Some await vax certificate, others get incorrect ones

Some await vax certificate, others get incorrect ones

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:05.09.2021

Radhika got the first dose of the Covishield vaccine at Alwarpet in June, but didn’t get her certificate. Now, the Cowin portal says the 21-year-old hasn’t been vaccinated at all.

Several others are in a similar situation. One had to get vaccinated a third time because staff at a Greater Chennai Corporation centre didn’t enter his details into the portal while administering the first dose. Another person was given a Covishield certificate after taking a Covaxin shot. The civic body has been getting at least 50 such complaints almost daily since the vaccination drive began, said an official.

Reasons are aplenty. Lack of trained data entry operators, problems with network and Wi-Fi, website traffic and lack of adequate staff. “Even if the website isn’t working, the staff may ask the person to get vaccinated and may forget to upload the details on the portal later. Sometimes, they aren’t registered at all. And wrong entries by staff are common,” said a corporation official, adding that efforts are made to try and help those with grievances.

Residents say there should be a common portal or a specific grievance mechanism. Umanath V of Mogappair completed both doses of vaccination, but the portal didn’t accept the second dose because his age was entered wrongly. “I have been asked to go to Ripon Buildings for correction. Why are we faced with so much hassle for their mistake,” he asked. Bharath Ragunathan of Kodambakkam got a Covaxin shot with his Aadhaar card but a Covishield certificate and was asked for his PAN card to change it.

As per the Cowin portal, until September 3, 50.8 lakh people in Chennai have been vaccinated so far, but the corporation figure is 40.4 lakh.

Such wrong entries won’t affect actual numbers, said deputy commissioner (revenue and finance) Vishu Mahajan, adding that the Cowin portal was only for registration and while the actual numbers were entered on the e-win portal. “Our numbers may not match Cowin numbers until properly reconciled,” he said. A health department official said residents can get errors rectified at the vaccination centres concerned. “The state is helping us as we are sending details of all the wrong entries and corrections daily.”

Lack of trained data entry operators, problems with network and Wi-Fi, website traffic and lack of adequate staff among the reasons cited

Information Bulleting MDS counselling 2021

 https://mcc.nic.in/Webinfo/File/ViewFile?FileId=4&LangId=

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HC dismisses appeal seeking refund of discontinuation fees

HC dismisses appeal seeking refund of discontinuation fees

Sep 2, 2021, 04.59 AM IST

Madurai: Upholding the order of a single bench, the Madras high court has dismissed an appeal by a woman seeking to refund the discontinuation fees collected from her while she discontinued the super specialty course at Thanjavur Medical College.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Priya Sreeraj. The appellant had completed MBBS in 2009 and subsequently completed her postgraduation in medicine in 2015. Following a notification published by the state government for admission as a non-service candidate for the super specialty course for the year 2016-17, the appellant applied for the same and was allotted the course at Thanjavur Medical College in 2016. A condition was incorporated in the prospectus to the effect that in case of discontinuance of any candidature in respect of the course, a fee of Rs 5 lakh should be paid. The appellant in August 2016 discontinued the course by paying the discontinuation fee.

The appellant filed a writ petition before HC Madurai bench in 2021 challenging the portion of the prospectus with respect to the discontinuation fee and also consequently sought to refund the fee paid by her. The single bench on March 21, dismissed her petition. A division bench of justices M Duraiswamy and K Murali Shankar observed that on a perusal of the materials available on record, it could be seen that the request for refund was rejected by the authorities in 2017, however, the appellant chose to file the writ petition only in 2021. 

It is a settled position that if a person is aggrieved over any order, the same should be challenged at the earliest point of time. 

The judges further observed that the appellant had knowledge about the condition imposed in the prospectus while joining the super speciality course. Having accepted the conditions, the appellant cannot turn around and subsequently, contend that the same cannot be applied to her case. The judges observed that the single bench, by taking into consideration all these aspects, has rightly dismissed the writ petition. “We do not find any ground to interfere with the order passed by the single bench,” said the judges while dismissing the appeal.

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Techie’s check-in baggage cut in flight from Kolkata

Techie’s check-in baggage cut in flight from Kolkata

Petlee.Peter@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:04.09.2021

A Bengaluru techie’s check-in luggage was cut open in a suspected theft attempt during his flight from Kolkata to Bengaluru last month. He lodged a complaint with the airline and Kolkata airport authority and a probe is under way.

Chandan Prakash, 35, employee of an American multinational retail chain in Bengaluru, flew to Kolkata on August 20 to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with his sister. He returned by IndiGo flight 6E 875 on August 22 and went to his HSR Layout residence from KIA.

“I landed on Sunday, collected my trolley bag and went home. When I opened it the next morning, I spotted an unusual tear inside the bag. Someone had cut the fabric from inside to access contents after opening the outer compartment,” Prakash said.

He emailed a complaint to the airline about a possible theft post check-in. He also shared his experience on social media with photographs and videos of his black bag.

IndiGo airlines replied that it couldn’t initiate action like compensation as he hadn’t lodged a complaint at the baggage delivering area on arrival. Prakash said: “The reply was ridiculous as there was no visible damage to my bag. Someone had opened the top pouch and cut through the inner fabric to access stuff inside. I didn’t lose anything valuable and I don’t need compensation but this must be probed and culprits brought to book.”

Some airlines have discontinued sealing outer compartments of check-in bags with plastic wire locks.

Theft bid may have occurred at Kolkata airport: Airline

Airline representatives investigated the matter and said the theft attempt may have taken place at Kolkata airport. Airport officials confirmed a probe is under way as some other passengers had complained of similar problems.

After Prakash’s complaints gained traction on social media, IndiGo approached him. “It sent me a new trolley bag and urged me to take down my social media post but I refused. I said I didn’t need compensation but closure. I’m glad an investigation is on,” he added.

IndiGo airlines told TOI Prakash has been suitably compensated and the incident is being probed.

Chandan Prakash, an HSR Layout resident, said when he opened the trolley bag the day after he landed in the city, he spotted an unusual tear inside. The airlines said he has been suitably compensated and the incident is being investigated