3 dead, 5 hurt as auto overturns on GST Road

3 dead, 5 hurt as auto overturns on GST Road

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.09.2021

A pastor was among the three people who died on Tuesday night when the share autorickshaw they were travelling in hit a median on GST Road near Tambaram and overturned. Five other passengers were left injured and the auto driver is on the run.

The auto was on its way to Perungalathur bus stop from Tambaram with eight passengers around 10.30pm when the driver, who was speeding on GST Road, had to make a sharp turn to avoid colliding with an incoming private bus. However, he lost control of the vehicle and hit the median. This caused the auto to overturn. In the impact, Issac Raj, 51, a pastor from Cuddalore, Sundar Raj, 31, and Nagamuthu, 36, of Puducherry died on the spot after sustaining head injuries.

Police said passengers Ezhumalai, Anand Kumar, Rajinikanth two others were left injured and were taken to Chromepet government hospital. Anand Kumar and Rajinikanth were shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. Police said Nagamuthu had come to Chennai to invite a relative to his wedding next month. He had planned to reach Puducherry on Tuesday and was on his way to Perungalathur to board the bus.

The Chromepet traffic investigation police have registered a case of causing death due to negligence and a search is on to nab the driver. Witnesses said he too sustained injuries, but managed to flee from the scene. Police are also checking CCTV camera footage from the spot.

About two weeks ago, five youngsters who were speeding on GST Road died after colliding with a parked truck . Many commuters complained that vehicles are not being checked for going over the speed limit on this stretch and this has led to many accidents. Motorists also said share autos routinely flout safety norms by overcrowding their vehicles.

DRIVER AT LARGE: Police said the share auto’s driver was speeding and had to take a sharp turn to avoid colliding with a private bus when the accident took place

UK accepts Covishield, but Indians to quarantine

UK accepts Covishield, but Indians to quarantine

Saurabh Sinha / TNN / Updated: Sep 23, 2021, 06:53 IST

The United Kingdom has included AstraZeneca Covishield in its list of accepted vaccines against Covid-19.

NEW DELHI: The United Kingdom has included AstraZeneca Covishield in its list of accepted vaccines against Covid-19.

However, as of now, that does not translate into relief for quarantine for fully vaccinated (with WHO-approved Covishield) travellers from India under the relaxed rules that come into force from October 4.

The UK has raised doubts over Indian Covid vaccination certification process. Due to this, even fully vaccinated (with Covishield) from India will continue to need to quarantine in the UK on arrival under relaxed rules for non red list, or rest of world, countries applicable from October 4.

India, which is no longer on UK’s red list, and UK are working to resolve this issue following an uproar among Indian travellers over being denied the relaxed norms. India has warned of taking similar action.

British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, said: “We’re clear Covishield is not a problem. The UK is open to travel and we’re already seeing a lot of people going from India to the UK, be it tourists, business people or students. Over 62,500 student visas have been issued in the year ending June 2021, which is an increase of almost 30% as compared to the previous year. We want to make the process of travelling as easy as possible.”

“We have been having detailed technical discussions regarding certification, with the builders of the CoWIN app and the NHS app, about both apps. They’re happening at a rapid pace, to ensure that both countries mutually recognise the vaccine certificates issued by each other,” Ellis said.

The UK government website, in an update on Wednesday, mentioned Covishield in the list of accepted vaccines. However, a spokesperson for the British High Commission in Delhi had said this Monday, “We are engaging with the government of India to explore how we could expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India.”

The UK government update says: “From 4 am, October 4, you will qualify as fully vaccinated if you are vaccinated: under an approved vaccination programme in the UK, Europe, USA or UK vaccine programme overseas; with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen From 4 am, October 4, you will qualify as fully vaccinated if you are vaccinated: under an approved vaccination programme in the UK, Europe, USA or UK vaccine programme overseas vaccines from a relevant public health body in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan; Formulations of the 4 listed vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, qualify as approved vaccines. You must have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England.”

A spokesperson for the British High Commission in Delhi on Monday also said: “The UK is committed to opening up international travel again as soon as is practicable and this announcement is a further step to enable people to travel more freely again, in a safe and sustainable way, while protecting public health. We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we could expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India.”

On September 17, the UK announced a new travel system which has just a red list and rest of the world. New rules apply to rest of the world arrivals in England from October 4. But for those from India, the conditions are the same when India was moved from the red to amber list.

On April 23, 2021, UK had put India on its red list during the devastating second wave here. This meant Indian citizens were not allowed to enter UK. And a handful of categories exempt from this restriction like British citizens/residents going from India needed to quarantine in a hotel on arrival in the UK for 10 days.

From August 8, India was moved from the red to the amber list. “This means: Visit visas for the UK from India are open (in addition to other visa long-term visas that have remained open); travellers arriving in England can complete a 10-day quarantine at home or in the place they are staying (not mandatorily quarantine in a managed hotel); Under the voluntary Test to Release scheme, they can choose to pay for a private Covid-19 test on day 5 of the quarantine. If the result is negative, they can end their quarantine,” the spokesperson had said this August.

Visa applications from Indian travellers for all categories continue to be processed and you do not need to be vaccinated to travel to the UK.

Regardless of your vaccination status, travellers from India must take a pre-departure test, and must take a Covid-19 test on or before Day 2 and on or after Day 8, and self-isolate for 10 days. Travellers can also choose to shorten their home quarantine to around 5 days under the test of release service.

Professional English course for UG students may be scrapped

Professional English course for UG students may be scrapped

Sambath.Kumar@timesgroup.com

Coimbatore:23.09.2021

The Professional English course introduced last year for undergraduate first year students of non-autonomous arts and science colleges in the state is likely to be scrapped from the next academic year.

The course was introduced to familiarize students with vocabulary related to their subjects and taught by subject teachers concerned.

Initiated by former higher education secretary S Apoorva, it was introduced as an additional 1 hour per day add-on subject on par with core subjects. While it came into effect from the 2020-21 academic year, it drew flak as core subject teachers with no English literature background were asked to handle the subject. Further, it was also made mandatory for students to clear the paper to get their degrees.

However, the move received good support from private colleges as they claimed it helped core subject teachers to have better interaction with students.

But, Tamil, Mathematics and teachers of other subjects found it unfair to be asked to teach a professional English subject.

“It was also a learning experience for core subject teachers to teach English who were oriented through a few workshops on handling the subject,” a staff from a private arts and science college in Coimbatore said.

But there was poor response from students for the course. Professional English course was introduced with an objective of helping students of government arts colleges with rural background to become proficient in English speaking, reading and writing.

Students from rural areas pass their degrees but most of them don’t have language proficiency to express themselves and lose out when it comes to better jobs, a senior official from the higher education department, who was part of the project, said.

“Discussions on scrapping the Professional English course are on. It may not be part of the syllabus from next academic year. An official announcement is expected soon,” a senior official from the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) said.

Last year, Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva took up the matter with the University Grants Commission (UGC), which had asked the state government to address the issue appropriately.

Siva told TOI that making the subject mandatory for students to clear it to get their degrees was a bit harsh when offline classes were not possible due to the pandemic. “If the higher education department feels the subject is essential and it would make students proficient in English, let them introduce it after the pandemic. But non-English literature teachers being forced to handle a professional English paper will not fetch the desired result,” he said.

Secretary of the Joint Action Council of College Teachers of Tamil Nadu M Krishnaraj said that the TANSCHE had assured the scrap the course.

TNSTC fined ₹3k for ignoring RTI queries

TNSTC fined ₹3k for ignoring RTI queries

Madurai:23.09.2021

The state information commission (SIC) has directed the Madurai division of the TNSTC to pay ₹3,000 to a commuter for failure to provide information to his repeated RTI pleas for more than two years. The commission also directed the TNSTC to provide the information in a week’s time.

G Jayaprakash, the commuter from Kovilpatti, Tuticorin, took a TNSTC bus from Madurai to Kovilpatti on December 22, 2018. He gave the conductor ₹500 for a ticket that cost ₹98, when he said the staff treated him very badly and humiliated him in front of many other passengers. The conductor also tried to make him get down in a dark place about 7km away from the city. There was no response to his complaints and RTI pleas to TNSTC. The TNSTC return the ₹402 balance as a cheque to Jayaprakash in August. TNN

Vaccine shortage in TN for third day in a row

Vaccine shortage in TN for third day in a row

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.09.2021

For the third day in a row, several vaccine centres across the state, including Chennai, were closed and special outreach camps were stalled, as the state did not have adequate vaccines. On Wednesday, the state vaccinated 66,214 people.

After vaccinating more than 16 lakh people during the mega camp on Sunday, the state did not hold any camp on Monday due to a shortage of vaccines. On Tuesday, it vaccinated 44,559 people. Between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, Tamil Nadu received about 4 lakh doses of Covishield and 1 lakh dose of Covaxin.

“Many centres did not have vaccines on Wednesday because they are still in transit,” said director of public health Dr TS Selva Vinayagam. The average vaccinations a day was around 2.9lakh a day in August and 2.1 lakh in July. “We are holding mega camps every week to increase coverage. The two mega camps have pushed our daily average to more than 5 lakh vaccines a day,” he said.

Until Tuesday, nearly 56% of the 6 crore adults have received one dose of the vaccine and 17% have received two doses. While more than 75% of people in Coimbatore and Kancheepuram have taken one dose , 73% of people in Nilgiris and 70% in Tiruppur have taken one dose. In Chennai, 67% of people have taken at least one dose. However, in several districts, less than half the populace has got first dose. “We plan to continue mega camps without compromising on daily vaccinations. For this we have asked the Centre to increase our dosage to 50 lakh a week,” he said.

The state is expecting at least 50,000 doses of Covaxin and 2 lakh doses of Covishield by 7.15 am. The centre has promised to send another batch of 5.45 lakh doses of the vaccine by noon, he said.

Covid-19 victims’ kin to get ₹50k ex gratia

Covid-19 victims’ kin to get ₹50k ex gratia

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:23.09.2021

Months after states took the lead in announcing financial assistance for the families of Covid victims, and after being prodded by the Supreme Court, the Centre on Wednesday informed the SC that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has fixed an ex gratia of ₹50,000 to be paid by the states from the State Disaster Response Fund.

On June 30, the SC had ruled that the Centre cannot shy away from its responsibility under the Disaster Management Act to fix a compensation amount payable to the kin of those who succumbed to Covid.

TN providing ₹5L ex gratia to Covid-orphaned children

Covid was declared a national disaster under the Act. While rejecting petitioners’ demand for ₹4 lakh ex gratia, it had asked the NDMA to determine the quantum within six weeks and said that the amounts to be paid from the national disaster response fund (NDRF) and SDRF would be over and above the ex gratia paid by states.

The six-week deadline got extended to months and after seeking time several times, the Centre on Wednesday informed that the NDMA has fixed ₹50,000 ex gratia. Claimants have to submit an application to receive the relief, it said, adding that those eligible would get the amount through the district disaster management authority (DDMA). With the country recording nearly 4.5 lakh Covid deaths, the financial burden of this will add up to ₹2,250 crore for states, though funds for the SDRF are largely released by the Centre.

The top 10 states reporting the most Covid deaths are Maharashtra (1.38 lakh), Karnataka (37,000), Tamil Nadu (35,000), Delhi (25,000), UP (23,000), Kerala (22,500), West Bengal (19,000), Punjab (16,000), Andhra Pradesh (14,000) and Chhattisgarh (13,500).

Those providing ex gratia are Andhra Pradesh (₹10 lakh to orphaned children, ₹5 lakh in case of death of one parent), Bihar (₹4 lakh), Haryana (₹2 lakh only to BPL families), Karnataka and Assam (₹1 lakh), Tamil Nadu (₹5 lakh to orphaned children and ₹3 lakh in case of death of single parent), Tripura (₹10 lakh in three instalments) and Nagaland (₹10 lakh only to the kin of working journalists).

NMC says no plan to allow MBBS course in Hindi, regional language

NMC says no plan to allow MBBS course in Hindi, regional language

The medical education regulator clarified that there is no plan to amend norms to allow medicine courses in languages other than English.

Published: 21st September 2021 07:45 AM 

By Sumi Sukanya Dutta

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Amid a major announcement by the Madhya Pradesh government to offer MBBS courses in Hindi and an intent declared by neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to do the same, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has said that it will not recognise it under the rules.The medical education regulator clarified that there is no plan to amend norms to allow medicine courses in languages other than English.

On the occasion of Hindi Diwas on September 14, MP’s medical education minister Vishwas Sarang had said a committee was being formed to decide on how to introduce MBBS courses, apart from paramedical courses, in Hindi in the state. In UP, too, a proposal to introduce the medicine course in Hindi is actively being considered.

Talking to this newspaper, Aruna V Vanikar, president of the undergraduate medical education board at NMC, said no state government had so far approached the commission with such a proposal, neither was that feasible.“The rules do not approve teaching-learning MBBS in any other language other than English and there is no plan to change the existing norms,” she said. “If any state government goes ahead and introduces such a course, it will not be recognised by the NMC.”

Sources in Union education ministry, meanwhile, pointed out that the National Education Policy adopted by the Centre last year had a component of promoting technical education — including medicine, law and engineering courses — in mother tongue. A high-level committee under higher education secretary Amit Khare was set up last year to make suggestions and subsequently 14 engineering institutions, beginning this year, started offering the BTech course in 5 regional languages.

Experts, however, said offering medicine in mother tongue might be trickier and the experiment is unlikely to work. In 2016, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University in MP had announced engineering and medical education in Hindi. But it could never start the MBBS course in Hindi as it didn’t get the permission from the Medical Council of India, the medical education regulator then.