Coimbatore man held for posting Covid-19 rumour on Whatsapp

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.17 AM IST

COIMBATORE: A 43-year-old self-proclaimed medical practitioner was arrested on Friday for spreading rumours on Covid-19 on YouTube and WhatsApp.

S Baskar alias ‘Healer’ Baskar, of Arivozhi Nagar in Kovaipudur Selvapuram, was held based on a complaint lodged by Dr G Rameshkumar, deputy director, public health department, Coimbatore.

In his complaint to the Kuniyamuthur police on Wednesday, Rameshkumar said ‘Healer’ Baskar was circulating an audio message on WhatsApp and a video on YouTube stating Covid-19 outbreak was a depopulation measure ordered by the “Illuminati” across the globe.

“All the people, who are being isolated, will be eliminated later on. This is the World War-III and allopathy doctors are responsible for this war,” Baskar said in his social media message. The self-proclaimed medical practitioner also said he was in a position to speak about coronavirus and that he has been talking about the same for the past 10 years.

Rameshkumar said ‘Healer’ Baskar was instilling fear among the people of Tamil Nadu and requested the Kuniyamuthur police to take action against him. Subsequently, ‘Healer’ Baskar was booked under Sections 153(A), 504 and 505(i) (b) of the Indian Penal Code.

On Friday, the Kuniyamuthur police arrested ‘Healer’ Baskar and produced him before the judicial magistrate court-VII, which remanded him in judicial custody till April 3. Later, he was lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that a BE (civil) holder, ‘Healer’ Baskar had studied acupuncture course for two years and set up a centre named Anatomic Therapy Foundation at Kovaipudur. He was arrested in August 2018 for promoting childbirth at home and conducting a class on the same for women. It is to be noted that home births are banned in the state.

Tatkal tickets go abegging, only 3% booked in Trichy divison

TNN | Mar 20, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

Trichy: With fewer people using public transport including trains, the sale of tatkal tickets in all originating trains from Trichy division has fallen drastically. Out of the 1,374 tatkal tickets – including on air-conditioned coaches — available for 10 express trains, only 34 were sold out on Thursday for travel on Friday .

Railway division officials said the number of cancellations was more than the bookings. On normal days, booking a tatkal ticket was by no means easy. However, after the Covid-19 outbreak, the situation has changed. Ten trains including Chennai Rockfort, Mayiladuthurai - Coimbatore Jan Shatabdi, Mayiladuthurai - Mysuru express trains usually witness hundreds on waiting list, particularly during weekends. The officials said most of the trains have been witnessing poor patronage due to coronavirus forcing cancellation of several of them.

According to the available data, out of the 1,021 available general tatkal seats, only 29 were booked leaving 992 up for grabs. The entire 120 second class AC seats have not been booked, while for 3rd AC, out of 203 tatkal seats, only five passengers have utilized the quota. On Mayiladuthurai - Coimbatore Jan Shatabdi, all the 30 seats in AC chair cars remained vacant. Citing poor patronage, Karaikkudi passenger (train no. 76839) has been cancelled till March 31, Karaikkudi – Trichy passenger (train no. 76840) till April 1 and Trichy – Manamadurai – Trichy passenger (train nos. 76807/76808) till March 31, all with immediate effect.

Hyderabad – Trichy special fare special on March 23 and 30, Trichy - Hyderabad special fare special on March 25 and April 1 are also cancelled. Villupuram – Secunderabad special fare special on April 1 and Secunderabad - Villupuram special fare special on April 2 have also been cancelled.

Central univ advances semester vacations

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.49 AM IST

Trichy: The Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Tiruvarur, has advanced the semester vacations due to the extraordinary situation caused by the spread of Covid-19.

While classes have been suspended from Sunday, the university has now decided to advance the semester vacation from March 23, according to a circular issued on Friday by registrar S Bhuvaneswari.

University staff have been asked to report latest by April 26, who will get screened at the university health centre on their return as a safety measure.

Students in different years of their programmes have been given different dates from April 27 to May 3 to report back to the university.

They too will undergo health screening before entering the university campus.

On Sunday, the registrar had asked students to move back to their home towns till the academic activities resume.

To ensure safe situation from the spread of Covid-19, the university had suspended academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities till March 31.

Telugu New Year spurs jaggery biz in Salem, Namakkal districts

Mar 14, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

Salem/Namakkal: The jaggery manufacturers and merchants in Salem and Namakkal are working round the clock to add sweetness to the Telugu New Year festival in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Expecting a good business, more than 1,000 cottage units that are involved in jaggery manufacturing in these two districts have upped the production volume. Presently, they are producing more than eight tonnes jaggery a day.

According to industry sources, there are more than 800 jaggery cottage units in Paramathi-Velur taluk in Namakkal district alone. They usually produce up to 2,000kg jaggery a day in non-peak season and 8,000kg during peak season such as Pongal.

K S Srinivasan, a jaggery manufacturer from Paramathi, said, “After the Pongal festival, there was no remarkable sale across the state. After a lull, the jaggery production has picked up pace now as we have started getting orders from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ahead of the Telugu New Year, which falls on March 25.”

The increase in jaggery production has helped the sugarcane farmers in Erode and Dharmapuri districts as well, from where these manufacturers are procuring the raw material.

K Shanmugam, a merchant in Salem, said, they were doing a brisk business. Pointing out that the jaggery from the Namakkal units would first reach Salem, which is the main market, he said, “From here, we will transport them to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana through trucks. We are presently sending nearly 50 tonnes jaggery to the neighbouring states daily.”

The jaggery price has also shot up in tandem with the increase in demand. While a pack of 30kg jaggery was priced at Rs 900 after the Pongal, the same now costs Rs 1,230. “1kg jaggery will be sold at Rs 45 in retail shops in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” Shanmugam said.

Covid-19: Salem region steps up preventive measures

TNN | Mar 19, 2020, 04.20 AM IST

Salem: All the district administrations in Salem region have stepped up measures to contain the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19).

Salem collector S A Raman visited Kolathur on Salem-Mysuru national highway on Wednesday morning and monitored the disinfection drive. Talking to the media, he said health department officials were spraying disinfectant on vehicles that were coming from Karnataka. “They are also checking the passengers for fever and cold. If tested positive, they will be moved to special wards for further proceedings.”

Salem Municipal Corporation commissioner R Sadheesh, meanwhile, opened a help desk at the Salem central new bus stand on Wednesday. He said sanitary workers were spraying disinfectant on all buses. “They will also apply sanitizers on passengers. I have appealed the passengers to approach the help desk for any medical assistance.”

In Erode, collector C Kathiravan postponed the Sri Bannari Amman Temple festival that is usually celebrated from March 23 to April 13. “However, there will be puja on March 23. The festival will be held on some other occasion after containing Covid-19 spread.” He also appealed the public to alert police of any movement of foreigners or people from other states. He said the public could reach the district administration on toll free number 1077 for any medical assistance.

On his part, Dharmapuri collector S Malarvizhi visited the town bus stand and monitored the disinfectant spraying activity. She also distributed handouts to passengers, detailing preventive measures to safeguard them from Covid-19.

While Krishnagiri collector S Prabhakar visited Hosur and inspected the health department cell, Namakkal collector K Megraj inspected the entire district and monitored the disinfectant spraying activity.

120 Indian students stuck in Philippines await govt help

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.11 AM IST

Madurai: As many as 120 Indian students pursuing medicine (MD) in four colleges in Philippines who spent three days at the Manila airport and were forced to return to their hostels, are waiting for the Indian government’s help to be repatriated. The students who reached the airport on March 17 came to know that their tickets were cancelled just before they were to board their flight on March 18.

They stayed in the Manila airport till March 20 before being forced to leave. The students from Lyceum Northwestern University in Dagupan, AMA College in Makatie, University of Perpetual in Las Pinas and PLT College in Bayombong, include 25 from Tamil Nadu. The others hail from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

“Following a spurt in Covid-19 cases Philippines was given level 3 alert, and the government announced closure of all the cities on March 16. Educational institutions and work places were closed for 35 days. We were given an option to stay in the hostels but were warned that there could be difficulty in serving food if the shops are closed,” said R Godwin Leo, 19, from Vattam in Kanyakumari district.

Godwin, who is studying in the Lyceum Northwestern University said that he and other students booked their flight tickets on March 17. “It is an eight-hour journey by road to cover the 400km distance to the Manila airport. Twenty-five students from my college reached the airport in the evening in a hired van. We completed the immigration formalities and were collecting the boarding passes when trouble began,” he said.

Moments before they could board the flight they were informed by the Air Asia staff that their tickets have been cancelled and that India will not be permitting flights from the Philippines and many other countries. The students said they stayed in the airport with the hope of getting help from the Indian embassy to fly home. They said the embassy officials reached them on March 18 and assured to repatriate them.

“But the officials did not respond to our calls or messages. We started making videos and sharing them on social media to get the government’s attention. But on 19th, embassy officials asked us to leave the airport and return to our colleges,” he said and added that the students, however, stayed in the airport with some hope to fly to India.

“We spent three days in the airport without proper food. At last around 11.15 on Friday morning the embassy officials with the help of the airport police forced us to leave the airport. They said there are no flights to India till March 31,” said Aarthy Satheesh Kumar of Chennai. Left with no other option, the students started back to their hostels.

On reaching their hostels they were allowed to stay during the closure period. But the hostels told them that they would not be served breakfast throughout this period.

The students have appealed to the governments of India and Philippines to repatriate them as they fear getting infected by the virus as it is fast spreading there.

Visit hospital only if it is urgent, say doctors

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.13 AM IST

Madurai: Doctors of both government and private sectors have urged patients and their attenders to avoid visiting hospitals in the light of the Covid-19 scare unless it is an emergency.

“Decreasing large gatherings should include hospitals as well. Patients’ relatives, especially with holidays announced for schools, should not make use of it to bring their children to hospitals. Even outpatients can postpone their regular check-ups and only go in case of emergency,” said a senior doctor at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH). GRH is one of the largest government hospitals in Tamil Nadu frequented by thousands of patients every day. The doctor added that even patients going for elective surgeries can wait for some time if possible.

One of the city’s biggest hospitals specialising in eye care, Aravind Eye Hospitals (AEH), has announced that it will provide eye care consultation and treatment to patients who have emergency problems like sudden loss of vision, severe pain or redness in the eye, injury to the eye and ulcers. Patients who have undergone an operation recently and need mandatory follow-up will also be seen. In a statement on Friday, the AEH management asked all patients who need routine follow-up or check-up to come to the hospital only after March 31.

“Those with chronic illnesses that require periodical visits like cancer or kidney disease can postpone their next visit to the hospital or try to contact the doctor over phone. Many of the elderly with diabetes and hypertension can also afford to postpone their regular hospital check-ups because they are vulnerable. Only in case of emergency should they come to a hospital,” said a general physician at a private multi-speciality hospital.

While private hospitals have limited attenders, they still see footfall in thousands. Hospitals are a hotbed of infection and even measures like use of hand sanitisers or hand washing may not be enough, added the doctors.