Calicut crash shows why infants at risk

Calicut crash shows why infants at risk

Manju.V@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:13.09.2021

The Air India Express Kozhikode accident has brought to the fore a long ignored issue — the safety of infants onboard flights. The Air India Express aircraft had hurtled towards the end of the table top runway from where it dropped into a deep gorge, crashed into the airport perimeter wall and broke into three. During the eventful landing, ten infants sat on the laps of their parents. Their only safety net, their parent’s arm grip. Three out of them died, another three had serious injuries.

The accident, that occurred in August last year, has highlighted the need for a ‘child safety restraint system’, the kind advocated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and in use in countries like the US. A child restraint system (CRS) is a contraption of belts that a parent can fasten onto the seat back, through which the passenger seat belt can be pulled in to secure an infant safely onto the seat. But for this, the parent would need to buy a separate seat for the infant. Currently, Air India Express and some other Indian carriers do not allow the purchase of a separate seat for an infant.

Said an airline official, requesting anonymity: “Some parents might not want to spend and buy a separate seat for the infant, given that accidents are a rare occurrence. But CRS can keep infants safe during turbulence as well. Those who wish to buy a separate seat should have that option.” Directorate General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar said: “We have just seen the AIX Kozhikode accident report. An appropriate call will be taken in due course.”

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team collected feedback from the parent of a deceased infant. The infant — although placed on the lap — was not held firmly as the crew made no announcement of the impact. Therefore, during the frontal impact of the crash, the infant was displaced from the lap and was thrown in the cabin and, as a result, received fatal injuries, it said. Air India Express does not have provisions for child/ infant restraint system and they rely solely on lap-held infants without any supplemental restraint, it added.

US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration — in its ‘Flying with Children’ page — says: “The safest way to secure an infant or child on board an aircraft is in a state-approved CRS, in a dedicated seat... The use of CRS provides an equivalent level of safety to infants and children as that afforded to adult passengers wearing seat belts. “Proper use of occupant restraints is one of the most basic and important factors in surviving an accident, it says.

Twenty-one people were killed in the Kozhikode accident

Bhopal pani puri wallah has a girl, & you’re invited

Bhopal pani puri wallah has a girl, & you’re invited

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:13.09.2021

A pani puri vendor in Bhopal was so thrilled at having a girl child but also shocked by the frowns he got from certain people that he distributed Rs 50,000-worth of the spicy snacks for free on Sunday to make a point.

“I wanted to show that there should not be any discrimination between girls and boys,” Anchal Gupta, the proud father, told TOI.

“I was on cloud nine after I got the news that I was blessed with a girl child on August 17. But I was shocked by the odd reaction of several people. They pulled a face and cautioned me that I’d have to face financial burden and what not. I didn’t like it and wanted to send a message as a father. I’m proud that I have a daughter,” the 28-year-old said. He decided to celebrate it in a big way — the way he could.

“I am a small vendor with limited earnings. However, I wanted to prove that every parent should feel proud that they are lucky to have a girl child,” said Anchal.

On Sunday, he put up three stalls in Kolar locality and spread the word that free pani puri would be available from 1pm to 6pm. Hundreds turned up. Swamped by the crowd, he made repeated appeals to them to follow Covid precautions, asking those in queue to wear masks and stand at a safe distance until their turn comes. Few heeded his request in rush for free pani puri.

“This is bad. I’ve done this for a noble cause but several people refused to listen to me. I was not expecting such behaviour from them,” Anchal told TOI, looking at the jostling crowd.

Once they knew why he was distributing free pani puri, people were stunned. Many stepped forward to congratulate him, both for having a daughter and sending a message to society.

Anchal Gupta, 28, served free pani puri for a few hours on Sunday as he wanted to celebrate the birth of his daughter and send out a message that parents should feel proud that they have a girl child

NEET 2021: Physics was tough, say experts

NEET 2021: Physics was tough, say experts

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:13.09.2021

Physics was tough, while chemistry and biology sections were relatively straightforward. This was the general opinion among students who appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on Sunday afternoon and experts analysing the papers.

Karnataka saw 1,09,570 students register for NEET.

Milind Chippalakatti, head of academics, Deeksha Centre, said: “Chemistry and biology papers were relatively straightforward. However, in physics many questions were tricky, calculation and multi concept based. All the questions were primarily from NCERT books. Overall, it was a student-friendly paper.”

“There was also a change in pattern. For biology, botany and zoology, questions were given in different sections, physics had a section-B with optional questions added and which was a little tougher. Chemistry had a section-B with optional questions added. The standards being set were certainly higher compared to last year,” he added.

“The paper was not as easy as it was in 2020. In physics, the questions are usually formula based or concept-based. But this time, multiple concepts were included in the same questions. In nearly 6-10 questions, multiple concepts were involved, making it slightly difficult for students,” said NM Habeeb, NEET wing head of Narayana Group (India).

Many students said the exam went without any glitches. Based on reports received from about 60% of the testing centres, NTA said attendance was above 94%.

Over 75k take NEET in Gujarat

Over 75k take NEET in Gujarat

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:13.09.2021

Over 75,000 students took the NEET that was conducted on Sunday across Gujarat. According to the students, the paper was easy and this may be a high-scoring year.

The students said that the facilities were good at centres with all Covid safety protocols in place. “Social distancing was followed, with each classroom having only a few students. Masks were also provided,” said Dhruv Darji, an aspirant.

The paper level was moderate, said students, with easy chemistry and concept-based botany sections. The physics section focused primarily on direct formulas, they added. “Overall, the cut-off is expected to be high, given the level of the paper,” said Navya Shukla, a student.

The examination was delayed by at least four months. In Gujarat, the centres were at Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Patan, Gandhinagar, Godhra and Bhavnagar among others. The exam was conducted in Gujarati, Hindi and English languages.

The students said that the facilities were good at centres with all Covid safety protocols in place

EPS blames DMK govt for NEET aspirant’s suicide

EPS blames DMK govt for NEET aspirant’s suicide

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Salem:13.09.2021 

Leader of the opposition and former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday slammed the DMK-led state government for not taking steps to abolish the NEET examination in Tamil Nadu and blamed the government for the young NEET aspirant’s suicide. “Only because of Stalin's false promises, now, the family lost Dhanush,” he said.

Palaniswami in his statement on Sunday stated that Stalin had won the assembly election by giving the false assurance of placing his first signature to abolish the NEET examination in the state.

When questioning the steps for abolishing the examination in the assembly in June, the chief minister did not give a straight answer. “Stalin stated that steps would be taken based on the retired Justice A K Rajan committee’s recommendation,” Palaniswami said.

A petition was filed with the Madras high court that the Rajan’s committee was against the apex court’s guidelines. When answering to that case, the state government said in the high court that the committee would inquire about the NEET examination’s impact. The state government also said the committee was not formed against the apex court’s guidelines. The high court dismissed the petition after hearing the state government’s reply.

Stalin in his media statement stated that a bill would be passed in the assembly on Monday in connection with the NEET examination abolition. He conveyed his condolences to the family members for losing Dhanush and appealed to students not to take such an extreme decision out of fear for the NEET examination.

PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss appealed to the student community not to take such an extreme decision as suicide is not a solution. Head of the Tamil Manila Congress GK Vasan too expressed his grief to the family.

A service organisation founded by DMK MLA Dr Ezhilan Naganathan has moved the Madras high court seeking to get higher education transferred from concurrent to state list so as to do away with NEET and the new education policy. The PIL is likely to be taken up for hearing by the first bench.

State health minister Ma Subramaniam, who was in Tirunelveli, said the state government was making all attempts to get NEET exemption, legally and politically. "The state government will safeguard the doctor-dream of students, as promised in the DMK’s election manifesto," he said.

MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin visited Koolaiyur village on Sunday and handed over a cheque of ₹10 lakh to Dhanush’s family.

Former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami too visited the village and consoled the family members.

TRAGIC END: Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday handed over a cheque for ₹10 lakh to Dhanush’s family at Koolaiyur in Salem district

CITYLIGHTS

CITYLIGHTS

13.09.2021

From the mouth of babes

Keeping junk food away from children can be a tough task. While I was munching a packet of potato chips, the little one asked if she could have just one. After a quick thought, I showed her a couple of words on the packet, saying, "It is written, 'This is not for children'. That means no." It slipped my mind that she has begun reading and learning new words. She immediately said, “There is no N-O-T (spelling the word), there is no T-H-I-S and no I-S. Is there a spelling mistake on the packet?" Her disapproving nod told the rest, and I was left speechless! — Shanmughasundaram J

Translation woes

A transportation activist from Chennai who filed an RTI application for details on action taken against fake driving licences in Chennai Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) misunderstood a response and created confusion among reporters. One RTO, replying in English, said in the response that 1,000-odd ‘duplicate’ licences were issued. The activist thought ‘duplicate’ was the same as ‘fake’ and issued a press release to all media houses saying RTOs were issuing thousands of fake licences every year. While many reporters did not carry the news report, a few social media and TV channels carried it. The RTO had to send out explanations to his seniors — Ram Sundaram

Seating problems

Visitors to a recent function at Kalaivanar Arangam had a tough time as many plastic chairs collapsed on the slippery floor tiles. The organisers stacked one chair against the other to ensure stability, but a middle aged man pulled out a chair and sat before others could warn him. As he was speaking to a friend seated next to him, his chair gave way and he fell. As one organiser rushed in to help, people said it was the fifth or sixth such incident — Raghu Raman

Courtroom quips

A lawyer was arguing an appeal in a commercial litigation before the first bench of Madras HC headed by the Chief Justice.

Advocate: My lords, 7/11 provides for...

CJ: Please don’t mention it as 7/11 as it reminds me of the grocery store.

Advocate: Sorry, my lord. Under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code... By the way, the grocery brand is out of the country now, my lord.

In another courtroom exchange

Advocate: My lords, I hope I can build a bridge over the troubled waters through my arguments and it would end like 'The Bridge On The River Kwai'.

CJ: That wasn't a very happy ending.

Advocate: Sorry, my lord. I was about to say that it doesn't end like like 'The Bridge On The River Kwai' — Sureshkumar

Ex-revenue officials jailed for 4 years

Ex-revenue officials jailed for 4 years

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:13.09.2021

A former deputy tahsildar and his subordinate were found guilty of graft charges by a special court in Chengelpet district. The two of them were sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment by the special court after it held that the prosecution proved all charges against them. The revenue official had demanded a bribe of Rs5,000 from a person for carrying out his duty and the subordinate had received the amount on the official's instruction.

The accused officials J Selvam and M Kuppusamy were working as deputy tahsildar and record clerk at Taluk officer in Uthiramerur between January 2012 and January 2013.

According to the prosecution, in the second week of December 2012, a person had approached Selvam to issue Adangal -- a type of revenue record which contains details of land, area, ownership, liabilities and other details -- for which the revenue official had demanded a bribe other than the legal remuneration.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the vigilance and anti-corruption police in Kancheepuram who laid a trap and caught the clerk while collecting the chemical-soaked currency notes meant for the deputy tahsildar.