Airfares from city nosedive during current Covid surge Airlines Start Offering Sops To Woo Flyers Before Summer

 Airfares from city nosedive during current Covid surge

Airlines Start Offering Sops To Woo Flyers Before Summer

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Joy.Sengupta@timesgroup.com

15.01.2022

Pune: Airfares from Pune to many cities have nosedived amid the current rise in Covid cases, a trend not witnessed during the first and second waves of the pandemic.

One-way airfares from the city to several destinations revealed that the decrease in the current tariff (see graphic) was between 40% and 60% on an average from what it used to be in the recent past and the trend was likely to continue in February.

The one-way fare for the Pune-Goa sector, which was almost Rs6,000 to Rs7,000 during the New Year Eve, has dropped to Rs3,500-Rs3,700 now. Similarly, the one-way fare between Pune and Delhi, which until late last year was Rs6,000-Rs6,500, presently rests at less than half.

“Airfares never really reached the pre-pandemic levels, mainly due to the cap and un- certainty related to travel. In 2019, a Pune-Goa one-way ticket would cost anything between Rs13,000 and Rs14,000 during the Christmas and New Year Eve period. We are witnessing a new low in terms of airfares, something which is a rare trend,” a travel company representative said.

Another travel company representative said, “The country has witnessed two major waves of the pandemic since 2020. But the airfares had not gone down then as seen during the ongoing third wave of the pandemic. Fresh bookings for vacations have drastically gone down. The decreased fares are, however, helping holidayers take some risks and book tickets for a trip to their favourite destinations during the coming summer months. ”

However, the airfares in sectors such as Kolkata, Ladakh and Chennai continued to be high in the range of Rs7,000 to Rs9,000, or even more. “These are places where the demand is more than supply. Kolkata, for example, has limited flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Pune,” a travel operator said.

A source associated with the industry said during the earlier surge in cases, there was an extended cap on airfares fixed by the government.

“After airlines resumed operations in May 2020 , the cap on airfares was fixed for three months (until August last week, 2020). It was in September last year only that the cap on airfares was reduced to 15 days. But at that time, travel had picked up due to the relaxed norms and fewer Covid cases,” an airline source said.

“As a result, the fares were high after 15 days at any given month. But this time, the situation is different. Despite the 15-day airfare cap, the subsequent 15 days (of a month) are witnessing very few flyers,” the source added.

Almost all airlines have floated schemes such as free meals and no charges for rescheduling/cancellation on certain sectors, seats with extra leg room and preferred seats to attract flyers.

“We want people to take advantage of the current low fares and book their tickets for the upcoming summer months. The situation will improve in sometime and travel will resume in full form,” an airline official said.

OBC, EWS quotas cut PG med seats for gen category by 42% 2-Yr Rotational Rule To Also Hit Students Hard

 

OBC, EWS quotas cut PG med seats for gen category by 42%

2-Yr Rotational Rule To Also Hit Students Hard

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Hemali.Chhapia@timesgroup.com

15.01.2022

Mumbai: Competition for post-graduate medical seats just got intense. The implementation of the 27% other backward classes (OBC) and 10% economically weaker section (EWS) quota in the all-India seats has had a huge impact on post-graduate seats for the 2022 academic year.

As the seat matrix was released by the medical counselling committee on Friday, student intake in the general category has seen a 42% reduction, or 2,747 seats. In 2021, the all-India quota had 6,556 spots for open merit students. This year, those numbers are down to 3,809.

Moreover, what will make the admission process even tougher is that a general rule that was applicable till last year will no longer be possible now: If a particular branch in a public medical school has four seats, of which 50% or two will be for the all-India quota (AIQ), an open category candidate will now get a chance to join it once in two years as rotational reservation will be put in place. ›

No general seats

Earlier, if any department had two seats in the all-India quota, we made sure that one seat was available for an open category candidate. The other seat would be rotated among the reserved categories, just SC (scheduled castes) and ST (scheduled tribes) till last year. Now, the general category candidate will get that chance once in two years,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, former head of Directorate of Medical Education and Research.

For instance, at B J Government Medical College, Pune, there is no seat for a general category candidate who may want to pursue MD in physiology. Of the two seats available, one opened up for OBC and the other for ST. The wait for an open category candidate just got longer and despite the scores, there won’t be an open spot. Or, at Government Sivagangai Medical College, Tamil Nadu, there is not a single seat for MS (general surgery) for an open category student; one opened for SC. Several colleges which have fewer seats in certain branches will not be able to offer any seat to general category candidates this year. MD medicine, a clinical branch, which had 736 seats, now has 394. An analysis of the seat matrix shows a popular branch such as paediatrics, which had 475 seats last year, has 295 openings for general category candidates with no seat in several colleges such as Government Medical College, Ernakulam.

Sudha Shenoy, a parent representative, said admission season this year is rather pressured. “Candidates have the scores but seats have reduced. Cut-off scores will rise several notches. Students who planned to join certain colleges are waking up to the rude reality that the seat that was to be made available to the category is not there.” Many parents say increasing quota in government colleges pushes several meritorious candidates to deemed universities (no reservation) and private colleges.

 

25% MU-affiliated colleges operating without principal

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

15.01.2022

Mumbai: One in four colleges affiliated to Mumbai University is functioning without a principal, revealed RTI data. Of the total 808 affiliated colleges, 81 have a director’s post. From the remaining 727, as many as 178 are operating without principals and for 23, the university does not have any record.

Many of the colleges without principals are from the engineering, law and management faculties, according to the RTI report. As per university records obtained on December 28, 2021 by RTI activist Anil Galgali, KJ Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, Ritambhara College, Vivekanand College of Law, SIES Institute of Technology, Advani College of Law, and Rizvi College are among the institutes which have incharge principals. Sardar Patel Institute of Technology (Andheri), Burhani College (Byculla), NSS College of Education (Tardeo), N Dalmia Institute of Management Studies (Mira Road), and Dr Ambedkar College of Law (Wadala), are among the colleges to not have a principal.

The information was provided by the Teacher Recognition Cell of the university. Galgali said it is the higher and technical education department’s moral responsibility to act against these colleges. He questioned the ministry’s move to approve new courses in colleges which are operating without principals. He demanded an inquiry.

A university official said that after a recent government resolution, most colleges have started filling principals’ posts. While aided colleges require a government NOC for the appointment, unaided colleges must get advertisements inviting applications approved from the university. He said the process has started in many colleges and vacancies are likely to get filled soon.

An official from the higher education department said the pandemic also delayed the appointment process in a few grant-in aid colleges. But few aided colleges are without principals right now, added the official. A government resolution was issued on November 12 asking all vacant principals' posts to be filled in non-government grant-in aid colleges before the start of the 2022-23 academic session.

 ‘96% of patients on O2 beds in Mumbai didn’t even take 1 jab’

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Richa.Pinto@timesgroup.com

13.01.2022

Mumbai: BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal on Friday said that vaccination works and civic data shows that 96% of the 1,900-odd patients on oxygen beds in Mumbai have not taken even a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, the BMC has decided that unlike the first and second waves where positivity was the benchmark to impose a lockdown or restrictions, in the third wave further curbs would be imposed only if there is a burden of high hospitalisation rate and steep rise in oxygen usage.

“Ninety-six per cent of the patients who are admitted on oxygen beds in 186 hospitals of Mumbai are unvaccinated. Otherwise, we have seen so far that vaccinated people are not reaching ICUs. We have 21 lakh vaccine stock available with us. The current hurdle in ensuring the entire adult population is vaccinated is the 84-day gap required between the two doses. Today, too, our vaccination percentage is the best in India,” Chahal said in a TV interview. He said people should not think of the Omicron variant as a flu, adding if unvaccinated it definitely can take an infected person to the ICU.

The BMC has administered both the doses to more than one crore people in Mumbai while close to 90 lakh have received one vaccine shot.

Chahal also reiterated further restrictions would be imposed in the third wave only if there is a burden of hospitalisations and oxygen use increases steeply. On Covid-related deaths, Chahal said they were in control with 19 deaths in the past 16 days.

Metrowater tender process goes online

 Metrowater tender process goes online

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Komal Gautham@timesgroup.com

13.01.2022

Chennai: Taking a cue from the city corporation, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) or Metrowater, has made its tender process completely online. The change has beenimplemented in Metrowater’s four recent tenders, with it asking all competitors to bid as well

l as make the earnest money deposit, which is 1% of the project cost, online.

The tenders are for laying of pipeline at Chembarambakkam lake, purchase of iron pipes, maintenance of treatment plant and pumping stations at Veeranam lake, and buying of machineries for the maintenance of sewage pipelines.

“Earlier, we called tenders online,but bidders would take print-outs of documents and put them inside boxes outside offices of executive engineers and superintending engineers. The tenderswould then be scrutinised and names announced. Now, the entire system has been made online,” said a CMWSSB superintending engineer.

Apart from ensuring more transparency, officials opined, this would help the board save money as it would enable better competition, which wasn’t possible in the earlier system. TOI hadreported how goondas were placed outside offices and contractors were locked up in hotels to ensure only specific contractors won the bids.

In some cases, bid amounts had been changed after tenders were opened.

CMWSSB awards contracts worth more than ₹2,500 crore every year. Of this, about₹ 250 crore isfor maintenance alone. Though there are nearly 600 contractors in the city, only a few bid for such projects. Some of these contractors fall under class I and can bid for projects above ₹75 lakh. While a group of activists welcome the metro water’s move, some demand that the state government amend the Transparency in Tenders Act, making online tender process mandatory in all departments.

“We have petitioned the chief minister and the finance minister and are hopeful that it would be implemented this year. The Chennai corporation took 15 years to completely implement the online system, but they are already reaping the benefits,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of NGO Arappor Iyakkam. Officials, however, should look outfor tender conditions thatallow onlycertain contractors to participate and ensure such conditions areremoved, he added.

 SLAMS ‘PUBLICITY’ PLEA

HC dismisses PIL seeking dry days on public holidays

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

13.01.2022

Chennai: Warning a PIL-petitioner of exemplary costs, the Madras high court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking to declare all public holidays as dry days in Tamil Nadu.

Making it clear that courts cannot interfere in administrative matters, the first bench of acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice P D Audikesavalu warned B Ramkumar Adityan that it would be constrained to impose exemplary cost for moving such pleas for publicity. According to the petitioner, though the government orders (GO) declaring public holidays clearly states that it applies to all state government undertakings, corporations and boards, Tasmac shops which are also owned by the state do not shut shops on such holidays.

Therefore, as an interim measure the petitioner wanted the court to direct the state government to shut Tasmac shops during the Pongal holidays from January 14 to 18.

 

Modi announces ₹3,000 crore assistance for TN health infra

Funds To Be Provided Over 5 Years

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Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

13.01.2022

Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Union government would provide ₹3,000 crore to Tamil Nadu in the next five years under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission to address critical gaps in health infrastructure and health research, especially atthe district level.

Modi was speaking through video conferencing at the inauguration of 11 new medical colle gesin Tamil Nadu and a new campus of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Perumbakkam. He said, “This (PM-ABHIM) will help in establishing urban health and wellness centres, district public health labs and critical care blocks across the state. The benefits of this for the people of Tamil Nadu will be immense”. Commencing his 16-minute speech by extending Pongal greetings to the people of Tamil Nadu, PM quoted the famous adage “Thai piranthal vazhi pirakkum” (beginning of Tamil month Thai brings new opportunities) and said the health of society was being furthered and connection with culture was getting stronger with the inauguration of various pro- jects.

Modi said the government of India had brought many reforms in the health sector. He said, “The once-in-a-lifetime Covid-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of the health sector. The future will belong to societies which invest in healthcare. ”

Stalin seeks NEET exemption for TN

Chief minister M K Stalin on Wednesday appealed to PM Narendra Modi to consider TN government’s request for exemptionfor the state fromthe National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination(NEET). Stalin made the appeal at the inauguration of 11 new medical colleges by the PM. 

PM lauds youth for their ‘can do’ spirit

Today’s youth have a “can do” spirit, which is a source of inspiration for every generation and India’s youth are writing the code of global prosperity, said PM Narendra Modi while inaugurating the 25th National Youth Festival in Puducherry on Wednesday.