Landing gear fails to deploy, aircraft made to circle round

Landing gear fails to deploy, aircraft made to circle round

Niyati.Parikh@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:28.08.2021

Handling a flight arrival is pretty much a routine procedure at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport. However, the arrival of a Dehradun-Ahmedabad flight kept airport ground staff, Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and other officials on tense vigil on Friday afternoon at the city airport. The wheel of the Q400 aircraft operated by SpiceJet did not extend, minutes before landing, after which the pilot raised an alert.

“SpiceJet Q400 aircraft operated SG-3762 (Dehradun-Ahmedabad) on August 27. On approach, when the landing gear was selected down, it failed to extend. Go around was initiated and ATC was apprised about the same,” said a SpiceJet spokesperson confirming the incident.

“Just before the flight was on the verge of landing at the city airport, the pilot suspected a technical snag in the operation of the aircraft and raised an alert. The flight circled around mid-air before finally landing,” said a well-placed source.

“On subsequent approach, the aircraft landed safely,” the SpiceJet Spokesperson, further added.

The Q-400 aircraft can carry a maximum of 90 passengers. TOI could not independently confirm how many passengers were aboard the flight.

Airport officials and airline ground staffers breathed a sigh of relief as the flight landed safely. The flight was delayed by some 30 minutes overall due to the technical issue.

Besides this, four flights to Amritsar, Goa, Pune and Jaipur, were delayed from the city airport on Friday due to operational constraints. These flights departed late by 30-180 minutes. Also, a Chennai-bound flight was cancelled due to operational constraints.

City airport on high alert

Ahmedabad:

The high alert at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport has been extended till further notice. The city airport was put on a high alert since August 6 and it was issued in the run up to Independence Day as part of routine protocol. Usually, the high alert remains tentatively a week before and after Independence Day. However, as a precautionary measure, the high alert will remain at the city airport till further notice, confirmed sources.

A top source privy to the development said that it has been extended in the wake of the recent incident of bomb threat mail received at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi. TNN

Mid-air scare for 126 flyers as B’desh pilot suffers heart attack

Mid-air scare for 126 flyers as B’desh pilot suffers heart attack

Nagpur/New Delhi:28.08.2021

A Biman Bangladesh plane going from Muscat to Dhaka made an emergency landing at Nagpur on Friday after the pilot suffered a heart attack, an airport official said. The aircraft with 126 passengers on board landed at 11.40am, the official said.

Aviation industry sources said the sick pilot was taken to Kingsway Hospital, which is just 10 kms from the Nagpur airport.

The plane was near Raipur when it contacted Kolkata ATC for an emergency landing and was advised to land at the nearest airport Nagpur. The co-pilot landed the plane at the Nagpur airport, the sources said. Passengers have been waiting at the airport as Biman Bangladesh is working out alternative travel arrangements for them. PTI

HC allows probe in Kodanad case, says deaths serious & suspicious

HC allows probe in Kodanad case, says deaths serious & suspicious

‘Chargesheet Is No Reason To Stop A Probe’

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:28.08.2021

Rejecting the plea of a prosecution witness, the Madras high court on Friday allowed further investigation into the case of murder and burglary at former chief minister Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad estate in April 2017, saying that deaths of people connected with the incident are ‘serious and suspicious.’ “In this case, not only a murder and dacoity had taken place at Kodanadu tea estate, it had been followed by serious and suspicious deaths,” said Justice M Nirmal Kumar on Friday, refusing to stall trial in the Nilgiris sessions court and ruling that nothing could stop further investigation including filing of chargesheet. The judge was passing orders on a petition filed by N Ravi, prosecution witness 35 in the trial, opposing further investigation and seeking early completion of the trial which had reached the questioning stage.

The case had acquired political overtones after former CM K Palaniswami said in the assembly that attempts were being made to frame him in the case. The AIADMK also staged a walkout over the issue. Justice Nirmal Kumar, acceding to the submissions of advocate-general R Shunmugasundaram and public prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah, said: “This court holds that the investigating agency/police invoking Section 173(8) CrPC at any stage of the criminal proceeding cannot be doubted, objected and faulted with.”

The duty cast upon the court is to see that there is proper, fair, impartial and effective investigation. The filing of a charge sheet or the pendency of the trial can by no means prohibit further investigation, he added.

‘Better to have fair, impartial trial than arrive at a decision’

As per Section 173(8) of CrPC…nothing can stop the investigating officer to continue with further investigation after filing of the charge sheet when they come across and obtains further evidence,” the court said. “The object of a criminal trial is to discover the truth and plausible evidence is to be brought on record, whatever stage it may be... Whatever materials are collected, it is ultimately the concerned court to decide the acceptance and otherwise of the same. It is always better to have a fair and impartial trial to arrive at a just decision,” said Justice Nirmal Kumar.

As to the locus of the petitioner, who is an Amma Peravai office-bearer, the judge said: “The petitioner is neither a defacto complainant, nor a victim or accused. He is only a witness in this case. He has no say in the manner of investigation and trial of the case. Further, no prejudice would be caused to the petitioner if further investigation is conducted.”

Trashing Ravi’s apprehension that further investigation of the case might delay conclusion of trial, the judge said: “Fair trial is the first imperative of dispensation of justice and there is qualitative difference between right to speedy trial and fair trial.”

The object of a criminal trial is to discover the truth and plausible evidence is to be brought on record, the court said

Students, get ready for 3-day classes

Students, get ready for 3-day classes

Masks, Social Distancing Must On Campus

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:28.08.2021

Students who will return to colleges and schools on September 1 will have to be prepared for a different campus experience. Classes are going to be held on alternate days, there will be no lunching together, sharing of textbooks, meetings, study tours or sporting activities.

The government has come out with a detailed SOP that tells colleges and schools what to do as they welcome students.

Final year students post graduate courses and professional courses like engineering will have classes on all six days while first years will have online classes.

As per the SOP, second year graduate students will attend college on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while third year students will attend classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. For professional courses like BE and Btech, second year students will come on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while third year students will come on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Faculty and staff should be vaccinated. Colleges should have quarantine facilities and tie up with nearest hospitals for students with symptoms.

Guru Nanak College principal M G Raghunathan said, "We will go by the SOP but will be splitting the classes. If there is a class of 40, it will be split into two and two teachers will teach. We will tell science students to come one day and commerce students to come on another day."

Shanaz Ahamed, principal of Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for Women, said reopening is good for the students because they will be able to clarify doubts. “But we may have to split the classes to maintain social distancing. We started the same way last year."

Schools will see regular health checks as per the SOP. K Manoharan, principal of SBOA School, said “We have sent guidelines to parents about rules on dropping students at lunch time. Gates have been specified for each class. Teachers will monitor students during breaks. Furniture has been arranged.”

Admissions to PG dental courses put on hold

Admissions to PG dental courses put on hold

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:28.08.2021

The admissions to post graduate dental courses have been put on hold by the Medical Counselling Committee after the Madras high court said the additional reservation provided for economically weaker sections in the notification of July 29, 2021 cannot be permitted without approval of the Supreme Court.

On Friday, the committee, which was supposed to release the round 1 admissions to seats under all India quota, deemed and central universities, said it will put the counselling on hold temporarily “in order to seek clarification from the Supreme Court in this regard”. On Thursday, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu, disallowed 10% quota for economically weaker sections (EWS) among forward castes in medical admissions under All India Quota (AIQ), saying it would take the total reservation beyond the Supreme Court-mandated cap of 50%. It also held that OBC quota for AIQ seats will be 27% as notified by the Union government, and not 50% as demanded by the DMK.

The MCC, which is incharge on counselling for admissions to central/deemed university and all India quota seats of government colleges said, in view of the court order, legal opinion is being sought by from the apex court.

குழந்தைகளுக்கான 'இன்டர்நெட்' பாதுகாப்பு 8 மொழிகளில் அறிமுகம் செய்கிறது 'கூகுள்'

குழந்தைகளுக்கான 'இன்டர்நெட்' பாதுகாப்பு 8 மொழிகளில் அறிமுகம் செய்கிறது 'கூகுள்'

Added : ஆக 25, 2021 22:58

புதுடில்லி:குழந்தைகள் பாதுகாப்பான முறையில் 'இன்டர்நெட்' வசதியை பயன்படுத்துவது தொடர்பான வசதியை, தமிழ் உட்பட, எட்டு மொழிகளில் வழங்க இணையதள தேடு இயந்திரமான, 'கூகுள்' திட்டமிட்டுஉள்ளது.

இன்டர்நெட் பயன்படுத்துவோரில் பெரும்பாலானோர் தங்களுக்கு தேவையான தகவல்களை, கூகுள் இணையதளத்தில் தேடுகின்றனர். இணையத்தில் சரியான தகவல்கள் கிடைப்பதுடன், பொய்யான, போலியான தகவல்களும் அதிகளவில் இடம் பெறுகின்றன.மேலும் பயன்படுத்துவோரின் தகவல்களும் திருடப்படுகின்றன. இதுபோன்ற மோசடிகள் குறித்து அறிந்துள்ள கூகுள், தன் இணையதளத்தில், பாதுகாப்பு மையம் ஒன்றை அமைத்துஉள்ளது.

இதில் பாதுகாப்பான முறையில் இன்டர்நெட்டை பயன்படுத்துவது தொடர்பான தகவல்கள் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளன.இந்நிலையில், சிறுவர் - சிறுமியர் பாதுகாப்பான முறையில் இன்டர்நெட் பயன்படுத்துவதற்கான புதிய முயற்சியில், கூகுள் ஈடுபட்டுஉள்ளது.

இத்திட்டம், இந்தியாவிலும் இந்த ஆண்டுக்குள் அறிமுகம் செய்யப்பட உள்ளது.தமிழ், ஹிந்தி, தெலுங்கு, மராத்தி, மலையாளம், கன்னடம், பெங்காலி, குஜராத்தி ஆகிய இந்திய மொழிகளிலும் பாதுகாப்பு வழிமுறைகள் வழங்கப்பட உள்ளன.இத்திட்டம் விளையாட்டுடன் கற்கும் வகையில் வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. அத்துடன், பிரபலமான, அமர் சித்திர கதா என்ற, 'காமிக்ஸ்' இதழுடன் இணைந்தும் செயல்பட திட்டமிட்டுள்ளது. அந்த இதழ்களில், இன்டர்நெட் பாதுகாப்பு தொடர்பான தகவல்கள் இடம்பெற உள்ளன.

ஆர்.டி.ஐ., பதிலில் அதிகாரியின் கையெழுத்து ஆதார் எண் அவசியம்: சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவு

ஆர்.டி.ஐ., பதிலில் அதிகாரியின் கையெழுத்து ஆதார் எண் அவசியம்: சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவு

Added : ஆக 26, 2021 01:22

சென்னை:'தகவல் உரிமை சட்டத்தின் கீழ் பதில் அளிக்கும் ஒவ்வொரு பக்கத்திலும், பொது தகவல் அதிகாரியின் கையெழுத்துடன், அவரின் ஆதார் எண்ணையும் குறிப்பிட வேண்டும்' என, சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டு உள்ளது.

சென்னை மாநகர போக்குவரத்து கழகம் மற்றும் அயனாவரம் வட்டார போக்குவரத்து அலுவலகத்தில், சில தகவல்களை வழங்கக் கோரி, சிற்றரசு என்பவர், தகவல் உரிமை சட்டத்தின் கீழ் விண்ணப்பித்தார். உரிமைஆனால், அவர் கேட்ட விபரங்கள் வழங்கப்படாததால், சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் வழக்கு தொடர்ந்தார்.

இந்த வழக்கு நீதிபதி எஸ்.வைத்தியநாதன் முன் விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது. அப்போது, தகவல் உரிமை சட்டத்தின் கீழ் அளிக்கப்பட்ட விண்ணப்பத்திற்கு, தொடர்ந்து தவறான தகவல்கள் வழங்கப்பட்டதாக மனுதாரர் தரப்பில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.நீதிபதி வைத்தியநாதன் பிறப்பித்த உத்தரவு:தகவல் ஆணையம் அளிக்கும் தகவல்களில், ஏதேனும் குறைகள் இருந்தால், அதை எதிர்த்து மேல் முறையீட்டு அதிகாரியிடம் முறையீடு செய்ய, தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டம் அதிகாரம் வழங்கிஉள்ளது.

சுற்றறிக்கை

தவறான தகவல்களை அளிக்கும் அதிகாரிகளுக்கு எதிராக நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வசதியாக, விண்ணப்பங்களுக்கு அளிக்கும் பதில்களின் ஒவ்வொரு பக்கத்திலும், சம்பந்தப்பட்ட அதிகாரி கையெழுத்திடுவதுடன், அவரது ஆதார் விபரங்களையும் வழங்க வேண்டும். இது தொடர்பாக, தகவல் ஆணையம், சம்பந்தப்பட்ட அதிகாரிகளுக்கு சுற்றறிக்கை அனுப்ப வேண்டும். இவ்வாறு நீதிபதி உத்தரவிட்டார்.

Sub-standard students cannot be elevated: HC denies relief to MBBS medicos seeking Qualifying Marks in Practical Exams

Sub-standard students cannot be elevated: HC denies relief to MBBS medicos seeking Qualifying Marks in Practical Exams: Amravati: Observing that, sub-standard students cannot somehow be elevated to higher classes, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently dismissed a petition filed by a bunch of students seeking...

IRCTC to pay over ₹4L for Tejas Express delay

IRCTC to pay over ₹4L for Tejas Express delay

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:25.08.2021

After heavy downpour caused a delay in the schedule of Tejas Express, a total of 2,135 affected passengers are set to get Rs 4.49 lakh as compensation. The passengers will receive compensation e-mail links from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on their e-mail address registered with IRCTC for e-ticket booking.

IRCTC chief regional manager for Lucknow Ajit Sinha said, “Tejas Express, which left for the national capital on Saturday, got delayed by nearly two-and-a-half-hours following signal failure caused by heavy downpour. Further, the train was delayed on its return journey to Lucknow on Sunday.”

“Therefore, as per rules, Rs 250 each will be paid to 1,574 passengers who travelled to New Delhi but were delayed by more than two hours, while 561 passengers will be paid Rs 100 as their journey to Lucknow was delayed by one hour,” he said. The passengers will receive a link on their registered e-mail address on clicking which they will need to fill up an online form for refund.

Win gifts for travel from Aug 28-Sept 6

Lucknow:

IRCTC will offer gifts under a lucky draw for the passengers of Tejas Express travelling between August 28 and September 6. The gifts will be given during the journey following a lucky draw on board the train. Under the scheme, eight passengers of chair car class and five passengers of executive class will get gifts on each trip of the train.

HC starts contempt proceedings against Ambedkar Univ VC

HC starts contempt proceedings against Ambedkar Univ VC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:25.08.2021

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court has initiated contempt proceedings against Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University vice-chancellor Prof Sanjai Singh for wilful disobedience of an order passed by the court on July 6. The order has come ahead of the President’s visit to BBAU for its 9th convocation on August 26, The proceedings have been initiated by Justice Sangeeta Chandra in an order passed on August 19. The case has been listed for September 21. The contempt application was filed by Avanish Kumar Srivastava, the former internal audit officer (consultant) of BBAU, on August 17. The petitioner had earlier moved court in April stating that BBAU had on November 28, 2018 and May 21, 2020 reduced his monthly salary with retrospective effect and subsequently his services too were discontinued.

The university’s counsel said the decision was taken by the board of management and that the entire minutes and resolution of the committee were sent to the Union ministry of education for further action.

Srivastava’s counsel cited the BBAU statutes which provide for an appeal before the vice-chancellor. The court stated that the petitioner be given the liberty to approach the VC within two weeks. In case such a representation/appeal is preferred before the VC, it shall be considered and decided on its own merits in accordance with the law within three weeks from July 6.

KU senate to decide on recalling certificates

MARKS MANIPULATION

KU senate to decide on recalling certificates

TIMES-NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram:  25.08.2021

The Kerala University senate meeting scheduled on Thursday would consider an amendment proposal to empower the varsity to recall the certificates issued by it if they were later found to have issued wrongly.

The amendment said the university was necessitated by the issuance of certificates to several students after they got excess marks allegedly due to error in the tabulation software. In 2019, 23 students were issued degree certificates by gifting them additional marks. It was found out that the user ID and password of a deputy registrar was misused to manipulate mark list. The deputy registrar was then suspended and a section officer who was identified as the kingpin behind such manipulations was later dismissed from service. Though the university had initially sought a crime branch inquiry to the ‘inadvertent awarding of marks’, the varsity is yet to hand over the documents to the probe agency. The university has been facing severe criticism for the delay in annulling the certificates issued to the 23 students.

The agenda of the special meeting of the senate plans to pass amendment in the Kerala University first statutes so that “degrees, diplomas, titles, etc, may be recalled at any time after it is made where evidence is placed before the syndicate to show that any person whom such degree, diploma, certificate, title, etc, was awarded by mistake of fact....provided that every person affected by the recalling of the degree, diploma, certificate, title shall be given sufficient opportunity as determined by the syndicate to complete the prescribed course of study and pass the prescribed examination if the situation warrants correction and reissue of the degree, diploma, certificate, title, etc. and if otherwise the syndicate may take such decision as it deem fit,” it said.

Thanks to upgradation, train trips to Mumbai, Tirupati to get shorter

Thanks to upgradation, train trips to Mumbai, Tirupati to get shorter

The upgraded signalling system covers 9 stations, 17 interlocked level crossing gates and one intermediate block signal. The works were taken up at a cost of Rs 9.45 crore.

Published: 25th August 2021 05:17 AM 

By B Anbuselvan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Travelling time from Chennai to Mumbai and Tirupati will soon come down by 20 to 30 minutes with the railways gearing up track and signal upgradation works in Arakkonam - Renigunta section to facilitate operation of trains at a speed of 130 kmph. Presently, the maximum permitted speed in the section is 105 to 110 kmph.

As part of the proposal to enhance the speed of trains in Golden Quadrilateral section and diagonal routes connecting Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, a double distant signalling system has been installed in the 67 km track between Arakkonam and Renigunta.

The upgraded signalling system covers 9 stations, 17 interlocked level crossing gates and one intermediate block signal. The works were taken up at a cost of Rs 9.45 crore. The section has also been provided with an advanced automatic signalling system supported by Train Protection and Warning System, which ensures that no further upgradation is required for increasing the speed.

The track strengthening works in the section involves elimination of 27 manned level crossing gates, complete renewal of tracks and concrete sleepers and improvement of switch expansion joints and replacing curved switches with thick web switches.

“Construction of limited user subway, road over and road under bridge in this section is under progress. Track has been renewed completely for the 17 kms between Nagari and Puttur. Track expansion joints are being upgraded,” said a railway official. The official added that the track would be inspected and speed trials would be conducted upon completion of the works.

Unlock: Beaches crowded in Chennai, theatres still empty

Unlock: Beaches crowded in Chennai, theatres still empty

While some cinema halls screen old movies, others await new releases to help them return to business with a bang by end of the week

Published: 24th August 2021 06:51 AM |

As lockdown relaxations were announced, cinema theatres, beaches and other tourist spots saw huge crowds as people got to partake in leisure activities | V KARTHIKALAGU/ DEBADATTA MALLICK

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: At least 500 people have visited the theatre asking if there was a show, said N Kumarajan, security guard at Sathyam Cinemas. Visitors had expected theatres to be open after the State government allowed them to operate with 50 per cent occupancy starting Monday.

However, the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association have decided to open the theatres from either Thursday or Friday, with grand re-openings, in the hopes drawing of film lovers during the weekend.

The few theatres that have opened, are screening old MGR movies, like the Palace Theatre in Tiruchy. Around 25 people watched the celebrated actor’s dual-role in ‘Enga Veetu Pillai’ movie.Thiyagarajan, a distributor and owner of a theatre said, “Not more than three theatres have opened on Monday in Tiruchy. More may open from Friday with the screening of ‘Conjuring 3’. We will only know on Tuesday.”

He added that reopening the theatres with old movies might not draw crowds. “OTT platforms are showing the most recent movies. How can we compete? Showing an old movie is not a risk worth taking. We plan to open with a theatre-only film on Friday,” he said.

One of the partners of the TPV Multiplex, Alangulam in Tenkasi, Karunakararaja, believes that despite the recent exponential growth of OTT platforms, theatres will draw a crowds as usual. They are also planning to reduce the ticket price from Rs 110 to Rs 50 as an attraction, he said.

Beach vendors happy

The opening of beaches have given renewed hopes to vendors. On Monday morning, the vendors along the Marina in Chennai were seen repairing and painting their shops as the salty breeze had caused several of them to rust.

“We have incurred a huge loss in the last four months. I had to borrow money in the hope of a huge crowd. The chairs and plastic seaters have started withering, the iron rods on the shops have rusted, the iron gas stoves have gathered dust,” said Nizamuthin, who was scraping dust from a huge stove.

Some vendors who had alternative shops managed to balance the loss, while others had to wait. “We have a horse chariot ride which is now destroyed due to the rain and wind. I only have money to restore the shop. I shall repair the horse ride after I make some profit,” said Shankari Babu

K Ganapathi who earns a livelihood taking photos of visitors on the Velankanni beach was all smiles. “On a good day, we earn about Rs 1,000. This was one such day. It is good to see people back again,” he said.

(With inputs from Antony Fernando @ Nagapattinam, Aadhithya MS @ Tiruchy, Jayalakshmi Ramanujam @ Madurai, Thinakaran Rajamani @ Tenkasi, Deepak Sathish @ Coimbatore)

Mild tremors felt in Chennai as 5.1 magnitude quake hits Bay of Bengal, no tsunami threat

Mild tremors felt in Chennai as 5.1 magnitude quake hits Bay of Bengal, no tsunami threat

Brushing aside fears, D Srinagesh, Head of the Seismology Observatory in the National Geophysical Research Institute, said there is nothing unusual about these moderate quakes in the Bay of Bengal

Published: 24th August 2021 06:29 PM 

Representational image (Photo | PTI)

By SV Krishna Chaitanya

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Mild tremors were felt in parts of Chennai as an earthquake measuring 5.1 magnitude on the Richter scale hit the Bay of Bengal region on Tuesday afternoon.

The quake, reported at 12.35 pm, was at a depth of 10 km in the Bay of Bengal and was about 296 km south-south east of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh and 320 km east north east of Chennai, confirmed officials at the National Centre for Seismology. Meanwhile, the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre ruled out any tsunami threat.

A seismologist from the National Centre for Seismology told The New Indian Express that the location where the earthquake occurred is close to the mid-oceanic ridge. "There are two ridges which are located 85 degrees east and 90 degrees east. This earthquake has occurred close to one of these ridges. These are actually aseismic ridges, which means they are not supposed to produce earthquakes. But since these are topographically high, they are slightly active and can once in a while trigger earthquakes. In February 2019 also, an earthquake of similar magnitude was reported in the Bay of Bengal region," he explained and added that the Bay of Bengal region on the Indian tectonic plate was not prone to earthquakes.

This Indian plate ranges from the Himalayas to Africa to Andaman to 1,000 km off the Chennai coast. "It is a very stable tectonic plate," the official said. However, seismologists from Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, say it is a major concern that a quake has struck so close to the east coast of India. The last earthquake in February 2019 was reported about 447.4 km northwest of Visakhapatnam and 609.1 km west-southwest of Chennai. Now, this quake was reported just over 300 km off the Chennai coast.

Brushing aside fears, D Srinagesh, Head of the Seismology Observatory in the National Geophysical Research Institute, told The New Indian Express that there is nothing unusual about these moderate earthquakes in the Bay of Bengal region. "But, we have to keep a close watch on the underwater ridges and fault lines in the region along the east coast. Occasionally, they get seismically active when stress builds up."

He said except for one 5.1 magnitude earthquake, there were no aftershock events reported on Tuesday. The seismic stations in Chennai, Kalahasti or Warangal did not record anything. "People have only reported mild tremors for about one to two seconds," he said.

TM Balakrishnan Nair, director of Operational Ocean Services and Applied Research (OSAR) Group at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), told The New Indian Express that there was no perceived threat. "The early warning centre at INCOIS continuously monitors seismic and sea-level data. We should be concerned only when an earthquake in excess of 6.5 magnitude strikes."

The early warning centre at INCOIS detects all earthquake events of more than 6 magnitude occurring in the Indian Ocean in less than 12 minutes. Bottom Pressure Records (BPRs) installed in the Deep Ocean are the key sensors to confirm the triggering of a tsunami. The centre uses a custom-built software application that generates alarms/alerts whenever a pre-set threshold is crossed. Tsunami warnings/watches are then generated based on pre-set decision support rules and disseminated to the concerned authorities for action, following a Standard Operating Procedure.

When contacted, Director of State Disaster Management N Subbaiyan said some parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, have only reported mild tremors. "There is no threat of tsunami or storm surge. No warnings at this juncture are warranted."

On Tuesday, many Chennaites took to social media to report the tremors. People living in areas like Adyar and neighbouring Thiruvanmiyur said they felt mild tremors, with some Twitter users saying they could even see the furniture 'shaking.'

Khatabook raises $100mn from a slew of investors

FINTECH CO

Khatabook raises $100mn from a slew of investors

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:25.08.2021

Fintech startup Khatabook has closed a $100 million Series C funding round, valuing the firm close to $600 million. The round was led by US-based VC firms Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV). Other investors in this oversubscribed round were Alkeon Capital, and existing investors B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, RTP Ventures, Unilever Ventures, and Better Capital. There were individual investors too.

Khatakbook is buying back $10 million worth of ESOPs to reward employees, ex-employees, and early investors. Eligible employees will be able to sell as much as 30% of their vested options. Khatabook has also expanded its ESOP pool to $50 million.

Khatabook provides software to enable small businesses to do bookkeeping, and to accept online payments. It has apps like Pagarkhata for staff management, Cashbook for expense management, and it recently acquired Biz Analyst for insight-driven decision making and business management for Tally ERP9 users.The company’s revenue grew 150% in the last fiscal. Across all its software products, Khatabook has over 10 million monthly active users. The user base is across almost every district in India.

In the next phase of growth, the venture expects to provide financial services. It is looking for partnerships to enable this. The fresh funding will also help the startup to strengthen its talent base. Khatabook currently has 200 employees.

Ravish Naresh, CEO and co-founder of Khatabook, said, “The first phase of our journey was enabling digital transformation by building a tech ecosystem for Indian MSMEs. Now that we have created a widely accepted digital platform, the next step will be digitallyenabled financial services for small businesses.”

Without textbooks, attendance will be meaningless, says HC

Without textbooks, attendance will be meaningless, says HC

Bengaluru:25.08.2021

Observing that without textbooks, attendance in schools will be meaningless and purposeless, the high court on Tuesday said the state government should ensure supply of textbooks to students of classes 9 and 10.

A division bench comprising justices BV Nagarathna and P Krishna Bhat said that the court is not satisfied with the statement on the issue of supply of textbooks. The court directed the state government to submit a status report on the progress made vis-a-vis supply of textbooks in government and aided schools till August 30.The bench suggested that education officers at taluk level send textbooks in PDF format to those who have the necessary gadgets and make an effort to provide printouts of PDFs to those who don’t.

The additional government advocate told the court that textbooks will be supplied in a phased manner by September 30. He also informed the court that a decision on resuming physical classes for students of standards 1-8 will be taken at a meeting on August 30. TNN

Website glitch holds up ticket sale for Tirupati online darshan

Website glitch holds up ticket sale for Tirupati online darshan

Sandeep.Raghavan@timesgroup.com

Tirupati:25.08.2021

Devotees booking online slots for darshan of Sri Venkateswara Swamy at Tirupati faced trouble once again on Tuesday when the monthly quota of ₹300 darshan tickets were released. This is the fourth time that the servers of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) have “frozen” in as many months. Many devotees rue that every time the monthly quota is released slow TTD servers make it difficult to book the online quota.

TTD, which manages the richest Hindu temple in the world, releases the quota for darshan every month. Sources said that TTD’s websites registered 1.1 lakh concurrent hits immediately after the tickets were released on Tuesday morning and the servers couldn’t manage the rush.

P Srikanth Reddy, a devotee from Tirupati who tried to book special entry darshan tickets for his family, told TOI that he kept waiting and refreshing the website for hours on Tuesday, but eventually could not book his tickets.

Full report on www.toi.in

‘No transparency in best state teacher awards’

‘No transparency in best state teacher awards’

Madurai:25.08.2021

School teachers in Sivagangai have alleged that there is a lack of transparency in the selection process by the district education department for nominations for the state level best teacher awards.

The state government gives Dr Radhakrishnan award to about 385 school teachers across the state. As per norms, a district level committee headed by the chief educational officer should nominate the teachers in the ratio of 1:2 towards the number of awards allotted to each district.

In Sivagangai district, around 40 teachers had submitted applications for nominations. “The district level committee generally holds interviews with the applicants to determine the nominations. This is the norm across districts. However, this time, no such interviews were held and there has been no transparency on how the nominations were selected,” said a teacher, on condition of anonymity. The teacher added that many applicants had been waiting to be called for interview. Sivagangai district CEO S Manivannan said the interviews were not conducted due to Covid safety concerns. TNN

PTR reaches out to opposition after war of words

PTR reaches out to opposition after war of words

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.08.2021

Taking a leaf out of his leader’s book to embrace all, finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Tuesday went to the opposition benches and was seen interacting cheerfully with former minister and MLA K P Munusamy and some AIADMK colleagues. This comes a day after a war of words broke out between them over the DMK’s unkept poll promises and the remarks that were subsequently expunged by the assembly speaker.

Minutes before the day’s proceedings commenced in the assembly, the finance minister made a dash for the opposition benches, leaving the media, the assembly marshals and the MLAs perplexed. Then Thiaga Rajan was seen searching for someone. “He is there,” a staff member politely told the minister, pointing to Munusamy, seated in the last row of the opposition benches. The minister rushed to Munsamy, who is also deputy coordinator of the AIADMK, and greeted the former minister with folded palms and interacted with him for a few minutes.

Soon after certain remarks against the member triggered a debate on Monday, with leader of opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami expressing strong objections, chief minister M K Stalin expressed regret and requested speaker M Appavu to expunge it. Munusamy rose to say the minister sought apology days ago to another AIADMK legislator for his remarks, proving his magnanimity and maturity. Only certain words used by Thiaga Rajan proved wrong at times, Munusamy said.

On Tuesday, sources said Thiaga Rajan sought to explain his remarks. “He thanked Munusamy for appreciating his magnanimity and maturity,” said a leader. The AIADMK MLAs, including former electricity minister P Thangamani, came around and greeted Thiaga Rajan, before appreciating his “work” as a first-time minister. They were all smiles.

Tamil Nadu registers 1,585 new cases of Covid-19, 27 deaths

Tamil Nadu registers 1,585 new cases of Covid-19, 27 deaths

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.08.2021

Covid-19 cases which has been on a decline in the state since August 12 continued to follow the trend on Tuesday with Tamil Nafu recording 1,585 new cases, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 26.04 lakh.

The state recorded 27 deaths on Tuesday, two more than what was recorded the previous day. So far, 34,761 deaths have been recorded in the state.

According to the official bulletin, Coimbatore recorded the highest number of cases-190, followed by Chennai, which recorded 165 cases.

Of the 27 deaths, three are deaths without comorbodities, including a 27 year old man from Tiruppur who got admitted with complaints of fever and breathing difficulty three days ago.

Maximum number of deaths were recorded in Tiruppur (5) followed by Coimbatore (4). At least 23 districts recorded zero deaths.

The number of active cases as on date, including those in isolation is 18,603.

Chennai reported 165 cases on Tuesday, while the three neighbouring districts, Tiruvallur (60), Chengalpet (92), and Kancheepuram (31) together reported 183 cases.

As on date, the capital city has recorded 5,42,902 cases – 21 % of the total positive cases in the state.

The death tally in the capital city as on Sunday is 8386.

Apart from Coimbatore, which recorded maximum number of cases in the state, the other districts in the western region- Erode (138), Tiruppur (65), Salem (79) too recorded more cases.

Fresh cases of Covid-19 went down further in central region on Tuesday. Central region reported 289 fresh covid positive cases on Tuesday. The region had recorded 305 fresh cases on Monday. The number of discharged patients remain 339 on Tuesday for the third consecutive day. The active cases of the region dipped further to 3520 from 3577 of yesterday. Trichy registered 46 fresh cases on Tuesday, continuing to have fresh cases below 50 for the last few days.

Pondy administers 7.8 lakh vaccines

Healthcare authorities have so far administered 7.85 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine (including the second dose) to the beneficiaries in the Union territory of Puducherry. They have so far tested 16.16 lakh swab samples for Covid-19 infection of which 13.72 lakh samples returned negative. The territory reported 73 fresh cases even as 103 patients recovered bringing down the active cases to 765. Of them, 603 are under home isolation and treatment. A 63-year-old man from Karaikal died of the infection taking the death toll to 1,809. The positivity rate of the samples (3,131) tested on Tuesday stood at 2.3%. TNN

‘College staff to be sent on leave if not vaccinated fully’

The regional joint director of collegiate education (RJDCE), Coimbatore, R Ulagi on Tuesday issued an order to all government, aided and self-financing colleges in Coimbatore to send both teaching and non-teaching staff on compulsory leave if they were not fully vaccinated from September

1. The order follows a direction issued by the district collector on Monday to education institutions to allow their staff, who had taken both doses of vaccine against Covid-19, to resume work from September 1. TNN

Corporation status for Tambaram, five more municipalities

Corporation status for Tambaram, five more municipalities

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.08.2021

Six municipalities in Tamil Nadu — Tambaram, Kancheepuram, Kumbakonam, Karur, Cuddalore and Sivakasi — would soon be upgraded into corporations by merging adjoining areas with them, said minister for municipal administration K N Nehru in the assembly on Tuesday.

The move would increase the number of municipal corporations in the state from 15 to 21, help address infrastructure imbalance in areas adjoining urban local bodies and improve the living condition of people, officials said.

Tambaram would be upgraded into a corporation by merging Pallavaram, Sembakkam, Pammal and Anakaputhur municipalities and nearby areas, the minister said while replying to the debate on demand for grants for the municipal administration department. Nehru also announced that Trichy, Nagercoil, Thanjavur and Hosur corporations and Chengalpet, Poonamallee and Mannarkudi municipalities would be expanded by merging nearby developed areas with them.

₹300cr for parks & waterbodies in TN

Waterbodies and parks in urban local bodies across TN will be restored and amenities will be upgraded at a cost of ₹300 crore. The government would also roll out wage employment programme for urban poor in Chennai at a cost of ₹100 crore.

Govt decision will improve infrastructure

The elected members of the local bodies in the territories falling under the new corporations, expanded corporations and expanded municipalities would continue in posts till the next local body elections.

He announced upgradation of Pallapatti, Thittakudi, Mangadu, Kundrathur, Nandhivaram, Guduvanchery, Ponneri, Thiruninravur, Sholingar, Edanganasalai, Taramangalam, Thirumuruganpoondi, Gudalur, Karamadai, Karumathampatti, Madukkarai, Vadalur, Kottakuppam, Thirukovilur, Ulundurpet, Adirampattinam, Manamadurai, Surandai, Kalakadu, Thiruchendur, Kollankode, Mursiri and Lalgudi town panchayats into municipalities. Pugalur municipality would be created by merging Punjaipugalur and TNPL Pugalur town panchayats. The government’s decision to upgrade and expand the urban local bodies would improve the basic amenities and infrastructure in the region by better mobilisation of land resources and finance. Going by the 2011 census, 75% of the male workers in the expanded areas are in non-agricultural sector — an indication of urbanisation of the area, said an official.

‘Annual income not basis for deciding creamy layer’

‘Annual income not basis for deciding creamy layer’

Apex Court Says It Has To Be Done On The Basis Of A Mix Of Social, Economic And Other Relevant Factors

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:25.08.2021

Holding that annual earnings cannot be the sole criterion for identifying the ‘creamy layer’ among the backward communities to deny reservation, the Supreme Court on Tuesday held that it has to be done on the basis of a mix of social, economic and other relevant factors and not the economic criteria alone.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose quashed 2016 notification issued by the Haryana government by which sections of backward classes earning above ₹6 lakh per annum were to be considered as ‘creamy layer’. The bench said the decision of the state government was in violation of the principles laid down by the apex court in Indra Sawhney case.

The court said the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 makes it mandatory for identification and exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ to be on the basis of social, economic and other relevant factors but the the state wrongly sought to determine ‘creamy layer’ solely on the basis of economic criterion and has committed a “grave error” in doing so.

“Therefore, we quash the notification, giving liberty to the state government to issue a fresh notification within a period of 3 months from today after taking into account the principles laid down by this court in Indra Sawhney case and the criteria mentioned in Section 5(2) of the 2016 Act for determining creamy layer,” the bench said. The court, however, said that admissions to educational institutions and appointment to state services on the basis of the notifications shall not be disturbed.

The court noted that the notification issued by the state in 1995 was in tune with the judgment of the court in Indra Sawhney case but the 2016 notification was in violation of the verdict.

“The said notification excluded certain persons who held constitutional posts and those who were in employment of the state and the Centre in higher posts from the benefit of reservation. In addition, the social advancement of other categories was taken into account for the purpose of including such categories in ‘creamy layer’. Strangely, by 2016 notification, the identification of ‘creamy layer’ amongst backward classes was restricted only to the basis of economic criterion. In clear terms, this court held in Indra Sawhney case that the basis of exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ cannot be merely economic,” the bench said.

Referring to Indra Sahney verdict, the court said it was held that persons from backward classes who occupied posts in higher services like IAS, IPS and All-India Services had reached a higher level of social advancement and economic status and therefore, were not entitled to be treated as backward.

“Such persons were to be treated as ‘creamy layer’ without any further inquiry. Likewise, people with sufficient income who were in a position to provide employment to others should also be taken to have reached a higher social status and therefore, should be treated as outside the backward class. Similarly, persons from backward classes who had higher agricultural holdings or were receiving income from properties, beyond a prescribed limit, do not deserve the benefit of reservation. The above-mentioned categories were necessarily to be excluded from backward classes,” the court said.

HC verdict in Kodanad case on August 27

HC verdict in Kodanad case on August 27

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:25.08.2021`

The Madras high court will deliver its verdict on a plea for further investigation into a case relating to murder and burglary at Kodanad estate, former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s summer retreat in the Nilgiris, on August 27.

Justice M Nirmal Kumar, after listening to animated arguments of Tamil Nadu advocate-general R Shunmugasundaram and two other senior counsel, reserved the verdict on Tuesday. “This issue must not be used for some other purpose, that is my only concern,” the judge said.

The matter relates to a petition filed by prosecution witness, N Ravi, seeking day-today hearing in the case and early conclusion of trial in the Nilgiris sessions court.

AG: Govt promised logical end; don’t have any intention of harming anyone

Allaying apprehensions, advocate general Shunmugasundaram justified the police inquiry held with the key surviving suspect KV Sayan, and said: “We are ultimately going to place the truth. We have no intention to malign anyone.” Ruling out any motive behind commencing further investigation in the case, the AG said it was a poll promise of the ruling DMK. “The government has promised to find a logical conclusion in the case. We have no intention to harm anyone.”

Shunmugasundaram said Section 173 (8) of CrPC does not specify that prior permission of the magistrate is required to commence further investigation. “The proviso nowhere states that any prior permission must be sought for further investigation,” he said. The investigation officer is only duty bound to inform the court and seek formal permission. They are not mandated to obtain permission, the AG clarified.

Earlier, representing Ravi, senior advocate I Subramaniam argued that police had commenced further investigation in the case even without the prior approval of the magistrate concer ned.

“The Supreme Court has made it clear that such prior approval is a must to commence further investigation,” he said.

Supporting his argument, former advocategeneral A L Somayaji said such further investigation could be allowed only till the trial commences in the case. “In the present case, the trial has already commenced. Therefore, there is no question of granting permission for further investigation,” he said.

There is a prima facie case for the court to stay further investigation, he added.

UAE suspends visa-on-arrival for desi flyers

UAE suspends visa-on-arrival for desi flyers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:24.08.2021

The UAE has temporarily suspended visa-on-arrival for flyers from India who have been here 14 days before touching down there, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad airline said. International travel rules are constantly changing during the pandemic and travellers must check for destinationspecific requirements before planning a trip.

“The UAE authorities have decided to temporarily suspend the visa-on-arrival facility for passengers who are arriving from or been in India in the past 14 days. We're working to update our website,” Etihad’s official guest relations Twitter account said on Monday.

Oman has allowed fully vaccinated travellers from India (those who have got Covishield) starting September1. The second dose should have been taken at least 14 days before heading there, among other conditions that must be met for flyers to be allowed into Oman.

Fix I-T portal glitches by Sept 15, FM tells Infosys

Fix I-T portal glitches by Sept 15, FM tells Infosys

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:24.08.2021

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked Infosys, the technology vendor for the faulty income tax portal, to fix all glitches by September 15, while conveying the “deep disappointment and concerns” of the government and taxpayers over the company’s failure to fix the problems even two and a half months after the platform was launched.

During her meeting with Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Sitharaman made her displeasure known, with the company brass now realising how seriously the Centre was taking the issue, a source told TOI. The sense in the government is that Infosys was moving to remove the snags at a very slow pace, something it had done with GST Network as well where it managed to extract time from the government.

At that time, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani had been asked to explain the issues at a meeting of the GST Council, the higher-powered panel comprising state and Union finance ministers.

“The message seems to have finally sunk in,” an official said as the FM on Monday sought an explanation from the IT company over repeated issues being faced by taxpayers, tax practitioners as well as officials. Separately, the company had also failed in providing a smooth transition to an upgraded MCA-21, a platform for corporate filings and database, and had been called out even them.

“The ministry of finance emphasised that there is a need for putting in more resources and efforts on the part of Infosys so that the much-delayed delivery of agreed services is ensured. Parekh was also sensitised on the difficulties that the taxpayers were facing and the problems that are arising on account of the delays in the functioning of the portal,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday.

231 hospitals get notices for not sharing patient data

231 hospitals get notices for not sharing patient data

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.08.2021

Greater Chennai Corporation has issued notices to 231 hospitals for not sharing data on patients treated for flu-like symptoms and Covid-19 patient discharges. In a meeting on August 13, corporation commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi had asked all private hospitals to share information on patients with influenza like illness (ILI) and Covid-19 patients.

“We had shared the e-mail

 ID  gccpvthospitalreports@chennaicorporation.gov.in with a format in which the data had to be mailed every day. But we haven't been receiving them,” said Bedi.

“Many patients undergoing treatment for Covid-19 are discharged within 3-4 days and have to be in home isolation after that. However, we recently came across a few cases where discharged patients were sources of new infections as they didn’t follow the isolation protocols,” said assistant city health officer, Mahalakshmi. Inspections revealed that some hospitals did not disinfect their premises regularly as well.

An official said data on fever cases will help them trace contacts and do focused testing to avoid clusters.

AIRCRAFT WITHIN 8KM OF EACH OTHER

AIRCRAFT WITHIN 8KM OF EACH OTHER

Near miss: Chennai-bound plane 300ft away from Vadodara flight

Mid-Air Incident On Jan 29 Over Mum Airspace

Manju.V@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:24.08.2021

The final investigation report into the January 29 near-miss involving an AirAsia India flight from Ahmedabad to Chennai and an IndiGo flight from Bengaluru to Vadodara over Mumbai airspace has found that the two aircraft came within 8km of each other with 300ft vertical separation between them.

The report also looked into the changes brought about due to the pandemic which had restricted manpower at the Mumbai air traffic control.

The serious incident occurred over an area about 30km east of Vapi. To fly from Ahmedabad to Chennai, aircraft typically overfly Bhavnagar, but on that day, the AirAsia flight plan had the aircraft follow a route that is normally taken by aircraft descending to land in Mumbai, said the report released recently by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. Also, the IndiGo aircraft coming in from the south was allowed to head directly to a point that lies over Ankleshwar, near Bharuch. Due to these changes in routing, both the aircraft were now flying towards each other, at different altitudes though. The automated system at the Mumbai air traffic control issued a ‘predicted conflict warning’, which the radar controller failed to respond to, the report said.

By the time the controller realised the potential conflict, the AirAsia aircraft at 38,008ft and the IndiGo aircraft at 38,000ft were closing in.

‘Potential mid-air collision also a result of changes brought on by pandemic’

The automated traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) in the AirAsia cockpit blared an aural command instructing the pilots to climb. The aircraft climbed up to 38,396ft, moving safely away from the 38,000ft altitude that IndiGo was on. The report said that the minimum separation between both aircraft was recorded as 8km laterally when the climbing AirAsia aircraft was 300ft below IndiGo aircraft and it was 6.5km laterally when the AirAsia aircraft was 500ft above IndiGo aircraft after having crossed its path.

The report recommended suitable corrective training for the radar controller concerned. But the potential midair collision was also a result of the changes brought on by the pandemic. With limited manpower in the Mumbai air traffic control and fewer flights, the controller handled traffic over a much larger area. While air traffic was down after the two-month ban on domestic flights in summer 2020, it had picked up considerably in the latter half of the year, and by January, the workload on the lone controller would have gone up. The report recommended that the Airports Authority of India reassess the volume of traffic in all sectors which were withdrawn due to less number of traffic during the Covid-induced lockdown and implement sectors as before the pandemic.

The report also looked into the changes brought about due to the pandemic which had restricted manpower at the Mumbai ATC

1.6 crore people miss 2nd Covid shot, health ministry data shows

1.6 crore people miss 2nd Covid shot, health ministry data shows

Among Them, Over 1crore In 60-Plus Group

Rema.Nagarajan@timesgroup.com

24.08.2021

At least 1.6 crore people in India are yet to get second shot of the Covid vaccine 16 weeks after their first, the longest recommended gap between two shots. Over a crore of them are among the elderly, and the rest are from other vulnerable groups such as health and frontline workers and those aged over 45.

The1.6 crore figure was arrived at by looking at how many people had got their first shots as of May 2, that is 16 weeks back, and comparing it with the total number of those who have so far got their second. All data is from press releases issued by the health ministry.

The government had on May 13 approved a gap of 12-16 weeks for Covishield, which accounts for over 85% of all vaccinations; for Covaxin, it’s a much shorter 4-6 weeks.

Weekly cases fall in all major states

There were no signs of a third wave in Covid data from the week ended Sunday, with 32 out of the 36 states & UTs showing a fall in cases. In the four states/UTs where cases rose, the numbers were too low, reports Amit Bhattacharya. Cases dipped by 10% in Tamil Nadu, 10% in Kerala during the Onam week, 19% in Maharashtra, 24% in Andhra Pradesh, 16% in Karnataka and 15% in Odisha.

3.9cr eligible for second shot & yet to be jabbed

The number of people whose second shots are delayed beyond the recommended interval may well be higher since the calculation for 1.6 crore is based on 16 weeks for Covishield and not six weeks for Covaxin. So, the figure for those who’ve got both doses so far includes many who received their first shot after May 2.

The number of people who are eligible for their second shot – after 12 weeks – and are yet to be fully vaccinated is 3.9 crore (again, this number may be higher since the minimum gap for Covaxin is four weeks compared to 12 for Covishield).

A variety of factors may be at play for people not getting their second doses even after the maximum recommended interval.

Full report on www.toi-.in

Times View

The Covid numbers are coming down. But a lag in vaccination helps nobody’s cause. These are vulnerable groups and the government must be proactive in vaccinating them at the earliest and ensure that they retain their protective cover.