HC says rlys tribunal can’t insist on tickets for accident relief

TNN | Sep 15, 2018, 01.07 AM IST

Chennai: Non-production of a railway ticket cannot be cited to deny compensation to the kin of a person killed in rail accidents, said the Madras high court, directing Southern Railway to pay Rs 8 lakh compensation to the family of a deceased person.

“It is reiterated that the apex court as well as this court had time and again held that the burden of proving that the victim is not a bona fide passenger lies on the railways and that non-production of railway ticket is not fatal to the case of the claimants. Therefore, the Railway Tribunal should not have dismissed the petition on that ground,” Justice M V Muralidaran said, while setting aside the order of the tribunal.

The issue pertains to appeal moved by the family of Srinivasan, a passenger in a suburban train travelling from Tambaram to Chennai Beach station. During the travel, he accidentally fell down from moving train between Saidapet and Mambalam railway stations and sustained injuries, and later died.

Their application for due compensation was rejected by the tribunal on the ground that the family had failed to produce a valid ticked possessed by the deceased to prove that he was a bona fide traveller.

Challenging the order, the family moved the high court. Pointing out that Rs 2,510 was recovered from the body of the deceased, the court said, having had the money, deceased would have definitely purchased the train ticket for his travel.

Hospital told to pay Rs 58 lakh to kin of man who died after surgery

TNN | Sep 15, 2018, 06.02 AM IST

CHENNAI: Holding a city-based hospital and its doctors liable for death of a 29-yearold man due to medical negligence, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the hospital to pay Rs57.65 lakh as compensation to his family.

“The hospital and the doctors concerned have failed to prove that the deceased, Abani Kumar Padhi, had not died due to any negligence on their part. This leads us to the conclusion that the complainant’s son Padhi died of medical negligence exhibited by hospital and its doctors,” said the commission comprising K Baskaran, judicial member, and S M Murugesshan, member.

The issue pertains to a complaint filed by Narasingh Paddhi and Kuri Padhi, parents of the deceased. According to them, their son underwent haemorrhoidectomy (piles operation) in 2003 in the hospital. On October 15, 2003, he came to the outpatient department of the hospital for routine check-up after which the hospital informed his parents that he was unconscious and was admitted in ICCU for recovery.

Till November 2, 2003, none of the family members or friends of Abhani was allowed to see him but they were informed that he was kept on artificial ventilator. When the medical bill reached Rs3 lakh, the maximum insurance cover available, the hospital informed the complainants that the patient had suffered brain death. Once all other pending bills were settled, he was later declared dead, the complainants said.

Claiming that their son died due to the negligence on part of the hospital, they approached the commission seeking Rs96 lakh compensation for the monetary loss and mental agony suffered.

Partly allowing the complaint, the commission said, “No reference from any medical literature could be produced by the hospital to the effect that general anaesthesia should be preferred to other modes such as local anaesthesia, spine anaesthesia for post-operative check-up after piles operation. Hence, we are of the view that administration of general anaesthesia for a simple piles post-operative check-up is totally unwarranted and in the present case that wrong choice had proved to be fatal.”

After 10 extensions, ‘temporary’ officials finally shown door

TNN | Sep 15, 2018, 07.02 AM IST

CHENNAI: Nearly 40 deputy, under secretaries and section officers, who were appointed on temporary basis and received 10 extensions, have finally been removed.

“The mandate of the recently constituted staff rationalisation committee is to evaluate the staff structure so as to identify the non-essential posts in various categories to reduce the expenditure,” a government dated September 5 said. It ended services of 40 officials from Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC).

These officials received a salary of Rs15,000 to Rs40,000 per month. The state government has directed TNPSC to engage daily wage persons to fill up the vacancies.

TNPSC — state government’s recruiting agency — in August 2013 appointed 190 officials on a temporary basis to carry out pre and post examination works relating to massive recruitment and counselling to posts of Group-IV services examination.

Though they were appointed only for three months, they were goven extension for another three months in December 2013, six months in March 2014 and in September 2014. Of the 190 staff, 115 were again given multiple extensions between March 2015 and August 2018.

Against this backdrop, TNPSC on July 31 had requested the state government to sanction further continuance of the said 115 posts for another year. State's Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department examined this proposal and accorded sanction for further continuance to only 75 posts.

“It is evident that the existing staff pattern has not been properly utilised,” S Swarna, secretary to the government, said in the order .

Relationship insecurity linked to spending too much time on social media, says research

TIMES SOF INDIA 16.09.2018

Being insecure about one’s close relationships is associated with using social media platforms in problematic ways, according to a new research. The study was based on attachment theory, which describes how people form relationships with others. People can be secure or insecure in their attachments to others, and insecure individuals can be either anxious or avoidant. The study found that attachment anxiety was associated with using Facebook to compare oneself to others, create a false impression of oneself, over-share personal information about oneself, and using the site at the expense of other activities. The researchers also found that the association between attachment insecurity and these maladaptive behaviours was stronger among those with low self-esteem and high psychological distress.

“It is important to stress that the research does not suggest that there is something damaging about Facebook or other social media services, but rather, some people network online in ways that could be considered maladaptive, exacerbating distress and vulnerability. We would hope that as a result of this research, people will become more mindful regarding how they engage with social media platforms, perhaps monitoring how they feel before and after using the site, and if necessary, adapting their use accordingly,” said researcher Sally Flynn.

— Agencies

First flight: Soon your face will be your boarding pass at Hyd airport

Facility A First In The Country; Hi-Tech Cameras To Scan, Allow Swift Entry

Sudipta.Sengupta@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:16.09.2018

Soon, passengers flying out of Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) can get past all security check points by simply looking into a camera! According to official sources, this face recognition facility, touted to be the first in India, will be extended to all domestic flyers by the end of 2018.

Here’s how it’ll work: Following a one-time registration process at the entry gate, the details of an individual will get captured on hi-tech cameras that will act as a unique signature for the passenger thereafter.

“So, the next time the person is at the airport, he/she just needs to look into the camera instead of displaying the boarding pass and identity card. The system will automatically ascertain if he/she is a bonafide passenger and allow entry into the facility,” said an official.

Similarly, during security check too, the passenger will no longer need to display the boarding pass. The process will be carried out by these cameras that will scan the person’s face to establish his/her credentials.

“As the boarding pass will also be integrated into this system, it will automatically verify the information with the Airline DCS (departure control system) and map the passenger’s face to ticket upon successful verification,” said a GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) spokesperson, adding the process – which is fully secure and non-intrusive --will not only help passengers save time but also make boarding formalities simpler.

The technology, developed by a leading global player, has already been tested for staff entry and will be thrown open for live trials on passengers, once GHIAL obtains the necessary clearances from regulatory authorities.

“Facial recognition is an extension to the existing modular E-Boarding framework developed in house and needs little additional infrastructure and process changes… In the coming days, we will be rolling out a pilot project to enable completely paperless travel through our airport, using the biometric identification of a passenger to replace both the ticket as well as the boarding card,” the spokesperson added.

HC notice to MCI on age curbs for senior residents, asst profs
Petition Seeks To Declare Upper Age Limit Restriction Illegal

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.09.2018

The Madras high court has ordered notice to the Medical Council of India (MCI) on a PIL seeking to declare restrictions imposed by the MCI fixing 40 years as upper age limit for appointment to the post of senior resident/assistant professor in government-run medical institutions as unconstitutional, ultra vires, discriminatory and illegal.

A division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad then adjourned the hearing to September 19 for further hearing.

According to petitioners, including P Suresh Kumar, a government doctor based in Sivagangai, the MCI brought an amendment to the Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998, with effect from June 8, 2017, prescribing 40 years as upper age limit for appointment as senior resident in medical institutions.

“As per special rules of Tamil Nadu Medical Services, the candidate for the post of senior resident/assistant professor must be an MBBS degree holder and must have done PG work in a teaching institution for a period of not less than two years or must possess a super specialty degree. Therefore, a doctor with MBBS qualification in government service after completing PG diploma becomes a senior resident/assistant professor,” the petitioners said.

Pointing out that at the time of them joining PG medical courses there was no such age limit for the posts, the petitioners submitted that they were selected for the PG courses through a selection process to recruit senior resident/ assistant professor. But while completing the course “we would have crossed 40 years making us ineligible for the appointment”.

They further submitted that the Tamil Nadu government has forwarded a proposal to the Centre on November 27, 2017, to drop the age limit as it would affect the entire medical administration and career of government doctors who are encouraged to serve in rural and remote areas.

The MCI brought an amendment to the Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998, with effect from June 8, 2017, prescribing 40 years as upper age limit for appointment as senior resident in medical institutions, according to petitioners

Meet of health officials nixed as docs threaten to lay siege
Govt Set Aside ₹40L For Event 3 Days Before Boycott Call

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:16.09.2018

The state health department was forced to cancel a business-cum-pleasure conference it had planned for its senior administrative staff, after the striking government doctors threatened to lay siege to the beachside luxury resort on ECR where the three-day event was to be held.

The department had set aside ₹40 lakh for the programme, which had been scheduled a day ahead of the striking doctors’ plan to boycott all hospital work, barring emergencies.

While the joint action committee of the government doctors’ association said they would boycott work on September 21 demanding pay revision, the government planned the conference for nearly 400 state and district level health administrators from September 18. After at least three associations told TOI that they would hold protests at the conference venue, the government went on the back foot.

“We will cancel the programme. A letter will be sent out soon,” said a senior official.

According to the official communications accessed by TOI, the cost of the conference, to be organised by the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, was to be shared by four different wings of the department. The health systems project, including chief minister’s and health minister’s scheme and 108-Tamil Nadu Urban Health Care project, would together pay ₹10 lakh, while the remaining ₹30 lakh would be equally shared by Tamil Nadu State Health Society-National Health Mission, TN Aids Control Society, and TN Medical Services Corporation Limited. The list of invitees included senior government doctors, including joint directors, deputy directors and deans of all government medical colleges and hospitals.

“They were planning an expensive bonding trip when the entire workforce is disgruntled. Why couldn’t they have held the conference in a government hospital or a TTDC resort,” said JAC-GDA chairman Dr K Senthil. Another doctor added, “They cancelled it now because they did not have a reply. We gave them notice in November and eight weeks ago, we once again reminded them about a day-long strike,” said Dr Senthil.

“We got information about this a day after they gave us a letter threatening us with action,” he said.

On Friday, a two-page reply by health secretary J Radhakrishnan said it would be illegal on the part of government doctors to hold a strike as per the Tamil Nadu Government Servants Conduct Rules 1973, and violation would invoke disciplinary action.

“Apart from disciplinary action, an event leading to death of a patient or worsened morbidity is also liable for criminal prosecution,” the letter said, quoting Madras high court orders.

The letter also said complaints would be filed with the state medical council and the Medical Council of India. Incidentally, Dr Senthil is also the president of the state medical council.

The joint action committee of the government doctors’ association said they would boycott work on September 21, demanding pay revision. They will keep away from all hospital work, barring emergencies