‘No merit in arguments over Shailaja’s exclusion’

‘No merit in arguments over Shailaja’s exclusion’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram:21.05.2021

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury here on Thursday said there was no merit in the arguments that K K Shailaja was excluded from the second Pinarayi government for any ulterior reasons.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the new government’s swearing-in ceremony, Yechury said the decision to induct all new faces into the new cabinet was the outcome of a principled stand taken by the CPM in Kerala.

Selection of candidates for ministerial berth is the prerogative of the respective state committees.

“They are the matters within the domain of the respective state committees. And that is the party structure. So, we have taken a principled decision and that decision I think would be good for the long-term interest, not only for the CPM and LDF, but also for the state of Kerala,” he said.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that the CPM collectively took all decisions regarding the government formation. He also turned down the reports that the central leadership was upset over the decision to drop Shailaja from the cabinet, despite her sterling performance as health minister in the first Pinarayi government.

CPM leaders claimed that the party decision to deny seats to all those had contested two elections consecutively and to drop all former ministers from the first Pinarayi government were taken to rejuvenate the party and nip the possibilities of certain leaders emerging as power centres.

A similar drastic change in the CPM’s organizational positions is also on the anvil is what they claims.

Higher education: A time for reforms and transformation

BY INVITATION

Higher education: A time for reforms and transformation

Kuncheria P Isaac  21.05.2021 

The all-India higher education survey paints a grim picture of the higher education sector in Kerala. Be it university, college, or the gross enrolment ratio (GER) ranking, we have nothing to cheer about. Kerala ranks 20th in the universities’ category, 11th in colleges’ category and 8th in GER. The new government would need the courage and resolve to make a course correction and salvage the ailing sector.

First, blind opposition to National Education Policy (NEP) should stop and government should use it as a springboard to scale new heights. Kerala should be open to structural changes to make higher education system more research intensive and academic oriented. Elimination of affiliation system, granting more autonomy through a process of accreditation, ranking and rating is the next step.

If we assume that the population of Kerala will be around 40 million by 2040 and if 10% of this population will be college students (18-23) at a GER of 50%, the college-going population in Kerala will be 2 million. Following NEP to its logical conclusion, these students should be enrolled in 60 universities, with an average enrolment of 30,000 students. Unless we are open to structural changes, such a target is impossible to achieve.

Can we reform the existing, affiliated universities to provide a quality education is the fundamental question before the government? Based on my experiences at KTU and the present governance structure, it may be an impossible task. It is better for the government to think of transforming the system, keep it aligned with NEP by separating the governance of affiliated system and university departments. The governance of university departments should be vested with the teachers and not the persons elected or nominated to the syndicate from affiliated colleges.

Digitalisation: Classroom in every home

In this era of MOOC, ‘distance education’ is obsolete. Priority should be on digitalisation to achieve a GER of 50% with quality education. All students cannot be on campus for education and hence the first task is to set up a classroom in every house with personal computers or laptops and internet facility. Government should provide this facility to those in BPL category.

Smart classrooms, inclusion of tablets, e-books enabled with educational software and applications, digital library, personalized learning, adaptive learning, project based learning are the features of digital transformation required for a student-centric learning.

Research

This culture is almost absent in our higher education institutions. Though one can sense some sort of awakening, the credit goes to NIRF and accreditation process. It is where government should step in and act as an enabler.

(The author is Director General XIME and former VC of KTU)

HC to govt: Are you making a mockery of edu system?

HC to govt: Are you making a mockery of edu system?

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:21.05.2021

The Bombay high court on Thursday came down heavily on the state government for its decision not to hold SSC exams. The HC heard a PIL by Dhananjay Kulkarni, a retired teacher from Pune, which stated that cancelling of SSC exams can lead to problems for Class XI admissions as different boards declare results based on different formulae.

Government pleader Priyabhushan Kakade said the state is waiting for suggestions from the State Council of Educational Research and Training in a week, after which it will come up with a formula. “Are you making a mockery of the education system?” asked Justice Kathawalla. Kakade said the decision was taken due to the pandemic. “What are you talking? Pandemic. Pandemic,” said Justice Kathawalla, adding that on one hand, the state is saying Covid-19 cases are lessening. “In the name of the pandemic you cannot spoil the career and future of our children... It is not acceptable,” he said.

The judges questioned the discrimination in holding HSC exams for 14 lakh students and not SSC exams for 16 lakh students, adding that “things are done as per whims and fancies of so-called policy- makers.” Told by Kakade that it was a policy decision taken by the government not to hold the SSC exams, Justice Kathawalla remarked, “You are just destroying the system.”

Kulkarni’s advocate Uday Warunjikar said that for Classes I-VIII, there were no exams and even for Class XI. “The complete batch is without any examinations,” he said. Advocate Madhaveshwari Mhase, for an intervenor Anubha Sahai, said Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu had cancelled SSC exams. She said the Madras HC had even dismissed a challenge to the decision. “It is not binding on us. We care about the future of our students, who are the future of the country. They cannot be promoted year after year,” said Justice Kathawalla.

The SSC board’s advocate Kiran Gandhi said it is awaiting a formula from the state. “You are not prepared with anything. Just cancel the exams and sit tight!” said Justice Kathawalla. The judges will pass an order on the matter.

No bail for vendor who laid iron rod on tracks

No bail for vendor who laid iron rod on tracks

Rebecca.Samervel@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:21.05.2021

Seven months after a 30-year-old flower vendor allegedly threw an iron rod on railway tracks as revenge after he was robbed of his sleep for several days due to ongoing work on an FOB at Charni Road, a sessions court this week rejected his bail plea. The accused, Anil Vaghela, lived on a footpath nearby.

Relying on CCTV footage, the court said that if any train were to pass, the possibility of an accident and loss of life could not be ruled out. “Fortunately, the train… stopped,” the court said.

It said that since Vaghela lived close to Charni Road railway station, if released on bail, he could commit such an offence again. “Therefore, considering the seriousness and prima facie evidence available on record (there is) no ground to release accused on bail,” the court said. Vaghela was booked for “mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees and upwards” under the IPC and offences under the Railways Act. The maximum possible sentence is three years’ imprisonment.

9am to 2pm: PU office new timings

9am to 2pm: PU office new timings

Chandigarh:21.05.2021 

In order to review the status of Covid-19 cases at Panjab University (PU) and to contain the spread, the PU authorities on Thursday decided the timings of the university office from 9 am to 2 pm with 50% staff till May 31. Officers at the level of office superintendent and above will attend the office daily. TNN

50% STAFF TO ATTEND PANJAB UNIVERSITY OFFICE FROM 9AM TO 2PM

 Times of India  Chandighar 

50% STAFF TO ATTEND PANJAB UNIVERSITY OFFICE FROM 9AM TO 2PM

Russian holiday vaccine seekers’ and travel industry’s best shot

ATTRACTIVE OFFERS

Russian holiday vaccine seekers’ and travel industry’s best shot

Shariq.Majeed@timesgroup.com

Ludhiana:21.05.2021

Vaccine tourists fly to Russia amid shortage at home, even as Sputnik lands. Booking queries for the combo package of Russian holiday and shots exceed the frequency of flights, so wait until May-end and hope for this second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic to subside.

Micro and small travel agent association president Gurpreet Chawla said: "The Russia package includes shots of Sputnik V for the 18-plus, with certificate, besides 24-night stay in a 4-star hotel with breakfast. The client can downgrade or upgrade, and add extra meals, sightseeing, and chauffer service. But the two weekly direct flights are full."

A prominent tour company’s sales head, Rakesh Sharma, said: “We hope it will be better after May. Besides Ludhiana, other cities are also calling in. Mostly, those are families and groups, as the sharing price is cheaper than the Rs 30,000-to-40,000 cost for singles.” There are also Rs 80,000 and Rs 1.25 lakh packages. Local facilitators in Russia have a tie-up with its government clinics but boarding the flight takes RTPCR negative report not more than 72 hours old.

Travel agent Sanjay Mehra said it was lockdown in almost all international destinations, while Russia was open. The package includes daily breakfast in hotel, airport-to-hotel transfer, two doses of Sputnik with certificate, two pre-vaccination medical check-ups, all transfers and doctor’s visit with English-speaking guide, invitation letter for tourist or medical visa (subject to approval), Russian Visa fee (also subject to approval). Extra meal costs Rs 950 and includes continental buffet and Indian food. Mehra launched the combo offer with seven bookings.

Since Sputnik V has arrived in India, many travel agents see their business opportunity waning.

A local travel agent said: “The Russian vaccine is expected to be available in India soon but since people haven’t been able to go out for long, they might prefer our package." Russian health and disease-control regulations since April 28 require all passengers from India to be tested for Covid-19 after passing immigration. They need no wait at the airport to get the result.

City man fails to get HC relief to fly to US over bank fraud

City man fails to get HC relief to fly to US over bank fraud

Court Seeks Reply From Union Govt

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:21.05.2021

The Telangana high court on Thursday declined to give any interim relief to a city resident who sought permission to fly to the United States.

Refusing to accept the pleas of petitioner Kanumuri Venkata Subba Raju, Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili issued notices to the Centre, immigration officials and sought their replies within two weeks. The judge was hearing a petition of Subba Raju who said that the immigration officer at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport affixed a stamp on his passport indicating that it stood cancelled.

Stating that a person who defrauded a bank should not talk about rules and procedures when he was facing a lookout circular and was prevented from flying to the US, the judge said: “You cheat a bank and when the aggrieved bank writes to the Centre and got a lookout circular issued against you, you are now talking about rules and procedures. I cannot accept this.” The judge asked the petitioner to make UCO Bank a party.

Subba Raju’s counsel argued that there was no criminal case against him and that it was not right to stop him from going to the US as he had already acquired the US citizenship. “It is unlawful to prevent him to leave India,” he said, and added that all this was done at the behest of UCO Bank, Kolkata. The judge then asked the petitioner why did not he make the bank a party to his petition. Subba Raju is a resident of Kavuri Hills near Madhapur.

Shopkeepers booked for selling pulse oximeters at higher prices

Shopkeepers booked for selling pulse oximeters at higher prices

Mungara.Sunil@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:21.05.2021

Exploiting the precarious situation, several medical shops are making a killing by jacking up the prices of pulse oximeters and sanitizers. Instead of selling them at MRP, the shopkeepers are hiding the price by sticking blank labels on them.

Confirming these violations, assistant controller of legal metrology department Shivanand said that raids are being conducted on several medical shops. “Our special teams have raided several shops and found that a few are violating norms. We have raided 110 medical shops so far and imposed penalties. A reputed medical shop was fined Rs 25,000 for selling pulse oximeters and sanitizers at higher prices,” said Shivanand, adding that cases were booked for violating the compulsory mask rule.

“So far 12 cases were booked and Rs 23,000 fined was imposed for violating the compulsory mask rule,” he added.

The official made it clear that they have no intention to harass the shopkeepers.

“Our intention is not to harass the shopkeepers by imposing penalties and booking cases. We are coming hard on those greedy who are exploiting the rush because of the pandemic situation and the lockdown. Some shops are illegally hiking the price of oximeters by about 95 to 120%.

Officials conduct a raid at a medical shop

Singapore tells Twitter, FB to carry correction notice on strain of virus

Singapore tells Twitter, FB to carry correction notice on strain of virus

Singapore:21.05.2021 

Singapore on Thursday ordered Facebook and Twitter to carry a correction notice to users of the social media platforms in the country over what it says is a false statement about a new virus variant originating in Singapore.

The ministry of health said it was aware of the statement circulating online on media outlets and social media platforms, which implied that a new, previously unknown variant of Covid-19 originated in Singapore and risked spreading to India from the city-state.

The move came after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a Twitter post this week that a new form of the virus that was particularly harmful to children had come to Singapore, and urged for a ban on flights.

Both the Singapore and Indian governments have criticised the opposition politician, saying his comments were not based on facts and were “irresponsible”.

The correction orders were issued under Singapore’s fake news law, or the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.

Facebook and Twitter confirmed receipt of the order and said they complied as per the local law.

A prompt on users’ Facebook news feeds linked to a government website that said there was no new “Singapore” variant of Covid-19. Neither is there evidence of any Covid variant that is “extremely dangerous for kids”, the health ministry said. It said the B16172 strain found in many new Covid-19 cases in Singapore was first detected in India.

Twitter sent notifications to its account holders based in Singapore, which included a tweet from the Singapore government’s official account @POFMA_Notice. REUTERS

‘2nd wave a humanitarian crisis’

NOMURA REPORT

‘2nd wave a humanitarian crisis’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:21.05.2021 

Japanese investment bank and brokerage firm Nomura has said the second wave of Covid is a humanitarian crisis in India rather than an economic one and expects the impact of localised lockdowns to be less severe than last year.

“The hit to mobility due to the state-wide lockdowns has been steep, and the economic impact is likely to be most severe in May. However, we expect the overall hit to sequential growth in Q2 (April-June) to be much less severe than last year and less than what the drop in mobility suggests, as lockdowns are more nuanced this time and consumers and businesses

have adapted, a view supported by international evidence,” Nomura said in its Asia special report.

“Stronger global growth is also currently a tailwind, which was not the case last year. We expect lockdowns to last for around six weeks and be followed by selective reopening in June, which should result in better sequential growth,” the report said.

The RBI is also of the view that the impact of the second wave on the economy is likely to be less severe this year compared to last year when there was strict lockdown across the country.

Nomura said it expects the pace of vaccinations to accelerate after June. “We expect half of the population to be fully vaccinated by end-2021 and India to reach its vaccine pivot point in Q3, which should boost domestic consumption,” the report said.

French investment bank Societe Generale said that the second wave would have a disproportionately high impact on demand than on supply, which might linger for a few quarters more.

It said this had forced them to revise down their growth forecast for FY22 to 8.5% from 9.5%.

‘Dogs can sniff Covid almost as well as PCR tests’

‘Dogs can sniff Covid almost as well as PCR tests’

21.05.2021 TOI 

Dogs are able to detect Covid-19 in humans, a new study showed, paving the way for the broader use of sniffing canines in a global effort to contain the pandemic. The dogs’ detection reached 97% sensitivity in the French study, meaning that’s how well the canines could identify positive samples. The sniffing was also 91% specific, which rates the dogs’ ability to identify negatives. The sensitivity rating beats that of many 15-minute antigen tests, which tend to be better at ruling out infection than at finding it. The results mean that dogs could be more widely deployed in airports or stations to screen people. Using dogs also means Covid could be identified at just a fraction of a second in a non-invasive manner, and at a low cost. The trial was conducted at National Veterinary School in Maisons Alfort near Paris. There were 335 people tested, of which 109 were positive in a PCR test that served as a control. Nine dogs participated. BLOOMBERG

MBBS graduate on Covid duty gets into IIM-Bangalore

MBBS graduate on Covid duty gets into IIM-Bangalore

Bharat.Yagnik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:21.05.2021

Dr Nuhad Bardai’s joys knew no bounds when she received her admission letter from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, one of the top 100 business schools in the world as per Financial Times’ Global MBA Ranking 2021. The letter came on the day of Eid, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims across the world fast from dawn to dusk.

Dr Bardai, who completed her MBBS from BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, was in Covid duty as a part of her medical internship, when the final results for the Common Admission Test (CAT), 2021, came in.

“I felt as if my prayers were answered. I was doing Covid duty for about a year and found time only between two shifts or during the mandatory quarantine period to study for CAT. Yes, there were apprehensions, but I am happy to make the cut in the end,” Dr Bardai said.

Hailing from Rajkot, where she completed her schooling, Bardai belongs to a family of businessmen.

“I think it is quite out of the box for medical professionals to go on to do an MBA. However, I believe there is a dire need for such people and the pandemic may have shown us why we need better management in healthcare and the medical field," she said. Her goal is to eventually go into healthcare consulting and then start a venture of her own. “So, in all, I will always remain a doctor, but I will utilize my skills a bit differently.”

Dr Bardai has been a bright student, always making it among the Top 10 students at BJ Medical college, considered as one of the top medical colleges of Gujarat.

Dr Bardai served nearly seven term duties in the Covid-19 centre as part of her studies. Her stellar performance in academics continued as she scored 96 percentile to not only crack CAT 2021 but get interview calls from top B-schools of the country including IIM-Kozhikode, nine new IIMs, FMS Delhi, and NMIMS, Mumbai. “As a medical science student, I was used to studying for ten long hours. So, it was not a big challenge to study six hours a day for CAT. The bigger challenge was when Covid-19 cases began to rise and we had to step up our efforts and work relentlessly," Dr Bardai said.

Dr Nuhad Bardai studied between shifts while serving nearly seven term duties at a Covid centre

‘Covaxin protection after 1st dose not high as Covishield’

‘Covaxin protection after 1st dose not high as Covishield’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:21.05.2021

The interval between the two doses of Covishield has been increased to 12-18 weeks as the first dose developed strong immunity but the four week gap for Covaxin is unchanged as the immunity after the initial shot is not as high.

Explaining the government decision to make a three month interval mandatory for Covishield, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, Indian Council of Medical Research head Dr Balram Bhargava said the immunity post the first shot was found to be quite strong. He said a three month gap will give the best results.

“On the other hand, the immunity level after the first shot of Covaxin is not as high and this means the second dose should be taken after four weeks to ensure the full level of efficacy,” Dr Bhargava said.

He also said the recommendation that those who had contracted Covid or persons who came down with after the first does wait three months for their vaccination was based on the assessment that patients who recover from the disease have sufficient anti-bodies.

“It is not clear how long the anti-bodies last...six or seven months. So it is advised that vaccination be done or completed after a three month interval,” Dr Bhargava said.

The four-week gap between two doses of Covaxin remains unchanged

Mucormycosis found in 23-year-old Covid-cured Surat patient’s brain

Mucormycosis found in 23-year-old Covid-cured Surat patient’s brain

Jay.Pachchigar@timesgroup.com

Surat:21.05.2021

After getting discharged from hospital following recovery from Covid-19, there’s still a few things that one must look out for — redness in eyes, headache, coughing, bloody vomit among others. These may be a precursor to the dreaded mucormycosis.

Along with MM treatment, doctors advise getting an MRI scan of the brain done. For, condition of brain mucormycosis may go unnoticed until a patient suffers from epilepsy or becomes unconscious.

Surat doctors recently came across a rare case of MM infection in the brain of a 23-year-old patient from Kosamba while his sinus, eyes and lungs, which are usually found infected in MM patients, were completely unaffected. In fact, it was a case study for the doctors too who learnt about MM infection in the brain after conducting a surgery and biopsy.

“The patient started having fits and hence got MRI scans done. It showed brain edema which gradually increased, and his body movements were also slowing down. He was, therefore, brought to Surat,” said Dr Hitesh Chitroda, a neurosurgeon.

The surgeon further said that after CT scans showed that there was midline shift due to pressure, they conducted a brain surgery to decrease pressure. The surgery was done by Dr Chitroda along with Dr Maulik Patel and Dr Rakesh Bharodiya, a biopsy of brain tissues. “Biopsy report suggested mucormycosis infection in the brain, which surprised us as his sinus was unaffected. In usual case, the sinus gets infected first and then brain is affected,” he said.

Doctors suspect that the patient may have dissemminated mucormycosis in which the infection spreads through blood streams and most commonly affects the brain.

“I have never come across or heard of post-Covid isolated brain MM infection. Hence, this could be the first such reported case,” Dr Chitroda told TOI.

Advisory issued by Indian Council of Medical Research for screening, diagnosis and management of mucormycosis does not mention about symptoms like fits and brain edema.

Patient's CT scan image showing brain edema and mid-line shift

Doc to work in govt hosp as bail condition

Doc to work in govt hosp as bail condition

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Vadodara:21.05.2021

A homeopathy doctor who was held in connection with pilferage of rapid antigen testing (RAT) Covid testing kits in Limdi town in Dahod district has been asked to serve in government healthcare facilities as a bail condition. The accused had allegedly taken the kits from a Jhalod taluka health officer.

The homeopath Dr Karan Devda had allegedly obtained the kits from Dr Dharmesh Chauhan. Some of these kits were used for testing his relatives by Devda while the rest were used for testing some patients.

Jhalod police arrested Devda in connection with the pilferage of kits. Devda told the police that he had obtained the kits from Chauhan. After his name cropped up, Chauhan has been on the run and the police is looking for him.

Devda meanwhile applied for bail. He was asked to work 8 hours in a government hospital or health centre from Monday to Thursday as bail condition.

Bharat Biotech to produce Covaxin in Ankleshwar

Bharat Biotech to produce Covaxin in Ankleshwar

Ahmedabad:21.05.2021 

Bharat Biotech, the maker of India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, on Thursday announced that it will utilize its subsidiary Chiron Behring Vaccines’ facility at Ankleshwar in Gujarat to further ramp up its Covaxin production.

Bharat Biotech plans to produce 200 million doses of Covaxin per annum at the Ankleshwar facility and product availability at this plant will commence from the fourth quarter of 2021, the vaccine major said.

Bharat Biotech had already deployed multiple production lines at its Hyderabad and Bengaluru campuses.The Ankleshwar plant will take its overall capacity to produce Covaxin to 1 billion doses per annum. TNN

Kota hospital MD, staff booked for giving COVID patient glucose injection instead of remdesivir

Kota hospital MD, staff booked for giving COVID patient glucose injection instead of remdesivir

This comes a day after Kota District Collector Ujjawal Rathore ordered a probe into the incident that took place last week.

Published: 20th May 2021 11:46 PM  

 By PTI

KOTA: The managing director and the nursing staff of a private hospital here were on Thursday booked under culpable homicide, cheating and criminal conspiracy charges over the death of COVID-19 patient, who was allegedly administered a glucose injection instead of remdesivir.

This comes a day after Kota District Collector Ujjawal Rathore ordered a probe into the incident that took place last week.

Circle Inspector, Jawahar Nagar police station, Ramkishan Verma said a case was lodged under sections 304(A), 420 and 120 (B) of the IPC against nursing staff Manoj Raiger, Rakesh Raiger and Brijmohan, and managing director Rakesh Jindal of Kota Heart Hospital.

He said the case was registered based on a complaint lodged by Puneet Rohida, a resident of the Dakaniya railway station area of the city.

Rohida alleged that his COVID-positive mother was administered a glucose injection by the nursing staff at the hospital instead of remdesivir, even though he had arranged all medicines prescribed to her, leading to her death on May 14, Verma said.

The hospital management had earlier lodged a case accusing its nursing staff of theft and black marketing of medicines of the facility, the police official said.

Did vaccine hesitancy played significant role in COVID spread at AMU campus? V-C thinks so

Did vaccine hesitancy played significant role in COVID spread at AMU campus? V-C thinks so

Notably, 19 serving teachers at the university and at least 21 retired teachers lost their lives due to COVID-19 and COVID-like symptoms in recent weeks.

Published: 21st May 2021 12:52 AM

 Aligarh Muslim University (File Photo | PTI)

By PTI

ALIGARH: AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor on Thursday said vaccine hesitancy played a big role in the spread of coronavirus in the campus, where at least 40 serving and retired teachers have died in recent weeks due to COVID or COVID-like symptoms.

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) authorities also launched a vaccination audit and urged all employees to provide their vaccination status and that of their family members for "future health planning and streamlining the vaccination drive".

"Vaccine hesitancy has played a significant role in the incidence of large number of cases of COVID-19 among university employees and their families, and consequent morbidity and mortality," the VC said in an open letter to AMU community.

Last week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited the AMU campus and pointed that vaccination could have saved lives.

Notably, 19 serving teachers at the university and at least 21 retired teachers lost their lives due to COVID-19 and COVID-like symptoms in recent weeks.

The Vice-Chancellor said two vaccination centres are currently operational at the campus and appealed to the AMU community to shed doubts regarding the efficacy of the vaccines in preventing any further loss of life.

"All studies indicate that vaccines provide protection against serious disease, hospitalizations and deaths," he said.

To tackle the current crisis and prepare for a possible third wave of COVID, the Vice-Chancellor has also instituted a high-level 15 member committee to draw a roadmap for shoring up resources and medical facilities at the campus.

The committee will be headed by the AMU registrar and will include the principal dean and the superintendent of the medical college hospital.

It will also plan additional resources and equipment for the paediatric wards keeping in mind the possible threat to children.

Earlier, at the request of the Vice-Chancellor, ICMR had conducted genome sequencing of coronavirus samples around the campus but found that no new strain was responsible for the large number of deaths in the area.

கணவரின் ஓய்வூதிய பலன்: மனைவி மனு தள்ளுபடி

கணவரின் ஓய்வூதிய பலன்: மனைவி மனு தள்ளுபடி

Added : மே 20, 2021 22:18

சென்னை:கணவரின் ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களை, நிறுத்தி வைக்கக் கோரிய மனுவை பரிசீலிக்க கோரி, பிரிந்து வாழும் மனைவி தாக்கல் செய்த வழக்கை, சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் தள்ளுபடி செய்தது.

கரூரில் உள்ள புள்ளியியல் உதவி இயக்குனர் அலுவலகத்தில், சுப்ரமணியன் என்பவர் பணியாற்றுகிறார்.

சொத்துகள் விற்க முயற்சி

அடுத்த மாதத்தில் ஓய்வு பெற உள்ளார். இந்நிலையில், அவரது மனைவி ராஜேஸ்வரி தாக்கல் செய்த மனு:கடந்த, 2005ல் எங்களுக்கு திருமணம் நடந்தது. இரண்டு குழந்தைகள் உள்ளனர். வீட்டை விட்டு துரத்தப்பட்டேன். என் சகோதரர் வீட்டில், குழந்தைகளுடன் தங்கி இருக்கிறேன். குடும்ப வன்முறை பாதுகாப்பு சட்டத்தின் கீழ், கணவருக்கு எதிராக புகார் அளித்துள்ளேன்.

சட்டப்படியான என் உரிமையை முறியடிக்கும் நோக்கில், அவரது சொத்துக்களை விற்பதற்கு முயற்சி செய்கிறார்.என் கணவருக்குரிய ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களை அளிக்கக் கூடாது என, புள்ளியியல் உதவி இயக்குனர் அலுவலகத்தில் மனு அளித்துள்ளேன். என் மனுவை பரிசீலிக்க உத்தரவிட வேண்டும்.இவ்வாறு மனுவில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மனுவை விசாரித்த, நீதிபதி எஸ்.வைத்தியநாதன் பிறப்பித்த உத்தரவு:ஊழியர் வாழும் வரை, அவரிடம் தான் ஓய்வூதிய பலன்கள் வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும். விவாகரத்து கோரியும், மனுதாரர் வழக்கு தொடுத்துள்ளார். குடும்ப வன்முறை சட்டத்தின் கீழும் புகார் அளித்துள்ளார். உண்மையிலேயே பாதிக்கப்படும் பெண்களை பாதுகாப்பதற்கான இந்த சட்டம், துஷ்பிரயோகம் செய்யப்படுகிறது. குடும்பத்தை விட்டு துண்டித்து செல்ல வேண்டும் என்பது, இந்த சட்டத்தின் நோக்கம் அல்ல.

உத்தரவு

ஒவ்வொரு ஆணின் வெற்றிக்கு பின்னும், பெண் இருக்கிறார் எனக் கூறுவது உண்டு. அது, ஒரு பெண் மட்டும் அல்ல; தாயும், மனைவியும், ஆண்களுக்கு இரு கண்கள். குடும்பத்தில் மனைவி வேர் போன்றவர். வேரில் சேதம் ஏற்பட்டால், குடும்பமே பாதிக்கப்படும். சரிபாதியான மனைவிக்கு, முக்கியத்துவம் அளிக்க வேண்டும்.சொத்துக்களை விற்பதற்கு கணவர் முயற்சிப்பதாலும், ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களையும் அளித்து விட்டால், தனக்கும், குழந்தைகளுக்கும் ஒன்றும் வழி இருக்காது என, மனுதாரர் கருதுகிறார்.

யூகத்தின் அடிப்படையில், நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்க முடியாது.பணியில் இருப்பதால், பணப் பலன்களை நிறுத்தி வைப்பது, விடுவிப்பது தொடர்பாக, சம்பந்தப்பட்ட அதிகாரி தான் முடிவெடுக்க வேண்டும். மனு தள்ளுபடி செய்யப்படுகிறது.இவ்வாறு நீதிபதி உத்தரவிட்டார்.

மே மாத மின் கட்டணம்: பொதுமக்களே கணக்கீடு செய்யலாம்

மே மாத மின் கட்டணம்: பொதுமக்களே கணக்கீடு செய்யலாம்

Updated : மே 20, 2021 22:28 | Added : மே 20, 2021 22:26 |

சென்னை:மின் கட்டணத்தை பொதுமக்களே சுயமாக மதிப்பிட்டு, அதை வாட்ஸ் அப் வழியாக மின்வாரிய அதிகாரிகளுக்கு அனுப்ப வேண்டும் என தமிழக மின்சார வாரியம் அறிவித்துள்ளது.

இது குறித்து தமிழக மின்சார வாரியம் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிவிப்பு: நடப்பு மே மாதத்துக்கான மின் கட்டணத்தை பொதுமக்களே தங்கள் வீடுகளில் இருக்கும் மீட்டர் பாக்ஸ் மூலமாக தாமே கணக்கீடு செய்து கொள்ளலாம் என்றும் அதை போட்டோ எடுத்து தங்கள் சுய மதிப்பீட்டை வாட்ஸ் அப் வழியாக மின் வாரிய அதிகாரிகளுக்கு அனுப்ப வேண்டும்.

பொதுமக்கள் தரும் சுய மதிப்பீட்டு கட்டணங்களில் சந்தேகம் இருந்தால் மீண்டும் மின் வாரிய பணியாளர்களே ரீடிங் எடுப்பார்கள். மதிப்பீடு உறுதி செய்யப்பட்டால் இணைய வழியில் மின்கட்டணத்தை செலுத்திக் கொள்ளலாம். இவ்வாறு மின்சார வாரியம் அறிவித்துள்ளது.

All legislature parties to discuss Covid measures on Sat

All legislature parties to discuss Covid measures on Sat

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:21.05.2021

Chief minister M K Stalin will chair a meeting on Saturday with legislature party leaders who are part of a committee constituted to recommend to the government Covid preventive measures. The meeting will take place at the secretariat at 11.30am. This is the first meeting of the consultative committee.

Following the recommendations of the leaders in an all-party meeting, the government set up the committee with representatives from DMK (N Ezhilan), AIADMK (former health minister C Vijayabaskar), Congress (AM Munirathinam), PMK (G K Mani), BJP (Nainar Nagendran), MDMK (T Sadhan Thirumalaikumar), VCK (S S Balaji), CPM (V P Nagai Mali) amd CPI (T Ramachandran).

Public secretary D Jaganathan is the member-secretary of the committee.

TN to consider ₹4,000 cash aid, spl vax drive for transpeople

TN to consider ₹4,000 cash aid, spl vax drive for transpeople

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:21.05.2021

Tamil Nadu government has told the Madras high court that it would consider the request of the transgender community to extend ₹4,000 Covid-19 cash aid to all transsexuals without ration cards and to organise a special covid-19 vaccination drive for the community.

Advocate-general R Shanmugasundaram made the submission on Thursday while responding to a public interest writ petition moved by transgender rights activist Grace Banu. Recording the submission, the first bench of chief justice Sanjib Banerjee and justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorty directed the state to consider the matter and report to the court on May 27.

According to the petitioner, transsexuals are finding it difficult to meet their medical and livelihood expenses due to the complete lockdown imposed by the government from May 10. “Besides livelihood, their life is also in danger due to uncertainty over taking Covid-19 vaccine since the government has not issued guidelines specific to suit the community’s unique needs, since some of them would be going through sex reassignment surgery (SRS),” the petitioner added.

Dense rain clouds, power cuts leave streets in dark

Dense rain clouds, power cuts leave streets in dark

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

21.05.2021

Rain that lashed some parts of the city and its suburbs on Thursday evening might stay with us for the next two days. The showers on Thursday, accompanied by strong breeze, caused power cuts in some neighbourhoods.

Southern suburbs received the maximum rain on Thursday - Meenambakam 2.3cm, West Tambaram 2.8cm, OMR 3.4cm, Chembarambakkam 1.6cm, while areas in the city such as Nandanam and Villivakkam recorded 1.2cm and 1.5cm rain. Many neighbourhoods including Aminjikarai, Anna Nagar, Nungambakkam, Korattur and parts of North Chennai received a short yet good spell of rain. There were power cuts for more than three hours in Pazhavanthangal, Pallikaranai, Keelkattalai, Medavakkam, Maduravoyal and Porur.

A senior official with Tangedco said they had cut power as precaution for field workers to check if there were any low-lying wires in the suburbs. “There were no cuts in most parts of the city.”

Chances of rain in the next 48 hours are high due to convergence of sea breeze and land breeze ahead of formation of a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. An IMD forecast for the city said, “The sky condition is likely to be partly cloudy. Light rain is likely to occur in some areas.”

The southwest monsoon will make its onset and a low pressure that may turn into a cyclone will also develop over the south Andaman Sea by May 22. The state government has issued an alert asking fishermen to return to shore by May 23. However, the low pressure and the possible cyclone may not bring much rain to Chennai once the system takes shape and starts to move towards West Bengal.

SUDDEN SILHOUETTE: Dark clouds loomed over Chennai early on Thursday evening and resulted in a short, brisk spell of rain

Chromepet residents donate vehicle for use of Covid patients

SHOT OF HOPE

Chromepet residents donate vehicle for use of Covid patients

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.05.2021

In an effort to make resources available to those affected by Covid, residents in and around Chromepet came together to donate an emergency vehicle, 40 oxygen concentrators and cylinders to the local Covid-19 health centres.

Close to 1,200 people have made their way at the two major government Covid hospitals in the city’s southern suburbs – Chromepet Government Hospital and Tambaram TB Hospital – ever since the second week of April.

Only severe cases manage to get a ‘108’ ambulance to reach Chengalpattu Medical College Hospital or private hospitals for intensive medical care. Those with mild and moderate infection are unable to get a ‘108’ ambulance and private ambulances cost ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 even for short trips.

So residents, most of whom are also activists, from Chrompet rented a van for the next three months and converted it into an emergency vehicle so that mild/moderate patients too can be transported to other hospitals or Covid care centres set up in Tambaram and other neighbouring areas. This would roughly cost ₹2.25 lakh.

S M Govindarajan, president of Patel Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association said, “On May 6, we got a panic call from the GH for oxygen cylinders. Within 24 hours, we crowdfunded ₹2 lakh to buy 20 new cylinders for the hospital. We did not want this to be a one-time act. So till date we ensure that the cylinders are refilled at Gummidipoondi and made available for patients round the clock.”

Besides this, he managed to get the help of Bhoomika Trust to mobilise 20 oxygen concentrators for the GH. These were supposed to assist Chennai Super Kings players but with the IPL on hold, the trust decided to donate it for the benefit of patients at government hospitals, said Govindarajan, also head of Lions Club of Thiruneermalai.

“We are trying to mobilise 20 more concentrators from the US and it is expected to reach Chennai in the next two days,” said V Santhanam, another resident-activist from Chromepet helped the GH by donating four steel wheel-chairs worth ₹50,000 and heavy-duty trolleys to transport cylinders.

The group has also procured 100-odd new chairs for patients and their attendants, who wait in queue, before admission. “We hope this will inspire many others to help during this crisis,” Santhanam said.

Resident and Chengalpet collector A John Louis flag off the emergency vehicle fo the local government hospital on Tuesday

TN: 35,579 new cases, 397 deaths

TN: 35,579 new cases, 397 deaths

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:21.05.2021 

For the third consecutive day, Tamil Nadu reported the country's highest number of fresh cases, when new cases breached the 17 lakh mark. The 35,579 new cases and 397 deaths pushed the case tally to 17.3 lakh when the cumulative death toll reached 19,131. After 25,368 discharges, the state was left with 2.63 active cases.

Chennai cases dip Fresh cases in Chennai came down to 6,073 on Thursday, from 6,297 it reported on Wednesday. There were 73 deaths. After Chennai, the highest number of new cases were from emerging hotspot Coimbatore, which reported 3,335 new cases. While Chengalpet reported 2092 cases, neighbouring Tiruvallur logged 1,791 fresh cases. At least six districts Tiruppur (1581), Erode (1505), Trichy (1375), Madurai (1269), Kanyakumari (1096) and Tuticorin (1004) crossed the fourdigit mark. The lowest number of cases were reported from Perambalur (196), Sivaganga (237) and Ariyalur (267). After Chennai, the highest number of deaths were reported from Chengalpet (44), Vellore (36), Kancheepuram (27), Coimbatore (20) and Tiruvallur.

The number of new cases in the state, which was less than 30,000 until April 11, crossed 35,000 on Monday. “But over the last three or four days, the daily increase has slowed down,” said health secretary J Radhakrishnan. The doubling time for the viral infection is hovering around 33 days for nearly nine days now, he said. The viral reproduction rate – R naught – has also dropped from1.5 on April 8 to 1.1 on Wednesday. “It is too early to celebrate but we are seeing good signs,” he said.

‘Covaxin protection after the first dose not high’

‘Covaxin protection after the first dose not high’

New Delhi:21.05.2021

The interval between the two doses of Covishield has been increased to12-18 weeks as the first dose developed strong immunity but the four-week gap for Covaxin is unchanged as the immunity after the initial shot is not as high. Explaining the government decision to make a three-month interval mandatory for Covishield, developed by Oxford University and Astra-Zeneca, Indian Council of Medical Research head Dr Balram Bhargava said the immunity post the first shot was found to be quite strong.

He said a three-month gap will give the best results. “On the other hand, the immunity level after the first shot of Covaxin is not as high and this means the second dose should be taken after four weeks to ensure the full level of efficacy,” he said.

He also said the recommendation that those who had contracted Covid or persons who came down with after the first does wait three months for their vaccination was based on the assessment that patients who recover have sufficient anti-bodies.

“It is not clear how long the anti-bodies last...six or seven months. So it is advised that vaccination be done or completed after a three month interval,” Dr Bhargava said. TNN

TN a safer home during pandemic, say workers from UP

TN a safer home during pandemic, say workers from UP

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.05.2021

Not Uttar Pradesh (UP), Tamil Nadu is a safer place to stay in the midst of the raging pandemic for several guest workers hailing from UP. Many of them, who hail from Gorakhpur, erstwhile LS constituency of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, prefer to remain at their workplaces in Tamil Nadu rather than return to their hometown as they feel there is better health infrastructure here.

“We see the situation in our home state on TV. It is grim,” said Ram Prakash (name changed) from Gorakhpur, which elected Yogi Adiyanath to the Lok Sabha for five consecutive terms. Gorakhpur is famous for Gorakhnath Math and the CM of the state Yogi Adiyanath is the head of the Math.

Nearly 30 workers, all hailing from places in and around Gorakhpur, are working in Chennai and its suburbs, said Prakash.

Except for the shortage of raw material to continue the work during the lockdown, there is no compelling reason to think of a shift now, they said. “Tamil Nadu is a safe place to work. It is like a second home for the workers from our state,” said Lal Yadav, another native of Gorakhpur.

Nearly15 workers from his home state are working for him. They hail from Gauree Mangalpur and surrounding areas in Gorakhpur. They are engaged in painting in Ambattur, Anna Nagar and Ramapuram in Chennai. “They are very much worried about the wellbeing of their families back home. There are only two medical college hospitals in our place (Gorakhpur) and the situation is heartwrenching,” said Yadav, who settled in Chennai eight years ago. He said he is one among the 100-odd agents from UP, supplying workforce from there to various industries here. “Everyone is concerned about what is happening in our home state,” he said.

Next to Bihar, workers from UP account for the largest chunk of guest workers in Tamil Nadu. The Southern Railway operated 55 of 218 Shramik special trains from Tamil Nadu to UP between May 1 and June 2 last year.

Next to Bihar, workers from UP account for the largest chunk of guest workers in Tamil Nadu

23 colleges told to pay fee or lose affiliation

23 colleges told to pay fee or lose affiliation

Engg Institutes Failed To Remit Exam Fee To Anna Varsity

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:21.05.2021 

Higher education minister K Ponmudi on Thursday warned 23 engineering colleges that they will lose their affiliation if they do not pay exam fees to Anna University by May 24.

“Anna University has withheld the results of students from 23 engineering colleges due to non-payment of exam fees. If these colleges do not pay exam fees collected from students by Monday, their affiliation to the university will be cancelled,” Ponmudi told reporters after a review meeting.

More than 5,000 students are studying in the 23 colleges.

Following complaints of more failures in the proctored online tests and withholding of results by Anna University, the state government directed the university to conduct unsupervised re-exam for these students as in other universities. The university is planning the re-exam in June.

The state government had also received complaints about regularising guest lecturers in colleges. “The previous government planned to regularise around 5,000 guest lecturers working in government colleges through a committee and not the recruitment agency. We have received complaints that mistakes have happened at minister level. We held discussions with the secretary. We will also discuss it with the chief minister on conducting the recruitment fairly. These appointments will be made as per University Grants Commission (UGC) rules and qualifications. Meanwhile, the guest lecturers should not fall prey to middlemen,” Ponmudi said.

The government would form a committee to review and update all textbooks for distance mode programmes in the state following the complaint of bias in the textbooks.

The minister said, “It was brought to my knowledge that a first year MA textbook of Tamil Nadu Open University terms the DMK and communist parties as “parties against religion” and also accuses them of “preventing people from joining the national stream.”

“The book also says these parties are appeasing minorities and do not condemn “if Muslims indulge in violence”. This is what our distance mode students read in political science and history books. You all know where it will lead to. I was also a political science student and I have never seen such prejudice,” the minister added. The textbook, titled “Indian Government and Politics,” was published by the social science department of the university in 2005. The minister said he had directed university officials to take action against those who were responsible for it and remove such prejudices from textbooks.

ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களில் பங்கு கோரிய 2வது மனைவியின் மனு தள்ளுபடி

ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களில் பங்கு கோரிய 2வது மனைவியின் மனு தள்ளுபடி

Added : மே 18, 2021 23:49

சென்னை:கணவரின் ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களில் பங்கு கோரிய, இரண்டாவது மனைவியின் மனுவை, சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் தள்ளுபடி செய்தது.

காஞ்சிபுரம் மாவட்டத்தில் உள்ள அரசு பள்ளியில், முருகேசன் என்பவர் ஆசிரியராக பணியாற்றினார்; உடல் நிலை சரியில்லாமல் இறந்தார். ஓய்வூதிய பலன் வழங்கக்கோரி, அவரின் இரண்டாவது மனைவி அம்மு, உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் தாக்கல் செய்த மனு:

என் கணவர் ஏற்கனவே திருமணமானவர் என்பது எனக்கு தெரியாது. ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களை பெற, முதல் மனைவி முயற்சி செய்துள்ளார். எனக்கும், ஓய்வூதிய தொகையில், 50 சதவீதம் பெற உரிமை உள்ளது. எங்களுக்குள் உடன்பாடு ஏற்பட்டதால், முன்னர் தொடர்ந்த வழக்கை வாபஸ் பெற்றேன்.அதன்பின், உடன்பாட்டை மீறி, தனக்கு ஓய்வூதிய பலன் வழங்கும்படி, அரசு உயர்நிலைப் பள்ளி தலைமை ஆசிரியரிடம், முதல் மனைவி மனு அளித்தார்.

அதை தொடர்ந்து, முதன்மை கணக்காளருக்கு தலைமை ஆசிரியர் கடிதம் அனுப்பி உள்ளார். ஓய்வூதிய பலன்களை, சமமாக வாரிசுகளுக்கு வழங்கும்படி உத்தரவிட வேண்டும்.இவ்வாறு, மனுவில் கூறியுள்ளார். மனுவை விசாரித்த நீதிபதி எஸ்.வைத்தியநாதன் பிறப்பித்த உத்தரவு:

இந்த வழக்கை தொடர, மனுதாரருக்கு தகுதி இல்லை. சட்டப்பூர்வ வாரிசுகள் சார்பில், அவர்களின் தாய் என்ற முறையில், வழக்கு தொடர்ந்து இருக்க வேண்டும். அதற்கு பதில் அவரே இந்த வழக்கை தொடர்ந்துள்ளார். அதனால், அவர் கோரிய நிவாரணத்தை வழங்க முடியாது. மனு தள்ளுபடி செய்யப்படுகிறது.

சட்டப்பூர்வ வாரிசுகள் சார்பில் அதிகாரிகளிடம் விண்ணப்பிக்க, இந்த உத்தரவு தடையாக இருக்காது.இவ்வாறு நீதிபதி உத்தரவிட்டார்.

N Chennai gets spl focus in vax drive

N Chennai gets spl focus in vax drive

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.05.2021 

Greater Chennai Corporation has come up with a new strategy to control spread of Covid-19 in north Chennai. Though the region had a high number of cases during the first wave, infections were once again on the rise during the past few weeks, particularly in areas such as Tondiarpet, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Royapuram, Manali and Madhavaram. Officials noticed that a possible reason could be due to low vaccination figures in the areas.

“We have now asked zonal teams to hold more camps in the areas. On Wednesday, 66 vaccination camps were held in the city north. Tondiarpet alone had 30 camps and 486 people were vaccinated,” said Alby John, GCC deputy commissioner, health.

Active cases in the zones saw a dip on Wednesday. Zones such as Thiruvotiyur and Manali that had 1,846 and 982 active cases on May 17 saw a slight drop of infections on Wednesday and had 1,821 and 938 infections. Cases fell in Royapuram from 2,411 on Tuesday to 2,376 on Wednesday, and by 88 to 3,854 in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.

Population density, more slum settlements and lack of awareness were seen as major challenges in dealing with infections in the north. “Vaccination is the only way to break the transmission chain here,” said an official.

“Unlike in other zones, residential welfare associations in northern region were not very active. We roped in “Strengthening fever surveillance, adding more focus volunteers to ensure those in home quarantine do not step out, ensuring proper assistance and follow up on tests, distribution of medicine kits to symptomatic patients and tele counselling at zonal level, along with vaccination camps, have helped reduce the rate of transmission,” said the corporation commissioner, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, adding that efforts will be scaled up in the coming days.

GCC holds vax drives at residential hubs

GCC holds vax drives at residential hubs

40,000 People Vaccinated In Over 450 Camps Held In Two days

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.05.2021 

Greater Chennai Corporation conducted 208 special vaccination camps on Tuesday and 250 on Wednesday and has vaccinated about 40,000 people through them. The civic body plans to expand vaccination drives further and vaccinate more than 35,000 people a day.

GCC wants to ensure that before Thursday, when vaccination for 18 years and above will open in the state, at least 80% of those above 45 years are vaccinated. The city has vaccinated about 60% of the 22 lakh people above the age of 45 years.

“I want to ensure that we are vaccinating more people every day and I have asked all the field support teams (FST) to ensure that more camps are held,” GCC commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said.

Fever surveillance workers have been asked to collect data on vaccinations extensively, including names of people above 45 from all residential welfare associations. “The civic body is getting ready to vaccinate all starting Thursday. Before that, we want to meet the target of vaccinating more people in the other age groups and the only way to do that is to hold massive vaccination camps,” said a zonal official.

Residential associations such as FOMRRA (Federation of OMR Resident Associations) have been working with the civic body in this regard. On Wednesday, vaccination camps were organised at gated communities along OMR and those 45+, looking for either first dose or second dose of CoviShield, were vaccinated. “Senior citizens, people who are wheelchair-bound and those with complications that prevented them from visiting hospitals/PHCs greatly benefited from the drive. With the vaccination for those under 45 opening up in the next few days, FOMRRA hopes to organize more camps,” said Harsha Koda, the association’s cofounder.

Apart from this, the civic body has instructed officials from the zonal enforcement teams to ensure that no shop is open after 10am. Bedi is holding a review with all the zonal field support teams via video conferencing every day to ensure that they stay motivated. A total of 382 shops have been sealed from April 9 till May 18 and a fine of ₹1.6 crore has been collected.

“We also want to increase testing. This is a war to be won and we all need to work to ensure the rate of transmission is cut,” Bedi said on Wednesday.

A total of 15,137 fever camps have been held in the city from April 1 to May 17 this year and about 8.4 lakh people had attended them, a press release from GCC said.

MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: Greater Chennai Corporation held vaccination camps at various residential spots along OMR on Wednesday

Now, a temple for ‘Corona devi’ near Coimbatore

1.5-FOOT-TALL IDOL

Now, a temple for ‘Corona devi’ near Coimbatore

Nivedha.Selvam1@timesgroup.com

Coimbatore:20.05.2021 

A temple to ‘Goddess Corona Devi’ has come up on the outskirts of Coimbatore, which already has a Plague Mariamman temple that came up when the scourge struck a century ago.

The Kamatchipuri Adhinam consecrated the one-and-a-half-foot-tall, black stone idol on its premises near Irugur on Tuesday and the poojas continued on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the adhinam said special poojas would continue for 48 days but would not be open to the public in view of the pandemic protocols.

In a video released by the adhinam, Sri Sivalingeswara Swamigal said, “following the footsteps of our ancestors, we have installed an idol for ‘Corona Devi’ because we believe God will help the hapless. We will be conducting special prayers for 48 days and only adhinam staff will be allowed to participate in the prayers.

Devotees would be allowed to enter only after the special prayers are completed.” He asked them to pray from their homes.

He urged the public to follow all government guidelines, stay at home, consume healthy foods and cooperate with the government to contain the spread.

In early 1900s, hundreds of people died of the plague pandemic and many others fled the city. Seeking divine succour, people visited Plague Mariamman temple, which is located between Big Bazaar and Raja streets in Coimbatore and performed special poojas for the deity.

In June last year, a temple priest in Kadakkal in Kollam district ha installed a ‘Corona Devi’ idol in a makeshift shrine attached to his house.

SEEKING DIVINE HELP: The temple near Irugur on Tuesday