Train to Tambaram will benefit region, say railway users

TNN | Mar 22, 2020, 04.28 AM IST

Coimbatore: Several rail passengers associations in the Pollachi to Udumalpet belt are demanding an overnight train from Mettupalayam till Tambaram.

Representatives of the associations said they had wrote to Coimbatore MP P R Natarajan and Southern Railway general manager demanding a train from Mettupalayam or Coimbatore to Tambaram or Chennai. “We want more rail connectivity between Coimbatore and the delta regions via Pollachi and Dindigul,” said secretary of the Welfare Association of Rail Passengers in Pollachi Mohan Kumar, who is also a businessman.

“Many Udumalpet industries and farmers buy banana leaves and betel nuts and leaves from the delta region and vegetable traders can easily travel between Mettupalayam and Dindigul for buying and selling vegetables,” he said.

Such a train will fill a large void in the tourism and pilgrimage sector, said Kumar. “This train should pass through Palani and Kumbakonam, both of which are popular destinations for pilgrims and start and end at Mettupalayam, giving travellers in delta region easy connectivity to NMR and Ooty,” said Mohan Kumar.

President of the Thanjavur District Rail Users Association P K T Shanmugam agreed. “Every day, at least six government buses operate between Palani and Chidambaram. As many buses operate between Palani and Mayiladuthai, and Thanjavur. A special fare train will help the passengers because it is more convenient. Moreover, the railway will earn more revenue,” he said.

Bachelors find it tough in lockdown

TNN | Mar 23, 2020, 04.43 AM IST

Trichy: While families enjoyed a comfortable Sunday by locking themselves in the houses, bachelors and people who stay in private stay facility (locally called mansion) in the city had a tough time in sourcing food. Though online food delivery platforms were operational in the city, the high demand owing to the extended lockdown has put them in a misery.

“Fortunately, there was food delivery option available in the mobile application. But many of the inmates in my mansion had managed to feed their hunger with bread and biscuits they purchased on Saturday,” R Aravind, a student residing in a mansion at Woraiyur, said.

The youths residing in the mansions have managed to stock eatables and snacks from a few tea shops and cafés that were opened on Sunday morning. Bachelors residing in mansions said that their friends in the city came to their rescue by bringing cooked food. tnn

Dubai returnee tests positive for Covid-19 in Tirunelveli

TNN | Mar 23, 2020, 04.06 AM IST

Madurai: A 43-year-old man from Tirunelveli has tested positive for Covid-19, state health minister C Vijayabaskar said on Sunday. This is the first case to be tested positive in the southern districts of the state.

“The man landed at Madurai airport on March 17 from Dubai. He is said to have travelled to Tirunelveli from Madurai by road. Efforts are on to track his movements before he was hospitalized and identify those he may have been in contact with,” Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, Tirunelveli district collector, told TOI.

She also confirmed that the patient’s condition was stable. He is in intensive care as he has undergone bypass surgery in the past, sources said.

The man, a native of a village near Radhapuram in Tirunelveli district, works in the Gulf.

As he grew suspicious of his symptoms, he went to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on Saturday afternoon and got admitted. Swabs were duly collected and sent for testing.

On Sunday the test results confirmed Covid-19 infection.

Allow students to stay back in hostels, MHRD tells institutes

TNN | Mar 23, 2020, 04.19 AM IST

New Delhi: The ministry of human resource development (MHRD) on Saturday advised all educational institutions to let students, especially foreign scholars, who are still in hostels to stay put and take necessary precautions in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak . The ministry also said that faculty members, researchers and non-teaching staff be permitted to work from home till March 31.

“Students who are still in hostels, particularly foreigners, should be allowed to continue in their hostels and were advised to take all necessary safe precaution,” said Amit Khare, secretary, MHRD in a letter to the institutions.

The universities and colleges have been issuing advisories to students to leave for homes and not stay in hostels as classes have already been suspended in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The ministry had already directed that all exams in schools and colleges be postponed till March 31 and evaluation work be suspended.

Permitting the faculty and non-teaching staff to work from home, the ministry states that they will be considered on-duty during this period.

“The faculty members should utilise this period for academic activities such as development of online content, online teaching and online evaluation,” said Khare.

The teaching and non-teaching staff is required to be available on phone and email, the institutions have been directed to count the period as being on duty. Union HRD minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal has also sent the message for all the students, teachers and parents and appealed them to support ‘janata curfew’ on March 22.

Govt to give overworked doctors, nurses a break

To Postpone Elective Surgeries

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.03.2020

The health department on Sunday decided to send ask at least a third of its workers – doctors, nurse and paramedics – in all medical college hospitals, other hospitals and clinics to stay at home for at least a week. All medical college hospitals and district hospitals have been asked to postpone elective surgeries, keep out-patient ward to the minimum,butcontinueemergency services and deliveries.

As Covid-19 cases see a climb and an increasing number of patients queue up outside the government hospitals with symptoms of flu and virus, the working hours of doctors has been steadily increasing. Many of them have been working gruelling shifts, sometimes without food and water.

While people stood on rooftops, balconies and clapped for medical professionals who have been fighting a fierce battle against the virus, several men in white coats were still in the intensive care units keeping a watch on patients who tested positive. Many others were screening patients or running tests. On Sunday, the health department decided it can’t continue.

“The idea is to ensure all our healthcare workers are not at risk. This means doctors can’t do private practice either. They must take adequate rest so they can return to work when there is a surge,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayanababu. All health workers on leave will not be allowed to leave the city or town and may have to report to work as soon as they are called. “We may call them to do assist the government to interact with people who are in home quarantine,” he said.

Last week, a post-graduate medical student was asked to go on home quarantine, after he was exposed to a Covid-19 positive patients. This young doctor, officials said, did not show symptoms of the disease, but it was necessary to send him home because they did not want him to infect other healthcare workers or patients.

On Saturday, health minister C Vijayabaskar said he had seen many doctors working tirelessly with their masks and other safety gears in crowded airport, bus stops and railway stations. “All of them were happy to serve. But when I spoke to them I realised that they were working without food and water for hours,” he said.

Initially, the government decided that they would ask doctors to remain at home for 14-days – the incubation period of the virus. That plan, senior officials said was still not scrapped. “It will be decided by next weekend,” a senior official said.

Meanwhile, many private doctors and hospitals have also postponed elective surgeries and isolated beds for patients coming in with symptoms of Covid 19. Medical representatives have told been not to visit private hospitals till March 31.

TOUGH TASK: Many health professionals in the state have been working gruelling shifts, sometimes without food and water

Visu’s women-centric films were a big draw

Neeraja.Ramesh@timesgroup.com

23.03.2020

Family relationships were at the core of most films directed by Visu, who passed away in Chennai on Sunday at 74. When the end came, his large ‘family’, including his wife and three daughters and the film fraternity, plunged into gloom.

The veteran who strode the film industry and the world of drama for more than five decades was also a writer, stage artist, actor and talk-show host. His family-oriented, women-centric movies based on interpersonal relationships depicted with wry humour, particularly “Manal Kayiru” (1982), about a young man’s impossible conditions for getting married, and “Samsaram athu Minsaram” (1986), brought film buffs to the theatres in droves.

Everyone who knew Visu, whose brothers Kishmu who died a few years ago and Rajamani were also actors, remembers him as warm hearted. Actor Lakshmi, whose association with Visu dates to 1964, says she is suddenly feeling lonely. “We were like a family when we started off at Y G Parthasarathy’s drama troupe. I was an innocent girl who laughed even during serious scenes, thanks to Visu and Mouli making faces while I was performing. Mrs YGP blamed them for my errors and asked the boys to leave.”

“The cast of ‘Samsaram Athu Minsaram,’” she says, “was a dream team.” “The last scene, which is talked about till today, was achieved because I was given complete freedom. Afterwards, all appreciated except Visu. When asked why he did not say anything, he conveyed his emotions through tears...” Visu, she recalls, lived life on his terms. “Even death may have come after he felt enough is enough.”

S Ve Shekher, who collaborated with Visu in such classics as “Chidambara Ragasiyam,” “Manal Kayiru,” “Mr Bharath” and “Dowry Kalyanam,” says they were thick friends. “He was the first person to introduce my play in an outstation, in Bengaluru. I have acted in 20 films with him and all have been hits. A man of emotions, Visu and I bonded over excellent comic sense.”

Shekher said Visu was a large-hearted man. “He would give financial and emotional support to anybody who asked for help, and conducted at least 10 marriages every year for free.”

Actor-turned politician Khushbu Sundar, who did “Mannan” and “Va Magale Vaa” with him, says Visu valued time and money. “He knew how to make movies within a stipulated budget, with no frills attached. His scripts always spoke about women empowerment, a trend that he started many years ago.” He was way ahead of his times, she says, adding that the way he interacted with his colleagues was unforgettable. With his trademark “kuptiyada kanna”, Visu as host of “Arattai Arangam” got thousands glued to their television sets for more than an hour each Sunday, many cancelling important appointments. He always appreciated good work. Srinivasan Shivpprasadh, nephew of theatre legend R S Manohar, says Visu, after watching his ‘Dhronar,’, patted him saying he was fortunate after a long time to have watched a gripping stage drama.

1 July 1945 - 22 March 2020

MEMORABLE MOMENTS: (Top) A still from the movie ‘Samsaram Athu Minsaram’, (bottom) A scene from Rajinikanth’s ‘Mannan’

HC dismisses woman’s plea for compassionate appointment

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:23.03.2020

The Madras high court has dismissed a plea of a woman seeking compassionate appointment after her mother, who was working as a sanitary worker, died in 2011.

Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order while hearing the plea moved by P Sathya who sought compassionate appointment after the demise of her mother, Pavunthai.

Pavunthai was working as a sanitary worker in Usilampatti municipality in Madurai district.

The judge observed that as per the GO passed by the labour and employment department in 1995, time limitation of three years has been fixed for the legal heirs to submit an application for compassionate appointment. Her mother had died in 2011 while she filed an application seeking compassionate appointment in 2013, according to her counsel.

The same was rejected in 2018 on grounds that it was not submitted with three years. The authorities stated that she had submitted her application only in 2017.

The judge noted that the petitioner could not produce any proof to show she had submitted an application within three years. Hence, the judge dismissed the petition. “The object being of providing compassionate appointment is to enable the family to get over the financial crisis which it faces at the time of the death of the sole breadwinner. Compassionate appointment cannot be claimed when the crisis is over,” said the judge.

The judge noted that the petitioner could not produce any proof to show she had submitted an application within three years