Chennai senior citizens to receive Covid vaccines at doorstep now

Chennai senior citizens to receive Covid vaccines at doorstep now

Measure announced to maximise vaccine coverage: Corpn officials

Published: 22nd August 2021 03:10 AM |

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: City residents aged above 80 years will now be administered vaccine against Covid right at their doorstep, thanks to a new initiative launched by the Chennai Corporation. Senior citizens can dial 044-25384520 or 044-46122300 to book a slot, following which the Corporation staff would visit their house and administer the vaccine dose, a statement said.

“Since people in this age group may find it hard to commute to a public health centre, we have taken this measure to maximise vaccine coverage,” a Corporation official noted. Earlier, the civic body had announced doorstep vaccination for people with disabilities and about 10,000 people have been vaccinated so far under the initiative.

Further, around 24,000 people in slum areas have been inoculated against Covid through 315 special camps, the official added. The Corporation has so far vaccinated 25.14 lakh people with the first dose, and 10.54 lakh with the second dose.

For TN loss of 2 LS seats in ’60s, HC moots ₹5,600cr in damages

For TN loss of 2 LS seats in ’60s, HC moots ₹5,600cr in damages

‘States That Failed To Control Population Gained, Have More MPs’

Srikkanth.d@timesgroup.com

Chennai:22.08.2021 

If Tamil Nadu has unfairly paid the price for controlling population growth by having its Lok Sabha seats reduced by two, is there a way to compensate for that? The Madras high court has come out with a formula that pegs monetary compensation to the state at Rs 5,600 crore.

Till 1962, Tamil Nadu had 41 Lok Sabha members. The number got reduced to 39 ahead of the 1967 general polls because the state had successfully controlled its population growth by then.

Juxtaposing this supposed anomaly with the dramatic no-confidence motion in 1999 that resulted in the toppling of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government by one vote, the division bench said Tamil Nadu should be compensated either by way of monetary compensation or through additional representation in the Rajya Sabha. “When one MP vote itself was capable of toppling a government, it is very shocking that Tamil Nadu lost two MPs because of successful implementation of birth control in the state,” the bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice B Pugalendhi said.

The judges then spelt out what they thought would be rightful compensation for all the years that have passed with two MPs less. “Notionally, the contribution of an MP in five years could be taken as Rs 200 crore, though it cannot be determined monetarily. Therefore, for every election since 1967, Tamil Nadu has to be compensated Rs 400 crore for reduction of two MP seats, which amounts to Rs 5600 crore,” the bench said.

Asking the Union government as to why Tamil Nadu’s Lok Sabha representation couldn’t be restored to 41 from the next general elections, the bench also suo motu impleaded 10 top political parties, including DMK and the main opposition AIADMK, besides Congress and BJP, to offer their responses.

The court was hearing a PIL seeking de-reservation of Tenkasi parliamentary constituency, which has remained a reserved constituency for more than half a century now.

Population control can’t be a factor to decide the number of political representatives of the States in the Parliament, the bench said. “Those states which failed to implement the birth-control programmes benefited with more political representatives in the Parliament while, states, especially Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which successfully implemented birth-control programmes, stood to lose two seats in Parliament. Andhra Pradesh also lost two MPs and got the number reduced from 42 to 40 seats in the Parliament”.

NUMBER-CRUNCHING

New law against couples validly entering into interfaith marriage: HC

New law against couples validly entering into interfaith marriage: HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:22.08.2021

The Gujarat high court has said that by a plain reading of the amendments to anti-conversion laws, popularly known as the love jihad law, it feels prima facie that any conversion following interfaith marriage would amount to an offence and such marriage itself and conversion would be deemed unlawful.

In the order released on Friday, while staying various provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act related to interfaith marriage, the division bench of chief justice Vikram Nath and justice Biren Vaishnav opined that with the June 2021 amendments, a marriage itself is presumed to be a medium for the purpose of unlawful conversion if the marriage was by way of allurement, force or by fraudulent means.

“Prima facie on a plain reading of Section 3 of the 2003 Act, we feel that interfaith marriage followed by conversion would amount to an offence under the 2003 Act. Marriage itself and a consequential conversion is deemed as an unlawful conversion attracting penal provisions” the court noted.

It said state government’s insistence that the element of fraud, allurement or coercion should be read with the State of Objects and Reasons of the Act, but this may not be understood by the common man. On shifting the burden of proof on to the accused to establish that the marriage and later conversion had not taken place on account of any fraud, it said, “This again puts the parties validly entering into interfaith marriage in great jeopardy.”

“Prima facie interfaith marriages between two adults by operation of the provisions of the Act interferes with intricacies of marriage including right to choice of a person,” it said.

Over 58cr doses administered in India: Govt

Over 58cr doses administered in India: Govt

New Delhi:22.08.2021

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has gone past 58 crore, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. More than 43 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Saturday, according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.

The ministry said 20,88,547 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years received the first dose and 7,36,870 were administered the second dose of the vaccine on Saturday.

Cumulatively, 21,60,58,123 people in the said age group have received the first dose and 1,92,54,925 have been administered the second dose of the vaccine since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive across the states and Union territories. On August 21, a total of 43,92,759 vaccine doses were given - 27,77,409 beneficiaries received the first dose and 16,15,350 got the second dose. PTI

Cannot ask a woman who her child’s father is: Gujarat high court

Cannot ask a woman who her child’s father is: Gujarat high court

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:22.08.2021

The Gujarat HC has raised a pertinent question on whether a woman can be forced to reveal the name of the father of her child when she reaches alone for the child’s delivery.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay repeatedly asked the question to government lawyers:“If an unmarried woman conceives a child and goes to a hospital, whether the doctor would ask who is the father of the child? If the woman says that she does not want to answer the question, in such circumstances whether she is under obligation to disclose whose child she is carrying?”

The judge questioned so while hearing a appeal against conviction filed by a man from Junagadh district, who has been punished for rape. In this case, after elopement, the couple had one child. While the woman was pregnant for the second time, the couple planned marriage but could not perform the marriage due to the lockdown as the woman reached the marriageable age on March 25, 2020. Finally, their marriage took place in January 2021. Unhappy with their union, the girl’s family had lodged an FIR against the man for rape.

On August 9, the high court granted bail to the man upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs 100 only. During a hearing on his appeal against his conviction to 10-year jail term on August 19, the court discussed about making the age of minority from 16 years to 18 years and any sexual relations with a woman under 18 years invites charges of statutory rape. Hinting at the Nirbhaya rape case protests, the judge orally observed that there were protests in urban areas and the government amended the laws. He then asked, “Why the girls in rural areas suffer (because of this)?” The court was discussing rural traditions of marriages at an early age, and particularly in tribal areas where marriage is not a precondition to give birth to a child.

The judge further said that the woman cannot marry before she turns 18 years of age, but she can give birth to a child. “When the woman is not making any complaint of rape and insists that it was her choice, will we be able to read criminality (into it)?” the court asked further, “The pure question of law would be if some lady conceives and she does not make any complaint and she is not married, which provision would be violated?”

NO OBLIGATION

Those over 80 years can get vax at home

Those over 80 years can get vax at home

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:22.08.2021

Now, city residents over the age of 80 can get vaccinated against Covid-19 at their homes. The civic body on Saturday said eligible beneficiaries can contact personnel on 044-25384520 and 044-46122300 to arrange a home vaccination. Similar targeted drives were conducted to get beneficiaries their second dose of Covaxin.

Meanwhile, eight of the 15 city zones reported a spike in active Covid-19 cases over the past week, Greater Chennai corporation data revealed. However, the city’s total active case tally has declined by about 24 cases from August 13 to August 20.

Manali, Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Adyar and Perungudi recorded an increase in active infections with Anna Nagar reporting the steepest rise from 249 on August 13 to 330 on August 20. Anna Nagar is also the sole zone with more than 300 active cases.

Kodambakkam is the only other zone with more than 200 cases. However active cases here decreased from 260 to 218 in the same period. All zones in the northern region have less than 100 active cases with Manali reporting just 25 active cases. The civic body is conducting intense contact tracing to identify clusters.

On Friday, about 29,000 city residents got their shots. Kodambakkam zone (3,060) topped in the maximum shots administered while the lowest was in Manali (920). Corporation sources said there has been a good response to vaccination whenever stocks of Covishield are available.

The corporation also started a targeted vaccination drive in slum clearance board tenements. It held 315 such special camps over the past week covering 24,000 people, a statement said.

மகப்பேறு விடுப்பு; ஊழியர்களுக்கு இடையில் எந்தப் பாகுபாடும் காட்டக் கூடாது: தமிழக அரசுக்கு உயர் நீதிமன்றம் அறிவுறுத்தல்

மகப்பேறு விடுப்பு; ஊழியர்களுக்கு இடையில் எந்தப் பாகுபாடும் காட்டக் கூடாது: தமிழக அரசுக்கு உயர் நீதிமன்றம் அறிவுறுத்தல்

சென்னை

மகப்பேறு விடுப்பு வழங்கும்போது பணி வரன்முறை செய்யப்பட்ட, வரன்முறைப்படுத்தப்படாத ஊழியர்களுக்கு இடையில் எந்தப் பாகுபாடும் காட்டக் கூடாது என, தமிழக அரசுக்கு சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் அறிவுறுத்தியுள்ளது.

தமிழகத்தில் மணமான பெண் அரசு ஊழியர்களுக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டு வந்த ஊதியத்துடன் கூடிய மகப்பேறு விடுப்பு, 180 நாட்களில் இருந்து 270 நாட்களாக அதிகரித்து, 2016-ம் ஆண்டு பணியாளர் மற்றும் நிர்வாக சீர்திருத்தத் துறை அரசாணை பிறப்பித்தது.

இந்தச் சலுகை, பணி வரன்முறைப்படுத்தப்படாத, தற்காலிகப் பணியாளர்களுக்கும் நீட்டித்து 2020-ம் ஆண்டு உத்தரவிடப்பட்டது.

ஆனால், இந்த அரசாணைகள் அமல்படுத்தப்படவில்லை எனக் கூறி, சென்னையைச் சேர்ந்த வழக்கறிஞர் ராஜகுரு, உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் பொதுநல வழக்குத் தாக்கல் செய்திருந்தார்.

சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம்: கோப்புப்படம்

அவர் தனது மனுவில், மாநிலத்தில் பல மாவட்டங்களில் அரசு மருத்துவமனைகளில் பணிபுரியும், பணி வரன்முறைபடுத்தப்படாத, தற்காலிகப் பெண் பணியாளர்கள், மகப்பேறு விடுப்பு வழங்கக் கோரிய விண்ணப்பங்கள் நிலுவையில் உள்ளதாகவும், அவற்றின் மீது எந்த நடவடிக்கையும் எடுக்கப்படவில்லை எனவும் குற்றம் சாட்டியுள்ளார்.

பணி வரன்முறைப்படுத்தப்படாத தற்காலிகப் பணியாளர்களுக்கும் மகப்பேறு விடுப்பை ஊதியத்துடன் வழங்க உத்தரவிட வேண்டும் எனவும், இது தொடர்பான அரசாணையை முறையாக அமல்படுத்த அரசுக்கு உத்தரவிட வேண்டும் எனவும் மனுவில் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளார்.

இந்த வழக்கை விசாரித்த தலைமை நீதிபதி சஞ்ஜிப் பானர்ஜி மற்றும் நீதிபதி கிருபாகரன் அடங்கிய அமர்வு, மகப்பேறு விடுப்பு வழங்குவதில் பணி வரன்முறைப்படுத்தப்பட்ட, வரன்முறைப்படுத்தப்படாத அரசு ஊழியர்களுக்கு இடையில் எந்தப் பாகுபாடும் காட்டக் கூடாது என அறிவுறுத்தி, ஒரே மாதிரியாக மகப்பேறு விடுப்பு வழங்க வேண்டும் என அரசுக்கு உத்தரவிட்டது.