DINAMALAR

20.11.2021

சபரிமலை:பம்பை தேவசம் கவுன்டரில் 250 ரூபாய் செலுத்தி ரசீது பெற்றால், இருமுடி கட்டு கட்டி கொடுக்கப்படுகிறது.

கேரளாவில் உள்ள சபரிசலை அய்யப்பன் கோவிலுக்கு இருமுடி கட்டு இல்லாமல் வரும் பக்தர்களுக்காக, பம்பை கணபதி கோவிலில் தேவசம் போர்டு சிறப்பு வசதியை ஏற்பாடு செய்துள்ளது. இதன்படி, பம்பை தேவசம்போர்டு கவுன்டரில் 250 ரூபாய் செலுத்தி ரசீது பெற்றவர்களுக்கு, பம்பை கணபதி கோவில் மேல்சாந்தி அல்லது அவரது உதவி பூஜாரிகள் கட்டு கட்டி கொடுத்து, தலைமேல் ஏற்றி அனுப்புவர்.

ஒரு இருமுடியில், ஒரு நெய் நிறைத்த தேங்காய், மஞ்சள், பொரி, அவல், சர்க்கரை, முந்திரி என 17 வகை பொருட்கள் இருக்கும். கூடுதல் நெய் தேங்காய் விரும்பும் பக்தர்கள் ஒரு தேங்காய்க்கு 80 ரூபாய் வீதம் செலுத்த வேண்டும். இருமுடிக்கு தேவையான பொருட்கள் எடுத்துச் செல்லும் பக்தர்கள் 150 ரூபாய் மட்டும் செலுத்தினால் போதுமானது. அதிகாலை 2:30 மணி முதல், இரவு 8:00 மணி வரை இந்த வசதி செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.

நடை அடைத்தால்

இதற்கிடையே இரவு 10:00 மணிக்கு நடை அடைக்கப்பட்டு விட்டால், அடுத்த ஒரு மணி நேரத்தில், பக்தர்கள் சன்னிதானத்தில் இருந்து நிலக்கல் சென்று விட வேண்டுமென சன்னிதான போலீஸ் தனி அதிகாரி உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளார். இங்கு பக்தர்கள் தங்க அறைகள் அனுமதிக்கப்படாத நிலையிலும், கொரோனா பரவல் அச்சுறுத்தல் காரணமாகவும் இந்த உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது.மேலும், மழை காரணமாக தடை செய்யப்பட்டிருந்த சபரிமலை பாதை சாலைகள் அனைத்தும் மீண்டும் திறக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாக பொதுப்பணித் துறை அறிவித்துள்ளது.

Colleges start fee refund for cancelled admissions

Colleges start fee refund for cancelled admissions

₹1,000 Processing Charge For Freeing Up Seats Post Oct 31

Zeeshan.Jawed@timesgroup.com

Kolkata: 20.11.2021

Colleges have started the process of refunding fees to candidates who have cancelled their admissions to undergraduate courses after securing admission in another college or university. Colleges have asked candidates who want to cancel their admission to submit a written application with payment details and date of cancellation. Some colleges have even sought explanation from these students for holding back the seat before ultimately deciding to cancel.

According to University Grants Commission norms, students who cancelled their admissions before October 31 will get a full refund. Anybody cancelling their admission after that will have to take a deduction of Rs 1,000 as processing fee.

At Maulana Azad College, candidates must submit the application for refund by November 30, principal Subhasis Dutta said. Candidates seeking refund of admission fee will have to write all the details about their admission and submit them at the entry gate of the college along with attested copies of bank challans, admission cancellation receipt and a cancelled cheque. The college has also requested the students to mention why they held back the seat for so long before cancelling, but this will not affect the fee refund.

Seth Anandram Jaipuria College, too, has started the process of refunding admission fee. “The students have mailed us the details. We are making the refunds,” said college principal Asok Mukhopadhyay.

Students scored high marks in all the board examinations this year on the basis of various computation methods that were used as examinations could not be held due to the second wave of the pandemic. At the time of application to undergraduate courses, students applied to multiple colleges and in different subjects, including those they weren’t to keen to study. As a result, seats in most colleges got blocked and students who actually wanted to pursue those subjects had to wait till the others cancelled their admissions. The education department had to extend the deadline for admission to undergraduate courses multiple times because colleges could not fill up their seats. Some colleges have again opened their admission portals to invite fresh applications to fill the vacancies.

“Since the government waived application fee, students applied to several colleges and subjects. That locked our seats. Towards the end of September, almost 20% seats were vacant when students finally started cancelling admissions. Thankfully, the government extended the deadline and we could fill up some seats,” said a principal of a government college who did not wish to be named.

17 dead, over 100 missing in Andhra flash floods

17 dead, over 100 missing in Andhra flash floods

Sandeep.Raghavan@timesgroup.com

Tirupati: 20.11.2021

At least 17 people were killed after flash floods ravaged the four Rayalaseema districts of Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh on Friday. The incessant rains started on Thursday evening, triggered by the deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal, throwing life out of kilter in the region.

More than 100 persons are feared to have been washed away in separate incidents in the four districts. About seven National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed to lead the search and rescue operations, besides teams from the police, revenue, and fire department. As Cheyyuru river overflowed, water from Annamayya irrigation project spilled over to several mandals in Rajampet assembly constituency and other parts of Kadapa district.

Three AP State Road Transport Corporation buses carrying passengers got stuck in flood waters near Ramapuram in Rajampet mandal. Though fire services rescued most of the passengers and APSRTC staff, 12 persons who were washed away were found dead at various places in Rajampet mandal. Seven bodies were retrieved near Gandluru, three near Rayavaram, while two bodies were found near Mandapalli. About 30 persons from Mandapalli, Akepadu and Nandaluru villages in Rajampet mandal have been washed away and officials have launched a search operation to trace them. Rail and road traffic between Tirupati and Kadapa came to a standstill as floodwaters damaged railway tracks and national highways at several places along the route.

Precision medicine centre at KGMU to aid cancer care

Precision medicine centre at KGMU to aid cancer care

Personalised Treatment For Patients

Vivek Singh Chauhan TNN

Lucknow: 20.11.2021

To provide better personalised treatment to cancer patients using the latest research and advancements, King George’s Medical University launched its Precision Medicine Centre (PMC) on Friday.

The centre will help doctors better understand the underlying mechanisms of diseases and improve their approach in preventing, diagnosing, and treating the cancer.

A symposium was also organised in which the head of hematology department and in charge of the centre for advanced research, under which PMC has been started, Prof AK Tripathi said, “At PMC, we will analyse genes, metabolic function, bionomics and other factors in cancer patients. With this data, personalised treatment would be made to patients for better effect of medicines.”

The centre is necessary because it is often seen that treatment which is beneficial for one individual doesn’t work on another, he added.

Prof Dhavendra Kumar from Queen Mary University, London, who is an adviser for the PMC, said, “There has been a lot of progress in cancer treatment with help of genome sequencing.”

Vice-chancellor Lt Gen (retd) Bipin Puri said that the centre will be a milestone for patient care as well as students.

Prof Thangraj, who addressed the symposium virtually from Hyderabad, explained how the Indian genome is different and from where it originated.

Prof Shally Awasthi, head of pediatrics department, said that precision medicine is the need of the hour and has been introduced in undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

‘Lewd messages to fiancee don’t insult modesty’

‘Lewd messages to fiancee don’t insult modesty’

Mumbai:  20.11.2021

Observing that sending “obscene messages” to a woman one is going to marry can’t be termed insulting her modesty, a sessions court acquitted a 36-year-old man, 11 years after he was booked for cheating and raping her under the false promise of marriage. The court held that sending such messages in premarital period may delight and give the feeling that someone is close enough to understand one’s emotions, reports Rebecca Samervel.

“If at all those are not liked by the other side, it has discretion with it to convey its displeasure to the other side, and the other side generally avoids a repeat of such a mistake. The purpose was to put up his expectation before her, to arouse her with similar feeling of sex, which may give happiness even to her, etc. But in no way those SMSs can be said as were sent to insult her modesty,” it said.

The woman had lodged an FIR in 2010. The couple had met on a matrimonial site in 2007. However, the man’s mother was against the match. In 2010, the man broke up the relationship. Acquitting him of rape charges, the court said every breach of promise to marry can’t be termed cheating or rape. “The man had even been to an Arya Samaj Hall with mangalsutra but it was the quarrel on the ground of stay after marriage and thereafter, by getting tired of his indecisiveness and getting surrendered before his mother’s wish and failing to tackle the problem stood before him in proper manner, he came back. It is certainly not the case of false promise of marriage. It is the case of failure to make substantial efforts,” the court said.

Covid Spectre Back In Europe

Covid Spectre Back In Europe

Austria Reimposes Full Lockdown And Germany May Follow; Markets Spooked

20.11.2021

Austria will go into a nationwide lockdown on Monday and impose a coronavirus vaccination mandate in February, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Friday. It is the second such lockdown in a European nation since the spring after Latvia imposed similar restrictions last month, and the first national vaccine mandate to be announced in a Western democracy. Austria has one of Europe’s highest national coronavirus infection rates, with 14,212 new cases registered in 24 hours on Thursday. And the Alpine country has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe, with just 66% of the population fully inoculated. The lockdown, reminiscent of those imposed across Europe last winter, before coronavirus vaccines were available, will last for at least 10 days and affect both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout. A fourth wave of infections has plunged Germany, Europe’s largest economy, into a national emergency, health minister Jens Spahn said. He urged people to reduce their social contacts, warning that vaccinations alone would not reduce case numbers. Asked if Germany could rule out an Austrian-style full lockdown, Spahn said: “We are now in a situation where we can’t rule anything out. We are in a national emergency.” European stocks retreated from record highs, while government bond yields, oil prices and the euro tumbled as the spectre of a fresh Covid-linked lockdown in Germany and other parts of Europe cast a fresh shadow over global economy.

As cases rise again across Europe, a number of governments have started to reimpose limits on activity, ranging from Austria’s full lockdown, to a partial lockdown in the Netherlands, to restrictions on the unvaccinated in parts of Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Hungary reported 11,289 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, its highest daily tally, and will make booster shots mandatory for all healthcare workers and require mask wearing in most indoor places from Saturday. While the new measures across Europe are not seen hitting the economy as much as the all-out lockdowns of last year, analysts say they could weigh on the recovery in the last quarter of the year, especially if they hit the retail and hospitality sectors. AGENCIES

Austria will introduce Europe’s first vaccination mandate in February

Brochure For NEET Must Carry A Segment On Candidates With Disabilities Enumerating The Benefits Available To Them: Supreme Court Tells NTA

Brochure For NEET Must Carry A Segment On Candidates With Disabilities Enumerating The Benefits Available To Them: Supreme Court Tells NTA

Mehal Jain18 Nov 2021 7:41 PM

"Brochure for NEET must have a segment on candidates with disabilities, enumerating the specific benefits available for visually-challenged, hearing-impaired candidates or candidates with dysgraphia. There should be disclosure in advance. Secondly, there should be proper training for invigilators. It is very crucial that they are aware".

The Supreme Court on Thursday orally told the NTA that its brochure for NEET must carry a segment on candidates with disabilities, enumerating the specific benefits available for them by way of an advance disclosure, and that there must be proper training to the invigilators to ensure these benefits are implemented on the ground.

The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna was hearing the plea by a female NEET-2021 candidate suffering from dysgraphia whose grievance was that she was refused an additional one hour's time for attempting the paper by the examination centre. Her prayers were that either she may be allowed a re-examination, or be appropriately compensated by way of grace marks or no negative marking or otherwise.

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The advocate for the NTA told the bench, "The NTA has already declared the results. It is now difficult to conduct a re-test for 1 student...also, it was in the middle of the examination that she had said that she would need an additional one hour. At such time, it becomes difficult for the invigilator to cross-check such information."

"There are 16 lakh students who took this exam. It is difficult for us to correct one student's result subsequently now. At this stage, she may supersede some other students and it will be harsh on the others",he submitted.

The bench also agreed that re-conducting the exam for one student may not be a viable option. At this, the advocate for the petitioner abandoned his prayer for re-examination and instead urged for compensation by way of marks- "I have secured more than 90 percent in 10th and 12th despite my disability...Your Lordships have been bestowed with such power by the Providence that with one stroke of your pen, my entire future may change."

"No, no, that is your right. But these powers also come with such great responsibilities...even when we rise for lunch, the matters don't leave us and we were discussing this all the way on the staircase...we were wondering that if we ask them to give you some benefit, it may immediately affect some unseen student who is not before us", observed Justice Chandrachud.

The advocate for the NTA told the bench,

"My instructions are that the cut-off this year also is 137-142 and the petitioner has secured 166. So she will definitely get admission and she will not be losing this year."

The petitioner's advocate expressed doubt about the cut-off for this year having been set, stating that the aforesaid is the cut-off for the last year. "If the NTA could give me a guarantee that I will definitely be admitted to a college this year...there are 4000-5000 seats which are reserved for PWD, a lot of which remain vacant as is evident from the trend of the previous years...", he prayed.

"If she is not placed in any college and there are seats reserved for PWD left vacant, could you consider accommodating her? You could discuss with your Director-General", Justice Chandrachud put to the advocate for the NTA.

The bench granted time until 5 PM on Friday to both the advocates to submit written submissions, after which the bench would pass its order.

Justice Chandrachud also observed that the NTA must come up with clear-cut guidelines so that this situation is never repeated in the future-"This child may now lose a year. She could have made it otherwise. It is very heart-breaking. I myself had written the Vikash Kumar judgment (the Supreme Court held that facility of scribe can be provided for persons with disabilities other than those having benchmark disabilities)...the brochure for NEET must have a segment on candidates with disabilities, enumerating the specific benefits available for visually-challenged, hearing-impaired candidates or candidates with dysgraphia. There should be disclosure in advance. Secondly, there should be proper training for invigilators. It is very crucial that they are aware. You as the NTA have bona-fides, but very often, the invigilators on the ground are not aware. Like in this case, her paper was snatched. It is heart-rending...instructions must be given down the line so that these benefits are implemented."

"We had held 5-6 webinars and there was counseling for the invigilators. But we will ensure that this never happens in the future", replied the advocate for the NTA.

Continuing, Justice Chandrachud noted, "Also, there has to be a policy for where the candidate is not at fault. How do you set it right where a candidate is losing out at the last minute when they did not even do anything? Medical education today is so competitive..."

Case Title: AVNI PRAKASH v. NATIONAL TESTING AGENCY (NTA) AND ORS

Dead woman and daughter were in city for yoga course

KIA ACCIDENT

Dead woman and daughter were in city for yoga course

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:20.11.2021

A 57-year-old woman from Kolkata and her London-based daughter, 38, were among three persons killed on Thursday night when an SUV jumped the median on KIA expressway and crashed into their cab.

Poornima Ravindra, a school teacher, and her daughter Lakshmi Ravindra, an advocate, were on their way to Kempegowda International Airport in the cab. The two women and the driver, Raghavendra Ural, 45, of Bannerghatta, died on the spot.

Police said Poornima and Lakshmi were from Kerala and their family had settled down in Kolkata. Lakshmi went to Kolkata on a holiday and the motherdaughter duo left for Bengaluru to attend a week-long yoga course. The course was supposed to end on Saturday, but the women decided to leave two days earlier and took Ural’s cab to the airport to return to Kolkata.

Around 9pm, an SUV driven by MBA student Bharath BR, 22, jumped the median near Chikkajala, flipped in the air, and landed on Ural’s cab that was coming from the opposite direction. Police had to cut open the vehicles to remove the bodies.

Bharath and his friend Vikas, 25, who was also in the SUV, sustained severe injuries.

According to police, there was heavy rain at the time of the accident.

TRAGIC JOURNEY: The mangled remains of the vehicle in which the mother and daughter were travelling to KIA on Thursday

In a first, IITs to hire quota-based faculty

In a first, IITs to hire quota-based faculty

Hemali.Chhapia@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:20.11.2021

For the first time since they were set up, IITs have placed advertisements for quota-based hiring of faculty members. The recruitment process, for which IITs had autonomy, has been changed at the behest of the Centre and new deadlines set.

Since 2019, the education ministry (then called HRD ministry) has been pushing centrally funded higher education institutions to apply the reservation policy in hiring. This time around, the IITs have deferred to the ministry. Advertisements are out for hiring SC/ST/OBC/ EWS faculty members at all institutes, including the IITs.

A letter issued by the education ministry in Augustend insists that reservation rules be adhered to and vacancies “especially in the scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and other backward classes” be filled by September 4, 2022.

Deadline being sent to IITs for first time

I ITs follow a year-long rolling recruitment process and never before has a deadline been sent by the ministry. The time limit poses difficulties due to the paucity of engineering doctoral candidates, more so from the SC/ST/OBC categories—a PhD is the minimum eligibility criterion. Usually in a year, the IITs in the metros manage to hire about 35 faculty members, 40 in a good year. “Filling up hundreds of vacancies will be impossible,” said a director.

While some institutes have advertised vacancies for a number of specific positions, others have enlisted all the departments where there is at least one unfilled post.

“Each IIT has followed its own process. We are all recruiting under the mission mode. But while IIT Bombay has advertised for 50 positions, IIT Madras has for 49. Others like IIT Delhi, Roorkee, Hyderabad, Kharagpur have enlisted departments where there are vacancies,” said a dean (faculty). All the advertisements encourage women from the disadvantaged background to also apply.

In June 2020, a committee set up to suggest implementation of reservation in central education institutes had said that the IITs are institutes of national importance and ought to be exempted from reservation. It said the matter of reservation be left to each IIT’s board and if quota in hiring was to be implemented, the posts of professor and assistant professor be exempted. The committee also suggested a programme at all IITs to attract quality candidates from the disadvantaged sections to boost PhD numbers.

Usually in a year, the IITs in the metros manage to hire about 35 faculty members

IndiGo largest airline in APAC by capacity: Report

IndiGo largest airline in APAC by capacity: Report

New Delhi:20.11.2021

IndiGo has emerged as the tenth largest airline globally and the largest in the Asia-Pacific region by seat volume, according to UKbased air consultancy firm OAG. The low-cost carrier has 280 aircraft currently in its fleet and operates over 1,400 daily flights. TNN

For a bride, man loses ₹1 lakh to blackmailers

For a bride, man loses ₹1 lakh to blackmailers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Rajkot:20.11.2021

The desperation to get a match for his marriage resulted in a 34-year-old man from Jamnagar falling into a trap of blackmailers who extorted Rs 1.5 lakh from him.

The victim Harshad Aghara, who lives in Jodiya taluka, was lured with the promise of finding him a bride by three persons who later clicked his nude photos and threatened to lodge a rape complaint against him.

According to a complaint lodged with Kuvadva Road police station, Aghara said he had received a video call from a woman who identified herself as Zeenat alias Bebi Makwana. She, however, told Aghara that she had dialled his number inadvertently and apologized too. However, she continued to lure him and Aghara told her that he was searching for a woman to get married. Zeenat promised to find a match for him.

On November 15, she called him to meet a prospective bride at a flat in Rangila Society in Navagam Anandpar outside Rajkot city. Zeenat started talking with him and made him strip nude.

As Aghara got nude, two other accused, Viha Katariya and Hansa Aghola, suddenly came there and identified themselves as uncle and aunty of Zeenat. They accused of Aghara of trying to seduce and rape Zeenat and threatened to lodge a complaint. He was also beaten up and the trio demanded Rs four lakh. They finally settled in Rs 1.5 lakh and made Aghara to arrange money through a courier. Aghara was released after he paid them Rs 1.5 lakh.

Man gets teacher’s job, ₹80 lakh 30 years after topping merit list

Man gets teacher’s job, ₹80 lakh 30 years after topping merit list

Mohammad.Anab@timesgroup.com

Dehradun: 20.11.2021

In 1989, following an advertisement in a newspaper, then 24-year-old Gerald John applied for the post of commerce teacher at CNI Boys’ Inter College, a government-aided minority educational institute in Dehradun. However, despite clearing the interview and topping the merit list, he didn’t get the job.

In 1990, the Farrukhabad resident moved the Allahabad HC. After Uttarakhand was carved out of UP in 2000, the case was transferred to the HC in Nainital. When he turned 55, theUttarakhand HC ruled in his favour in December 2020 — ordering him to be appointed in the school as well as a release of Rs 80 lakh as compensation. Of this, John was paid Rs 73 lakh by the Uttarakhand government a few months back but the remaining Rs 7 lakh, which is to be paid by the UP government, is still due. Being the senior-most teacher, John is also the acting principal of the school now.

Reminiscing about his long fight, he told TOI that he was quite taken aback when despite clearing the interview and topping the merit list, he didn’t get the job. “When I asked authorities why I was rejected, I was told the candidate needed to have stenography skills to be selected. Stenography was not mentioned as one of the required criteria in the job listing. I suspected that the candidate who got the job had connived with authorities. That’s when I took the matter to court.” In 2007, a single bench of the Uttarakhand HC ruled against John. He challenged the verdict in Supreme Court. Ex-Union minister and lawyer Salman Khurshid took up his case and fought it for free. “He saw it as a genuine case and since both of us are from Farrukhabad, he didn’t take any fee. The case stayed in SC from 2007 to 2010. The court said the case had merit and asked us to appeal for it in front of a double bench of the HC instead of a single bench.

Ten years after the case moved back to Uttarakhand HC, a double bench ruled in John’s favour in December 2020. In January this year, John was appointed the Commerce teacher for classes 11 and 12 at the CNI Boys’ Inter College. In April, after the principal retired, he was also made the acting principal.

AFTER A LONG WAIT: In January this year, Gerald John was appointed as the Commerce teacher for classes 11 and 12 at the CNI Boys’ Inter College in Dehradun. After the principal retired in April, he was made acting principal

HC: Submission doesn’t mean consent for sex

HC: Submission doesn’t mean consent for sex

Kochi: 20.11.2021

Consent for sex cannot be presumed just because a girl or a woman is in love with a man, the Kerala high court has held.

It also explained the difference between consent and submission and said helplessness in the face of inevitable compulsion can’t be considered consent.

“There is gulf of difference between consent and submission. Every consent involves a submission but the converse doesn’t follow. Helplessness in the face of inevitable compulsion cannot be considered to be consent as understood in law. Exercise of intelligence based on the knowledge of the significance and the moral effect of the act is required for consent. Merely for the reason that the girl was in love with the accused, it can’t be presumed that she had given consent for sexual intercourse,” Justice R Narayana Pisharadi said.

The court was considering an appeal filed by a 26-year-old man who forced his lover  (17) to elope with him by threatening that he would commit suicide in front of her. He took her from Kayamkulam to Alappuzha and then to Bangalore. After raping her in a Bangalore hotel room, he took her to Goa and raped her there too. He had sold her gold ornaments on the way to make money. The girl had deposed that he had forcibly undressed her and raped her in Bangalore. After returning to Kayamkulam a week later, he gave Rs 50 to her and sent her away with a promise to marry her. By then, police had registered a missing case on the girl’s father’s complaint. It was later converted to a rape case. The HC upheld his conviction for rape. TNN

With 22cr unused vax doses, govt may allow commercial exports

With 22cr unused vax doses, govt may allow commercial exports

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 20.11.2021

The government may soon give a major push to export of Covid vaccines with states and UTs having stocks of more than 22 crore unutilised doses, a top official source said.

While the government recently resumed supplies to Covax, it is now also considering allowing commercial exports.

The health ministry recently gave permission to the Serum Institute of India to export one crore doses of Covishield through Covax — an international vaccine-sharing alliance supported by GAVI, the World Health Organisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

India has also resumed supplies to Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh and Iran, almost eight months after it stopped exports in the wake of rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

“The production of the vaccine is swiftly increasing. The country will soon have a surplus supply of vaccine. What are we going to do with it if we do not allow exports?” the source said.

A total of 30 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been delivered in November, whereas only 8.8 crore doses have been administered in the month so far. In December, supplies are expected to increase further. Around 31 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin are scheduled to be received in December, while an additional two crore doses of Cadila Healthcare’s ZyCoV-D are also expected by the end of the year.

Besides, new jabs like Biological E’s Corbevax are also expected to come up for emergency use authorisation in December.

On the other hand, the consumption pattern is not expected to witness any significant rise with over 81% of the adult population already covered with at least first dose. This would also mean the demand for new vaccines will be very limited, unless they are approved and used as a third dose or for use in children. While vaccination is now largely driven by the coverage of the second dose, it will move according to schedule. Around 42% of the adult population in the country is now fully vaccinated with both doses.

Fully vaxxed woman dies of Covid

Fully vaxxed woman dies of Covid

Bhopal: 20.11.2021

A second Covid-19 death in Madhya Pradesh in less than a week — after a lull of over three months — came as an ominous sign on Friday at a time when Covid curbs have been lifted across the state.

The victim, the wife of a Bhopal based radiologist, was fully vaccinated, as is her husband, who recovered and has been discharged from hospital. The couple had tested positive on November 14 and was admitted to AIIMS-Bhopal the next day. The woman, a 54-year old, died early Friday.

“She had no comorbidities, apart from slight obesity. On November 11 and 12, she and my brother had a mild fever. They gave their samples on November 13 and tested positive on November 14. At the time of admission, she had 70% lung infection,’’ the radiologist’s brother, who is also a doctor, told TOI. TNN

Issuing false medical certificates for leave is an offence, says HC

Issuing false medical certificates for leave is an offence, says HC

19/11/2021

Staff Reporter Madurai

Coming across a case where a false medical certificate was issued by a doctor to a person who was facing serious allegations, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed that doctors were issuing such certificates for the purpose of leave without realising that it was an offence.

Justice B. Pugalendhi observed that the court respected doctors and it relied on the medical certificates issued by them for taking certain decisions. If such false certificates were being issued, the court would not be in a position to rely on them, the judge said. It was the duty of Tamil Nadu Medical Council to eradicate such an impression created by some doctors and take appropriate action to ensure that doctors did not indulge in such activities, the court said.

The court was hearing the anticipatory bail petition filed by Gopinath of Thanjavur district. He was in possession of 1.20 kg of ganja. He was arrested by the police and then remanded in judicial custody in February.

However, considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the petitioner was granted interim bail by a special court and was asked to surrender after a month in March. He failed to surrender before the court concerned. A warrant of arrest was issued.

He then filed a plea seeking anticipatory bail before the High Court. He said that he suffered a fracture in his leg. He also produced certain medical records. It was said that the petitioner had obtained the certificate stating that it was for the purpose of seeking leave.

After ascertaining the fact that the medical certificate was false and the doctor had only issued it for the purpose of leave, the court recommended that appropriate action be initiated against the doctor, C. Balaji.

Police register case against 41 YouTube channels

Police register case against 41 YouTube channels

19/11/2021

Staff Reporter Coimbatore

The Cyber Crime Police Station here has registered a case against 41 YouTube channels on the charge of disclosing the identity of the girl who ended her life on November 11, allegedly following sexual assault from her teacher.

The case was registered by the police for offence under Section 23 (4) (procedure for media - any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be liable to be punished with imprisonment of either description for a period which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year or with fine or with both) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

According to the police, the YouTube channels published details such as the deceased girl’s parents’ photos, videos, name of her school and other details which could lead to her identity.

(Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by dialling 'Sneha' 24X7 helpline at 044-24640050)

PIL hearing on govt servants who died during Damoh poll

PIL hearing on govt servants who died during Damoh poll

Bhopal:19.11.2021

The counsel for the state government told a division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court during hearing of a PIL charging that more than 100 government servants died due to Covid-19 during election duty in the Damoh bypoll that the list of deceased persons submitted in the court has not been provided to the government.

Following this, the bench of Chief Justice R V Malimath and Justice V K Shukla ordered that a copy of the list be provided to the government counsel as well, while deferring hearing of the case to November 23.

The petitioner Jaya Thakur claimed that more than 100 government servants on election duty died of coronavirus during election duty in the bypoll to Damoh assembly seat and 66 of them were teachers. The district education officer has confirmed the death of 66 teachers, who were on election duty, due to Covid infection. No compensation has been paid to dependents of these employees despite the Election Commission notification saying that a compensation of Rs30 lakh would be given to dependents of a government servant, who dies of Covid infection while performing election duty.

The court had asked the petitioner to present a list of employees who died of Covid infection during the election.

In the previous hearing of the case, the petitioner had submitted a list of 65 teachers who died due to Covid during election duty in Damoh before the court.

The counsel for the state government on Thursday told the court that the list has not been provided to the state government, following which the court directed to provide a copy of the list to the government counsel. Advocate Varun Thakur appeared in the case on behalf of the petitioner. TNN

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Petlee.Peter@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:19.11.2021

A family of three, including a pregnant woman, was denied boarding an Indi-Go flight to Dubai, citing that the 48-hour validity of their RT-PCR negative test reports had lapsed by one minute. They were not allowed to board the flight even though they took Rapid RT-PCR tests at the airport for ₹3,000 each.

All Indian passengers headed to the UAE must clear this pre-departure test, besides carrying RT-PCR negative reports not older than 48 hours. Rukhsar Memon, 28, husband Suhail Syed, 39, and his mother Mamtaz Munawar, 63, had come to Bengaluru for their annual holiday at their Nandidurga Road home on October 9 this year.

On Tuesday morning, the family went to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to board the IndiGo flight 6E 95 from Bengaluru to Dubai scheduled to take off at 1.15pm. As per pre-departure requirement for UAE travellers, the three, including13-week pregnant Rukhsar, took Rapid RT-PCR tests outside KIA and secured negative reports for ₹9,000 before reaching the IndiGo check-in counter around 10am on Tuesday. Then came the shocker.

“We were denied boarding for the 1.15pm flight on Tuesday as the IndiGo ground staff said our initial RT-PCR test reports showed that our samples were collected at 1.15pm on Sunday,” recalled Suhail, who works as a sales executive with a Dubai-based health insurance firm. The airline calculates the 48-hour validity period from the time of sample collection.

The IndiGo ground staff told the family that by the time the flight takes off at 1.15pm, their RT-PCR reports will be “aged one minute over the mandated 48 hours”. “We requested the IndiGo manager at the airport to kindly consider us since we were well within the 48-hour validity when we reached the airport. My pregnant wife and my elderly mother were travelling with me. The employees were rude to us, especially the airline manager, as they dragged us for three long hours and finally denying us boarding,” said Suhail on his family’s ordeal.

Full report on www.toi.in

Govt offices go dark over unpaid bills

Govt offices go dark over unpaid bills

Shiva kumar Pinna

Jangaon:19.11.2021

Government offices in the district headquarters are struggling without electricity as staff and officers were seen carrying out their work under the mobile phone light.

Due to non-payment of electricity bills, the electricity department disconnected the power to the district medical and health office, district superintendent office, irrigation office, district agriculture office, Jangaon deputy commissioner of police office, Jangaon town police station, Lingalaghanpur police station and Bachannapet police station on Thursday morning.

The staff approached the electricity officials, however they were asked to clear the dues first. The NPDCL officials informed that power supply will be restored only if pending dues are cleared.

In 9 mins, donor’s heart beats traffic to beat again in recipient

In 9 mins, donor’s heart beats traffic to beat again in recipient

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:19.11.2021

A donor’s heart reached the beneficiary 12 km away in flat nine minutes through a green channel created by the traffic police on Thursday morning. The heart was being transported from the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) hospital in Punjagutta to AIG Hospital in Gachibowli, a usually busy stretch prone to traffic blocks.

The donor was a 31-yearold brain dead patient, Nakirakanti Shekhar, who hailed from Nadimpally village in Mahabubnagar. The recipient of the heart was a 45-yearold from the city.

Shekhar had been injured in a hit-and-run accident near Achampet in Mahabubnagar on November 13 while he was on his way home after work. He was rushed to the local government hospital first and later shifted to NIMS.

“He was in the intensive care unit for four days. His condition deteriorated and was declared brain dead on the night of November 18. Jeevandan appreciates the donor family members for their noble act,” said Dr G Swarnalatha, head of state-run Jeevandan organisation.

Dr Swarnalatha said that a Jeevandan coordinator had provided grief counselling to the family and also explained the importance of organ donation. Following the counselling, Shekhar’s brother and sister consented to donate his organs under Jeevandan programme for patients who may be in need.

Apart from the heart, seven other organs were retrieved from Shekhar. These organs were sent to the Osmania General Hospital (liver and a kidney), another kidney was kept in NIMS for a transplant, two lungs were sent to KIMS hospital and two corneas given to the Sarojini Devi Eye bank.

Incidentally, this was the first heart transplant taken up at AIG Hospitals, according to Jeevandan officials.

NEET solvers’ gang mastermind ‘PK’ & aide arrested in Varanasi

NEET solvers’ gang mastermind ‘PK’ & aide arrested in Varanasi

Arrests Came After ₹1 Lakh Reward Announcement On Kingpin

Rajeev.Dikshit@timesgroup.com

Varanasi:19.11.2021

The Commissionerate police on Thursday arrested Pravin Kumar alias ‘PK’ alias Neelesh, the Patna-based mastermind of the solvers’ gang busted during NEET (UG)-2021 here on September 12, and his close aide Ritesh.

Their arrest took place a few hours after the announcement of a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh on PK, against whom a local court had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW).

Commissioner of police A Satish Ganesh said, “PK and Ritesh were arrested from the Ring road under the limits of Sarnath police station area. Ritesh, a clerk in culture and youth affairs department and posted at the secretariat of Bihar government in Patna, is married to PK’s sister Priya, who is a doctor at a PHC in Chhapra. Her involvement in the gang has also come to light in the ongoing investigations.”“PK, who belongs to Chhapra district and posed as a doctor, had settled in Patna following the retirement of his father from the industry department in 1990,” police said. “He had formed the solvers’ gang about six years ago. With the help of Ritesh he used to get the exam papers of different competitive examinations of UP, Uttarakhand and Bihar or arrange impersonators for gullible aspirants after charging huge amounts — from Rs 30 lakhs to Rs 49 lakh. With the wealth created from these illegal activities, he had constructed several multi-storied buildings in Patna, Danapur, purchased plots and luxury SUVs,” the police added.The process for announcing the cash reward on PK had been initiated after issuance of NBW against him and it was approved on Thursday morning. Before announcing the cash reward on PK, the CP said that cash rewards of Rs 20,000 had also been announced on each s accomplices — Mrityunjay Debnath and Dr Afroz — as they were also absconding .

Solver from Rajasthan arrested while taking SI exam for UP man

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:

A Rajasthan native landed in police net on Wednesday while he was helping a UP resident become a sub-inspector. The solver was held while taking an exam in the place of a candidate for UP police sub inspector (SI) recruitment exam at a centre in Gudamba on Wednesday. The exam of recruiting SI is being organised by Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB).

On November 14, also two examinees -Dinesh Chandra, Amit Kumar were nabbed using foul means while taking the examination for SI. Two aides of Dinesh- Saurabh Tiwari, and Rahul Rathi were also arrested by the police on the same day for helping him in the examination. An invigilator developed doubt over the solver, and he alerted senior officials. The accused was later arrested by a police team which reached the scene on information.

The accused was identified as Ashok Kumar (24) of Rajasthan. It was found that he was taking an exam at the place of one Dharmendra Singh of Mathura. “On Wednesday, the centre manager of Chhatra Shakti Info Solutions, Deepak Yadav, in Gudamba police station area developed doubt when he was matching the faces of examinees with the photos pasted on their admit cards. He found that the photo pasted on admit card did not match with the suspect and he alerted the police officer supervising the exams at the centre,” said ADCP, North Zone, Prachi Singh.

ADCP Singh, said that it has come to the fore that solver Ashok Kumar was a member of a gang which rigged the exams.

Cellphone fight with mom ends in suicide

Cellphone fight with mom ends in suicide

Monotosh Chakraborty & Tamaghna Banerjee

Kolkata:19.11.2021

A Class-X student of a Budge Budge school was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her room at Balurghata on Thursday after her mother had reportedly stopped her from taking her cellphone to school.

The eldest among three siblings, the girl used to attend her online classes on her mother’s cellphone as the parents would leave the phone with her when they went out to work. However, since the physical classes began from Tuesday, the mother insisted on taking her cellphone to work and didn’t allow the girl to keep it with her any more. This apparently led to a bitter fight with her mother on Wednesday.

The mother took away the cell phone from her on Wednesday and on Thursday she took the cellphone to her workplace. The 14-year-old girl was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her room by her younger brother after both the parents had left their home.

“My daughter had become addicted to the cellphone. As Madhyamik exam was due shortly and since the physical classes had begun, my wife had rebuked her on Wednesday for being hooked on to the cellphone and took it away from her. On Thursday, both of us had left for work by 6.15am. My son found her hanging around 7am,” said the father, who works at a local jute mill.

The incident has brought to focus the dangers associated with over-dependence on electronic gadgets, which children had been forced into since the start of the pandemic. “It was pretty much expected that once the pandemic and the lockdown restrictions ease down, the dangers of over-reliance on digital media will turn out to be a serious concern and tackling the withdrawal symptoms will become a major challenge. The entire problem has been triggered by unrestrained screen addiction,” said child psychologist Devika De.

Psychiatrist Siladitya Ray pointed out that the incident proves two things — how increased screen time along with phone addiction can create mental instability leading to impulsive behaviour and how modern technologies of distraction can tear apart the cohesive fabric of human society.

“The most reliable way to tackle this crisis is to teach children and help them to develop an insight into the core issue that excessive screen time leads to addictive behaviour which eventually might go out of hand and generate frustration and disgruntlement. However, parents need to be patient, said Ray.

Woman to fly home on AI flight on Monday

TIMES IMPACT

Woman to fly home on AI flight on Monday

Ashish.Mehta@timesgroup.com

Jaipur:19.11.2021

The 85-year-old woman who was denied boarding the Air India Flight from San Francisco to New Delhi connecting Jodhpur on Monday would finally be able to travel to her home town. Air India has arranged for her tickets for the same destination for November 22.

TOI on November 17 had carried a story narrating the plight of the woman and her family.

As the matter has been resolved, the family is happy.

“On the day she was to board the flight, the seat on which she was supposed to travel had a snag. Since it was a 14-hour-long flight, the airlines seeing that the woman was an elderly woman, did not allow her to board. We objected to it,” said Sanjay Bhandari while talking to TOI from San Francisco.

“Now, I must appreciate the way issue was taken up. Air India authorities started looking up for better viable and available options. They have now booked my mother on an Air India flight from San Francisco to New Delhi connecting Jodhpur. The airport manager named Anju Sahani was very apologetic on what happened. She has been cooperative since we were waiting for the flight and she has now arranged for it. She has promised that she will follow up the issue until my mother reaches Jodhpur,” Bhandari added.

“I must thank Times of India for narrating our plight,” he said.

Pension A Deferred Compensation, Hard Earned Benefit For Employee' : Supreme Court Grants Relief To Widow

Pension A Deferred Compensation, Hard Earned Benefit For Employee' : Supreme Court Grants Relief To Widow

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 19 Nov 2021 4:06 PM

The Supreme Court directed to disburse pension to a deceased employee's widow who has been litigating for over a decade.

"Pension as is well known, is the deferred portion of the compensation for rendering long years of service. It is a hard-earned benefit accruing to an employee, in the nature of property,", the bench comprising Justices R. Subhash Reddy and Hrishikesh Roy observed.

Following the employee's death on 12.01.2011, as per the Pension Scheme, 1998 the widow of the pensioner made claim for a sum equivalent to 100 times the full monthly pension of her husband. Vide letter dated 30.09.2012, she applied for payment of the lump sum amount in pursuance of para 15(1)(b) read with para 15(2) of the Coal Mines Pension Scheme, 1998.

As her representation was rejected, she approached the High Court by filing a writ petition. This petition was dismissed by the High court on the ground that no cause of action arose within the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court of Patna. It was observed that the services rendered by the pensioner were outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Patna High Court and hence the writ petition filed by the widow of the pensioner was not maintainable.

In appeal, the bench noted that that the Coal Mines Pension Scheme, 1998 was framed as a measure of social security for ensuring socio-economic justice for the employees in the coal sector under the powers conferred by Section 3-E of the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948.

Nevertheless, for over a decade, the widow of the employee is forced to litigate to secure the pension benefits, the court said.

"While considering the appellant's case, the High Court did not however consider her entitlement on merit, but had dismissed both the Writ Petition and the LPA, citing want of territorial jurisdiction. The employment of the appellant's husband with the respondent employer is however not in dispute. Nevertheless, for over a decade, the widow of the employee is forced to litigate to secure the pension benefits".

The court disposed the appeal by observing thus:

"In the above peculiar circumstances of this case, without commenting on the legality of the decision to discontinue the said provision in the pension scheme by the employer, as the pensioner was not alive on the date of discontinuance, we consider it appropriate to pass necessary orders in her favor in this proceeding itself. Resultantly, the sum due and payable under the Pension scheme be computed and the same is ordered to be disbursed to the appellant. The amount earlier refunded to the appellant be adjusted suitably during the remittance process. The respondent/ employer should do the needful in terms of this order, within 8 weeks from today."

Semester exams in all state colleges postponed to give students more time

Semester exams in all state colleges postponed to give students more time

Exams Will Begin After January 20

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.11.2021

Semester exams in all engineering, arts and science colleges and polytechnics in the state have been postponed to give more time to students to prepare for offline mode. The semester exams will begin only after January 20, 2022, higher education minister K Ponmudi said on Friday.

A section of students had been protesting over the past few days demanding that the semester exams be conducted online.

The higher education department, along with controllers of examinations from state universities, discussed with 11 student organisations, including the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students Federation (AISF) regarding their opposition to offline exams.

“The representatives of student organisations also wanted offline mode exams. However, they wanted more time to prepare for the exams. They said students have been attending offline classes only for the last two and half months. They have asked for a month’s time to prepare for the exams. We have decided to give them two months time,” Ponmudi told reporters.

The state government would withdraw the cases filed against protesting students, he added.

He also said the universities and colleges would finish the syllabus before the start of the semester exams and conduct model exams before the semester exams from January 20.

City colleges also welcomed the decision saying it would give them more time to complete the syllabus after the physical classes were affected by the rain holidays.

"Due to the prolonged rain holidays, we will be able to complete the syllabus only in the second or third week of December. Students will get more time to prepare for semester exams," a principal from a city college said. Another principal said arts and science colleges would be able to finish the syllabus for first year students too before the start of the semester exams.

Earlier, University of Madras planned to conduct semester exams from December 20 and Anna University from December 27.