55% of OBC posts in central univs vacant

55% of OBC posts in central univs vacant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:3.8.2021

Over 55% of the sanctioned OBC posts in the 45 central universities and other technical and research organisations are lying vacant. This includes 89.8% of the OBC posts lying vacant in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The Union ministry of education (MoE) on Monday told the Lok Sabha that over 41% of the SC posts and 39% of the ST posts are also lying vacant in these institutions.

Replying to a written question on the total number of sanctioned and vacant posts in the reserved categories – SC, ST and OBC – in all central universities and research institutions, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a written response said being autonomous institutions, “the onus of filling up the vacant posts lies on Central Universities.” On the vacancies minister said: “Now, after implementation of ‘The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019’, the OBC reservation has been implemented at all levels.

 Further, in June 2019 UGC has prepared the Guidelines for Recruitment of Faculty in Universities, Colleges and Institutions Deemed to be Universities outlining the selection procedure and the time frame for recruitment which has been circulated to all Universities to adhere to the guidelines. The UGC on July 31, 2019, August 7, 2019, September 5, 2019 and October 22, 2019 has again requested the universities to ensure that vacant positions in university as well as colleges affiliated to University are filled at the earliest.” As per the data provided by the ministry, as on April 1, 2021 the OBC vacancies are highest in central universities, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) which is well above 50%.

Minorities panel headless for over a year

New Delhi:

The National Commission for Minorities has been without a chairman for over a year now and posts of five members are also lying vacant. The Delhi High Court had directed the Centre that all vacant positions must be filled up before July 31, but with the nominations yet to be made, the ministry of minority affairs (MoMA) has given no timeframe and said the “process is on”. Currently, the NCM has only one member, Atif Rasheed, who is the vice chairman.

The post of chairman fell vacant after former NCM chairmain Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi’s tenure ended in May, 2020. When TOI reached out to the ministry, sources attributed part of the delay to the pandemic which has been keeping the govenrment engaged since last year. The NCM chief is appointed from names recommended by the minority affairs ministry and requires the approval of the PMO. TNN

‘PG Medical Regulations 2021 may reduce Guj seats by 30%’

‘PG Medical Regulations 2021 may reduce Guj seats by 30%’

Experts Say Similar Situation Likely In Other States

Bharat.Yagnik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:3.8.2021

The draft Postgraduate Medical Regulations, 2021 may lead to a sharp decline of more than 30% in PG medical seats in Gujarat, warned experts in the medical education field. A similar situation is likely to be created in other states of the country, they said.

“There are a total of 1,874 PG medical seats in the state. If the new rules that are proposed in the draft are implemented Gujarat will see a decline of about 600-700 seats,” said two experts in the know of the matter. The maximum intake of postgraduate students in specialities where units are prescribed shall not exceed three PG seats per unit per academic year, according to clause 16.2 in the draft regulations. Presently, there are six seats per unit per academic year.

“A unit consists of one professor, one assistant professor and an associate professor. While three seats are earmarked for the professor, two are for assistant professor and one seat is marked for one associate professor. There is a cap of six seats per unit. The proposed draft aims to change this by limiting the seats to three per unit,” said one of the two experts.

He said that at a time when the government is planning to increase the number of seats for PG medical students, the new set of rules could put the government’s ambitious plans off track.

“The institute can have any number of units to meet the needs of the workload. But only the minimum number of units required as per the Minimum Standard Requirements for annual MBBS admissions Regulations, 2020 of the NMC shall be taken into account to calculate the number of postgraduate seats to be sanctioned,” according to clause 16.6 of the draft. The draft also proposes to change the criteria for professors in three-year PG courses. This could further impact the student teacher ratio, said experts.

‘Draft could impact student-teacher ratio’

The draft also proposes to change the criteria for professors in three-year PG courses. This could further impact the student-teacher ratio, said experts. So far, assistant professors were required to have four year of work experience to qualify for the post of professors.

“The draft aims to change this to five years and also have two eligible research publications in the past three years as professor,” said an expert.

The draft has been opposed by many states who are of the view that if the proposal sees light of the day in its current form, the power of the state would be undermined.

The experts had red flagged a provision of the draft PG regulations aimed to centralise and designate the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India as the designated authority for counselling for state quota seats.

The maximum intake of postgraduate students in specialities where units are prescribed shall not exceed three PG seats per unit per academic year, according to clause 16.2 in the draft regulations. Presently, there are six seats per unit per academic year

Chitlapakkam locals add green to city’s landscape

Chitlapakkam locals add green to city’s landscape

Srikkanth.D@timesgroup.com

Chennai:3.8.2021

At a time whenGreater Chennai Corporation is inviting resident welfare associations to collaborate with it in increasing the city’s green cover, residents of Chitlapakkam, just outside the corporation limits, have taken it upon themselves to help increase lung space in their town panchayat limits.

Last weekend, residents organised a seedball-throwing party at Pachamalai hills near Tambaram to add more green to the city’s landscape.

“We had organized a similar event in September 2019 just before the monsoon. We sourced seed balls from an NGO and threw more than 3,000 seed balls at that time. Due to the onset of pandemic in early 2020, we were not able to continue the seedball-throwing event last year, but have resumed it this year,” said Sunil Jayaraman of Chitlapakkam Rising, a community movement.

The hill is a catchment area and source for the Chitlapakkam lake's rainwater. Considering the citizen movement in Chitlapakkam began with saving the waterbody, it has come as a natural extension to ensure that the catchment area is also well maintained.

“It is an important step for the survival of the lake which we have revived after a public movement,” said Sunil Jayaraman.

Last weekend, about 300 seedballs of native tree varieties such as Pungai and Poovarasu were thrown down the hill by volunteers.

For the seed-ball throwing event, more than 20 people, including kids, hiked the hills on Saturday and Sunday to participate in the event. Apart from increasing the urban lung space, the community movement also acts as a good physical exercise for kids and adults alike.

“While hiking down the hill, residents also collected plastic waste strewn along by visitors. The hill has a good view point and attracts a lot of visitors. But some of them leave behind plastic water bottles and litter which can be avoided,” said a resident.

Apart from this, as part of the ‘Green Chitlapakkam’ initiative, residents have, over the years, planted more than 1,000 saplings in town panchayats, including three urban forests, using the Miyawaki method.

“Now, another set of 100 saplings is ready and will be planted in the next three months,” Sunil said.

Restrictions imminent on ECR attractions as crowds increase

Restrictions imminent on ECR attractions as crowds increase

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:3.8.2021 

As tourists throng historical attractions across East Coast Road (ECR) on weekends, indications of a lockdown are imminent to check Covid-19 cases.

Monuments maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Mamallapuram and theme parks on the entertainment corridor are clocking record footfalls to the extent that the Chengalpet district authorities are now exploring options of banning entry for tourists or cutting down the visiting hours at these monuments.

Nearly 5,000 people visited ticketed monuments at Mamallapuram on Sunday — one of the highest turnout since the centrally protected monuments were reopened this year. Two weeks ago, about 4,200 tourists visited the Pallava era monuments. A theme park without water sport activities on ECR recorded 700 visitors on Sunday. This footfall used to be around 2,000 during pre-Covid times on a weekend. Though ferry services at the TTDC boathouse at Muttukadu remains out of bound for tourists, people shot selfies on the pathway to the facility.

Mamallapuram-based tourist guide R Stalin said a majority of tourists were from Chennai and its neighbouring districts, and Puducherry. “Tourists from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have dropped significantly... But the crowd that thronged Mamallapuram on Sunday did cause extensive traffic jam in the town,” he said. It appears that shutting down market places to check Covid-19 cases could have forced people to move to the tourist spots.

An official from the Chengalpet district administration said that special teams have been formed to identify any violation of Covid-19 protocols. “We are also discussing with senior officers on stopping or reducing the timings for visitors. A final decision will be taken before this weekend,” he said.

From Aug 21, city to get first radio station run by senior citizens

From Aug 21, city to get first radio station run by senior citizens

Komal Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:3.8.2021 

The city’s first online community radio station for the elderly is set to be launched on August 21, World Senior Citizens Day. Annai Anbalaya Trust, which is launching the station, to be run by senior citizens, on its premises on TTK Road is modelling it on a similar facility begun in Coimbatore.

It will be among the 10 community radio stations approved by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment and to be implemented by New Delhi-based National Institute of Social Defence. A letter communication has been received and the financial aspects yet to be discussed.

There will be least four programmes every week, in the form of podcasts, aimed at creating awareness about science and technology and health related issues. There will be cultural programmes as well. The senior citizens will be provided with laptops, microphones and trained in editing software.

N K Rajamani, committee member of Vigyan Prasar living in Chennai, said he conducted research in a few old age homes in the city. “There is a lot of talent in these homes. Of the nearly 50 orphaned women in the home at TTK Road, many sing well and a few have immense knowledge about several current topics,” he said. Another such radio will be set up in Athipattu, on Chennai’s outskirts, later.

B Sreedhar Ramamurthy, the brain behind the country’s first community radio station at Anna University in 2004, said, “We have been allocated —24 lakh to produce 624 podcasts by senior citizens from seven locations this year. These programmes will be exclusively for senior citizens and we will use existing community radio stations at Alagappa University in Karaikudi, Tapovan in Coimbatore, MV EC in Puducherry, Aashiana senior society in Bhiwadi, Radio Sarathi Jhalak in Bengaluru and two in New Delhi at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication to produce them,” he said. The government should set up one such station in each old age home as the cost is minimal —about ₹3,600 per month to use Iradiolive.com, a national podcasting portal run by an NGO.

Rajamani said, “If this pilot at TTK Road becomes successful, we will try to implement it across all 50 senior citizen homes in Chennai with the help of the state government.”

Watch your speed. That’s a highway, not a runway to fly

Watch your speed. That’s a highway, not a runway to fly

90% Of Accidents On ECR Stretch Caused By Overspeeding, But No Follow-Up Action On Violators

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

3.8.2021 

In February, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated an advanced traffic management system along East Coast Road to reduce accidents.

The ₹8.6-crore project set up by the state government included an Automatic Speed Enforcement System (ASES), an Automatic Video Incident Detection System (AVIDS) and a Vehicle-Activated Speed Signs (VASS) —all meant to detect any speeding vehicle or an accident along the 33-km stretch between Akkarai and Mamallapuram and alert the control room at Uthandi toll gate for police to reach the spot soon.

Around a dozen poles with high definition (HD) cameras were installed by Ador, a private firm chosen by the government. But the control centre in Uthandi was shut, when TOI visited the spot last week.

As per the rules, no vehicle can travel more than 80 km per hour (kmph) on ECR. VASS boards, installed on roadsides and medians, warn drivers about excess speed and pick up 8-10 violations every hour.

But there is no follow-up action on speed violations as no alerts are passed on to police through the control room and violators continue to go scot-free. Official data shows that 90% of the nearly 50 accidents reported on ECR between Mamallapuram and Akkarai every year are caused by speeding.

Multiple government sources confirmed that the control centre is yet to become completely functional as some of the components are yet to be installed. They attributed the delay to restricted travel movement of workers from industries in the north due to the lockdown. As of now, the control room is only recording video clips and challans are yet to be generated.

S Kamal Soi, member of the National Road Safety Council, said that enforcement works only when there is fear of being caught and punished. “Having display boards for speed alone will not act as a deterrent. The state government should start feeding this white elephant by starting operations at the control and command centre.”

CCTV surveillance cameras, installed by police, can help, at the most, in investigation and help in finding who was at fault or what went wrong after the accident takes place. Only an effective ASES can save lives, he added. Even civil work (to prevent accidents) has remained incomplete along ECR for years. In some areas, there are no signages along approach roads to alert motorists of incoming vehicles. Some stretches don’t have adequate lighting and there is stray cattle menace too.

Also, the 66-km stretch between the heritage town of Mamallapuram and Marakkanam is only a two-way road. A tender for a project to expand this into a four-way road was floated in 2018. Work has just begun on the stretch between Mamallapuram and Vayalur.

HC’s warning to TN on student admissions in Thiruvalluvar univ

HC’s warning to TN on student admissions in Thiruvalluvar univ

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:3.8.2021 

The Madras high court has threatened to stay admissions to post-graduate courses in Thiruvalluvar University, if they are made without amending or repealing a law brought in by the former AIADMK government creating Dr J Jayalalithaa University at Villupuram.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu made the observations while hearing a plea moved by former law minister C Ve Shanmugam. He alleged that the present government was neglecting the varsity in district due to political reasons.

When the plea came up for hearing, advocate-general R Shunmugasundaram submitted that except for passing a law for establishment of the university, the previous AIADMK government had not created any infrastructure for the varsity to function.

“Except appointment of a vice-chancellor and a car driver for him, nothing has been allotted for the establishment of the university. Currently, the university functions from an old tahsildar office,” the AG said.

The present government has decided not to waste money on the new university as the Annamalai University, which is spread across 2,000 acres of land, has become a state university now, he added.

The court, however, made it clear that it had to stay the operation of the notification for the admissions if the legislation for establishment of the varsity is operational. The bench then directed the advocate-general to get appropriate instruction from the government on August 4.

Earlier, representing the petitioner, former advocategeneral and senior advocate Vijay Narayan wanted the court to direct the state government to provide necessary funds for the smooth functioning and upkeep of the university.

“Tiruvalluvar University must be restrained from operating post-graduate extension centres in Villupuram in violation of the provisions of the Dr J Jayalalithaa University Act of 2021,” he said.

According to Shanmugam, the university was established in Villupuram by bifurcating the Tiruvalluvar University, following a request from him last year in his capacity as an MLA representing the constituency.

The object of the act was to bifurcate the jurisdiction of Tiruvalluvar University and bring Villupuram, Kallakurichi and Cuddalore districts within the ambit of the new institution.

However, after a change of regime in the state, the new university was being neglected, he alleged.