Saturday, January 8, 2022

7-day home quarantine, test on 8th day must for all int’l arrivals Revised Norms To Take Effect On January 11

7-day home quarantine, test on 8th day must for all int’l arrivals

Revised Norms To Take Effect On January 11

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

08.01.2022

New Delhi: All international travellers flying into India will have to undergo a mandatory seven-day home quarantine and an RT-PCR test on the eighth day.

Travellers from countries specified as ‘at risk’ will have to submit a sample for Covid testing post-arrival and wait for the results at the airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight. If tested negative, they have to be in home quarantine for seven days and get tested on the eighth day. In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases globally, the Centre on Friday revised guidelines for international travellers, which will come into force from January 11 and remain effective till further orders.

“Travellers shall also be required to upload results of RT-PCR test for Covid-19 done on the eighth day on Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by respective states and UTs),” the health ministry said.

From among those who arrive from non-at risk countries, 2% will be selected for random testing on arrival.

Int’l travellers arriving via seaports to undergo same protocols as flyers

If negative, those who have undergone sampling will home quarantine and self-monitor their health for seven days. And if positive, their samples will be further sent for genomic testing at INSACOG laboratory network.

The health ministry on Friday also updated the list of at-risk countries which now includes — countries in Europe including UK, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Ghana, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Israel, Congo, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zambia. The list is updated and based on the “prevalent epidemiological situation of Covid-19 in these countries including circulation of variants of concern,” the ministry said.

Under the new guidelines, India has implemented stricter arrival norms for those arriving even from non at-risk countries and expanded the list of “at risk” nations due to the spread of Omicron. Other rules remain the same in terms of pre-departure information and requirement to download Aarogya Setu App. Laboratories shall prioritise the testing of samples from travellers selected for random testing.

International travellers arriving through seaports or land ports will also have to undergo the same protocols as above, except that facility for online registration is not available currently.

SC ruling a historic victory for DMK’s struggle for social justice, says Stalin

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

08.01.2022

Madurai: The Supreme Court order allowing 27% reservation in NEET PG admission to other backward classes (OBC) is a historic victory for DMK in its fight for social justice and the people of Tamil Nadu, chief minister M K Stalin has said. The Congress, PMK and left parties too claimed credit for the decision and recalled their campaigns in this regard.

Stalin said the order was a result of the DMK’s legal and political battles over the years despite efforts by the Union government and oppressive forces to continue fighting against it. He said DMK fought for it in Parliament, before the people’s court and before the high court and Supreme Court where it impleaded in the case.

"It is worrying that the Union government failed to realise the justice in our demand. They argued against the reservation before Madras high court and refused to implement the HC’s direction even after it was confirmed by the Supreme Court," he said, adding that DMK then moved a contempt of court plea against the Union government’s inaction. "Had the Union government shown interest, it (the reservation) would have been implemented two years ago, benefiting thousands of OBC students," he said. DMK’s legal battle against the 10% reservation for economically weaker sec- tions and for ensuring 100% allotment of medical seats to students of the home state will continue, he added.

Stalin said that medical colleges have been opened across states, making it possible for students of those states to pursue MBBS and specialised postgraduate courses such as MD and MS there. The state will continue its battle to put an end to All India Quota to enable 100% filling up of seats by the respective states.

Welcoming the verdict, TN Congress Committee president K S Alagiri recalled the role of the Congress in implementing 27% reservation for OBC category in central government institutions in 2006 during the UPA-I government. At this juncture, he stated the governor should forward the bill against NEET that was passed in the assembly to the governor or else face the consequences.

Former Union health minister and PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss in a statement claimed that the verdict was a victory of his party and other organisations and recalled his role in initiating the case. The journey for social justice is too long, he said and added that many legal and political battles have to be fought in the state and national level for social justice to emerge victorious. CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan said the party takes pride in being a part of the battle that brought victory before the SC and appreciated the DMK and others which played their role before the apex court.

Medical counselling in state likely to begin in two weeks

Medical counselling in state likely to begin in two weeks

Order Brings Relief To Over 40k Aspirants In Tamil Nadu

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

08.01.2022

Chennai: The Supreme Court's order on Friday allowing resumption of NEET-PG and NEET-UG counselling for all India quota seats by following 27% quota for other backward class (OBC) and 10% quota for economically weaker sections (EWS) has removed the bottleneck for conducting MBBS/BDS admissions in Tamil Nadu.

The counselling for the medical seats under the state quota is likely to begin in two weeks, according to officials from the directorate of medical education.

The order brings the anxious wait of more than 40,000 medical aspirants for the last two months to an end. "After the publication of first-round counselling results for All India Quota (AIQ) seats by the Medical Counselling Commit-tee (MCC) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), we will start MBBS/ BDS counselling in Tamil Nadu. It will take12 to 15 days. We will start our counselling tentatively at the end of the third week or beginning of the fourth week of January," said P Vasanthamani, secretary of the Selection Committee, Directorate of Medical Education.

Citing the pending case regarding EWS quota in PG med- ical admissions in the apex court, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) of Directorate General of Health Services postponed MBBS counselling for AIQ seats as well.

As per the usual practice, TN has been conducting medical admission after the first round of counselling for seats under AIQ is over. "It will give toppers an opportunity to choose seats from AIQ. So, it will give more seats to Tamil Nadu students," officials said.

As many as 40,288 students have applied to the counselling for MBBS/BDS admissions which is 1000 more compared to the previous year. The last date for submitting online applications ended on January 7.

"While 25,511 students applied for government quota seats, 14,777 students have applied for seats under management quota this year," Vasanthamani added.

Last year, 39,223 applications were received for government and management quota seats. This year, 11 new government medical colleges will add 1,450 seats while Government Coimbatore Medical College got permission to add 50 additional seats. Thirty-seven government medical colleges will offer 5,125 seats. There will be 4,356 seats available for state quota counselling after allocating15% of seats for AIQ.

Meanwhile, the apex court, while passing the judgment, stated that the validity of the criteria determined by the committee would prospectively be subject to its final order. The court said it will hear the matter in detail in the third week of March.

Friday, January 7, 2022

PM Modi’s Pongal visit to Madurai called off due to Covid curbs

PM Modi’s Pongal visit to Madurai called off due to Covid curbs

Addressing reporters at Hotel Tamil Nadu in Madurai on Thursday, Annamalai said the guidelines issued by the State government prohibit political parties from organising gatherings.

Published: 07th January 2022 05:37 AM |

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

By Express News Service

MADURAI: Citing the new restrictions imposed by the State government in view of the pandemic, BJP State president K Annamalai said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to the district on January 12 to take part in Pongal celebrations has been cancelled.

Addressing reporters at Hotel Tamil Nadu in Madurai on Thursday, Annamalai said the guidelines issued by the State government prohibit political parties from organising gatherings. “Since the Pongal function, in which the PM was to take part, is organised by the BJP, we have cancelled it,” he said. When asked whether the PM’s other scheduled programmes were also cancelled, Annamalai said it is for the State to decide.

The State government had earlier said the PM would inaugurate Virudhunagar Medical College on January 12. The itinerary is yet to be finalised. The BJP State unit had said the party would celebrate this Pongal as ‘Modi Pongal’ and was making elaborate arrangements. Sources said 10,000 women were to participate in the programme and an interactive session between the PM and the women was also planned.

Meanwhile, Annamalai condemned the alleged security breach during Modi’s visit to Punjab and said BJP cadre will go on a week-long protest across the State. Following the press meet, BJP cadre led by Annamalai took out a protest rally from Hotel Tamil Nadu on Alagar Koil Road to Madurai Corporation office in Tallakulam.

Pointing out that India had lost two of its PMs to terror attacks, Annamalai said the breach in security of the PM about 25 km from Pakistan is due to the negligence of the Congress-led government in Punjab.

NEET row: Stalin slams Amit Shah, to hold all-party meet on Saturday

Shah’s refusal to meet people’s representatives goes against the ethos of democracy, the CM said.

Published: 07th January 2022 05:43 AM | Last Updated: 07th January 2022 05:43 AM-

Chief Minister MK Stalin addresses the Assembly in Chennai on Thursday | Express

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for refusing an audience to a delegation of MPs from TN over the NEET issue, and said representatives of legislative parties in the State Assembly will meet on January 8 to decide the next step to get the State exemption from the exam.

Shah’s refusal to meet people’s representatives goes against the ethos of democracy, the CM said. Making a suo motu statement under Rule 110 in the Assembly, Stalin said the DMK has maintained that NEET would affect students of disadvantaged sections, and admission to colleges should only be based on Class 12 marks.

This was why the government headed by M Karunanidhi scrapped State-level entrance exams in 2007, the CM said, and pointed out, that by introducing NEET, the Centre had snatched the State’s powers to admit students to State-run colleges.

Will join DMK in fight to nix NEET, but prep students for test: AIADMK

Stress ing that the Assembly had unanimously passed a bill scrapping NEET, the CM said the TN Governor has not forwarded it to President Ram Nath Kovind. A delegation of all-party MPs from the State had submitted a memorandum to the President explaining the troubles faced by students due to NEET. The President’s office forwarded the memorandum to the Union Home Minister for further action.

Stalin said the history of Dravidian movements reveal struggles for establishing the rights of the States, and that efforts to scrap NEET should be treated as the next phase of the social justice movement. “We will fight this battle without compromising our stand,” he added.

The AIADMK said it was ready to join hands with the DMK to scrap NEET but questioned the DMK government as to whether it can succeed in getting exemption for TN . Equipping students to face NEET by providing appropriate training is the need of the hour, the principal opposition party said.

Participating in a discussion on motion to thank Governor’s address, senior AIADMK leader R Vaithilingam said, “Former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami took efforts to scrap NEET. Since it did not work, he provided 7.5 per cent reservation for government school students. If you are ready to meet the PM and agitate in this regard, the AIADMK is also ready.

But we have to ponder over whether scrapping of NEET is practically possible. Vaithilingam also recalled the remarks of DMK leaders during Assembly polls about the party having a strategy to scrap NEET . Vaithilingam said the previous AIADMK regime had handled the first wave of the pandemic efficiently and the DMK government has handled the second wave well.

Governor urges doctors to be sympathetic to poor

Governor urges doctors to be sympathetic to poor

As many as 125 medical students were presented with gold and silver medals on the occasion.

Published: 07th January 2022 07:52 AM

NTRUHS students take oath during 22nd and 23rd convocations | Prasant Madugula

By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Governor and Dr NTR University of Health Sciences Chancellor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan said that the poor and downtrodden people have suffered a lot during the Covid-19 pandemic as they could not afford the high cost of treatment. He urged doctors to be sympathetic to the people. Addressing the 22nd and 23rd Convocations of NTR Health University at Thummalapalli Kala Kshetram in Vijayawada in a virtual mode on Thursday, he said doctors have to extend all possible help to the poor.

Praising the significant work done by the entire medical community and the support staff during the pandemic, he said not only he but the entire country, including the Prime Minister, have praised their work and called them frontline warriors. He said without doctors coming forward and fighting such a war, it would not have been possible to successfully come out of the situation posed by the first wave.

“The pandemic has taught us that change is inevitable and the opportunities created will lead towards better tomorrow. It has worked as a catalyst for the educational institutions to grow and opt for online platforms with digital technologies,” he said.

Vice-chancellor Dr P Syama Prasad delivered the welcome address and read out the annual report of the University and registrar Dr K Sankar proposed the vote of thanks. As many as 125 medical students were presented with gold and silver medals on the occasion.

NEET PG Counselling Verdict to come soon, Supreme Court Reserves Order

NEET PG Counselling Verdict to come soon, Supreme Court Reserves Order: New Delhi: In continuance to the longstanding uncertainty of NEET PG counselling, the Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on the matter of EWS and OBC Quota in connection to NEET and NEET PG...

CM announces all-party meet on January 8 to discuss NEET Slams Shah For Not Meeting The All-Party Delegation

CM announces all-party meet on January 8 to discuss NEET

Slams Shah For Not Meeting The All-Party Delegation

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

07.01.2022

Chennai:As governor R N Ravi has not sent the NEET Bill to President Ram Nath Kovind and Union home minister Amit Shah refused to meet an all-party delegation of MPs, chief minister M K Stalin said on Thursday, a meeting of legislature parties will take place on January 8 to decide the next course of action in the fight to get exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET. The main opposition AIADMK extended its support for a “joint struggle” against the entrance examinations for admission to medical and dental courses.

Making a suo motu statement in the assembly, the chief minister said the struggle for social justice and against NEET would continue based on the outcome of the meeting. The Union government snatched away the rights of the state governments in deciding admission of students to medical colleges though colleges are being funded by the state government from the state funds. NEET benefited only those students who had access to undergo training for entrance examinations. It rendered school education system meaningless, he said.

“These actions not only shatter the dreams of the students but undermine the federal principles. We cannot remain spectators. We cannot remain indifferent to the fu- ture of our students being ruined,” the CM said, recalling the unanimous passage of the NEET Bill in September and his meeting with the governor in November to get assent to the Bill. The previous DMK regime had scrapped entrance test for professional courses in 2007.

The chief minister said that a delegation of MPs from all parties led by DMK parliamentary party leader T R Baalu presented a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind’s secretariat on December 28, explaining the delay in getting assent to the Bill. The memorandum was forwarded to the Union home ministry for action on the same day. “Following this, an appointment was sought from the Union home minister by an all-party delegation of MPs, but the minister is refusing to meet the delegation. Refusing to meet elected members is against the ethos of democracy,” the CM said. The representation that was to be handed over to the minister was submitted to his office on Wednesday.

AIADMK member Vaithilingam raised doubts about the government’s efforts given that the NEET Bill passed by the previous AIADMK government did not get assent. Hence, the previous government enacted a legislation to provide horizontal reservation of 7. 5% for government school students that helped 435 students pursue medical education. “We extend 100% support to the fight for getting NEET exemption. We are ready to protest with you. But is it possible?” Vaithilingam urged the government to train students to face the entrance test and not ruin the future of students.

Over 75% of fresh cases in state are from Chennai

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

07.01.2022

Chennai:At least three fourths of the 6,983 new Covid-19 cases reported by the state on Thursday came from Chennai (3,759) and it three adjacent district – Chengalpet (816), Tiruvallur (444) and Kancheepuram (185). The eleven deaths took the cumulative toll to 36,825. At the end of the day, the number of active patients in the state soared to 22,828.

The state reported a 43% increase in cases in the last 24 hours from 4,863 new cases on Wednesday, and its hotspot city, Chennai, reported a 55% increase from 2,489. “We are seeing a cascading effect of the infection into the adjacent districts,” said health secretary J Radhakrishnan.

After Chennai, Chengalpet and Tiruvallur, Coimbatore (309) and Vellore (223) reported the highest number of cases in the state. Among central districts, Trichy reported the sharpest increase from 51 cases on Wednesday to 123 on Thursday, while Thanjavur reported 68 new cases compared to 26 a day ago. In the south, Tuticorin reported 132 new cases on Thursday, when Madurai had 60.

Of the 11 deaths, there were five in Chennai and one each in Chengalpet, Coimbatore, Salem, Thanjavur, Madurai and Namakkal. Meanwhile 6. 9 lakh, including 5. 3 lakh teens, took the jab on Thursday.

Govt plans to extend validity of planning permissions

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

07.01.2022

Chennai: The government has decided to amend the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, to extend the validity of planning permissions from five years to eight years,

A bill to this effect was tabled in the Assembly by housing and urban development minister S Muthusamy on Thursday. According to the bill, developers find it difficult to obtain fresh permission on expiry of the five-year period, in cases where construction projects are yet to be completed.

Further, Covid-19 had impacted activity in the real estate sector in the state. The interdependence of supply chains, migration of labour, cost overturns and liquidity constraints are some of the challenges the sector faced. So it would be difficult to complete projects within five years.

PMK backs state govt on VC issue

Ponmudi said, “Our PM is aware of it. Yo u (BJP MLAs) can take this to the notice of the PM.” He pointed out that the Maharashtra government introduced an amendment (the Maharashtra Public University Act 2016) to empower itself to appoint VCs.

After a tussle between West Bengal government and the state’s governor, the government appointed a vice-chancellor recently. Similar tussle is going on in neighbouring Kerala too. “To resolve such i ssues, state governments should have powers to appoint VCs. Our CM feels so. Before the next assembly session, a decision will be taken,” he said.

Intervening at this stage, Stalin said the government would pass a resolution in the assembly in this regard.

The PMK and MNM welcomed the CM’s announcement. Actor-turned-political Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiyam welcomed CM’s announcement.The party had issued a statement saying the government should appoint VCs instead of governor.

PMK youth wing leader and Rajya Sabha MP Anbumani Ramadoss welcomed CM’s announcement. He tweeted that the PMK would support the government’s initiative.

‘EWS income criteria different from income criteria of ₹8L’

Meeting head on a fusillade of charges from counsel for petitioners questioning the rationality of extending OBC and EWS quota to medical admission, Mehta said that providing reservation to socially and economically backward classes — OBC and EWS — is constitutionally imperative and the SC in a string of judgments more than a decade ago has upheld this view.

He said the government respects the SC’s consistent rulings against reservation in super-speciality courses and that NEET-PG is not a superspeciality course. The focus of the arguments by petitioners was against inclusion of 10% EWS quota and the ₹8 lakh annual income criteria for the purpose. Extricating the government from a difficult situation, Mehta said the EWS income criteria is very different from the income criteria of ₹8 lakh fixed for weeding out creamy layer from cornering benefits of the OBC quota.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

30 months on, no salary for institute staff

06.01.2022

Sangrur: Waiting for their salaries for the last 30 months, the faculty members of Baba Hira Singh Bhathal Institute of Engineering &Technolo gy (BHSBIET), Lehragaga, Sangrur, have been sitting on a protest round the clock near the gate of the college.

Kamal Garg, one of the protesters, said, “Earlier there were five government established engineering colleges in Punjab namely SBS, Ferozpur; BCET, Gurdaspur; GZS, Bathinda; MIMIT, Malout; BHSBIET, Lehragaga. The GZS, Bathinda was merged into Maharaja Ranjit Singh StateTechnical University, Bathinda during the Akali regime while the institutes of Fero zepurand Gurdaspur were recently made state technical universities.

Now as due to drastic fall of admissions, all these institutes are facing severe financial crisis and not able to pay salaries to its staff ranging from 3-4 months to 30 months (as in case of BHSBIET, Lehragaga, who have not got their salary from the last 30 months). The staff of Lehragaga had held dharnas numerous times but all promises to release salaries by providing financial assistance have not been met. ”

“Channi had remained the minister of technical education and the decision to shut the institute was taken under his tenure,” said a protester.
TNN

All doctors are fully vaxxed, asymptomatic

All doctors are fully vaxxed, asymptomatic06.01.2022

Bhopal 06.01.2022

Doctors and paramedical staff, who have been assigned duty in Covid wards, are following the same protocol as in the first and second waves, Dr Dixit said. “They wear PPE kits and are following all other norms. There’s no instance of any health staff getting infected while working in Covid wards,”he said.

A faculty member of the microbiology department was infected a fortnight ago and a repeat sampletested positive a week ago. Two doctors of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS) have also tested positive in the past week after returning from other cities.

“While people are advised not to lower their guard and follow all Covid guidelines, doctors and paramedical staff have been asked to take all the precautions, have a good sleep and home-made food to avoid falling ill due to the virus,” pulmonologist Dr Ravi Dosi said.

“Most of the doctors, who have tested positive to the disease, have their recent travel history during last week of 2021” Dr Sanjay Londhe said, adding that almost all the doc- tors are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic. “Among those detected in the recent past, the disease is not causing major health problems, including breathlessness, which was seen in the second wave in April and May when Covid claimed so many lives,” he said.

The 64th All India Congress of Obstetrics & Gynecology to be organized by the Indore wing from January 9-13 has been postponed due to Covid. Over 500 doctors were expected to attend.

The next dates haven’t been decided yet, informed our sources.

Banks restrict staff attendance

Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com

06.01.2022

Mumbai: Banks are drawing up preventive measures to deal with the third wave of Covid. This comes close on the heels of the Central government curtailing office attendance to 50% of workforce in the wake of the surge in infections.

For banks, the protocol will vary according to the district and a decision will be taken by State-Level Bankers’ Committees. Bank of India has said that physical attendance will be restricted to 50% in administrative offices, including head offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

In branches, physical attendance shall be restricted to 75% in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The remaining staff will work from home. The bank has also decided to increase availability of collaborative platforms like Citrix to facilita- te WFH. Pregnant women and those with disabilities are also being allowed to work from home in these three cities.

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance has postponed the exams scheduled on January 8-9. Bankers in Mumbai said that the situation is dynamic and they are awaiting the local administration’s response to the rising numbers to draw up a strategy. In the financial capital, bank staff are dependant on local trains and any move to curtail them would impact operations.

The head offices of private banks have continued with a hybrid model even after the ebbing of the second wave. Officials said that work-from-home policy would continue for those in administrative offices, while branches would continue to have attendance.

EWS quota hearing: Centre for early med PG counselling

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

06.01.2022

New Delhi: The SC on Wednesday commenced hearing on petitions challenging the 27% OBC and 10% EWS (reservations for poor among forwards) quotas in admissions to PG medical courses and asked the petitioners and the Centre to conclude by Thursday arguments on the urgent issue — the resolution of which will permit counselling for postgraduate medical seats for 2021-22 academic session with or without the quotas.

While the EWS quota for jobs and admissions to governmenteducational institutions was notified in January, 2019, the 27% OBC quota in medical admissions was notified in July last year much after the medical PG examination schedule was announced. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta was told by a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna that, “Now that you have filed an affidavit, the petitioners’ counsel can give their arguments. We will hear them and the government on Thursday. ”

SC rejects state’s appeal against pension

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

06.01.2022

Ahmedabad: The Supreme Court has turned down Gujarat government’s appeal and held that all petitioner lecturers and professors of Gujarat’s universities, who had not opted for pension scheme in favour of contributory provident fund, are eligible for the pension schemes though they had missed the bus 30 yearsago.

The litigations were initiated after many teaching and non-teaching staff, including lecturers from government and aided colleges, were denied pension scheme benefits as they had opted for a one-time payment by the government at the time of retirement.

After ignoring the op- tion given by the state government on a couple of occasions in the 1980s, these employees approached the government at the time of their retirement and requested they be considered for the pension scheme.

Besides, in the appointments made after 1982, the government did not offer the option at all. The employees also sought pension benefit after retirement by citing a 1984 government resolution.

However, the government rejected their request for pension benefits and the dispute landed in the high court with hundreds of retired college teachers demanding extension of the pension scheme and complaining that the government had not given them the opportunity to exercise the option on grounds of financial implications.

The single-judge bench of the HC allowed the petitions in2016andorderedthe government to grant pension to the petitioners on condition that the petitioners should refund the amount paid to them towards the provident fund.

There were four batches of such litigations and all the petitions were allowed. The state government challenged the decisions before the division bench, which rejected its appeals in 2019.

One such rejected appeal was carried to the apex court by the state government contending that despite being granted the opportunity on multiple occasions, the petitioners had not opted for the pension scheme. At a belated stage, their request cannot be acceded to, the government argued. The bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna dismissed the state government’s appeal on December 17, 2021 stating that one of the batches of such petitions allowed by HC had attained finality. There was no difference between the petitioners who succeeded and are drawing pension and the present petitioners.

“Consequently, it would be wholly iniquitous to apply a different yardstick to a batch of pensioners who are respondents to these proceedings, when the judgment of the high court has attained finality in respect of a similar batch of pensioners who are governed by the same judgment. They are receiving pensions,” the order read.

Resident docs want HoD out till inquiry is over

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

06.01.2022

Ahmedabad: The resident doctors at B J Medical College and Civil Hospital have demanded from college authority that the head of the department for ENT, Dr Ila Upadhyay be removed from the post till her name is cleared in an ongoing inquiry.

A three-member committee has been set up by the college to probe a complaint where the students have alleged that they are subjected harassment by Dr Upadhyay.

The Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) at B J Medical College have complained to the faculty dean, Gujarat University that Dr Upadhyay had even asked one of her students to gift her a micro-meter drill set. “In the wake of the ongoing inquiry by a committee, Dr Upadhyay should be temporarily removed from the post as it would lead to a conflict of interest. We have made representation to the college authority in this regard,” said a member of JDA.

“We have never experienced such an environment where criticism is constant and we are seeing a highly efficient workplace turn into less efficient and it is discouraging and disheartening to see, feel and work,” according to a letter written to the college authority and signed by the ENT department students.

SC begins EWS quota hearing; Centre for early PG counseling

Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

06.01.2022

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday commenced hearing on petitions challenging the 27% OBC and 10% EWS (reservations for poor among forwards) quotas in admissions to PG medical courses and asked petitioners and Centre to conclude by Thursday arguments on the urgent issue— the resolution of which will permit counseling for postgraduate medical seats for 202122 academic session with or without the new quotas.

While the EWS quota for jobs and admissions to government educational institutions was notified in January, 2019, the 27% OBC quota in medical admissions (all-India quota) was notified in July last year much after the medical PG examination schedule was announced.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta was told by a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna that, “Now that you have revisited the criteria and filed an affidavit annexing the report of the committee, the petitioners’ counsel can give their arguments on the issue. We will hear them and then hear the government on Thursday. ”

The SG said, “Now, there is a judicial adjudication on the OBC quota in medical admissions. We as government would earnestly request the SC we would not create a situation where the OBC and the poorest of the general category are deprived of what is due to them. ” Mehta said, “We are at a stage where the counseling is stuck, from graduation to post-graduation courses. The resident doctors have concerns and we feel their concerns are genuine. ”

Full report on www. toi. in

85-yr-old Bihar man boasts of 11 jabs, caught at 12th shot

85-yr-old Bihar man boasts of 11 jabs, caught at 12th shot

06.01.2022

Madhepura: In a ‘boaster dose’ India’s Covid vaccination campaign could have done without, a vaccine-obsessed 84year-old man from Bihar’s Madhepura claims to have been jabbed 11times at different centres — on nine occasions, using the same Aadhaar and mobile number— before his shot at a 12th dose misfired.

Brahmdeo Mandal, a resident of Orai village in Puraini, was stopped on Tuesday just after he walked into yet another vaccination site in Madhepura on the premise that each extra dose was not only protecting him from Covid but also “curing me of my many ailments”.

As embarrassed health officials searched for explanations, civil surgeon A N Shahi said an inquiry had been ordered to fix responsibility for Brahmdeo getting past the data firewall nine times with a single Aadhaar card and mobile number.

Brahmdeo produced a diary containing details of where he got his shots and on which dates. He apparently got jabbed first at Puraini PHC on February 13, followed by a legal second dose at the same centre on March 13.

Full report on www. toi. in

Job scam: Police arrests former AIADMK Minister Rajenthra Bhalaji, three others

Job scam: Police arrests former AIADMK Minister Rajenthra Bhalaji, three others

The former Minister, whose anticipatory bail application was dismissed by the Madras High Court last month, was arrested in connection with the scam, a police official said.

Published: 05th January 2022 11:44 PM

By PTI

VIRUDHUNAGAR: Former AIADMK minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji was arrested in a case involving alleged job scam on Wednesday in Karnataka and brought to Tamil Nadu, police said.

Three others who allegedly helped him have also been arrested.

The former Minister, whose anticipatory bail application was dismissed by the Madras High Court last month, was arrested in connection with the scam, a police official here said.

The police case here on job scam is against Bhalaji, two of his personal assistants and an associate.

Two separate FIRs were registered previously by the Virudhunagar police following complaints.

At least 23 victims were identified and a total of Rs 1.

40 crore was collected from them allegedly for securing jobs.

They were promised various jobs in the state government departments/undertakings including in the state-run dairy cooperative 'Aavin.

' Conspiracy, cheating, criminal intimidation are among the IPC sections invoked against them.

Bhalaji held the milk and dairy development portfolio in the previous AIADMK government (2016-21).

Dismissing the anticipatory bail petition of Bhalaji and others, the High Court had said in cases of job racketeering, the court finds innocents are being cheated, lured and their future becomes questionable.

"Job aspirants not only lose their money, they also lose their future. This case is one of job racketeering. Hence, this court is not inclined to show any leniency on the petitioners."

After the plea was rejected, police had formed special teams to apprehend him.

Students in a fix as Covid shuts colleges in TN

Students in a fix as Covid shuts colleges in TN

The State government’s order to close all colleges, barring medical colleges, in Tamil Nadu in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases has left students and teachers in a fix.

Published: 06th January 2022 05:33 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The State government’s order to close all colleges, barring medical colleges, in Tamil Nadu in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases has left students and teachers in a fix. Though the government advised students to consider this as a study holiday for the upcoming semester exams, this hasn’t brought any solace to teachers and students as the first-year syllabus has not been completed in many colleges.

In some colleges, practical exams were under way and a few had started model tests to prepare students for offline exams, which are scheduled to start from January 21. Amid all this, colleges were suddenly closed leaving students clueless.

“In our college, one model test was held on January 4. I was trying to get back to writing long-form answers, which I have almost forgotten due to online exams. But colleges are now being closed. This means we will now directly have to appear for offline semester exams without anymore practice,” said K Sandhya, a student at a Government Arts and Science college in Chennai.

Another student, T Manivannan, asked, “What about our practical examinations? Will they be conducted or not? Or as was done previously, will we be allotted marks?” Teachers too are worried over the uncertainty regarding when the situation will improve and in-person classes can be resumed. “We will have to resume online classes to complete the syllabus for first-year students. As of now, we are confident that offline semester examinations will be conducted for all students as per the schedule,” said principal of Guru Nanak College MG Ragunathan.

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Lockdown in Mumbai if cases cross 20,000-mark, warns mayor

05.01.2022

Mumbai: Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday said if the daily Covid cases here cross the 20,000-mark, a lockdown will be imposed in the city as per the Union government's rules. Talking to reporters at her office in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters, Pednekar suggested that citizens wear triple-layer masks while travelling in public buses and local trains.

She also appealed to them to get vaccinated at the earliest and follow all COVID-19-related standard operating procedures (SOPs). Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray might address the citizens in a couple of days, she said. She said currently, only six Omicron patients are admitted in and all other persons infected by the new variant have been discharged.

PTI

Woman bitten by rat in hosp to get ₹25,000

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

05.01.2022

Madurai: The Madras high court has directed the principal secretary of the health department to pay ₹25,000 as compensation to a woman who was bitten by a rat inside the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai district in 2014. The court was hearing the petition filed by Muthulakshmi alias Rajam. The petitioner’s son Suresh had suffered grievous injuries in a road accident and was admitted as in-patient on January 19, 2014.

On January 23, 2014, when the petitioner was sleeping near her son’s cot, a rat bit her on her left elbow. She suffered pain and swelling. Since the pain increased, she took treatment as an out-patient.

She then gave a representation to the authorities in February 2014 seeking to prevent rat menace at the hospital. Since there was no response, she had filed the present petition before the HC Madurai bench in 2014, seeking compensation of 2 lakh for the injury suffered by her.

In the counter affidavit, the dean of GRH had stated that though the petitioner claimed that a rat had bitten her on January 23, 2014, she did not approach the medical officer on that very night but took treatment only on January 31, 2014. Justice C V Karthikeyan said that a copy of the medical receipt given to the petitioner which had been enclosed as a document to the petition shows that the nature of treatment given to the petitioner was for rat bite. The petitioner also produced newspaper reports regarding this incident.

Join the initiative to red-flag fake news, vaccinate people with truth

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

05.01.2022

Exclusive liquor bars opened for women by the Tamil Nadu government”. This was among thousands of forwarded messages ranging from “Hot coconut water kills all types of cancer cells, cysts and tumors” to “Karnataka police have added location trackers for all auto rickshaws for women safety” that TOI busted as fake recently through its campaign ‘Times Verified’.

Born in Mumbai in April last year, the initiative that aims to break the chain of viral misinformation and disinformation which has been infecting social media groups in the backdrop of a mutating virus, went national in December 2021.

Under this campaign, readers send unverified or suspicious messages doing the rounds of social media to this paper on the WhatsApp number 9819888887 and our expert panel—comprising reporters, editors and representatives from the BMC and government—tap into their sources to verify its credibility.

Over the last few weeks, TOI received over 15,000 messages of which 45% emerged as falsehoods. “This message is fake,” cried the bold red stamp sent by our panel in response to the dubious messages including the recent: “Indian student home remedy for Covid 19 approved by WHO. Concoction of pepper, honey & ginger juice can eli- minate the effects of Covid in 5days. ”

In an email interview, US based physician Dr Seema Yasmin—whose recent book speaks about how misinformation spreads faster than microbes in times of crisis—had told TOI that the rapid spread of false information during a pandemic can cost people their lives. In this scenario, the job of our “chain-breakers”—readers who have been regularly forwarding dubious messages to help TOI identify red flags and vaccinate you with the truth—becomes especially significant.

Among these vigilant chain breakers are Delhi’s Meenakshi Kaul who recently helped us bust this message “Japan has dropped its COVID-19 vaccination rollout and has opted to use the drug Ivermectin and by doing so, Japan has ended COVID-19 ‘almost overnight’” and Maharashtra’s Pavan Agarwal who brought to our notice a dubious 1957 comic strip featuring Phantom warning people of “China virus”.

If Karnataka’s Loganat- han P alerted us to the fake “Calls from ‘912250041117’ for vaccine feedback, on answering the call, the phone will be hacked”, UP’s Ravinder Raina promptly helped us call out this falsehood: “Indian Army Soldiers fainted after running due to Covid vaccination”.

The rumours weren’t only about the virus. For instance, Punjab’s Nausheen B sent us this dubious forward: “Professor Neena Gupta, a mathematician from Kolkata, declared as the first Indian to win Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians. ”

To join the chain-breaking brigade in the fight against false news, all you have to do is send dubious, anxiety-causing news circulated on social media to our expert panel and let the green tick in the Times Verified logo counter the tyranny of the grey curved arrow of forwards.

Dharmapuri, Tenkasi MPs top in attendance

05.01.2022

Chennai: Members of Parliament S Senthilkumar (Dharmapuri) and Dhanush M Kumar (Tenkasi) recorded the best attendance in the Lok Sabha from the first session of 17th Lok Sabha until the winter session that ended in December last. Amid repeated disruptions, both members managed to raise 267 questions each, leading the pack of 39 LS MPs representing Tamil Nadu in the Lower House.

The data sourced by the PRS Legislative Research suggested that 16 members secured more than 80% of attendance, 18 members between 60% and 80% and the rest falling below 60%. “All our data tracking the activities of MPs have been sourced from the web portals of Parliament. We also used the bulletins and question lists published by Parliament on its websites,” PRS Legisla- tive Research president, M R Madhavan said.

The other top members in attendance, include Vijay Vasanth (Kanyakumari), Manicka Tagore (Virudhunagar) and Gautham Sigamani Pon (Kallakurichi), P R Natarajan (Coimbatore), S R Parthiban (Salem), K Shanmugasundaram (Pollachi) and K Jayakumar (Tiruvallur). The MPs, who recorded poor attendance include S Jagathrakshakan (Arakkonam) and S S Pa- lanimanickam (Thanjavur).

DMK Parliamentary party leader T R Baalu said the members tried as much as possible to raise the issues amid suspensions and walkouts. “From raising the arrests of fishermen to NEET exemption, from dam safety bill to the rise in price of fuel, bringing embarkation point back to Chennai for Haj pilgrimage to pending dues of GST, we put forth our demands,” said Baalu.