House help lose jobs as employers fear Covid spread

House help lose jobs as employers fear Covid spread

Aditi.R@timesgroup.com

Chennai:04.05.2021

Domestic workers in the city have yet again begun losing their jobs as employers fear they could bring Covid-19 infections into their homes. The workers, who mostly struggle to make ends meet, are now left in the lurch without a source of income or assistance from authorities.

“My employer did not even let me into the house, she turned me away. She said I must only return after all of us take both two doses of vaccine for Covid-19,” said T Janaki, a domestic worker in Virugambakkam. Janaki, who worked in four houses in the locality, was relayed the same message by all her employers. “I have no job and have to make do with the savings as long as I can,” she said.

T R Padma, a worker from Ashok Nagar, also had to stop going to work due to Covid-19. “I am more worried about my children’s education. I am not sure of how I will be able to afford their education, now that classes have gone online the cost has also increased. I had applied for an education loan last year but I am yet to receive a response. I have requested a few people to help me,” she said.

Like last year, most domestic workers have to now depend on personal savings and borrowings to make ends meet and the lack of communication from the labour department is adding to their woes. Since January 2020, the department has stopped accepting new pension and other welfare measure applications from unorganised workers, domestic workers included.

“No worker who has applied for welfare benefits last year has received anything, no education loan, no amount to compensate for injuries, nothing at all. They used up their savings and were left in dire straits during the lockdown last year, this pattern will repeat this year too if the department doesn’t intervene,” said R Geetha, advisor to the Unorganised Workers Federation.

When contacted, a senior official from the labour department acknowledged the issues. “We have taken note of all grievances that have reached us and we are addressing them,” said a senior official from the department.

The state labour department too stopped accepting fresh applications for pension, welfare scheme in January 2020

Meme creators have a field day with TN election results

Meme creators have a field day with TN election results

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:04.05.2021

From the moment counting began on Sunday for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, meme creators have been on fire. For them, the weekend’s events had given enough ammunition to release a salvo of shots against both the losing politicians as well as their favourite IPL team Chennai Super Kings who had just lost to the Mumbai Indians a day before the election results were announced.

Among the first in the line of fire was MNM leader Kamal Haasan, who featured in a meme showing a picture of Faf Du Plessis of the CSK, dropping MI batsman Pollard’s catch next to a photo of him, seated dejected at the counting centre, watching his votes slip away in Coimbatore south constituency, and a heartbreak symbol between the two. The meme though scored 40,000 likes within a few hours.

Gautham Govindaraman, Founder and CEO, Chennai Memes, says they kept their jokes ready a day earlier, taking into account all possible scenarios. “As the results for the Coimbatore South constituency were delayed, we created memes for both outcomes,” he says.

“When exit polls were declared, we had an idea about what the results were likely to be. We had our team working on them since then,” says Gautham.

Some of the most popular memes on election result day included ones on MK Stalin’s victory, Udhayanidhi Stalin winning Chepauk, Khusboo losing Thousand Lights constituency, and O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami’s (EPS) reactions to the results.

Among the trending memes of the day was a short clip from the movie ‘Annamalai’, in which Rajinikanth (MK Stalin) walks towards the conference meeting and Sarath Babu (EPS) gives way to him.

Another meme features a smiling EPS with the caption, “I have passed everyone (students), but you have failed me (in the election)”, referring to his announcement earlier this year declaring that all students were promoted to the next grade on account of the pandemic.

Actor Rajnikanth seemed to feature in several of the memes. One in particular showed him with his hands above his head and the tagline, ‘Thankfully I escaped’, referring to the superstar’s constant dithering about joining politics.

However, meme creators say one has to be careful not to offend while creating memes. “It is a very thin line and one cannot go overboard,” says a meme creator.

COMIC RELIEF: A meme of Rajinikanth says “Thank God, I escaped.” (Left) A meme in which Dhanush asks Seeman,“If testing times are rare, it's fine, but all the time?”

AMMK cut votes of AIADMK+ in 21 seats

AMMK cut votes of AIADMK+ in 21 seats

D.Govardan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:04.05.2021

Politics may not be a pure play of arithmetic. But alliance arithmetic does play a role in electoral politics.

Take the case of T T V Dhinakaran’s AMMK. It has been annihilated in the assembly poll, with even Dhinakaran losing from Kovilpatti, and the votes the party polled got halved to10.57 lakh from the 21 lakh in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. However, election results show it played spoilsport for the AIADMK in not just south and central regions, but also in a few pockets in the north.

Back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that AMMK candidates stood between the AIADMK alliance and victory in at least 21 assembly seats -- the votes polled by AMMK was higher than the margin of victory for the DMK alliance. While in a few seats, AIADMK alliance candidates could have romped home with a wide margin, in a few others they could have scraped through had AMMK been part of their camp.

The votes polled by the AMMK helped 12 DMK candidates and six Congress candidates, besides one each from the MDMK, the CPM and the VCK win. In the process,17 AIADMK candidates and three candidates of the PMK, besides one from the BJP, lost.

A month or two before the election process was set in motion and much before the release of V K Sasikala from the Bengaluru prison, the BJP’s central leadership had mooted the idea of accommodating AMMK into the alliance.

“While AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam was receptive to the idea, chief ministerEPS, based on feedback from few trusted ministers, opposed it. The BJP even mooted the idea of setting aside 30 seats from its quota to accommodate AMMK, but that proposal was rejected by AIADMK,” sources privy to the developments said.

Tougher TN curbs from May 6 to 20

Tougher TN curbs from May 6 to 20

Chennai:04.05.2021

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday night announced new Covid-19 restrictions which will be in force between 4am May 6 and 4am on May 20.

Standalone grocery and vegetable shops will be allowed to function without airconditioning till noon. Only 50% customers would be allowed at a time while all other shops will be disallowed. “Essential services like pharmacies and milk supply will be permitted as usual,” an official release said. All government and private offices will be allowed to function with a maximum of 50% workforce.

Only 50% seating capacity will be alllowed in passenger trains, metro trains, private and government buses and rental taxis. All social/political/sports/entertainment/education/cultural events are prohibited in closed and open spaces. TNN

Tea shops will be allowed only till noon

An official release read, “Considering the recommendations of the home and health ministries of the Union government to prevent Covid spread and to intensify preventive measures, the new restrictions are imposed in terms of unavoidable reasons.”

The government had already prohibited big format shops, shopping complexes and malls from April 26 onwards.

Takeaway service is alone permitted in restaurants/hotels/mess. Teashops will be allowed till noon while door delivery of food alone is permitted at hotels and lodges.

Cinema theatres will not function.

The government had earlier given a ceiling of 25 people for wedding-related gathering and funeral. It has now decided to permit only a maximum of 20 people.

“Beauty parlours and spas have already been prohibited in corporations and municipalities. Now, beauty parlours spas will not be allowed in containment zones of the rural areas,” the release said.

The previous restrictions during night curfew and Sunday lockdown would continue.

As ordered earlier, fish markets, chicken and meat stalls will not be allowed on Saturdays (and Sundays due to Sunday lockdown).

They will be allowed rest of the week between 6am and noon.

The government had earlier fixed a ceiling of 25 people for weddings and funerals. It has now decided to permit 20 people

NEET-PG put off, interns to join Covid war

NEET-PG put off, interns to join Covid war

New Delhi:04.05.2021

The government has decided to postpone NEETPG for at least four months and the exam will not be held before August 31 while medical interns will be deployed for Covid-19 duty under the supervision of faculty.

Students will be given a month’s time before the NEETPG is held. The decision, taken at a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is cited as a step that will make a large number of qualified doctors available for Covid duties. The government said states and UTs must make all efforts to reach out to prospective NEET candidates and request them to join the Covid –19 workforce. “The services of final year MBBS students can be utilised for providing services like teleconsultation and monitoring of mild Covid cases under supervision of faculty,” said an official announcement. TNN

Measures aim to reduce workload on doctors

The measures will reduce workload on existing doctors engaged in Covid duty and provide boost to efforts of triaging. It has also been decided that services of final year PG students (broad as well as super-specialities) as residents may continue to be utilised until fresh batches of PG students have joined. Also BSc and GNM qualified nurses may be utilised in full-time Covid nursing duties under the supervision of senior doctors and nurses. The PMO statement asserts that individuals providing services in Covid management will be given priority in forthcoming regular government recruitments after they complete a minimum of 100 days of Covid duty. Also health professionals will be covered under the insurance scheme of the government for health workers engaged in fighting Covid-19. Listing out the incentives, the statement said, “All such professionals who sign up for minimum100 days of Covid duty and complete it will also be given the Prime Minister’s Distinguished Covid National Service Samman from Government of India.” It was decided that states can make available additional health professionals to private Covid hospitals as well in surge areas.

“The vacant posts of doctors, nurses, allied professionals and other healthcare staff in health and medical departments be filled through accelerated processes within 45 days through contractual appointments,” it was decided at the review.

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