Saurashtra, S Gujarat likely to get heavy rainfall from today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

05.07.2020

Ahmedabad: India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday said that for next five days, districts of South Gujarat and Saurashtra are expected to get heavy to very heavy rainfall. Ahmedabad district might get moderate rainfall, it added.

According to forecast on Saturday, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in Navsari, Valsad, Junagadh, Amreli, Bharuch, Surat, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Gir-Somath, along with Union territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli on Sunday. The pounding is likely to continue for next four days, added the officials.

“The phenomenon is result of two weather systems at play - there’s a cyclonic circulation over South Gujarat and neighbourhood whereas there is also an offshore trough that runs from south Gujarat to Karnataka coast,” said an official. Some parts of Ahmedabad received light drizzle on Saturday evening as the city and district expected overcast or cloudy sky. The citizens felt humidity with high temperature (maximum temperature touching 37 degrees celsius on Saturday).

CA Foundation exams deferred till November

CA Foundation exams deferred till November

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

05.07.2020

Ahmedabad: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has deferred all exams including the one for the CA Foundation and decided to merge them with the exams that are scheduled in November.

The normal schedule for exams for CA Foundation course was in May, but ICAI had postponed it till July. Now looking at the aggravating Covid-19 pandemic, all the exams have been postponed till November. Those students who were expected to take exams in May will not have to pay registration fee in November.

However, the students will be required to apply afresh for exams in November and they could opt for exam centre once again.

The exams for foundation, intermediate and final were scheduled in May. The tests were first deferred till June and later again for one more month.

At present, the Centre has ordered to close all education institutes till July 31. This practically put an end to possibility of holding exams in July. There are nearly 3 lakh students who take CA exams every year across the country.

Looking at the worsening Covid-19 situation now, all the exams have been postponed till November

Engineering admissions to begin on July 9

Engineering admissions to begin on July 9

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

05.07.2020

Ahmedabad: The government has announced that the online registration for admission in degree engineering courses will start from July 9, but the entrance tests for engineering admissions – Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET) is not yet decided. The Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE Mains) will take place only in September.

Sources in the education department said the online registration process will not serve a purpose without GUJCET and JEE results. From this year, the state government changed the admission rules for engineering and carved out a quota of 5% seats in government colleges for students from states other than Gujarat. They can secure admission in the quota through JEE, which will take place in September only due to Covid-19 pandemic according to the central government’s announcement.

Similarly, students who clear Class 12 from Gujarat are admitted in BE courses through their GUJCET score. The schedule for GUJCET has also not been announced yet.

Thousands leave Bengaluru fearing fresh lockdown

Thousands leave Bengaluru fearing fresh lockdown

Kiran.Parashar@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:  05.07.2020

Faced with a surge in Covid-19 cases and fearing another lockdown, thousands of Bengalureans were headed back to their hometowns, lining up bumper to bumper on the city’s exit roads on Saturday.

Amid murmurs of another lockdown after the SSLC examination, several workers from other parts of Karnataka headed home. There were huge snarls on Tumakuru road and other exit routes. Some said they had vacated their houses in the city and moving back home permanently. Authorities said traffic jams on Mysore Road were due to ongoing repairs. With total lockdown imposed on Sunday, effective from 8pm on Saturday, people left the city early in the morning.

KSRTC officials said many people are moving out of Bengaluru since Class 10 exams are over. Covid cases have surged in Bengaluru in the past 10 days and the health infrastructure has come under strain. As of July 4, the city has 7,250 patients under treatment.

“The cases in Bengaluru are rapidly rising and there are no hospitals to admit these patients. I am very worried about my life. I will work in the fields for my living. I will never come back to Bengaluru,” said a cab driver.

Full report on www.toi.in

HP to open for tourists, but e-pass must

Himachal Pradesh plans to soon allow outsiders and tourists to enter the state. However, the state government has made it mandatory for people willing to travel to the state to ensure they register. “It has been decided to open the state to tourists, the tourism department of the state government will issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the functioning of the tourism industry,” chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said. All inter-state movement will be monitored through registration using Covid e-pass software to ensure compliance with quarantine requirements and facilitate contact tracing of persons in the event a Covid-19-positive case is detected. TNN Full report on www.toi.in

Monthly wage loss from first 2 lockdowns ₹34,000cr: Study

Monthly wage loss from first 2 lockdowns ₹34,000cr: Study

‘19.5Cr Would Have Faced Job Loss Risk During Curbs’

Priyanka.Kakodkar@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  05.07.2020

The estimated monthly wage loss caused by job cutbacks in the country in the first two lockdowns alone would amount to Rs 33,800 crore, according to a study published as a working paper by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR).

The study also estimates that the first two lockdowns, which stretched from March 25 to April 14 and April 15 to May 3, would have resulted in 11.6 crore and 7.9 crore workers facing the risk of job loss.

Assuming these workers remained jobless for a continuous six months, the total expected wage loss would amount to Rs 2 lakh crore, or three times the budget allotted for MGNREGS in the 2020-2021 Union Budget, said the study.

Titled ‘Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Labour Supply and Gross Value Added in India’, the study is based on the Periodic Labour Force Survey data for 2017-18. The wage loss estimates are based on 2017-18 prices.

The study found that most workers who were at risk of job loss in the first two lockdowns were from states with the highest number of Covid infections. It said 40% of the workers at risk of job loss were from the top five states in terms of number of cases. Also, 70% of workers at risk of job loss were from the top 10 states. “Given that these states will continue to follow strict social distancing measures till the epidemic curve is flattened, the labour supply disruptions would persist and more workers would be rendered jobless,” the study said.

Published in June, the study is co-written by Mohit Sharma from Collaborative Research and Dissemination, Sargam Gupta of IGIDR, and Xavier Estupian and Bharti Birla of ILO.

Informal workers are the worst affected, says the study. Of the 11.6 crore workers at risk of losing jobs in Lockdown 1, as many as 10.4 crore workers were informally employed. Of these, 7.9 crore are informally employed in the unorganised sector and faced the highest risk of job loss.

Workers in urban parts have been more affected than rural, found the study. This is because curbs were fewer, with the bulk of activities in rural parts classified as essential.

In Lockdown 1, 42% of the workers in the urban parts and 16% of the workers in the rural parts were at risk of job loss. In Lockdown 2, 34% of workers in urban parts and 8% workers in rural were at risk of job loss, said the paper. “The most impacted sectors in Lockdown 1 and 2 were wholesale trade, the hotel industry, transport, manufacturing and the entertainment sector, including malls and movie theatres,” researcher Mohit Sharma said.

While estimating the cost of Covid-19 on the economy, the study looks at the GVA, or gross value added, which is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in the economy without accounting for taxes and subsidies. To examine GVA losses, the study considers Lockdown 1 to 4, which ran till May 31. During the period, it predicts a GVA loss of 3.35 lakh crore, at 2011-12 prices, owing to the labour supply shock. This will lead to around 13% reduction in GVA compared to a no-Covid-19 scenario, said the study.

The GVA growth rate in April-June 2020 is expected to decline within a range of -4.6% to -8.8 % compared to 2019-20, forecast the study.

It pointed out that as the pandemic persists, the job crisis will worsen.

Odisha to give monthly pension to transgenders

Odisha to give monthly pension to transgenders

Bhubaneswar:  05.07.2020

The Odisha government has decided to include members of the transgender community in a social welfare scheme which provides a monthly pension to the needy, a minister said.

CM Naveen Patnaik has approved a proposal to cover the members of the community under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) which aims at providing financial assistance to the destitute elderly, differently-abled persons and widows, he said.

Around 5,000 transgenders will get a monthly pension in between Rs 500 and Rs 900 depending on their age, social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities minister Ashok Panda said. PTI

DU extends admission registration till July 18

DU extends admission registration till July 18

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  05.07.2020

Delhi University on Saturday announced that the online registration process for admission to undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil and PhD programmes has been extended till July 18.

The decision to extend the deadline was taken in view of the notification of declaration of CBSE results and postponement of JEE and NEET examinations, according to a varsity official.

CBSE has said it would be declaring the results by July

15. On Friday, JEE and NEET exams were postponed to September. So far over three lakh students have registered for undergraduate courses at DU, of which 2.1 lakh have even made the payment. For postgraduate courses, over 1,31,000 students have registered with over 1.02 lakh completing the payment. Meanwhile, for MPhil and PhD programmes, 23,284 applications have been received, with 13,258 already paying for the registration.

The last date for registrations at DU was July 4, which has now been extended to July 18.

3 L ENROLMENT FOR UG COURSES AT DU SO FAR

Record one-day spike of 24K+ cases, 608 deaths on Saturday

Record one-day spike of 24K+ cases, 608 deaths on Saturday

Covid Tally Set To Cross Russia’s Count Today If Infection Trends Hold

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi  05.07.2020

: India recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases as well as fatalities, with 24,201 fresh infections and 608 deaths from the virus reported on Saturday. This was the third straight day of record rise in infections as more than 23,500 cases were reported on Friday and over 22,000 the day before.

India’s Covid-19 caseload has risen to 6,72,968, as per data collated from state governments. The tally is set to cross Russia’s Covid-19 count (at present 6,74,515) on Sunday, if current infection trends hold. That will put India at the third spot, behind the US (over 29.1 lakh cases) and Brazil (15.5 lakh), among countries with the highest coronavirus cases.

Saturday’s record surge in infections was again led by Maharashtra, which recorded a massive 7,074 new cases, crossing the 7,000 mark for the first time. At least six other states reported their highest single-day jump in cases, with Karnataka registering 1,839, Bengal 743, Gujarat 712, Rajasthan 480 and Kerala 240. Fresh cases crossed the 100 mark for the first in Goa, which added 108 to its tally.

The daily death toll also went past 600 for the first time, discounting the 2,003 deaths reported on June 16, which mostly comprised backdated fatalities recorded during data reconciliation exercises in Maharashtra and Delhi. These two states reported the highest deaths on Saturday too, with Maharashtra adding a record 295 fatalities to its count and Delhi reporting 81 deaths. The toll was high in Tamil Nadu, where 65 deaths were recorded, Karnataka

(42), Uttar Pradesh (24), Gujarat (21) and Bengal (19).

As south India continued to witness a huge spike in the coronavirus infections, Telangana and Karnataka pushed Bengal to the eight position while climbing to the No. 6 and 7 spots, respectively, in the list of states with the highest cases.

In an ominous warning of the way the pandemic could play out over the next few weeks, Karnataka’s Covid-19 caseload crossed 21,000 on Saturday, with the state reporting 1,839 more cases. With this, the state tally touched 21,549.

Full report on www.toi.in

OMINOUS WARNING: A health worker collects a sample from a woman for Covid-19 test in Kolkata on Saturday

New rlys timetable likely to see cut in halts and trains

New rlys timetable likely to see cut in halts and trains

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  05.07.2020

Train operations are unlikely to be what they were before the pandemic with the Indian Railways preparing a ‘zerobased’ time-table for all trains. This means the schedule and frequency of all earlier time-tabled passenger trains will be rewritten giving the railways flexibility to reduce the number of halts of mail/express trains and some other trains as well, sources said.

Railway board chairman, V K Yadav had told reporters early this week that the plan to roll this out has been delayed due to the pandemic, but this will be implemented.

Sources said in some cases stoppages of express/ mail trains would be done away with after assessing the number of passengers boarding and de-boarding at these stations. “It would also be easier to stop the services of some trains that run once or twice a week. Many halts were approved in the past due to political considerations. In recent years, this approach has changed,” said an official.

Each zone is working on this plan. The reduction in number of halts is expected to result in reducing the travel time as trains can run nonstop for longer distances. The railway board chief had said the 151 trains to be operated by the private players will also be part of the zerobased time-table trains.

There are indications that railways would run more trains on routes including Delhi-Amritsar, Delhi-Gorakhpur, Lucknow-Delhi, Indore-Delhi, Mumbai-Ghazipur. All these trains will have the “Special” tag.

Before the Covid crisis hit the country, railways used to run around 11,000 passenger trains daily.

Meanwhile, some of the railway officials told TOI that the railway ministry should take care while deciding the timing of the trains by private operators.

Probe ordered into spread of Covid in Jipmer

Probe ordered into spread of Covid in Jipmer

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Puducherry:  05.07.2020

The Puducherry administration on Saturday ordered an inquiry into the spread of Covid-19 infection in the campus of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) to examine whether the institute failed to ‘follow the standard operating procedures’ in preventing the spread of the infection.

Puducherry collector cum district magistrate T Arun, in an order dated July 2, directed officer on special duty (health) Muralidharan to conduct a detailed inquiry on the spread of Covid-19 on Jipmer campus and submit a report for evolving a proper mechanism to contain the spread of the infection.

Arun sought director (health and family welfare services) S Mohankumar to depute a team comprising a doctor and necessary supporting staff to the inquiry officer to assist him in the inquiry. He sought the Oulgaret tahsildar to brief the village administrative officers to extend necessary assistance to the inquiry team in identifying the Covid positive cases and earmark the areas to be declared as containment zones.

He observed that despite several preventive measures undertaken, more than 20 positive cases including health officials have been reported in the campus. He sought the cooperation of Jipmer director for the inquiry.

“Healthcare workers in a premier institute like Jipmer contracting the virus is a matter of serious concern. Their counterparts employed in Puducherry government general hospitals and primary health centres (PHCs) continue to remain safe. Even the staff members in PHCs come in close contact with about 800 people every day, but there are only a few stray cases of healthcare personnel testing positive. Jipmer cluster alone accounted for more than 56 positive cases so far,” said Arun.

Meanwhile, Puducherry recorded the second highest spike of Covid-19 positive cases in a single day with 80 more people, including 40 women, testing positive.

Let govt pay staff salaries: School in HC

Let govt pay staff salaries: School in HC

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  05.07.2020

Since Tamil Nadu government has barred private schools from demanding and collecting fee from parents, it is duty-bound to compensate the monetary burden of these educational institutions, a school has said in the Madras high court.

The city school — St Francis Xavier’s Matriculation School — seeking a direction to the government to release the salary to staff as part of the extraordinary disaster relief, linked it to the fundamental duty of the government to provide compulsory education to children from 6 to 14 years.

Admitting the plea moved by the school, Justice R Mahadevan has directed the government to file its response by July 8.

The petitioner-school, managed by Regular Tertiary Franciscans Sisters of Our Lady of Bon Secours-Society, said fees paid by students is to meet the salary and allowances for teaching and non-teaching staff, administration and curricular activities, maintenance of the infrastructure, besides statutory payments like EPF, ESI, property tax, water charges, etc.

Apart from that, students have to pay for books/ notebooks, uniforms, other personal implements and material and optional co-curricular and extra curricular activities for effective education. All these activities, curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular, form part of a healthy, holistic and integral education, the petitioner said.

While so, the petitioner was totally surprised by the sudden jolt in the financial administration of the school, due to GO prohibiting collection of fees. Initially, the petitioner was under the impression that it will be only for a short-period. Therefore, it mobilized all its resources to manage the payment towards the salary of the staff, for the months of April, May and June. As of now, the petitioner is financially exhausted with its limited resources, it added.

“On the one hand, the state has blocked all the financial resources for schools and on the other hand it is directing the school to continue to pay,” the petitioner said.

On the one hand, the state has blocked all the financial resources for schools and, on the other hand, it is directing the school to continue to pay

ST FRANCIS XAVIER’S

MATRICULATION SCHOOL

petitioner-school

Only graduates of govt law colleges will get ₹3k stipend

Only graduates of govt law colleges will get ₹3k stipend

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  05.07.2020

Only new law graduates from government law colleges, and those with less than ₹2.5 lakh annual income and aged under 30 years are eligible for Tamil Nadu government’s monthly stipend of ₹3,000, the state bar council has announced.

This apart, the beneficiaries should submit a proof of practice, endorsed by a senior advocate, every six months. Applicants must be a resident of Tamil Nadu and should produce Aadhaar as proof. Only one person from a family is eligible for the stipend, said P S Amalraj, chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

A day after CM Edappadi K Palaniswami announced the stipend scheme to be given to young advocates during their first two years of practice, the statutory council fixed the eligibility criteria for beneficiaries.

Lawyers can apply online at http://ams.bctnpy.com from July 6. Eligible applications will be forwarded to the directorate of legal studies, where they will be scrutinised. Once approved, the stipend will be paid through bank transfers to beneficiaries.

No diagnosis or cause of death in Jeyaraj’s case sheet

No diagnosis or cause of death in Jeyaraj’s case sheet

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  05.07.2020

No referral was made to a bigger hospital, no specialists called for consultation, no diagnosis or cause of death — the case sheets of P Jeyaraj, the direct eyewitness to the custodial torture death of his son Beniks, raise more questions than answers.

The two key elements of a usual case summary — diagnosis and cause of death — have not been derived although patient Jeyaraj spent at least seven hours at Kovilpatti hospital.

Jeyaraj and Beniks were arrested by the Sathankulam police on June 19 and taken to Kovilpatti subjail on June 20. On June 22, Beniks died within 75 minutes of admission at Kovilpatti government hospital.

Documents available with TOI show Jeyaraj was admitted at the hospital at 10.45pm on June 22. This was an hour and 45 minutes after the death of his son Beniks at the same hospital.

The casualty medical officer, Dr T Balasubramanian, had told health department that it was too late to refer Beniks to Tirunelveli Medical College and Hospital. But the case sheets of Jeyaraj do not show any attempt by the medical team to transfer him for higher level of care. Dr Balasubramanian, who holds a diploma in ENT, did not even call for a specialists’ opinion. “He could have called for a doctor from the same hospital who has seen these patients in the sub-jail or a senior physician. That is the normal protocol,” said a senior doctor.

CB-CID teams will interrogate 5 cops

Five arrested policemen, including an inspector, would be taken into custody by CB-CID next week for interrogation in the Sathankulam custodial deaths case. CB CID IG K Shankar said his teams were checking the possibility of retrieving deleted CCTV footages from the station. As of now, the teams are conducting inquiries with the witnesses and are examining material evidences and documents. P 8

Sathankulam deaths: Mismatch in doc notes

However, when TOI contacted, Dr Balasubramanian said: “I have given my response to the government in writing. I have no comments.”

Beniks was taken to the Kovilpatti GH at 8pm with difficulty in breathing, palpitation and sweating by two warders – Marimuthu and S Velmurugan. Dr Balasubramanian attended on him. Beniks had high pulse, mildly elevated BP and low oxygen saturation. Examination found nearly foot long – 25x20cm and 20x20 cm – wounds on both buttocks. He called for an ambulance to transfer him to Tirunelveli Medical College and Hospital. But at 9pm, he was pronounced dead.

In less than two hours, Jeyaraj was brought to the hospital with fever, body ache but no “breathlessness”. He too was attended by Dr Balasubramaniam, who noted similar wounds on his buttocks. Jeyaraj had a high blood pressure (170/ 110 mmHg against normal 120/80), high blood sugar (437mg) and mild fever (98.4F). He was known diabetic, as per the case sheet.

“In normal circumstance, when there are two people from the same case brought one after the other for unknown medical reasons, they are transferred to higher centre for better care,” said a senior government doctor.

Jeyaraj was shifted to the ward, and prescribed intravenous fluids, insulin, antihypertensive medications, drugs to bring down fever and other supportive drugs. In one hour, at around 12am on June 23, Jeyaraj’s blood sugar dropped to 258mg% and his BP was 140/ 100mmHg.

Hospital superintendent A Kamalavasan has told the joint director of health services that “a sudden cardiac arrest was noted by the staff nurse and the duty doctor rushed to the ward and team coordinated to resuscitate him.” This, according to the patient chart happened at 5.20am on June 23.

The summaries sent to health department late last month did not mention what happened between midnight and the cardiac event. But, on July 3 (Friday), doctors had sent an hourly update which showed no abnormal changes in blood pressure or blood sugar.

It said that after the cardiac arrest, Jeyaraj became unconscious, and was not responding to stimuli. He was gasping, his blood pressure could not be recorded and his pulse was feeble. The team performed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation, pumped oxygen using ambubag, gave him injections such as adrenaline and steroids to revive him. He died at 5.40am.

Their bodies were sent to the medical college one after the other on “oral” inquest from the police.

After high, city Covid numbers go below 2,000

After high, city Covid numbers go below 2,000

Share In Daily Cases Dropped To 43%

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  05.07.2020

A day after its tally crossed one lakh, Tamil Nadu recorded 4,280 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday taking the total active cases to 44,956. The death toll rose to 1,450 with 65 more fatalities reported. This included 37 in Chennai, which pushed the city’s death toll to 1,033.

As the state shows a steady climb in new infections, Chennai dropped below 2,000 cases for the first time in days, registering 1,842 fresh cases. The total number of people still under treatment in the city is 24,195. Though the city has 62% share in the total number of cases, its share in the daily cases has dropped to 43%. Chennai's three neighbouring districts Chengalpet (215), Kanchipuram (134) and Tiruvallur (251) continued to register a sharp rise in cases, together adding 600 new cases and logging 11 deaths.

Epidemiologists indicated several other districts had started to show a spike in infections. These included Madurai (352 fresh cases), Ranipet (104), Ramanathapuram (149), Thiruvannamalai (173), Coimbatore (67), Tirunelveli (61), Virudhunagar (100), Tuticorin (64) and Trichy (83). This, experts had earlier pointed out, is the natural progression of the epidemic in the state. Virologists indicated that cases in the districts would rise a lot more before the Covid curve flattened in the state.

Among the total 65 deaths reported on Saturday, six had comorbidities. The oldest casualty was is a 92-old man from Ramanathapuram and the youngest a 29-year-old man from Chennai. Both had comorbidities. The report said three patients died a day before their Covid test results arrived.

On Saturday, 2,214 people left the hospital after successful treatment taking the total number of people discharged to 60,592 in the state.

Postponed Neet may leave many TN engg seats vacant

Postponed Neet may leave many TN engg seats vacant

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  05.07.2020

If engineering admissions in TN are to be conducted before Neet and JEE, it would leave hundreds of BE/ BTech seats vacant in top engineering colleges in 2020-21. Last year, on Anna University’s four campuses, more than 400 seats fell vacant due to students leaving their BE/BTech seats to join medical colleges. Experts warn that the new schedule may further increase such vacant seats.

According to the revised schedule released by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the first round of counselling should be conducted before August 30 and classes should commence for first year studentson September 15. But, the Union HRD ministry has postponed National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet) and Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) to September in view of Covid-19.

“The AICTE should conduct a meeting with all the state health secretaries before finalising the admission dates. Most of the colleges are functioning as quarantine centres. When cases are increasing, what is the hurry in opening the colleges," asks career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi, adding that the one week delay in conducting medical counselling last year had a big impact on Anna University as more than 400 students dropped out to join MBBS. “The present schedule will make it difficult for students to make decisions. The HRD ministry should make a collective decision withNTA,AICTE andstate governments,” he said.

Vice-chancellor of the university M K Surappa said, “If JEE and Neet exams shift to September and engineering admissions are conducted in August, then it will deal a big blow. More students will go to NITs, IITs and medical colleges after joining engineering colleges.”

The number of students migrating from engineering colleges to medical colleges increased after the Neet based admissions due to uncertainty in getting the medical admissions. SASTRA University vice-chancellor S Vaidhyasubramaniam asked the AICTE to allow 10% more students than the sanctioned strength. “If engineering admissions were conducted before IIT counselling, then more students will drop out from private institutions and deemed universities. The 10% extra seats would help top colleges and deemed universities to manage the dropouts,” he said.

R M Kishore, vice-chairman of RMK Engineering College, said the new admission schedule will lead to big loss to top colleges. “Last year we had 60-70 students dropping out of our college to join medical colleges. If more students leave this year it would hurt the colleges which are under severe financial stress. We are planning to approach AICTE to revise the admission schedule,” he said.

11-member panel to take call on semester exams

11-member panel to take call on semester exams

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  05.06.2020

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday formed an 11-member committee to decide on semester examinations in college, amid indications that universities are mulling doing away with them.

Higher education secretary Apoorva will head the committee, which will work out modalities and adopt guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for conducting semester exams. The committee includes vice-chancellors of seven state universities and three IAS officers - youth welfare and sports secretary, Tamil development and information secretary, and directorate of technical education commissioner.

The state universities under the higher education department are not in a position to conduct the semester exams in view of the pandemic Issuing the order setting up the committee, chief secretary K Shanmugam said it should give recommendations in the light of the UGC guidelines for conducting semester exams.

The union HRD ministry had asked the UGC to revisit its guidelines for the semester exams, final semester exams and academic calendar in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sources said the semester exams are likely to be cancelled for students and marks may be awarded based on internal assessments. While Anna University is planning to hold semester exams online, other universities also have been considering alternate options.

“There are many challenges in holding online exams. If students are promoted without exams, a significant portion of final year students are having arrears. The committee may have to find solutions for these issues,” a college principal said.

Intense lockdown ends, but corpn won’t let guard down

Intense lockdown ends, but corpn won’t let guard down

Will Continue All Measures: Commissioner

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  05.06.2020

Greater Chennai Corporation will continue its fever clinics, quarantine management and contact tracing even as the intense lockdown comes to an end. “We will ensure all present systems work with more vigour and technological support,” said corporation commissioner G Prakash.

All activities such as 450 fever clinics, 3,500 focus volunteers, 11,800 fever surveillance workers, awareness and educational activities at slums will continue. “We are hopeful that even those who were scared to come out due to lockdown will attend fever clinics now. Our positivity rate is about 17% as on July 3 when we tested the maximum number of samples – 11,500. Of them, only 1,895 tested positive. Due to the lockdown, we also have a database of everyone under quarantine,” Prakash said.

In zones such as Tondiarpet, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar and Royapuram, survey of slums has been completed and almost all possible cases have been identified. Zonal monitoring officer of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Arun Thamburaj said 90% of people wear masks and are aware of social distancing. K P Karthikeyan, zonal monitoring officer of Tondiarpet, said doctors and nurses are now visiting markets and streets with roadside shops to check people. “We are aware that after lockdown people will begin moving and to avoid new cases in specific areas, we will intensify measures,” he said.

Madhusudhan Reddy, joint commissioner, health, said amid the lockdown, the corporation has ensured 1,500 streets that had reported cases are now Covid free. “We plan to increase this number. We have identified almost all possible cases such as their contacts to ensure the spread is controlled. During the lockdown, we were able to fish out almost all cases. Thermal screening has helped us identify cases we may have missed. Now, we just need to continue the surveillance and ensure the quarantine management system works with 100% efficiency,” he said.

He added that there would be more challenges as the city opens. “But our information and community activities have helped create awareness. We are hopeful that people will follow norms to help curb new clusters,” he said.

Curbs off city from Monday, to continue in Madurai till July 12

Curbs off city from Monday, to continue in Madurai till July 12

All Big Stores To Work From 6am To 9pm

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:05.07.2020

With the intensive lockdown coming to an end on Sunday, the government has announced some relaxations from Monday for business establishments. Vegetable, grocery and tea shops (only parcel) in Greater Chennai Police limits can operate between 6am and 6pm. As regards Madurai corporation and neighbouring areas, intensive lockdown has been extended till July 12.

In a statement, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Saturday that all showrooms and large format shops in Chennai and surrounding areas (including jewellery and textiles), except in shopping malls, would be allowed to function between 10am and 6pm. Restaurants will be permitted with only takeaway service between 6am and 9pm.

Food delivery services will be allowed till 9pm and delivery staff will have to wear identity cards. “With respect to other activities, the restrictions and relaxations that existed prior to June 19 will be applicable. I urge the public to extend full support to the government’s efforts,” Palaniswami said.

Certain restrictions and relaxations have also been announced for Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpet from July 6. Small temples in rural areas with annual income of less than ₹10,000, small mosques, darghas and churches for public worship are allowed.

4,280 cases, 65 deaths in state

A day after the TN tally crossed one lakh, the state recorded 4,280 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday taking the total active cases to 44,956. The death toll rose to 1,450 with 65 more fatalities. This included 37 in Chennai, which pushed the city’s death toll to 1,033. The total number of people still under treatment in the city is 24,195. P 6

24k cases, 608 deaths in a day

India recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases as well as fatalities, with 24,201 fresh infections and 608 deaths reported on Saturday. This was the third straight day of record rise in infections as more than 23,500 cases were reported on Friday and over 22,000 the day before. India’s Covid-19 caseload has risen to 6,72,968, as per data collated from state governments. P 11

EASE OF MOVEMENT

Rental vehicles, taxis can ply with restrictions

All industries and export-oriented units, IT/ITES and all private offices are permitted to function with 100% strength. Tasmac shops are allowed from 10am to 8pm, while tea shops, restaurants, vegetable shops and grocery shops from 6am to 8pm.

The CM called on governor Banwarilal Purohit to brief him about the steps the state government was taking to contain the pandemic. He handed over a report on Covid-19 control measures to Purohit. It was the fourth meeting between the two since the lockdown started on March 24.

The state government had announced intense lockdown in Greater Chennai Police limits and in areas falling in Tiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kancheepuram districts between June 19 and June 31 and it was later extended till July 5.

In an earlier order, the government said IT/ITES companies can operate with company-provided transport at 50% strength, subject to a maximum of 80 people in such offices from July 6. All private offices, industrial establishments and export-oriented units have been permitted to function at 50% strength.

Rental vehicles and taxis, including cab aggregators are permitted, but they cannot carry more than three passengers. Autorickshaws can carry only two passengers. Cycle rickshaws are also permitted. Barber shops, salons, spas and beauty parlours shall function as per standard operating procedure issued earlier. Fish stalls, chicken and other meat stalls and egg shops are permitted, provided they maintain physical distancing norms.

There is no need for pass for movement of vehicles within a district, however, for inter-district movement, e-pass is compulsory.

Industries and other establishments can use the e-passes issued by the district collectors before June 19 for inter-district movement of vehicles. Hence, people who already have passes, need not apply for new e-passes, the release said.

Madras High Court to work with full strength but virtually

Madras High Court to work with full strength but virtually

The decision was taken by the administrative committee of the High Court and will come into effect from Monday.

Published: 03rd July 2020 09:23 PM 

Madras High Court 

By Harish Murali

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Madras High Court on Friday decided to continue with the virtual court proceedings with its full strength. All the judges will carry out the hearings either in their court chamber or their residences. The decision was taken by the administrative committee of the High Court and will come into effect from Monday.

Since the lockdown, the court was functioning with only two division benches and four single judges hearing urgent matters through video conference. Even with these restrictions, at least six judges of the high court have tested positive for Covid 19 and are under treatment.

Members of the Bar sent a detailed representation on Wednesday to the Chief Justice for resuming the physical functioning of the courts. However, the administrative committee, headed by Chief Justice AP Sahi, decided to proceed with virtual court. It has been decided to function in full strength as the cases pending before the courts have increased.

The bar council in its letter sought for the opening of courts in a phased manner. The members said cases can be heard in a two-phased manner with physical hearing in the morning and video conference in the afternoon after obtaining the consent of both side advocates.

Court sources also said that after a few of the judges raised objections on the present video calling software, the court is set to explore other programmes for the effective functioning of the virtual courts.

During the last meeting held on June 22, the committee ordered for the physical functioning of district courts and also in the taluk level in 25 districts of the state where COVID-19 spread was comparatively less. The high court registry also in an internal circular to all its subordinate courts permitted the installation of a transparent screen in between the dais and advocates. The aim was to prevent the spread of Covid 19.

திருவள்ளுவர் பல்கலையை மூடிய, 'கொரோனா'

திருவள்ளுவர் பல்கலையை மூடிய, 'கொரோனா'

Added : ஜூலை 03, 2020 23:19

வேலுார்; துணை பதிவாளருக்கு கொரோனா உறுதியானதால், வேலுார் திருவள்ளுவர் பல்கலைக்கழகம் மூடப்பட்டது.

வேலுார் திருவள்ளுவர் பல்கலைக்கழக துணை பதிவாளருக்கு, நேற்று கொரோனா தொற்று உறுதி யானது. அவர், வேலுார், சி.எம்.சி., மருத்துவமனையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளார்.பல்கலை பதிவாளர், சையத் ஷபி கூறியதாவது:துணை பதிவாளருக்கு கொரோனா உறுதியானதால், வரும், 17ம் தேதி வரை, பல்கலை மூடப்படுகிறது. இங்கு பணியாற்றி வரும் ஆசிரியர், ஊழியர்கள், ஆசிரியரல்லாத பணியாளர்கள், வீட்டிலிருந்தபடியே பணியாற்ற உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. மாணவர்களும் வர வேண்டாம் என அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டது.இவ்வாறு, அவர் கூறினார்.

இரவு நேர விமான சேவை தூத்துக்குடியில் துவங்கியது

இரவு நேர விமான சேவை தூத்துக்குடியில் துவங்கியது

தூத்துக்குடி:துாத்துக்குடியில் இன்று முதல் இரவு நேர விமான சேவை துவங்கியது.துாத்துக்குடி, வாகைகுளம் விமானநிலையத்தில் இருந்து சென்னை, பெங்களூருவிற்கு இதுவரையிலும் பகல் நேர விமானங்கள் இயக்கப்பட்டன. அண்மையில் 600 ஏக்கர் நிலம் கையகப்படுத்தப்பட்டு ரூ 380கோடி மதிப்பில் விரிவாக்கப்பணிகள் நடந்தது. இரவு நேர சேவைக்காக ஓடுதளம் விரிவாக்கப்பட்டு, மின்விளக்குகள் அமைக்கும் பணி நடந்தது.இன்று முதல் இரவு விமான சேவை துவக்கப்பட்டது. விமானநிலைய இயக்குநர் சுப்பிரமணியன் கூறுகையில், இரவு நேர விமானத்தை இயக்க இண்டிகோ நிறுவனம் முன்வந்தது. சென்னையிலிருந்து 42 பயணிகளுடன் புறப்பட்ட விமானம் மாலை 6.23 மணிக்கு தூத்துக்குடி வந்தது. இரவு 7 மணிக்கு 31 பயணிகளுடன் மீண்டும் சென்னை புறப்பட்டு சென்றது. இரவு சேவை மூலம் தென்மாவட்ட மக்கள் பயன்பெறுவார்கள் என்றார்.

Dailyhunt

மதுரையில் எய்ம்ஸ் மருத்துவமனை: அரசிதழில் வெளியீடு

மதுரையில் எய்ம்ஸ் மருத்துவமனை: அரசிதழில் வெளியீடு

தமிழ்நாட்டின் மதுரை மாவட்டத்தில் எய்ம்ஸ் மருத்துவமனை அமைப்பது குறித்த அரசாணை அரசிதழில் வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மதுரையில் ஜப்பான் கூட்டுறவு நிதி நிறுவனம் (ஜைக்கா) உதவியுடன் தோப்பூரில் 263 ஏக்கரில் ரூ.1,264 கோடியில் எய்ம்ஸ் மருத்துவமனை அமைக்கப்பட உள்ளது. இதற்கான அரசாணையை அரசிதழில் வெளியிட்டுள்ளது மத்திய அரசு.

எய்ம்ஸ் கட்டுமானப் பணிக்கு ரூ.1,264 கோடி நிதியை மத்திய அரசு, ஜப்பான் நாட்டு நிதி நிறுவனத்திடம் (ஜிக்கா) இருந்து கடனாக பெற்று மருத்துவமனை கட்ட உள்ளது. ஏற்கெனவே கடந்த ஆண்டு ஜூன் மாதம் ஜப்பான் நாட்டு நிதிக் குழுவினா் எய்ம்ஸ் மருத்துவமனை அமைய உள்ள இடத்தை நேரில் வந்து பாா்வையிட்டுச் சென்ற நிலையில், இந்த ஆண்டு பிப்ரவரி மாதத்தில் இரண்டாவது முறையாக மீண்டும் ஆய்வு செய்திருந்தது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

Dailyhunt

Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Dinamani

Doctor booked, 500 contacts being traced

Doctor booked, 500 contacts being traced

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolhapur  04.06.2020

The Gadhinglaj police have registered various offences against a doctor for operating his two clinics and attending to patients for three days even after he had shown Covid-19 symptoms.

The doctor’s swab test returned positive on Wednesday, sending the administration on a tracing exercise of 500 people who had come in contact with him.

The doctor, who runs clinics in Gadhinglaj and Kadgaon, showed Covid-19 symptoms on June 21 and he got himself tested at a private laboratory on June 28.

However, instead of quarantining himself, he continued to attend to patients on June 29 and 30 in both clinics.

The administration is now tracing those who came in contact with the doctor from June 21 as well as the secondary contacts.

So far, they have identified more than 500 people from 28 neighbouring villages during the exercise.

Meanwhile, police have taken to social media and appealed to people to contact them in case they have visited the doctor in the last few days.

The Gadhinglaj police have registered offences against the doctor under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and even the Disaster Management Act.

Diana Award to city medical student for fundraising work

Diana Award to city medical student for fundraising work

Vinamrata.Borwankar @timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  04.06.2020

A 21-year-old medical student from the city, Meera Mehta, has received the Diana Award, established in memory of Diana, princess of Wales, for her fundraising and volunteering work. During the pandemic, Mehta raised over Rs 33 lakh and aims to reach Rs50 lakh. She is currently a volunteer at the NGO Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care in Gujarat.

The award is given to a person aged between nine and 25 years for their social action and humanitarian work by a charity named after the late princess. It is supported by her sons, princes William and Harry.

A third-year MBBS student of MGM College in Navi Mumbai, Mehta began her volunteering journey at the age of six. “When I was eight years old, we sold chocolates and raised Rs 1 lakh to rehabilitate animals. I then started regularly raising funds through the Mumbai Marathon and have raised over Rs 1.5 crore since,” she said.

Meera Mehta (21) has raised over Rs 1.5 cr till now

Stop conducting final-yr e-exams, says state, but ICT digs its heels in

Stop conducting final-yr e-exams, says state, but ICT digs its heels in

Hemali.Chhapia@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  04.06.2020

After conducting three e-exams for its final-year students, the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) was asked by the state to stall its examination process on Thursday evening. The technical institute, however, has decided to continue with the exams for about 300 undergraduate and master’s students and after a week, also hold e-exams for junior students.

The institute had decided to hold the e-exams after a meeting with class representatives and branch representatives. However, after three papers, the authorities were hounded by calls from Yuva Sena and the directorate of technical education (DTE) questioned the move.

“We have two more papers to go and an elective exam. Apart from two or three students, almost everyone wanted an exam. They want transcripts to fly out for higher education, many want to submit results to prospective employers,” said ICT vice-chancellor Aniruddha Pandit. The ICT is the first institute of the city to conduct e-exams and the efforts to stonewall the process reflects the political will of the state.

“All state universities have to follow the government resolution issued. Not only is the ICT holding final-year exams, its plans to hold them for the students of secondand third-year too,” said Yuva Sena’s core committee members Sainath Durge. He added that students sent an anonymous email to Aaditya Thackeray, following which Yuva Sena complained to the higher and technical education minister, who within hours had the DTE higher-ups ring vice chancellor Pandit.

“We had to explain the rationale of holding the e-exams to the DTE officers. Though our junior students were a part of entire process wherein we asked them how they’d like to be assessed, we will again conduct a survey in case they have a change of heart and conduct exams if they still want,” said a senior ICT faculty.

The e-exams require students to download question paper and upload the answer book using email or even WhatsApp to a secured website.For students who cannot take this version, another exam is planned in August without any drop in the grade or any other academic penalty.

LU defers exams following spike in Covid-19 cases

LU defers exams following spike in Covid-19 cases

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

04.06.2020

The Lucknow University has on Friday postponed the examinations scheduled from July 7 till further orders.

Over 1.4 lakh students of LU and its 170 associated colleges were to take the examinations.

The move came after the UP government decided to review the situation due to a spike in Covid-19 cases before taking a call on conducting examinations.

LU students feel relieved, say protest against exam paid off

The order issued by the University’s controller of examination AM Saxena said, “The government is reviewing the decision regarding the conduct of examination at the time of the pandemic. LU will wait for the government’s decision and direction hence the university examination scheduled to begin from July 7 has been postponed.”

Earlier, the then ongoing annual undergraduate examinations of LU held in March had to be postponed as lockdown was announced. Also, semester examinations scheduled in May could not be held as the lockdown continued. As the phased unlock was announced in June, the government directed universities to conduct examination after which LU released the schedule on June 19.

Soon after the dates were declared, the university’s decision faced protests from students and teachers who demanded postponement of examinations considering the novel coronavirus pandemic situation.

A group of students had challenged the university’s decision in the high court, while others staged a protest on the campus and on social media with #BoycottLUexam figuring among the top 16 most trending tweets in the country.

The teachers too joined in the protest, with Lucknow University Associated College Teachers’ Association threatening to boycott the examinations and the Lucknow University Teacher’s Association meeting the deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma with an appeal to postpone the examinations considering the rise in Covid-19 cases.

The news regarding postponement of examinations on LU’s website was a relief for university students who were concerned about writing the examination.

Antibody tests to help KGMU study herd immunity

Antibody tests to help KGMU study herd immunity

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:  04.06.2020

King George’s Medical University (KGMU) has started conducting antibody tests in communities to check if herd immunity is getting developed against coronavirus.

Prof Tulika Chandra, head of transfusion medicine, who is also heading the research, said: “Tests are being done on health workers and voluntary blood donors who do not have Covid-19 symptoms or have never suffered from the disease.”

“If antibodies are found in most subjects, it would reflect herd immunity in that community. The target is to conduct 5,000 tests in three months. The first report based on the data will be released after completion of 1,000 tests,” she said.

The drive started on Thursday with the staff of the department.

Antibodies are developed by the immune system to fight against a virus. Presence of antibodies in blood shows the person has been infected earlier and developed immunity against it.

If antibodies are found in a substantial number of people in a community, it is termed as herd immunity, which has the potential to stop further spread of the virus.

Times View

Many Covid-19 cases which surfaced in the past month have been from offices and call centres. The fact indicates employees are not following the safety protocol at their workplace. As a result, several buildings have had to be shut for sanitization, disrupting the workflow in a crisis. Responsible behaviour like wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing is the need of the hour.

Online university tests ‘discriminatory’: Kapil Sibal

Online university tests ‘discriminatory’: Kapil Sibal

New Delhi: 04.06.2020

Universities should not conduct examinations in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and even holding online tests is not right as it is 'discriminatory' towards poor students, former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal said on Sunday.

The senior Congress leader also said that with almost half the 2020-21 academic year of schools over without proper classes due to the Covid-19 spread, board examinations for Class X should not be held next year as it would burden the students unnecessarily.

“What has happened is that half the year has been lost and we don't know how long this pandemic will continue. There is no need for Class 10 board exams for a while for these two years -- this year and next year --and then they could relook at this policy,” Sibal said.

Sibal, who as the HRD minister had spearheaded a reforms process in the education sector under which it was decided to abolish compulsory CBSE Board exams for Class X, said it was a sensible policy to have been followed but when the NDA came to power they reversed that.

“Thank god they have listened to some sane advice and they have cancelled the board exams. Consider the impact it would have had, especially on the poor students who don't have access to any online facilities,” said Sibal, who was the HRD Minister from May 2009-October 2012 in the UPA-II government.

“Quite frankly even university exams should be postponed,” Sibal said.

Till such time there is a pandemic, there should be no exams and holding online examinations will be 'extremely discriminatory' because in a lot of places in India, in remote areas, there was no facility for online examinations and the poor would be discriminated against, he said. AGENCIES