Severe cyclonic storm 'Gaja' makes landfall in Tamil Nadu

During the cyclone's landfall, rains lashed Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and Thanjavur, uprooting trees in several regions.

Published: 16th November 2018 05:53 AM 

Gaja made landfall between Nagapattinam and nearby

 

Vedaranniyam. (Photo |EPS)

By PTI

NAGAPATTINAM: The severe cyclonic storm 'Gaja' crossed the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and nearby Vedaranniyam early Friday with wind speed gusting up to 120 kmph, a weather bulletin said.

According to Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority, as many as 76,290 people were evacuated from low lying areas and sheltered at over 300 relief centres in six districts including Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram and Tiruvarur.

A holiday has been declared for educational institutions in Nagapattinam here.

An India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said, "severe cyclonic storm Gaja crossed Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranniyam with wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting up to 120 kmph, early Friday."


"Though the center of cyclone is over land, rear sector of eye wall is still over sea. It will take about an hour to move over land," the IMD bulletin issued at 3. 15 AM said.

However, Deputy Director General of Meteorology S Balachandran told PTI, the cyclone will take another two hours to fully cross the coast.

The severe cyclonic storm is very likely to move nearly westwards and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm during the next six hours, the IMD said.

During the cyclone's landfall, rains lashed Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and Thanjavur, uprooting trees in several regions, the details of which is expected later in the day.

Electricity supply was disconnected here and in several other coastal regions in view of the cyclone's landfall.

Four teams each of National Disaster Response Force personnel have been already deployed in Nagapattinam district while two teams of the state disaster response force in Cuddalore district, officials said Thursday.

The state disaster management authority had released an animated video aimed at creating awareness on the do's and don'ts during cyclone.

The government has announced helpline numbers 1070 (state-level) and 1077 (districts) for those who may need assistance.

Cyclone Gaja strikes coast past midnight

It was expected to take two to three hours for ‘Gaja’ to completely cross over into the interior districts of the state.

Published: 16th November 2018 06:45 AM 

Strong winds keep Chennai’s foliage swaying on Thursday evening ahead of the storm | Ashwin Prasath

By Express News Service

NAGAPATTINAM : After hours of anxiety for residents in Nagapattinam district, cyclonic storm ‘Gaja’ started making landfall as a severe cyclonic storm at 12.30am on Friday between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam. Contrary to initial predictions, it did not weaken as it neared the coast, rather it was expected to cross, delivering wind speeds of a 120 kmph that would make it the strongest storm in in delta region of Karaikal and Nagapattinam in the last 25 years.

It was expected to take two to three hours for ‘Gaja’ to completely cross over into the interior districts of the state.As of 11.30pm on Thursday, the State government had evacuated 72,498 people living in the coastal stretches of Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Tiruvarur districts. In Nagapattinam, 44,087 people were moved to 102 relief centres.



Friday was declared a holiday for schools and colleges in Cuddalore, Puducherry, Karaikal, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai and ThanjavurK Satyagopal, Commissioner of Revenue Administration, said Gaja was of similar intensity to severe cyclonic storm Vardah that struck in December 2016. However, he noted the place where it was likely to make landfall was not too populated. “Unlike Vardah, Gaja may not have such an adverse impact. However, power infrastructure may take a beating,” he said. Revenue minister RB Udhayakumar said the government had taken all steps to minimise damage.



S Balachandran, deputy director general of meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, said the storm had moved slowly over six hours leading to a delay in time of landfall. Met officials said the outer band of the system entered the coast at about 9 pm on Thursday, when intense rainfall commenced.


Earlier, Nagapattinam saw a scramble of residents stocking up on fuel and food supplies. Buses to the district were stopped or services reduced. Electricity was cut by 5pm in some parts, as a precautionary measure. The storm warning signal cage was raised to ‘Number 10’ (Great Danger) with sources saying this last happened when Cyclone Thane hit Tamil Nadu in December 2011.

Exams postponed, power supply cut

Some trains to Rameswaram, Tiruchy, and Madurai were cancelled

Power supply was cut by 6pm as a precaution in parts of key coastal districts ahead of the storm making landfall

Anna University examinations, scheduled for November 15 and postponed due to cyclone Gaja, have been rescheduled for November 22.1070, 1077, 1031 are the control room numbers to call for aid

toi 15.11.2018

Chennai among hot destinations for senior citizen living

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.11.2018

Satellite towns of 11 Indian cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi and Kochi are hot destinations for senior citizen living, according to a study by realty consultant Anarock. Going by the census projections, the share of elders as a percentage of total population in the country would increase from 8.57% in 2011 to almost 12.5% by 2026 and surpass19.5% by 2050.

In absolute numbers, those above 60 years were 10.38 crore people in 2011. As India’s elderly population is expected to grow to 17.3 crore by 2026, there lies huge untapped potential for senior citizen living, with very minimal current supply in the senior living segment.

There are currently around 4,500 senior living units available in the market, and more than 2,000 units are in different stages of construction. Approximately 10 new projects are slated to come up over the next few years, said Anarock Property Consultants chairman Anuj Puri.

Senior living is quite distinct from old age homes and assisted living. Senior living is essentially homes that cater to healthy and active elderly people, who prefer to live independently in a peer environment. Such projects usually provide a variety of facilities for recreation and socializing.

Assisted living, on the other hand, pertains to homes for adults who need some or considerable assistance to live their daily lives.

The more traditional oldage homes are establishments usually run by NGOsor government agencies and are populated by senior citizens who can, for any number of reasons, no longer cohabit with their families or are entirely homeless.

Geographically, senior living projectswereearlier largely concentrated in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. This geographic distribution was, paradoxically, largely because of outward migration of the younger population, said Puri.

“Countless educated professionals from these states gravitated to the West for better job opportunities and preferred to settle there if possible. Their parents were left behind, which gave rise to the concept of retirement homes in these states. The concept then spread to other states and cities as well,” said Puri.

Kerala has a high number of ageing citizens. As per the ministry of statistics, the percentage of elderly population in Kerala is nearly 12.6% of the state’s total population, the highest in the country. This caused Kerala to become home to a high density of senior living projects, said Puri.

For full report, www.toi.in

IndiGo one-stop flights to UK from next March, likely via Tbilisi/Baku

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:16.11.2018

Low cost carrier IndiGo is eyeing Tbilisi and Baku, the capitals of Georgia and Azerbaijan respectively, as the mid-way stopover to launch one-stop flights between India and European cities like London Gatwick from next March.

The airline is looking at Istanbul but given relatively higher airport charges there, the one-stop flights to and from Europe may be via these other two cities.

TAV Holdings, that operates Tbilisi airport, said in a statement: “From February 2019, IndiGo plans to launch flights between India and Georgia. The airline had shown its interest in the Georgian aviation market back in the summer of 2018. The meetings with the Georgian side in August were organised by TAV Holding.”

IndiGo recently converted its order for 125 Airbus A320 new engine option (Neo) into the bigger A321 Neos that have a range of flying up to 7,400 km. IndiGo now has 150 A321 Neos on order, the first of which is expected to join its fleet this month.

The 37.57-metre-long A320Neo has a range of 6,300 km while the 44.51-metrelong A321Neo has a range of 7,400 km, respectively. Indi-Go has opted for 222 all-economy seats in the A321 Neo that will have an additional fuel tank so that the plane can fly nonstop for up to six hours.

IndiGo has slots at London Gatwick and is likely to start one-stop flights there by next summer, postponing the launch of this route that was earlier expected this winter.

GOING PLACES

Jet Airways pilots cry foul over salary delay

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.11.2018

Mental stress among pilots have increased in the cockpits of Jet Airways flight as the airline has not paid salaries to pilots and aircraft engineers for the last two-and-a-half months. The management and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have also not taken note of this.

There is discontent among pilots and engineers who handle the safety aspect of the flights, as the management has not hinted at a deadline for payment of their pending salary, a pilot said. “The promise that the money will be paid in two installments has not been met. Pilots feel that DGCA will have to step in as stressed workers may not be good for flight safety,” he added.

Sources said that only 50% of the salary due for September was paid. “Pilots, aircraft engineers, senior managers are not being paid. But other staff received festival bonus this month. This has triggered a lot of mental stress. Pilots also worry whether the company will be able to pay the accumulated salary ,” he said. The arrangement that money would be paid on 11th and 26th of a month was also not met.

Delayed salaries have hit trainee pilots the most. “A fresher spends around ₹40 lakh to complete training, including, flying training and type-rating training for a particular plane. The monthly loan installment will come to around ₹1lakh,” said a pilot.

Air safety expert and former pilot Captain Mohan Ranganathan said, “The stress will be huge in the cockpit as all of them would have taken heavy loans. Mental stress is a risk for air safety. DGCA and the airlines have not given much attention, but financial stress is also taken into consideration during accident investigations off late.”

The airline has not paid its pilots and engineers, who handle the safety aspect of the flights, for the past two-and-a-half months

MEDICOS THREATEN STRIKE

Med varsity in turmoil as students want fee on hold till SC hears plea

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.11.2018

At least 500 of the 750 MBBS students of Raja Muthiah Medical College, attached to the Annamalai University in Chidambaram, who were ousted from their classes for non-payment of tuition fee, have threatened to go on strike if the state government does not allow them to attend classes until the Supreme Court hears their review petition against the course fee.

The fee-fixation committee, under the chairmanship of justice NV Balasubramanian, had fixed to ₹5.4 lakh as annual MBBS fee and ₹3.5 lakh as annual BDS course fee. The committee fixed the fee after the Supreme Court said the statutory committee’s should fix the fee. Accordingly, the government informed the court on September 15 that the committee had decided to retain the college fee at ₹4 lakh.

Parents of students said the committee, among others, had health secretary J Radhakrishanan and director of medical education Dr Edwin Joe. These members would be biased, as they were also members of the senate since 2013, when the government took over the university due to financial and administrative irregularities, said Doctors Association for Social Equality general secretary Dr GR Ravindranath.

“The university did not have a separate expenditure and balance sheet for the college,” said a parent, B Kamaraj. “In gross violation of the SC order, they added ₹100 crore hospital expenses as expenditure. The committee has also overlooked the fact that the university is showing annual government grants to the institution as loans. The fee amount is jacked up as the institution is submitting unaudited accounts.”

Hours after the writ petition was decided by SC, on September 12, parents were given a 24-hour deadline to pay fee, he said. “How do we arrange for funds in just 24 hours,” asked another parent. Meanwhile, director of medical education Dr A Edwin Joe said the parents were told during admissions that the decision of the fee committee would be final.

“This college is not run like 22 other medical colleges of the government. It is a self-financing college and parents knew about the fee structure and what to expect during admissions,” he said.