No ‘Hindu meals’ for economy class travellers soon on Emirates 

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | ANUSHA PUPPALA

Published Jul 3, 2018, 3:02 am IST
The Hindu meal service in economy class would be discontinued in October. 


Emirates (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Emirates will not be offering ‘Hindu non-vegetarian’ meal preference for economy class passengers, though business and first class passengers will continue to get the facility. The meal does not have beef.

Emirates has sent out an email to passengers stating that economy class travellers will not will be able to select the ‘Hindu meal’ preference while booking the flights from July 1. The Hindu meal service in economy class would be discontinued in October.

Several passengers took to Twitter to complain. Emirates, while confirming the amendments, told the passengers that the airline would offer Hindu meals in first and business class cabins.

Government quota MBBS seats go up as MCI grants approval to two private colleges
Minister says over 70 per cent seats may go to State Board, 30 per cent to other boards.
 
Published: 03rd July 2018 05:23 AM |  



By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The number of government quota MBBS seats has increased from 3,328 to 3,501 after the Medical Council of India gave approval for two private medical colleges. The seats have been added to the existing seats in the ongoing counselling for MBBS and BDS admission 2018-2019.

After handing over the allotment order to 10 students who figured on top of the state’s merit list, Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar said, “The MCI gave approval for two self-financing medical colleges, Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research and Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College recently.”

The minister said, “Over 70 per cent of seats might go to State Board students and 30 per cent to CBSE and other boards.

The selection committee members said the Adhiparasakthi Institute had surrendered 98 seats and the Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College 75 seats.

About the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, the minister said the State would act as per court directions. “The CMC is yet to surrender seats as the case is pending in the court.”

Health secretary J Radhakrishnan said, “90 ‘native’ students were added to the rank list and, among them, 28 or so will be eligible for medical seat”.

The selection committee officials said these students had studied in other states and also written NEET-UG representing other states, but their parents are natives of Tamil Nadu. “One student with similar case went to the court praying to consider him as the state student. The court ruled in his favour. Later we found that there are over 80 similar students and included them in the rank list. However, not all students will get medical seats,” said a senior selection committee official.

A free walk at Marina from today

The city police has restricted parking on two stretches in the service road at Marina Beach for the convenience of morning walkers, starting today. Vehicle parking will not be allowed on the service road from Gandhi Statue to the spot opposite the office of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board. Another
 
Published: 02nd July 2018 10:19 PM | Last Updated: 03rd July 

 

Police installed banners declaring the ‘walking zone’

By Express News Service

CHENNAI : The city police has restricted parking on two stretches in the service road at Marina Beach for the convenience of morning walkers, starting today. Vehicle parking will not be allowed on the service road from Gandhi Statue to the spot opposite the office of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board. Another stretch that has been banned for vehicle parking is from Thiruvalluvar statue to Kannagi statue. The ban will be enforced from 5 am to 8 am every day.

Vehicles will be allowed for parking on the Kamarajar Salai opposite the DGP Office and on the service road between the spot opposite to the slum clearance board office and the Thiruvalluvar statue. The place behind Kannagi statue will also be allowed for parking during these hours. Police said the measure was taken in view of the demands from the morning walkers.

A senior police officer told Express, “At least 1,500 people use the service road for morning walks and they find it difficult with the vehicles parked haphazardly on the stretch. So we have reserved particular stretches for about a kilometer exclusively for walking in the morning hours.” Police on Monday installed banners declaring the ‘walking zone’ on the service road. Vehicle parked in violation of the new rule will be removed from the spot, police said

Train service begins in Pattukottai- Karaikudi BG section 

Special Correspondent 
 
Tiruchi, July 03, 2018 00:00 IST

It resumes after five years

More than five years after trains services were stopped on the Pattukottai - Karaikudi section, the Tiruchi Railway Divisional authorities resumed regular services in the newly converted broad gauge stretch on Monday.

A Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train was operated from Karaikudi in the morning which reached Pattukottai in the afternoon. The same train left Pattukottai and arrived at Karaikudi at around 7.10 p.m.

As per the present timing announced by the Southern Railway authorities, the bi-weekly passenger train would be operated on Monday and Thursday for a period of three months on experimental basis. The passenger special train would take over six hours in both directions.

Railway sources said the DEMU special train was being run with Travelling Gatekeepers on board in both directions at present due to shortage of manpower for manning the level crossing gates falling along the stretch. The sources said this was the reason for the long journey time taken in this stretch. Services were stopped in this section in late 2012 for conversion into broad gauge. Delay in resumption of train services post clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety in early March this year, irked locals who kept demanding resumption of services. The train has seven stoppages en route including Peravurani, Aranthangi and Periyakottai.

Understaffed engineering colleges see solace in new AICTE norm 

R. Krishnamoorthy 

Tiruchi, July 03, 2018 00:00 IST

Latest instruction changes the teacher-student ratio from 1:15 to 1:20

Much to the consternation of faculty members, self-financing colleges with poor admissions in the region have found solace in the latest instruction from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for changing the teacher-student ratio from 1:15 to 1:20.

There are instances of private managements merging engineering institutions being run in common campuses, it is learnt.

According to a functionary of the management of a group of engineering institutions, the indications of the TNEA 2018 counselling are indeed negative for institutions with mediocre outlook.

But, spurt in attrition of engineering faculties from such institutions is not helpful for colleges undertaking fresh recruitment of teachers.

In fact, in very many colleges, the teacher-student ratio did not conform to the 1:15 norm earlier, and now these institutions are able to conform to the newly specified ratio, sources said.

Nevertheless, the line of thinking of the managements of engineering colleges has always been that 1:20 ratio was sufficient for teaching purposes, and that the 1:15 ratio would be suitable only when research activities receive importance.

According to a former principal of an engineering college in Tiruchi district, there will be no solution to the declining trend in engineering education until the focus is shifted from results to knowledge-acquisition.

There are also indications that a section of B.Ed. qualified teachers laid-off by college managements are knocking at the doors of schools for sustaining their teaching career, going by inquiries being made by the faculties with school managements, sources said.

A good number of self-financing engineering colleges in the region pay paltry salaries in the range of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000.

It has also come to light that teachers of certain engineering institutions prefer to quit the job on their own volition since they have not been paid even the paltry salary for months.

A course for doctors to manage TB 

Special Correspondent 
 
CHENNAI, July 03, 2018 00:00 IST

The National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) will offer a certificate course for doctors on managing tuberculosis.

The eight-week ‘Manage TB - an online course for doctors’ was developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research - NIRT and NPTEL have provided support for recording and hosting it on the portal and will coordinate the conduct of the final exams.

NPTEL coordinator Andrew Thangaraj said it was the first course of its nature addressing a specific disease and aimed at sensitising doctors in the public and the private sector to standards of care, guidelines and developments in the management of TB.

The course, which includes video lectures and case discussions, was launched by Madhusudhan Reddy, deputy commissioner (health), Chennai Corporation. Mr. Reddy said the course was needed in view of the State’s ‘End TB’ and ‘TB free Chennai’ initiatives.

Ration card categorisation not permanent: Minister 

Special Correspondent 
 
CHENNAI, July 03, 2018 00:00 IST



R. Kamaraj 

Officials have erred in grouping people, charges Opposition

The slotting of ration cards into five categories as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA) by officials after a survey is not permanent and is bound to change over a variety of factors, Food Minister R. Kamaraj said in the Assembly on Monday.

Congress MLA S. Rajesh Kumar (Killiyoor) raised the issue in the House and claimed that the officials had not properly categorised the cards and had issued ‘all commodities’ cards to the rich and vice versa.

As on May 31 this year, 1,96,16,093 ration cards are categorised into five types: 76,99,940 Priority Household cards (all commodities, including rice), 18,64,600 Priority Households-Antyodaya Anna Yojana cards (all commodities, including 35 kg of rice), 90,08,842 Non-priority Household cards (all commodities, including rice), 10,01,605 Non-priority Household-Sugar cards (sugar option cards) and 41,106 ‘no commodity’ cards.

As per the NFSA norms, women-headed families and those with differently-abled/mentally challenged persons were to be marked as priority cards, Mr. Kamaraj explained.

The categorisation was not permanent and all would be covered in the distribution of items, he added.

He said that a total of 5,47,550 duplicate ration cards had been identified and eliminated since June 1, 2011.

Mr. Kamaraj also rejected the charges levelled by Mr. Rajesh Kumar that the food grains distributed in the PDS shops were not of good quality.

The Killiyoor MLA claimed that the rice in PDS shops were hard since they were put through the pressure boiling system, unlike the sortex system in private mills. Responding to an allegation levelled by DMK MLA G. Anbalagan (Kumbakonam) that rice was not being distributed properly in some places, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said it was not true and said a maximum of 35 kg of rice was issued to eligible cards.