பிப் 09, 2021 01:14

திண்டிவனம் : திண்டிவனம் அருகே, மரத்தில் கார் மோதியதில், ஒரே குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த நான்கு பேர் உயிரிழந்தனர்.

சென்னை, மேடவாக்கத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர் செந்தில்நாதன், 49. ஐ.டி., கம்பெனி ஊழியர். இவரது மனைவி இந்துமதி, 42; சென்னை சேப்பாக்கத்தில், உள்ள மாநில வேளாண் இயக்குனர் அலுவலகத்தில், வேளாண் அலுவலராக பணியாற்றி வந்தார். மகன் முகிலன், 17; பிளஸ் 1 படித்து வந்தார்.மூவரும், கள்ளக்குறிச்சி மாவட்டம், மாடூர் கிராமத்தில் உள்ள உறவினர் வீட்டு திருமண நிகழ்ச்சியில் கலந்து கொண்டனர். நேற்று காலை, 9:30 மணிக்கு, சென்னைக்கு, 'மாருதி பலீனோ' காரில் புறப்பட்டனர்.

இவர்களுடன், சென்னை ஐ.சி.எப்., பில் பணியாற்றி வந்த செந்தில்நாதனின் அண்ணன் குருநாதன், 54; பயணம் செய்தார். காரை செந்தில்நாதன் ஓட்டினார்.காலை, 11:50 மணி அளவில், திண்டிவனம் அடுத்த பாதிரி கிராமத்தில் உள்ள வளைவு அருகே வந்தபோது, திடீரென கட்டுப்பாட்டை இழந்த கார், சாலையோர மரத்தில் மோதியது.காரின் முன் பகுதி நொறுங்கியதில், செந்தில்நாதன், இந்துமதி, குருநாதன் ஆகியோர் சம்பவ இடத்திலேயே இறந்தனர்.முகிலன், திண்டிவனம் அரசு மருத்துவமனைக்கு அழைத்துச் செல்லும் வழியில் இறந்தார். ஒலக்கூர் போலீசார் விசாரிக்கின்றனர்.

ஆபத்தான வளைவுவிபத்து நடந்த பகுதியில் ஏற்கனவே, மரத்தில் கார் மோதியதில் ஒரே குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த ஆறு பேர் இறந்தனர். இதனால், அந்த இடத்தில் ஆபத்தான வளைவு என்று எச்சரிக்கை போர்டு வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இருப்பினும், நேற்று அதே இடத்தில் நான்கு பேர் இறந்துள்ளனர்.தாம்பூல பையால் துப்பு துலங்கியதுவிபத்து நடந்த இடத்திற்கு, நெடுஞ்சாலைத் துறை ரோந்து போலீசார் உடனே சென்றனர்.

இறந்தவர்கள் யார் என்ற விபரம் தெரியவில்லை. காரில், திருமண நிகழ்ச்சியில் கொடுத்த தாம்பூல பை இருந்தது. அதில் திருமணம் நடந்த இடம் கள்ளக்குறிச்சி அருகே உள்ள மாடூர் என்று இருந்தது.உடனே போலீசார், ஒயர்லஸ் மூலம் கள்ளக்குறிச்சி போலீஸ் நிலையத்திற்கு தொடர்பு கொண்டு, திருமணம் நடந்த இடத்திற்கு சென்று விசாரித்தனர்அதன் பின்னரே, இறந்தவர்கள் பற்றிய முழு விபரம் தெரிந்தது.ஏர் பலுான் இருந்தும் பலனில்லை!விபத்தில் சிக்கிய காரை ஓட்டி வந்த செந்தில்நாதன், டிரைவர் சீட்டிலேயே இறந்து கிடந்தார். அதே நேரத்தில், ஏர் பலுான் ஓப்பனாகி இருந்தது.

இது குறித்து போக்குவரத்து அதிகாரியிடம் கேட்ட போது, 'காரை ஓட்டியவர் பிரேக் அடிக்காமல், நேராக மரத்தில் மோதியதால் கார் முற்றிலும் நசுங்கி விட்டது. அதனால் தான், ஏர் பலுான் ஓப்பனாகியும் அவர் இறந்து விட்டார். பிரேக் அடித்ததற்கான தடயம் சாலையில் எதுவும் இல்லை. அனேகமாக துாக்க கலக்கத்தில் விபத்து நடந்திருக்கலாம்' என்றார்.