HC surprised with Centre counsel’s reply

HC surprised with Centre counsel’s reply

05/06/2021

Press Trust of India New Delhi

The Hindu

The Delhi High Court on Friday was surprised with the submission of Centre’s counsel that Amphotericin B, one of the medicines used for treating black fungus was readily available in the market.

When the court said if the medicine was available in abundance there should not have been so many deaths, Central government standing counsel Kirtiman Singh said people were not dying because of lack of medicines but the disease black fungus itself is dangerous.

Petition in HC challenges MUHS exam on June 10

Petition in HC challenges MUHS exam on June 10

Nagpur Bench to pass order today

05/06/2021

Special CorrespondentMumbai

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday said it will pass an order on Saturday in a plea challenging the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences’ (MUHS) decision to conduct physical exams for medical students on June 10.

A single judge Bench of Justice Avinash Gharote was hearing a plea filed by the NGO Herd Foundation and Nitesh Tantarpale, a student, challenging the decision and the direction to sign an undertaking that the State would not be held responsible if students contract COVID-19 while appearing for the exam.

Defending MUHS’s stand, advocate Abhijit Deshpande said, “Two phases of Winter 2020 have been conducted and the third one will begin on June 10. All question papers have been dispatched.”

Advocate Rahul Bhangde, appearing for the petitioners, said that those who had appeared for exams in the first two phases were fully vaccinated, but the 45,000 students who will appear for the exam on June 10 must be vaccinated.

The court said, “So should everything in the country stop till everyone is vaccinated? Let the student get tested before he gets out of the house. Today, even those who are 45 years and above are not getting vaccines, how can students be bypassed? Getting infected is a risk all of us carry.”

Covaxin seekers make beeline for Trichy camps

Covaxin seekers make beeline for Trichy camps

Deepak.Karthik@timesgroup.com

Trichy:  05.06.2021

The growing awareness and surge in demand for vaccine against Covid-19 saw people assembling at vaccination camps in Trichy as early as 6.30 am on Friday. Though the two venues in the city administered only Covaxin for 18-44 age category, there was a big rush evoking fears of vaccination camps turning into hotspots. Several people said the short wait time for the second dose of Covaxin compared to Covishield prompted them to get their jab at the earliest. After vaccinating 1,971 people in the city on Thursday and exhausting its Covishield stock, Trichy corporation had announced that only the first dose of Covaxin will be administered on Friday. Instead of organising the camps as usual at six locations, the civic body preferred to conduct the camps only at two places, Kalaiarangam and Thevar hall. The serpentine queues saw men who were already vaccinated too standing in queue for their spouse or family members so as to protect them from the crowd. People assembled at the centres early in the morning and took the jab after waiting for hours.

“My preference was Covaxin since the waiting period between two doses is only a month. Also, those who were vaccinated already and doctors opined that Covaxin has only mild side effects,” V Visodhan, 24, a resident of Puthur said. While those who have plans to go abroad prefer Covishield, locals and women were seen to be interested in Covaxin dose. The growing crowds saw the city police intervening to regulate them forcibly. Although only 1,307 people were vaccinated on Friday against 1,971 on Thursday, the lack of adequate vaccine stocks saw many youngsters returning disappointed. Youths who waited for over 3 hours demanded more vaccine stocks saying people are desperate to get vaccinated.

Lioness dies of suspected coronavirus in city

Lioness dies of suspected coronavirus in city

Nine Lions At Vandalur Zoo Test Positive

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com

Chennai:05.06.2021

A nine-year-old lioness died of suspected coronavirus infection on Thursday evening at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP) in Vandalur near Chennai. Nine more lions at the zoo have tested positive for SARS CoV-2.

Specimens collected from the animals were sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, on 24th and 29th May after some animals showed infection symptoms, including nasal discharge. The institute confirmed the virus infection on Thursday morning. As per protocol, any suspected death due to coronavirus in zoos must be reconfirmed by Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad. Samples have been sent to these institutes for confirmation. Results are awaited.

According to a statement from the zoo authorities, the CCMB, which is the approved virus sequencing centre of the Central Zoo Authority, will carry out genome sequencing of the virus strain for better understanding of zoonotic transmission to prevent further infection spread. A veterinarian from the state animal husbandry department said the virus could have been transmitted from humans (animal keepers/workers).

Virus can reach up to 2 metres, survive for three days

The virus can reach up to two meters and can be alive for three days. Animals carry many viruses, but they are not as fatal as coronavirus, a source said. Prophylactic measures for mammals, reptiles, birds and primates in consultation with an expert team from Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Tanuvas), veterinarians from Hyderabad zoo and Bronx Zoo in the US, have been adopted at the Vandalur zoo.

All the lions that tested positive are under observation and are being cared for in line with the prescribed treatment regimen by inhouse veterinary team in coordination with Tanuvas experts.

Vandalur zoo authorities are getting information about the treatment protocol for coronavirus-infected animals from the Hyderabad zoo and the Jaipur zoo, where similar incidents took place sometime ago. At present, Vandalur zoo houses six lions and seven lionesses, but no cubs.

All animal-keepers and helpers in the zoo have been inoculated. A separate team of animal-keepers has been engaged for each group of lions. PPE kits are mandatory for animal-keepers, veterinarians and field staff.

The Vandulur zoo was closed on April 24 after the state government announced a lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. Subsequently, precautionary measures were implemented in the zoo to avoid the spread of the virus. It’s not known how the lions were infected, a source said.

All the lions that tested positive are under observation and are being cared for in line with the prescribed treatment regimen

Government in favour of phased relaxation of curbs

Government in favour of phased relaxation of curbs

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 05.06.2021 

After a two-week long intense lockdown in the state to bring the surge in Covid-19 cases under control, the Tamil Nadu government is mulling over phased unlocking, with measured relaxations. The state is considering the suggestions of health experts that relaxations could be introduced in the districts that have brought the pandemic under control.

Chief minister M K Stalin on Friday held a meeting with bureaucrats to take stock of the prevailing situation. As of now, only those shops selling essential commodities are allowed to function.

“District-wise analysis was done on the total positivity rate and the availability of health infrastructure to handle the situation. Health and revenue departments are jointly working on the relaxations and a call will be taken on Friday night and an announcement will be made on Saturday morning,” said a top official.

The government also took note of Chennai's sharp declining trend from 7,564 daily cases on May 12 to 1,971 on June 4 after a series of intense interventions by the administrative machinery, including adequate supply of oxygen. The availability of oxygen beds also increased considerably across the state.

While the active cases have fallen to 2.68 lakh as of Friday, the high number of cases in Coimbatore, Chennai, Tiruppur, Erode, Madurai, Trichy, and Salem remain a cause of concern. “Most of the districts have reached a peak and have started to decline while some have reached the peak only in the recent days and the declining rate is not as fast as we expected. Each district or region behaves in a certain way. Not all are uniform. We are looking at various factors before taking a call,” a senior official said, hinting at the possibility of grouping of districts that behave in a similar pattern. The state witnessed its highest number of active cases (3.13 lakh) on May 27, keeping the administration on toes resulting in intense lockdown being extended for a week ending June 7.

Tamil Nadu is mulling relaxations in districts that have brought the pandemic under control

TN lost ₹2,000cr in PDS tenders in 5 yrs, says NGO in graft plaint

TN lost ₹2,000cr in PDS tenders in 5 yrs, says NGO in graft plaint

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:05.06.2021

Times of India :Chennai Edition 

Tamil Nadu lost at least ₹2,000 crore since 2015 in 50 tenders awarded for procuring sugar, palm oil and pulses for ration shops in the state, says a complaint filed by anti-graft NGO Arappor Iyakkam to the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) on Friday.

Tender conditions were tweaked and designed to favour a cartel of companies and to eliminate competition, the NGO said. The prices finalised for supplying thousands of tonnes of essentials were way above even retail prices prevailing at that time, it said.

For instance, according to Arappor, for a tender (cancelled by the present DMK government) on May 5, 2021, for procurement of pulses, a company quoted around ₹145 per kg. But after Arappor flagged it, the tender norms were corrected and re-floated 10 days later. This time more companies participated and the same company quoted around ₹80 as price for pulses. Tamil Nadu saved ₹120 crore in this single tender alone.

Similarly, for sugar tenders, prior to 2019, sugar manufacturers participated directly in tender which kept the procurement price at ₹37 a kg. However, after tender conditions were modified in July 2019, the price went up to ₹47 a kg.

‘Govt paid a premium above wholesale rates’

Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of the NGO, said, “When the same tender was re-floated a few months later, the same company, which had originally quoted ₹32.9, submitted a rate of ₹49.9 and all competing bidders had been rendered ineligible to bid.”

Arappor’s complaint pertains to tenders for supply of 2.7 lakh tonnes of sugar from January 2019 to 2021, 56.56 crore one-litre pouches of palm oil from 2017-2021 and 5 lakh tonnes of pulses (dhal) from 2015-2021.

According to the complaint, Tamil Nadu government paid a premium of ₹10 per kg for sugar, ₹15.95 per pouch for palm oil and ₹15 per kg for dhal over and above the wholesale rate.

To buttress their complaint, Arappor has also attached wholesale as well as retail rates of commodities obtained from the government-run Amudham stores. Though the government procurement was in bulk, the final rates were higher than even the retail rates in almost all cases.

Arappor’s evidence also shows that the cartel, led allegedly by Christy Freidgram group in Tiruchengode, also enrolled themselves as buyback suppliers for central government trading agencies like MSTC and Kendriya Bhandar. These agencies participated in TNCSC tenders and quoted the rates given to them by the cartel led by Christy Freidgram.

“This is violative of STC tender clauses which disallow buyback suppliers and STC participating in the same tender,” Arappor said in its complaint. Information obtained by Arappor through RTI shows that the STCs got only 1% of the earning, while the rest went to the buyback supplier. When contacted, a company official of Christy Freidgram said: “The allegations are completely false. We supply at prices lower than those quoted in the tender after negotiation with the government.”

CBSE can’t refuse to change names after declaring results: SC

CBSE can’t refuse to change names after declaring results: SC

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:04.06.2021 

In an important judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the CBSE could not impose a blanket ban on changes in the names of students, parents and other particulars in certificates or mark sheets after declaration of results of board examinations.

The judgment, delivered by a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari, came on 22 petitions relating to correction or change in name and surname or date of birth of candidates or their parents in the CBSE certificates. Various high courts gave conflicting rulings on this issue.

Justice Khanwilkar said the right to change a name was a constituent element of freedom of expression of identity. “...an individual is not only recognised by how an individual identifies oneself but also by how his or her official records identify. For, in every public transaction of an individual, official records introduce the person by name and other relevant particulars,” he said.

The bench directed the board to take immediate steps to amend its bylaws to allow candidates to change their names or the names of their parents in certificates.

“Illustratively, a juvenile accused of being in conflict with the law or a victim of sexual abuse whose identity gets compromised ... may consider changing the name to seek rehabilitation in society in exercise of her right to be forgotten. If the board, in such a case, refuses to change the name, the student would be compelled to live with the scars of the past,” the bench said.

Times View: There could be several bona fide reasons for which an individual needs a new name. CBSE should facilitate the process, rather than being cussed about it. The SC has rightly made them see the light.