Ola and Uber fares increase by up to 92%

Ola and Uber fares increase by up to 92%

Bengaluru:  02.04.2021 

Travelling by Ola and Uber cabs will burn a bigger hole in the pockets of commuters with the Karnataka transport department revising fares of app-based taxis by 35% to 92%. Commuters pay a minimum of Rs 75 for small cabs and Rs 150 on luxury taxis for the first 4km. Earlier, the rates were Rs 44 and Rs 80, respectively.

The new fares will come into effect immediately. The previous tariff revision was in 2018. The per-km tariff for journeys beyond 4km will have to be within the minimum and maximum fares prescribed for each class in the notification. The hike in per-km tariff is in the range of 35% to 75%. Ola and Uber were not immediately available for comment. TNN

Commuters to get free waiting time of 20 mins, dynamic pricing barred

The move comes close on the heels of a driver immolating himself over rising fuel costs and based on requests made by drivers.

Radio taxis, as defined in the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, will also be able to charge based on the price of vehicles categorised into four classes. The fare structure is classified into four categories as per the cost of vehicles, with A being highest (more than Rs 16 lakh) and D being the lowest (up to Rs 5 lakh).

“As fuel prices are increasing from time to time and the cost of maintenance and price of vehicles are considerable, the Centre regularly advises the state transport authority to regulate fares for different types of taxis operating under the aggregator rules,” said a transport department official.

The notification provides for a free waiting time of 20 minutes that will help commuters, with a charge of Rs 10 for every 15 minutes of waiting after this period will be allowed for operators. It bars fares based on journey time and dynamic pricing.

On Tuesday, a 34-year-old cab driver, Pratap, set himself ablaze in his cab. Pratap, attached to airport taxi service of Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, sustained 70% burns and succumbed. The incident led to protests from cab drivers since their deceased colleague was struggling to pay EMIs with a thinning KSTDC client pool and losing business to Ola and Uber. In contrast to the Rs24 per km fixed government fare KSTDC charges, Ola and Uber operate at under Rs 10 per km.

In February, the government hiked fares of city taxis, which are not operated by aggregators such as Uber and Ola, from Rs 14.5 per km to Rs 18 per km for non-AC cabs and from Rs 19.5 per km to Rs 24 per km for AC cabs.

In the light of frequent increase in fuel rates, vehicle prices, rising bank interest rates, and increasing maintenance cost, many drivers hailed the decision to hike fares as a necessary one.

As 45+ line up for jabs, centres to work even on holidays in April

As 45+ line up for jabs, centres to work even on holidays in April

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 02.04.2021 

As Covid-19 vaccination opened for all those above 45 years on Thursday, the Centre pressed states to ramp up inoculation in the wake of surge in infection that is posing a threat to gains of the previous downturn in cases and the nascent economic recovery.

Around 22.9 lakh doses were administered through 56,390 vaccination sessions across public and private hospitals on Thursday till about 10.30pm, according to the latest data reviewed by TOI. As per the earlier official statement, released by the health ministry, 17.47 lakh doses were administered till 8pm on Thursday. Of this, 15.28 lakh doses were given to those above 45.

Looking to exponentially expand coverage, the Centre has decided to operationalise both public and private sector Covid Vaccination Centres (CVCs) on all days of the month in April (from today till April 30), including gazetted holidays. In an effort to reduce vulnerability to the virus and control its spread, the Centre is aiming to administer at least 30 lakh doses daily with focus on achieving maximum coverage in high burden districts, official sources said.

Overall, India has administered 6.75 crore doses till 8pm on Thursday. Of this, around 4 crore doses have been given to those above 45 years of age.

FIRST OFF THE BLOCKS: The vaccine drive for 45+ recipients gets a thumbs up at KC General Hospital in Bengaluru. More than 50,000 persons across Karnataka in the 45-60 age group took Covid vaccine till 7.30pm on Thursday

Experts ask govt to speed up Covid-19 vaccination

States have been directed to optimally utilise all CVCs across public and private sectors to ensure rapid increase in the pace and coverage of vaccination.

Despite the Centre’s repeated advisories and liberalised policies to rope in all private facilities with required amenities in the vaccination drive, the sites organised in the private sector continue to be far less than those in the government hospitals. Of the total 56,390 sessions organised on Thursday, only 6,440 were in the private sector, rest in government hospitals.

Experts say there is an urgent need to quicken vaccination in the wake rising Covid-19 cases across the country. The average daily cases in the last week of March increased to around 56,200 —more than three folds of around 16,740 recorded in the first week of March. On Wednesday, daily cases increased to 72,330.

However, the pace of vaccinations is still moderate in most states with only 91.81 lakh people fully inoculated so far since the launch of the vaccination drive on January 16.

JNU VC Jagadesh Kumar to head Anna University VC search panel

JNU VC Jagadesh Kumar to head Anna University VC search panel

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:02.04.2021 

Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar was appointed as the governor’s nominee and convener of Anna University’s vice-chancellor search committee. Incumbent VC M K Surappa completes his tenure on April 11. The committee will shortlist three names to submit to governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Professor Kumar also headed the VC search committee of Madras university last year. Political parties in Tamil Nadu had opposed his appointment to Madras university committee stating that his tenure at JNU was mired in controversies.

The Anna University search panel will also comprise Madras university former VC S P Thyagarajan and former IAS officer Sheela Rani Chungath. Professor Thyagarajan was the nominee of the Syndicate while Sheela Rani Sungath was nominated by the state government.

“The search panel may meet once before inviting the applications for the VC post. The first meeting is likely to be held online,” a source said.

Due to the model code of conduct for assembly elections, the formation of a search committee was delayed. The government issued an order only after the Election Commission’s consent.

“Even before issuing the advertisement for the post, the panel may need consent from the Election Commission. So, the selection process is likely to start after the elections on April 6,” a professor from Anna University said.

As per the amendment to Tamil Nadu University Laws, the search panel will have four months to submit the three names to the governor.

The government formed an inquiry committee, headed by a retired high court judge P Kalaiyarasan, to probe the allegations of financial irregularities against VC Surappa. Professor Surappa has filed a case challenging the government order constituting the commission of inquiry against him and it is pending before the court.

The Anna University search panel will also comprise Madras university former VC S P Thyagarajan and former IAS officer Sheela Rani Chungath. The panel is to shortlist three names and submit them to governor Banwarilal Purohit in four months

BEST staff salary still paid in coins

BEST staff salary still paid in coins

Somit.Sen@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:01.04.2021 

BEST staffers still continue to get cash and coins of Rs 5 and Rs 10 denomination valued at Rs 15,000 as part of monthly salary. BEST panel member Sunil Ganacharya said at a committee meeting on Wednesday, demanding why cash in crores was not being deposited in bank accounts and lying at depots and BEST’s cash room at Wadala for the past two months.

“A contract was signed with a bank in January to lift ticket collections, but it is not being done till date,” he said at the meeting. “This is unwarranted as so much is lying in strongrooms of depots and at the central cash collection centre at Wadala.”

A senior BEST official said that a significant part of the ticket box collection was used to give monthly salaries to 40,000 staffers. This included packets of coins of Rs 5 and Rs 10 denomination and cash of Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100 denominations up to Rs 15,000 as part of salary.

A panel member said a contract to lift coins and cash was awarded in January and it was presumed that employees would get 100% salaries in their accounts. “But they still have to queue up to collect money bags,” said the member. “The rest of the salary is deposited in bank accounts.”

Test for flyers from high-risk areas

Test for flyers from high-risk areas

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:01.04.2021

Based on the latest guidelines issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), domestic passengers arriving from high-risk states at Indira Gandhi International Airport will be randomly tested for Covid-19.

“After collection of the samples, the passengers will be allowed to exit. However, those found positive shall be mandatorily quarantined either at their place of stay, a government facility or at a hospital, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare protocol,” said the Delhi airport in a statement.

While it is currently not mandatory for flyers to carry an RT-PCR report for domestic travel to Delhi, the airport officials clarified that while testing was being done randomly, those who did have a negative report could present it to the government authorities to seek exemption. “If chosen, and one is carrying a report, it can be presented to seek exemption. It will be up to the discretion of the authorities to take another sample or not,” said the official.

The new guidelines dated March 23 are not just applicable to the airport, but railway stationsISBTs and other alighting points for private buses too. If a passenger is found positive, they will have to be quarantined for 10 days.

An official at Genestrings Diagnostic, the lab currently taking samples at departures and arrivals for international passengers, said while their process to collect samples from international passengers would continue, no samples of domestic passengers were being brought over to their labs. “The government is doing this testing on its own. Our testing process remains the same,” the official said.

C-vax available to all above 45 from today

ASK FOR MASK #MASKINDIA

C-vax available to all above 45 from today

500 Centres To Vaccinate From 9am To 9pm

AlokKNMishra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:01.04.2021

From Thursday, everyone aged above 45 will be able to get the Covid-19 vaccine at 500 vaccination centres spread across 192 hospitals in the city. Advance booking on the Co-Win portal has already started and the government expects a huge jump in turnout. Increasing the coverage will also strengthen the fight against the novel coronavirus, which is crucial due to the recent surge in cases.

Health minister Satyendar Jain said, “Vaccination is being started on a large scale from Thursday. Those eligible can get the shots from 9am till 9pm. Delhi has a large number of people aged above  45. The government wants to cover all of them as soon as possible. Delhi has a sufficient stock of the vaccine. Some hospitals even have 10 vaccination centres.”

People facing trouble in registering themselves can also get the jab by walking into the vaccination centres from 3pm to 9pm.

The number of people aged above 45 is estimated to be over 65 lakh, while those between 45 and 60 years is 40 lakh. Vaccination of people aged above 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with 20 specified comorbid conditions has been going on for the last one month.

Several people reported glitches in registration on Wednesday. A resident of south Delhi did not get the time slot even after receiving the OTP, so could not schedule the vaccination. Another person reported delay in receiving the OTP despite waiting for a

long time. “I will try registering again on Thursday,” said Mukesh Kumar, a businessman in central Delhi.

Delhi government had recently asked all government hospitals to establish at least six vaccination centres as part of the preparations for expanding the coverage. The hospitals were also directed to depute two vaccinators at each additional site to increase the total slots. All these arrangements have already been made.

So far, 12 lakh people — 4 lakh aged above 60 and nearly

73,000 in the 45-59 age group — have been vaccinated. These include healthcare personnel, frontline workers, people aged above 45 with comorbid conditions and those above 60 years.

An official said that according to the Centre’s guidelines, three rooms were required to create one vaccination centre. Because of this, the process of opening more centres has been slow.

Some will get Covid even after vaccination, and that’s normal

Some will get Covid even after vaccination, and that’s normal

No vaccine guarantees 100% immunity from the novel coronavirus, so a small percentage of people who have received a vaccination will still get sick, but experts say that their symptoms are likely to be mild

Abhilash.Gaur@timesgroup.com

01.04.2021 

On March 18, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan took his first dose of a coronavirus vaccine made by the Chinese company Sinopharm. On the 20th, he tested positive for Covid. Vaccine-sceptics felt vindicated, China-bashers shouted ‘hurray’. Both were wrong. A vaccine is like a trainer. It needs several weeks to train your immune system to fight a germ. Khan’s first dose got hardly two days to work. In fact, Khan most probably had the virus for several days before he took his shot.

So, Imran Khan’s positive test does not mean his vaccine failed, but are there other cases where a coronavirus vaccine has ‘failed’ to do its job? Is it possible for you to get Covid after vaccination?

Yes, a small percentage of properly vaccinated people are expected to get sick with the coronavirus. Now that many millions have been vaccinated around the world, such cases are becoming common. Why does this happen, and is it fair to describe it as a failure of the vaccine?

Breakthrough Cases

An infection that occurs after vaccination is called a ‘breakthrough case’. But there’s a condition: it should occur at least 14 days after you are “fully vaccinated”. In India, it would mean two weeks after your second dose of Covishield or Covaxin.

Amesh A. Adalja at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security tells Prevention magazine that this time-frame is necessary because “your body should have enough time to develop antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus).”

In a Forbes column, scientist William A. Haseltine mentions Israeli research that found vaccinated and unvaccinated people were equally likely to get infected in the first 12 days after the first vaccine dose. Even after 17 days, 60-80% of vaccinated people could get infected.

The Atlantic’s science journalist Katherine J. Wu says breakthrough cases will now “continue to grow in number, everywhere… They are an entirely expected part of any vaccination process.” You might hear of them in your circle. But the important thing is to not get alarmed and start doubting vaccines.

No Vaccine Is Perfect

Actually, there was a vaccine that provided 100% immunity against the virus it was aimed at, says Bloomberg’s pharma industry analyst Sam Fazeli. It was so good that it totally wiped out the smallpox virus. But such ‘sterilising immunity’ – stopping not only sickness but also infection – is rare.

For the coronavirus, scientists last year set the bar low at 50% efficacy. Luckily, all of the approved vaccines turned out to be far better with efficacy rates as high as 95%. Yet, even the best vaccine can’t guarantee you won’t fall ill.

Again, Wu reminds you this is not a failure of vaccines because “the goal of vaccination isn’t eradication, but a détente in which humans and viruses coexist, with the risk of disease at a tolerable low.”

With vaccines, we are mainly trying to prevent severe disease and death, not the infection itself, and all of the approved vaccines seem to be excellent at that. For example, the singledose Johnson & Johnson vaccine showed only 72% efficacy in US trials, but nobody who took it needed hospitalisation or died.

As Fazeli says, “You will never know how bad your symptoms would have been if you had not been vaccinated.”

Reducing Risk

So, the main reason for breakthrough cases is that vaccines are not perfect. Haseltine says, “we need to draw a distinction between infection and disease” while talking about coronavirus vaccines. As none of the present vaccines claims to protect you from infection, breakthrough cases aren’t surprising. But what makes some vaccinated people more susceptible to the virus than others? Wu says there could be many factors, from your immune system’s response to the virus variant you are exposed to. As the existing vaccines are based on last year’s coronavirus variant, they might be less effective against the newer variants.

Haseltine says a study from China found that “sera from those infected by the original Wuhan strain last year have little to no ability to protect against either the UK (B.1.1.7) or the South African (B.1.351) strains.” Also, your immune system could buckle under the force of a big virus dose, for example inside a room where many Covid patients are present. “Large doses of the virus can overwhelm the sturdiest of immune defences, if given the chance,” Wu says.

That’s why continuing to wear a mask even after you have been vaccinated can reduce the risk of breakthrough cases. Especially now, when coronavirus infections are sharply rising across India.