Haridwar closed for kanwar yatra, UP looks at new routes

Haridwar closed for kanwar yatra, UP looks at new routes

Sandeep.Rai@timesgroup.com

Meerut:15.07.2021

The tiny town of Garh Mukteswar in Hapur district, about119-km from Delhi, is likely to host lakhs of kanwar pilgrims if the UP government comes good on its promise to allow the yatra. With Haridwar out of bounds after the Uttarakhand administration called off the pilgrimage for this year citing threat from the pandemic, Garh Mukteswar is slowly emerging as an alternative destination for the Shiva devotees.

The UP government, which had earlier requested Uttarakhand to let the pilgrims pass en route for Haridwar, from where they collect water from the Ganga, has asked all those participating in the yatra to carry a Covid-19 negative certificate. The yatra is likely to begin from July 25 unless there is a change of plans. Apart from UP, kanwariyas from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and even Himachal take part in the yatra.

The administration, after mulling several alternatives, has zeroed in on the ancient town of Garh Mukteswar, which hosts pilgrims throughout the year. Divisional commissioner of Meerut, Surender Singh, told TOI, “We have already started preparations for the security and overall management. Now that Uttarakhand has cancelled it, we have to find another destination from where pilgrims can fetch Ganga water. For instance, devotees in eastern UP bring the holy water from Prayagraj and Varanasi. In the western region, one such site could be Garh Mukteshwar in Hapur. But our options are open and we are working in this direction.” District magistrate of Hapur, Anuj Singh, said the administration will be able to hold the yatra in the town as the numbers will be less this time due to the Covid situation. “The possibility of using Garh Mukteshwar ghats for the pilgrimage is being explored as religious fairs take place throughout the year here,” the DM said.

Menacing monkey terrorizes Ratan Pol

Menacing monkey terrorizes Ratan Pol

FORESTERS STRUGGLE TO CATCH SIMIAN THAT SEEMS TO BE INJURED

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:15.07.2021

A monkey has been creating terror in the hearts of residents and commuters in Ratan Pol area over the past 10 days. The simian, which seems to be injured, has been attacking passersby, but the forest department as well as zoo officials are having a tough time caging it.

The monkey has been creating havoc in areas around Roopam Cinema, Ashok Cinema, Mahkali Vadi, Nagori School, and Gheekanta. It also attacked a safai worker from behind.

Hemraj Parmar was among the dozen-odd people that the monkey attacked. He said, “The residents marked the animal with red dye so that it is easily identifiable. Such is its terror that vendors in the area carry a stick to ensure that the monkey does not get close to them.” Despite this, the monkey managed to bite a vendor on Wednesday. The person was immediately rushed to Civil Hospital.

A senior forest officer said that they identified and located the monkey. However, by the time a team reached the area, people gathered in large numbers, scaring the monkey away. Officials said, “The monkey is limping. Hence, it appears that it had been attacked by a human. This could be why it is attacking people. Once caged, it is likely to kept behind bars permanently.” The officials said that the zoo authorities have been put on alert as the monkey will have to be tranquillized. The officials said a cage has been kept in the area and people are on their toes. The monkey had been spotted on several occasions but has not been caught yet.

“It is not safe to use a tranquillizer in such a dense area. The teams returned late on Wednesday without success. Five teams will be deployed in the area on Thursday to ensure that the monkey is tranquillized as soon as possible,” says District forest officer Sakira Begum.

Tejas Exp to Mumbai back from Aug 7

Tejas Exp to Mumbai back from Aug 7

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:15.07.2021

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will restore the operations of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Tejas Express from August 7.

The train will run on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Based on the passenger demand, the operations may be revised.

Officials said that IRCTC will continue to keep the safety of passengers as the paramount consideration. All-round preparations are in place to meet the expectations of people in terms of services and safety and health protocols amid the ongoing pandemic, said officials.

Passengers will have to undergo thermal screening and have their luggage disinfected before boarding the train. Passengers will have to show their Aarogya Setu status when asked.

The train will continue with its halt at Andheri, as permitted by the Western Railway, to facilitate the ease of travel of passengers headed to the Mumbai international airport.

Madurai lab tops state in Covid-testing

Madurai lab tops state in Covid-testing

Padmini.Sivarajah@timesgroup.com

15.07.2021

The virology lab at Madurai Medical College has performed 17.65 lakh RTPCR tests, the highest among all government medical college labs in the state. The government medical college labs in Chennai, including KMC, MMC, Stanley Medical College and Omandurar Medical college, together tested around 17 lakh samples.

Associate professor and lab incharge Dr C Sugumari said the lab with a staff of about100 , including 65 doctors and paramedics besides 45 data entry operators, has been operating round-the-clock since March 2020. With nine RT-PCR testing machines and five RNA extractors, the lab was able to undertake about 12,000 to 15,000 tests daily. During the first wave, they had done about 8,000 tests a day, which was the highest, but in the second wave the sample load gradually increased from11,000 to as many as15,801 a day in June.

Corpn struggles to pay staff salaries

KEY PROJECTS MAY TAKE A BACK SEAT

Corpn struggles to pay staff salaries

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:15.07.2021 

Greater Chennai Corporation between April and July collected ₹130 crore more in property tax than in the same period last year. But its bank overdraft increased, from ₹250 crore (in 2018) to ₹450cr (in January 2021), dues to contractors are ₹200cr and its debt rose from ₹2,200 crore to ₹2,500 crore.

This means projects funded by capital funds in education, health care and solid waste management will take a back seat as has been happening for more than eight years.

Post 2014, ‘spending’ on projects and taking huge loans for big ticket projects that are neither good in quality nor improve citizens’ lives have led to this financial crisis, says activists.

The corporation’s income comes from property tax (₹720 crore), professional tax (₹350cr) and about ₹720 crore in central and state finance commission grants apart from ₹19 crore as trade licence renewal and ₹240 crore in parking fee, rents and other user charges.

While no major revenue mechanism has been created in the past 10 years, projects like smart parking and ‘onstreet parking’ got stuck due to Covid. The property tax revision rollback in February 2020 took a huge toll on finances.

“Right now, paying ₹80 crore-₹100 crore in salaries every month is a herculean task, with ₹10 crore going for interest payments. Bank overdrafts have crossed ₹500cr. We improved a little in 2019 after tax revision but are back to where we were in 2018,” said an official.

Activists say the corporation has been announcing big ticket packages taking huge loans from external agencies.

“Some projects are important but it’s the manner in which they are awarded and implemented that puts a big financial burden,” said Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-graft NGO. “Most new drains and roads scrape off every year notwithstanding the 3-year maintenance period,” Venkatesan added.

A former IAS official who worked with the corporation said there are many ways the civic body can improve its finances instead of resorting to cost cutting.

“Many recommendations have been lying idle since 2009,” he said.

Gold appraiser held for cheating bank of more than ₹4.5 crore

Gold appraiser held for cheating bank of more than ₹4.5 crore

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.07.2021

A 52-year-old man who worked as a gold appraiser at Union Bank of India, Tiruvallur branch was arrested for pledging fake gold and swindling the bank of more than ₹4.5 crore between 2018 and 2020.

The incident came to light during the bank’s audit carried out recently. The bank manager informed the higherups about the swindling.

The auditing team confirmed that K M Meganathan, the gold appraiser at the branch, had cheated the bank of more than ₹4.5 crore between 2018 and 2020.

Inquiries revealed that Meganathan, who had been employed at the bank since 2011, admitted that he had submitted fake gold in names of 137 individuals with an intention to cheat the bank.

Based on the complaint of Biraja Prasad Das, deputy general manager of the branch, the Tiruvallur district crime branch registered a case. Due to the pandemic, police said, the bank officials delayed lodging the complaint.

Tiruvallur superintendent of police V Varun Kumar reviewed the case and ordered action against the accused. Following this, a police team led by deputy superintendent of police P Asokan and inspector of police Lilly, apprehended Meganathan from his house. He was produced before a magistrate court in Ponneri on Tuesday.

According to the direction of the court, an RT-PCR test was conducted on him and then he was remanded in Ponneri subjail. If the test result comes negative, he will be shifted to the Puzhal prison along with other prisoners from the Ponneri subjail.

Get a broom, let’s clean HC, says CJ

Get a broom, let’s clean HC, says CJ

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.07.2021

The Madras high court has directed its registry to ensure that the campus is 100% disabled-friendly and elderly-friendly besides being litter-free and green. “One Sunday, come with a broomstick and bucket, we will all clean the high court campus together. I will also come,” chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee

said on Wednesday.

The first bench of chief Justice and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the oral observation while hearing a plea moved by N Rajkumar, seeking to maintain the campus green and clean and an affidavit with suggestions to make the court campus more friendly to people with disabilities and elderly.

Recording the same, the bench said, “Over the past couple of months or so, the campus has looked greener and cleaner than ever before. However, this green and clean has come at the cost of litigants and lawyers being kept out due to the second surge of the pandemic.”

The court then directed the registrar (administration) of the court to look into the suggestions and file a report when the matter appears next six weeks. “The registrar will also look into the access problems referred to by the petitioner, particularly for persons with disabilities, elderly citizens and others who may be infirm. Better lift facilities may also be explored, particularly in the Small Causes Court area,” the judges said.

The registrar was also directed to indicate whether wheelchairs are available for persons with disabilities to move around. “There may also be a need for more than one ambulance to be ready,” the court added and adjourned the plea to September 1for further hearing.