Slow down on ECR, speed detection system may be in place by Jan-end

Will Book Those Driving Over 80kmph

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Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

12.01.2022

Chennai: You may want to reconsider the next time you think of stepping on the gas while on East Coast Road. Starting this month, a speed detection system would book people who drive faster than 80kmph on the stretch.

Every year, at least 50 accidents are reported on ECR and 90% of these are due to according to speeding, official data. Despite police patrols, traffic violations continue unabated. To put an end to such violations and reduce road accidents, the Tamil Nadu government in February 2020 began installing an advanced traffic management project along the 33km stretch between Akkarai and Mahabalipuram on ECR.

The project, set up at ₹8. 6 crore, has three components — Vehicle-Activated Speed Signs (VASS), an Automatic Speed Enforcement System (ASES) and a Video Incident Detection System (VIDS).

A pole-mounted VASS, installed by the road or on the central median, can measure the speed of the approaching vehicle and display it on a screen. Every time a driver exceeds the speed limit, the VASS displays the speed in red.

As a follow-up measure, HD cameras are installed near these display boards to automatically detect these speeding vehicles. The ASES will transfer the vehicle (registration number) details to the local police, who will issue a traffic challan in the name of the vehicle owner, said a Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project (TNRSP) official.

Though all the infrastructure was ready, the project remained a non-starter. The control and command centre at Uthandi toll plaza was kept locked for most part of the day. However, a trial run of the project began recently.

“Discussions are going on with other government agencies like National Informatics Centre (NIC), which maintains the database for all registered vehicles in the country. Before January-end, the project and recorded data will be handed over to police,” the TNRSP official added.

While ECR residents have welcomed the project, they complained that basic road safety initiatives have been kept pending. B Sricharan of Kanathur pointed out that some portions are poorly-lit and have no road signs warning motorists about curves or speed breakers ahead. “This is why even when you travel at 50kmph, it is still dangerous on ECR,” he said.

 

Any ‘material’ demand by in-laws should be considered dowry: SC

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AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

12.01.2022

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the word "dowry" ought to be given a wider interpretation to include any demand made on a woman, whether in respect of a property or a valuable security of any nature, and held that demand for money for constructing a house comes within the ambit of dowry.

A bench of Justices N V Ramana, A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli said interpretation of a provision of law that will defeat the very intention of the legislature must be shunned in favour of an interpretation that will promote the object sought to be achieved through the legislation meant to uproot a social evil like dowry.

"In this context the word 'dowry' ought to be ascribed an expansive meaning so as to encompass any demand made on a woman, whether in respect of a property or a valuable security of any nature. When dealing with cases under IPC Section 304-B, a provision legislated to act as a deterrent in society and curb the heinous crime of dowry demands, the shift in the approach of the courts ought to be from strict to liberal, from constricted to dilated.

‘Victim was tortured to bring money from family’

“Any rigid meaning would tend to bring to naught the real object of the provision. Therefore, a push in the right direction is required to accomplish the task of eradicating this evil which has become deeply entrenched in our society,” said Justice Kohli, who penned the judgment for the bench.

The court set aside a verdict of the Madhya Pradesh high court which had acquit- ted a husband and father-inlaw for a dowry death on the ground that the victim had herself asked her family members to contribute money to construct a house, which cannot be treated as a dowry demand.

The top court said the demand made by the deceased herself had to be seen and understood in the correct perspective as she was being tortured to bring money from her family. It said the order of the trial court convict- ing both of them for the dowry death was correct. In this case, the deceased, who was five months pregnant, immolated herself in her matrimonial home.

“We are of the opinion that the trial court has correctly interpreted the demand for money raised by the respondents on the deceased for construction of a house as falling within the definition of the word dowry. It cannot be lost sight of that the respondents had been constantly tormenting the deceased and asking her to approach her family members for money to build a house and it was only on their persistence and insistence that she was compelled to ask them to contribute some amount for constructing a house,” it said.

The court said the evidence brought on the record shows that the deceased was pressured to make such a request for money to her mother and uncle.

Government doctors protest salary arrears; boycott work

 Government doctors protest salary arrears; boycott work

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Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

12.01.2022

Chennai: About 250 doctors from Chengalpet Government Medical College Hospital boycotted their work on Tuesday in protest against non-payment of stipends for over three months.

The house surgeons and postgraduate (non-service) doctors, who are posted in covid-19 wards, operation the- atres and most other departments in the hospital, said they would continue protests until their demands were met.
"Around 30 doctors among us have tested positive for covid-19. Without their monthly pay, they are struggling to meet their expenses and are seeking financial help from their friends and families," said Lakshmanan, a protesting doctor.

Since the infected doctors were in isolation, the workload on the available workforce had increased, he said adding that many continued to work on 48-hour shifts without taking adequate rest.

Amidst the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, the Chengalpattu hospital continues to perform all kinds of elective surgeries. Hence, doctors have to be available on call round the clock.

The doctors said, despite their working on a tight schedule, the government failed to respond to their plea on the release of stipends. Their representations to the college dean and directorate of medical education (DME) went unanswered.

Hence, they resorted to the boycott on Tuesday de- manding immediate release of the pending pay and urged the DME to ensure that they received their pay on time in the coming months.

The medical college dean J Muthukumaran said the bills were presented before the treasury on Tuesday and the money would be disbursed to their bank accounts before Wednesday afternoon.

Despite the protest, pa- tient care remained unaffected on Tuesday as service PGs, assistant professors, professors, and heads of departments were available to meet the needs of patients. The hospital currently has over 50 covid-19 patients.

House surgeons (or compulsory rotatory residential internship) were promised a monthly stipend of ₹25,000. PG doctors get ₹48,000₹
50,000 per month.

 

Protesting docs to go on mass leave

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11.01.2022

Chandigarh: In what appears to be a major challenge for the health authorities, the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) announced to go on a mass leave from hospitals in the state on Tuesday.

HCMSA president Dr J S Panwar said this would be the start of agitation by doctors as the government has completely ignored the demands and has backtracked from the assurances given by state health minister Anil Vij.

“We deferred our strike thrice on the assurances of the health minister. But, things are not shaping up as promised, hence we are forced to follow this route. After this, we will plan an indefinite strike as well,” said Dr Panwar.

TNN

'No Tampering At NTA Office' : Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Alleging Discrepancies In NEET-UG Scores

'No Tampering At NTA Office' : Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Alleging Discrepancies In NEET-UG Scores: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition filed by 6 students alleging tampering of their NEET-UG OMR scorecards by the National Testing Agency. The petitioners had approached the

BJ medicos demand action against HoDs

 BJ medicos demand action against HoDs

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

11.01.2022

Ahmedabad: Undergraduate and postgraduate medical students at BJ Medical College (BJMC) sat on protest outside the college dean’s office on Monday, demanding that action be taken against Dr Ila Upadhyaya and Dr Kamlesh Upadhyaya. The students want action based on complaints made by undergraduate students and junior doctors.

Kamlesh Upadhyaya, the head of the medicine department, had allegedly told final year undergraduate students that they would not be given attendance marks that would enable them to take their final exams, as 75% attendance is compulsory. The protesting students said that while they may not have reached the minimum figures for the medicine department, they have been on duty at various hospitals while dealing with the Covid pandemic.

BJMC dean Dr Jayesh Sachdeva said, “Students had sat on protest outside my office. ” He added: “To deal with this extraordinary situation, we put out a circular that all clinical postings of students while dealing with the Covid situation should be taken into account to compute attendance and internal marks. ”

Protesting medicos said that while the surgery, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology departments had considered Covid duties performed, only the medicine de- partment did not. The students had alleged that the medicine HOD had also been mentally harassing students.

Dr Oman Prajapati, vicepresident of the BJMC junior doctors’ association (JDA), said, “Dr Kamlesh Upadhyaya has been facing accusations from postgraduate students that he was harassing them mentally. ” Prajapati added: “Now even undergraduate students are making the same allegations. Yet no action has been taken against him. Who is shielding him?”

Students had accused Professor Ila Upadhyaya, head of the ENT department, of demanding ‘gifts’. The Junior Doctors’ Association wrote a letter to the dean on Monday, to press its demand for action against these professors as ample time has passed since the complaints were made.

 Provisional PG medical merit list declared

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

11.01.2022

Ahmedabad: The admissions committee for professional postgraduate medical education courses (ACPPGMEC) on Monday declared its provisional merit list, which has 3,131students.

The first round of admissions for the state quota will be held from January 20 to January 24. The results of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test for postgraduate courses (NEET-PG) had been declared in September 2021, however, due to litigation in the Supreme Court challenging reservations in EWS category, the admissions process had been stalled.

The apex court ruled on the matter last week, and the process will thus begin this month. Admissions for the all-India quota will be carried out first, from January 12 to 21, after which state quotas will be filled (January 20-24).

There are 2,060 seats in Gujarat in MD, MS and postgraduate diploma medical courses. Of these, about1,200 will be in the state quota.

Registration for these admissions were open from November 12-17, during which 3,210 students had registered. Some 3,147 had got their documents verified.

Of these, there are 1,048 in the open category, 229 in the SC category, 221 in ST, 908 in the SEBC category and 725 in the EWS category. There are also 24 NRIs and 22 inservice doctors on the merit list.

Candidates who have objections regarding the provisional merit list, can approach the admissions committee with a representation till January17.

Those allocated seats in the first round will have to join colleges by February 2.