Private buses to start operations from today

Private buses to start operations from today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy:10.06.2020

Federation of Bus Operators Associations of Tamil Nadu (FOBTN), the apex body of private bus operators across the state, will resume private bus services from Wednesday. However, private buses will not be operated in Covid-19 hotspots -- Tiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kanchipuram districts. The federation said private buses -- both city and mofussil fleets -- will operate with existing ticket fares.

FOBTN said there were 4,600 private buses in the state but they do not operate in Chennai, Madurai city, Nagercoil and Ooty. Since March 24, the fleets were grounded due to the lockdown. After 78 days, private bus operators will resume services by adhering to precautionary measures as instructed by the government. However, 200 buses in the hotspot districts will stay grounded.

To ensure social distancing, the buses will operate with less than 60% occupancy, like the state-run TNSTC. Crew members of private mofussil and city buses will be provided with safety gears, including facemasks. Seats will be allotted to passengers ensuring social distancing.

“We will operate our buses within the zones classified by the state government. For the routes connecting destinations in other zones, we will end our service at the final most major bus stops near to the boundary of other zones,” D R Dharmaraj, secretary, FOBTN told TOI. Buses on their return to the bus stands will be sanitised by the crew. The district-level private bus operators associations will bear the expenses in sanitising the fleets. “People have to adhere to the restrictions by wearing facemasks, our crew members were told not to overcrowd the fleets,” Dharmaraj added.

Private buses will not be operated in Covid-19 hotspots --Tiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kanchipuram districts. They do not operate in Chennai, Madurai city, Nagercoil and Ooty

Name change: When Saidapet becomes Saithappettai

Name change: When Saidapet becomes Saithappettai

Julie Mariappan TNN

Chennai:10.06.2020

Are you a resident of Mylapore? Get ready for a name change in documents, as the state government has renamed the popular neighbourhood Mayilappoor. And that’s only one of the 1,018 place names it has reverted. That turns Tondiarpet into Thandaiyaarpettai, Purasawalkam into Purasaivaakkam and Adyar into Adaiyaaru.

It is the culmination of an initiative in 2018 to have Tamil equivalents or original Tamil names of Anglicised names of places across the state. The changes have been notified in the gazette to be in effect from April 1, though rewriting the boards would have to wait till Covid-19 goes away.

“A group of language experts, representatives of Tamil organisations and professors, along with government administrators finalised the names at the district level and later at the state level, said Tamil development director G Vijayaraghavan. “It took almost two years.”

So, V O C Nagar in north Chennai has been renamed ‘Va Oo Si Nagar,’ while Aminjikarai has become Amaindhakarai. Egmore has regained its Tamil name Ezhumboor and Thiruvanmiyur is now spelled Thiruvanmiyoor. The ‘pettais’ of Chennai will no longer have their names ending with ‘pets’. Hence, Saithaappettai, Chinthadharipettai and Jalladiyaanpettai.

Tamil language experts said people would soon get accustomed to the changes. “Trivandrum became Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore became Bengaluru and Madras became Chennai. It took time, but people did accept them. Originality brings the places closer to the people,” said V Jayadevan, former head of the department of Tamil language at University of Madras, who was involved in the exercise.

Thoothukkudi is now spelled Thooththukkudi. Trichy has become Thiruchirappalli and Srirangam is now Thiruvarangam. Dharmapuri has been renamed Tharumapuri.

Long hours in PPE without breaks, no family time — lab technicians toil to get results right

THE INSIDER

Long hours in PPE without breaks, no family time — lab technicians toil to get results right

TOI Takes A Look At Struggles Of These Frontliners

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.06.2020

For the past three months, MM Vidya, 24, from Vyasarpadi, leaves her home early every morning and slips into a three-kg heavy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as soon as she enters the lab.

“It’s so hot inside the PPE that one of us got heat boils,” said Vidya, a microbiologist at the government’s public health lab in Teynampet, who braves the relentless summer heat without even drinking water for eight to ten hours straight.

In the initial phase, Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) extraction from samples was done manually. Technicians had to sit for three hours in the same position causing a penetrating pain in their bones, Vidya added. An automatic extractor, procured three weeks ago, has made their lives better.

However, other jobs like sample and reagent preparation, actual PCR tests and analysis of results keeps them occupied throughout the day giving them no time to interact even with those seated next to them.

They take five-minute breaks in turns at the end of every session to sit and relax their muscles so that their concentration levels don’t drop.

Even when doctors and nurses had breaks after working at Covid wards for a week, this team, which is also dealing with live viruses, has been working 24/7 in three shifts as there was no replacement for them.

“The only break we took was this Sunday. Testing was put on hold for an hour so that we can have lunch together. This was to keep their spirits high,” said S Raju, their team head and deputy director at the Department of Health, who hasn’t seen his family in 40 days due to excess work.

Though some of his team members do go home, they don’t get time to interact with their families as they hardly have six or seven hours of sleep so that they can work the next day.

But they are advised not to watch TV channels back at home as news about doctors might create a mental block. Also, it is painful to see claims that our test results were dubious despite so much effort, Raju added.

“By the time we feel exhausted and pack up, we get 400 more samples. So we leave home only after clearing them,” said Vidya, who reaches home only after 9 pm everyday.

Men in her team take over and work all night to ensure that all test results are ready for the next day's report. The lab has so far tested ober 45,000 samples.

THANKLESS JOB: Laboratorians go about their work without even drinking water for long hours

Extended areas in north Chennai show steady rise

Extended areas in north Chennai show steady rise

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.06.2020

The extended areas to the north of the city continue to register a steady rise in cases with Tiruvottiyur zone nearing the 1,000 mark and Madhavaram and Manali zones too recording a cumulative total of about 1,200 cases, as on Tuesday. A month ago, the three zones shared less than 140 cases between them.

According to a zonal staff in Tiruvottiyur, the cases are scattered across the zone and not concentrated at a specific area or ward like in most affected zones such as Royapuram. “As far as the neighbourhoods which are most affected, Tsunami quarters in Ennore and the surrounding areas used to have more cases, but it has now come down. Now, our focus is on Tiruvottiyur.”

A month ago, there were only 64 cases in Tiruvottitur zone as against 870 now. At the beginning of May, Manali zone had recorded only 3 cases and now has more than 300.

“In Manali zone, most cases are in wards 19 and 18 - MMDA Mathur and Manali,” said an official with zone 2. Similar is the case with Madhavaram zone, which only had 9 cases at that time and now has 650 cases.

However, the officials are not quick to blame the Koyambedu cluster alone as the reason for the spread, suggesting that there might be community transmission too.

“What we have to do is cut off transmission,” said an official from one of the three zones, unwilling to be named.

One solace though is the less number of deaths in these zones. While Tiruvottiyur and Manali zones have recorded 3 deaths, Madhavaram zone has 2.

Number of elderly Covid patients on the rise in state

Number of elderly Covid patients on the rise in state

Mayilvaganan.V@timesgroup.com

10.06.2020

On Tuesday, 257 of Tamil Nadu’s elderly population were added to the nation’s Covid tally. This is perhaps the single-day highest spike in the number of people who are above 60 testing positive in the state. Twelve of the 21 people who died in the state on Tuesday were above 60.

A cursory look at the daily bulletins issued by the state health department shows that there is a slow but steady rise in the number of people above 60, categorised as vulnerable, getting infected by the virus.

The increase in Covid incidence among 60-plus people is not seen just in absolute numbers, but in proportion to overall spread of the virus too. On May 10, there were just 503 people in the 60-plus category who tested positive, accounting for 6.9% of the total Covid count in the state. But their share has surged to 10.9% of the cases across the state on June 9.

The state health machinery, perhaps, has taken cognisance of the fact that there is a disproportionate rise in Covid cases among the elderly population and have rolled out precautionary measures for the aged.

Health officials are on a mission to screen and provide special medical attention to the aged as well as other vulnerable sections like those with diabetes and hypertension.

In Chennai, Coimbatore and Salem, officials have collected data of vulnerable populations in April and will be providing them kabasura kudineer and immunity boosting tables. Madurai Corporation has started distributing kabasura kudineer and the tablets to the 1.5 lakh population identified as vulnerable. In addition to homeopathic immunity boosters like Arsenicum Album 30, multi vitamin tablets and zinc sulphate tablet, Madurai Corporation has planned to give ivermectin tablet to the elderly.

“Research has proved that the drug prevents replication of SARS – Cov 19,” said an official.

Health officials have started second round of enumeration of high risk group in Salem, where 1.05 lakh people above 60 were identified as vulnerable in the first round.

“We have simultaneously started distribution of kabasura kudineer and multi vitamin tablets with the help of anganwadi workers,’’ said Salem collector S A Raman.

Health officials in Chennai said they have begun distribution of kabasura kudineer and immunity boosting tablets in containment zones.

Officials, however, are uncertain if the vulnerable population could be constantly monitored. “The movement of frontline workers, who are also part of high risk group, could be tracked. But we are too short staffed to keep a tab on entire vulnerable population which comprises aged and comorbid people,” said a health officer.

Officials have insisted the elderly not to step out of their houses unnecessarily. “They can go out for morning walks, in places that are not crowded. If they go out of town, we have told them to inform us so that our workers could track them thereafter,” said the health officer.

(With Inputs from Pushpa Narayan, Senthil Kumaran, V Devanathan)

AIADMK moves SC against loss of NEET seats for OBCs

AIADMK moves SC against loss of NEET seats for OBCs

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.06.2020

Days after the opposition and the state government moved the Supreme Court, aggrieved over loss of NEET seats by Other Backward Classes (OBC) students, the ruling AIADMK on Monday filed a petition in the apex court seeking to restrain the Centre from proceeding with all India counselling for UG and PG medical courses, without following 50% reservation for OBC quota in TN.

In a petition, law minister C Ve Shanmugam, in his capacity as AIADMK Villupuram North district secretary, said the Centre failed to ensure adequate representation of OBCs in the All India Quota (AIQ) seats in UG, PG and diploma medical courses. “It is a fact that negligible number of OBC candidates were allocated any of the state-surrendered seats to the AIQ in noncentral government medical institutions,” the petition said. The party argued it was in contradiction to the reservation ethos in the state and the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, SC and ST (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State)Act,1993,that provided 50% reservation to OBCs.

It alleged that Centre was neither following its own policy of 27% reserved seats for OBCs under the Central educational institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2007, nor the state government’s 50% quota. “This has resulted in OBCs being robbed of 10,000 seats in the past three years and many more during the preceding years,” the petition said.

If the seat allocation is permitted without changes as many as 3,700 OBC candidates will have lost out seats to general category students.

Slammed by court, Tamil Nadu govt apes Telangana

Slammed by court, Tamil Nadu govt apes Telangana

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.06.2020

The Madras high court coming down heavily on the state government for risking the lives of several lakh students coupled with public pressure compelled chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to retract from his stand to hold Class X examinations. Finally, he toed the line of his Telangana counterpart and announced cancellation of the board examinations on Tuesday.

In the process, EPS saved himself from an adverse court order and protests from the opposition parties, which would have damaged his image irreparably. Inquiries reveal that many of his senior colleagues advised him to cancel the examinations and declare all pass, fearing that holding exams would amount to risking the lives of students. But EPS endorsed the stand of school education minister KA Sengottaiyan and postponed the exams and rescheduled them twice since March. The exams were to commence just days before the lockdown was clamped across the country. “There is no denial that it is a set back to the government for not being firm in our stand. If he had not cancelled, there would have been discomfiture by way of court orders in the coming days,” said a senior minister, seeking anonymity.

Apparently, Palaniswami on Tuesday held talks with school education minister – who was still seeking postponement of examinations --ahead of making a televised speech to the people, prioritising the requests of the parents, pattern of virus spread and the safety of students. The decision to not postpone, even as the court told the government to consider postponement, was taken because experts have been saying that the pandemic is yet to peak in Chennai. Projections are that in July and August the infection could increase and Chennai alone could see two lakh cases. The advocate general had maintained in the court on Monday that it would be difficult to hold exams later, if it is not held now.

The government had prepared itself to move the Supreme Court and hold the examinations as it viewed the issue from a political angle all through. It was not willing to give any leeway to the opposition parties and their demands to cancel the exams. But the ruling party felt it was on a sticky wicket when its own allies like the PMK turned hostile. DMDK leader Vijayakant condemned the government its delayed decision. The PMK, which favoured postponement until Monday, demanded cancellation later. “We believe in democracy and respect the sentiments of the people. We have postponed earlier but the situation now warrants cancellation of exams,” senior minister D Jayakumar said.

EPS saves himself from an adverse court order and protests from the opposition parties, which would have damaged his image irreparably