Pilgrims told to avoid Sabarimala

11/03/2020, SPECIAL 

CORRESPONDENT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president N. Vasu has urged the public not to attend the monthly pujas scheduled to be held at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple from March 13 to 18.

Mr. Vasu told reporters here on Tuesday that the request to pilgrims to abstain themselves from the monthly pujas was made in view of the precautionary measures initiated by the government following the spread of COVID-19 cases. Pilgrims from all over the country reach the temple for the monthly pujas. The Kerala Cabinet too had called upon the public to suspend festivals, marriages and other functions.

Ponnaiyan is vice-chairman of T.N. Planning Commission

11/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday appointed senior AIADMK leader and former Finance Minister C. Ponnaiyan as the vice-chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission.

Mr. Ponnaiyan has served as a Minister for various portfolios, including Finance.

The Chief Minister is the chairman of the State Planning Commission.

Old-age pension norms relaxed

Move to facilitate assistance of ₹1,000 to more persons

11/03/2020, DENNIS S. JESUDASAN, CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu government recently relaxed the guidelines for the grant of old-age pension (OAP) to eligible persons, in a move that is expected to allow more people to avail themselves of the monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000.

According to a communication from Commissioner for Revenue Administration J. Radhakrishnan to District Collectors across the State, amendments have been made to the Tamil Nadu Old Age Pension Rules.

With the amended guidelines, persons having fixed assets valued at less than ₹1 lakh are eligible to get the OAP. Earlier, the slab was ₹50,000.

The official communication defined a ‘destitute’ as a person without any income or source of income and owning fixed assets of less than ₹1 lakh in value, and who has no relatives of 20 years of age. The government has also decided to relax the guidelines further to make persons who have been assigned a free house eligible for OAP.

Rigid guidelines

A senior officer explained that certain rigid guidelines had prevented several genuine persons from getting OAP. “During our field trips to several areas, we realised that many genuine persons were not able to get OAP due to some restrictions,” he said. For instance, in some cases, elderly persons had an acre of barren land but earned no income from it, and were struggling to make ends meet.

“We realised that OAP was not being granted to them even though they are truly the needy,” he said. Even in cities like Chennai, those evicted from riverbanks, who were once allotted a house in slum board tenements, were not able to get OAP.

Currently, around 31 lakh people benefit from OAP granted by the Tamil Nadu government.

‘Anna University Syndicate ignored Anandakumar Committee report’

Panel was tasked with probing recruitment irregularities

11/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, COIMBATORE

The Anna University Syndicate, which favoured retaining the services of 135 teaching and non-teaching staff, who were appointed in gross violation of norms, ignored the recommendations of the Committee headed by IAS officer Anandakumar.

The committee was the last to be set up by the Higher Education Department to probe irregularities in the recruitment made in the erstwhile five Anna Universities of Technology, which were established during the DMK regime.

The Syndicate had based its decision on the recommendations of two other panels — the Priya Balakrishnan Committee and the Muthusamy Committee, which had submitted their findings prior to the constitution of the Anandakumar Committee, sources in the university said on Tuesday.

The sources said that at a meeting last year, Vice-Chancellor M.K. Surappa had placed before the Syndicate the findings of all the committees. However, the Syndicate selectively chose to go by the recommendations of the Priya Balakrishnan Committee and the Muthusamy Committee and recommend that the 135 persons be retained.

While all the committee reports were official, not all of them came up with the correct findings.

It was the Anandakumar Committee that pointed out how candidates who did not possess the right qualifications were appointed as teachers in violation of norms and the communal roster system, the sources said.

What is it like to work at airport?

Employees go about their job, with care and precaution

11/03/2020, SUNITHA SEKAR,CHENNAI

Several flights fly with poor occupancy. Airports wear a dull and a nearly empty look. At a time when hundreds of passengers have called off non-essential travel this past month following fear of COVID-19, what is it like to work at the airport in such times?

Employees go about their jobs as usual with care and precaution, though there is a faint underlying fear inside, many of them said.

“Immigration staff like me are the first point of contact for passengers after they finish the health check-up. I wear gloves and a mask and have a hand sanitiser. I meet hundreds of passengers every day. I’m confident that with good precautionary measures nothing will happen, but there are moments when I’m a bit nervous,” a staff in immigration said.

The police and CISF personnel, who walk through to different parts of both international and domestic terminals round the clock, say they are in a critical job of communicating with almost all the staff in the terminals.

“I’m confident that as long as we take adequate precautions, there is nothing to fear. Even if there is a chance of getting the infection, we read reports about cases where people have recovered from COVID-19. There should be only caution and not any stigma,” a police source said.

Family in fear

While they are confident, they say their family members don’t feel the same way. “My wife keeps calling me every now and then to check if I’m doing fine. I keep reassuring her that there is nothing to feel paranoid. But yes, the fear is quite natural,” a CISF staff said.

But many passengers are scared to eat or even touch anything in the terminals, they added.

“The growing fear is affecting everyone. This kind of an uneasy atmosphere shouldn’t persist for long,” he added.

Honour for diabetologist

10/03/2020,CHENNAI

V. Mohan, chairman, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and director of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation has been conferred the Corresponding Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He has published over 1,250 research papers and chapters in text books, according to a release.

When PGs pick up the broom to become govt. servants

Highly educated persons among newly posted conservancy staff in Coimbatore

10/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,COIMBATORE

When 23-year-old K. Sangeetha picked up a broom to sweep Raja Street on Monday morning she was going through mixed emotions.

It was the first day of her job as a Coimbatore Corporation conservancy worker and she was not quite prepared for the task that awaited her. “I did not expect to sweep the road. Initially it was very difficult. I felt as if all eyes were on me. But I managed to pull through.”

Despite holding a post-graduate qualification in microbiology, she took up the appointment because she always wanted a government job.

“I convinced myself — let me take it, for life does not have to end with me being a conservancy worker. I’ll use this as a stepping stone to find better avenues.”

For 35-year-old N. Padmavathy too, Monday was the first day of work as a municipal conservancy worker. She also took up the assignment because it was a government job and the salary was better than that at her last employer.

The conservancy workers on entry get a little more than ₹17,500 a month. They are eligible for annual increments and pension benefits.

The working hours were another reason for Ms. Padmavathy quitting her job as an accountant at a private firm near Town Hall.

“Here I’m happy that I can finish my work early in the evening to return home to my children,” says the mother of two.

The women are among dozens of men and women with under-graduate and post-graduate qualifications who applied for and were appointed for conservancy work. The new staff include those from the Backward Classes and the Most Backward Classes.

R. Naveen, a civil engineering diploma holder, says family circumstances forced him to take up the job. “I’m the breadwinner and support my mother and younger sister. That is why I left my job at a private company to take up this government job.”

Welcoming the fact that qualified candidates and persons from outside the SC communities were taking up conservancy work, S. Selvakumar, member, State Level SC Welfare Committee, said it was a step towards ensuring social equality.

A senior Corporation official said the civic body followed the roster system in appointing qualified candidates but did not share details on the exact number of appointees with a college qualification.

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN