Railways' e-bike rental sees good response

Railways' e-bike rental sees good response

According to sources, several passengers also enquired whether the facility is available only for railway passengers.

Published: 11th December 2021 06:19 AM 

E-Bike rental service outside Tiruchy Railway Station

By Jose K Joseph

Express News Service 11.12.2021

TIRUCHY: The e-bike rental service, which was inaugurated at the Tiruchy railway station on Thursday, received plenty of enquiries from passengers visiting the station on Friday. Officials said Tiruchy division is the first in Southern Railway to come up with such a facility and they are expecting good response from people.

At present, the facility is available from 9 am to 9 pm and is the only e-bike rental facility in the district. Sources said the railway has plans to make the facility available round the clock. “So many people have approached us to get the details of various packages. Some of them also enquired about the price of e-bikes and charges. At present, we are offering hourly, day rental, weekly and business packages. We are charging about Rs 50 for the hourly package. But, customers have to pay a refundable security deposit of Rs 1,000 for taking the bike. We also need a copy of their Aadhaar and driving licence,” an employee of the e-bike centre said.

Passengers have appreciated the initiative and said the railway should come up with such facilities at more stations. Selvaraj, a railway passenger, said, “It is a good initiative. However, the railway should consider avoiding security deposits. Though the security deposit is refundable, many people might avoid using the facility as they have to pay Rs 1,000 as deposit. Therefore, they should consider reducing the amount.”

According to sources, several passengers also enquired whether the facility is available only for railway passengers.“Anyone can use this facility by submitting the documents and security deposit. All the bikes have an in-built GPS facility and we are able to track its location. We would give the bike with sufficient charge and it can travel a maximum of 110 to 130 km (depending on speed and other factors). But, the customers can use this bike only in Tiruchy and they cannot travel to other districts. If the bike faces any technical issue, they can inform us and we will pick it up from the spot,” an e-bike centre employee clarified.

Meanwhile, a section of students opined that the railway should consider offering some packages for them. “Many of us would like to use this facility as it is very convenient. But, the railway should consider coming up with a package for students as the existing deposit fee is not affordable for us,” said Rahul Raj, a college student and railway passenger.

Bennett, King’s Canada in tie-up for exchange progs

Bennett, King’s Canada in tie-up for exchange progs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:12.11.2021

Bennett University (BU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with King’s University College, Canada to give an opportunity to students and faculty members for exchange programmes, semester abroad, summer immersion programmes and joint faculty research.

The ceremony was attended by president of King’s University College, Dr David C Malloy, Bennett University executive director Revati Jain, Bennett University vice-chancellor Prabhu Kumar Aggarwal and others.

BU chancellor Vineet Jain said, “The liberal arts programme at BU is rich with12 majors and allows flexibility to students to chart their pathways by choosing relevant electives. It also helps them understand the diverse perspectives and thought processes of an international and environmentally responsible citizen.”

Jain hoped that this association with King’s would further accelerate the quality and growth of Bennett’s liberal arts offerings.

“Bennett’s vision is to be at the forefront of higher education and advocate interdisciplinary education as the next frontier for knowledge. The pedagogy at Bennett is based on a student-centric learning development model, strong foundational knowledge and hands-on experience with real-world challenges that align with its constantly expanding international network,” said the chancellor.

Aggarwal hoped that such collaborations would assist students in becoming responsible and effective leaders in their careers, regardless of the disciplines they selected.

“The school of liberal arts holds immense importance for us as it nurtures students with life and work skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, communications, and creativity. This partnership with King’s University College strengthens the overall teaching-learning pedagogy at Bennett,” said Agarwal.

Dr Malloy addressed the BU fraternity on “leading with values in a pandemic”, wherein he stressed on the typology and logic of values and its implication during the pandemic.

“This collaboration presents opportunities that allow students access to diverse experiences, providing professional advantage. Student and faculty exchange programmes, expansion-centric activities to encompass semester abroad and summer immersion programmes and joint faculty research initiatives are added bonuses for both institutions,” said Dr Malloy.

Flyer caught with gold paste in waistband

Flyer caught with gold paste in waistband

Bengaluru:  12.11.2021

A passenger from Sharjah was caught at Kempegowda International Airport this week with gold paste worth Rs 29.5 lakh hidden in custom-made trousers and underwear.

Sources with the air intelligence unit of Bengaluru Customs said the incident took place on December 6 when sleuths caught the middle-aged passenger who claimed to be a worker returning from the Gulf.

When his answers didn’t convince the sleuths, they frisked him and noticed his waist was bulky. They found he was wearing a band stitched to the buckle area of his trousers and a pouch-like thing fixed to his underwear. The officers opened them and found the gold paste, weighing 603 grams. TNN

Junior medicos to be hired to ease residents’ burden

Junior medicos to be hired to ease residents’ burden

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: 12.11.2021

The state health department has allowed junior doctors to be hired to reduce the burden of resident doctors in their second year of post graduate courses at government-run medical colleges. Resident doctors had gone on strike recently, claiming that shortage of manpower in civil hospitals due to the delay in new admissions to post graduate courses has significantly increased their workload.

“To meet the shortage, the government has decided to look into the demands to hire junior doctors. Also, patients have to suffer due to shortage of resident doctors. We will hire doctors for a period of three months or till the new batch joins, whichever is earlier,” stated a notification issued by the department on Friday. The junior doctors will be paid a fixed monthly salary of Rs 63,000 which is inclusive of all other entitlements.

NEET-PG exams for MD/MS admissions are usually held in January, but were held in September due to Covid. While counselling was to commence on October 25, petitions challenging a central government notification stalled the process.

Senior resident doctors (final year students from the 2018 batch) were relieved a few months ago. As a result, hospitals have been managing with only two batches, instead of three. The resident doctors of Gujarat, who recently joined a recent nationwide protest over delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling, have been demanding that they be provided with medical officers to assist them till the new batch joins.

32 Omicron cases in 5 states, all have mild symptoms: Govt

32 Omicron cases in 5 states, all have mild symptoms: Govt

New Delhi:  12,11,2021

A total of 32 Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected from five states so far, accounting for less than 0.04% of the total variants detected, and the patients have so far reported mild symptoms.

While the health ministry had received reports of 25 cases, seven more cases were reported from Maharashtra later in the evening on Friday.

While Maharashtra (17) and Rajasthan (9) have reported the maximum number of Omicron cases so far, Gujarat has three, Karnataka two and Delhi has one such case.

"All detected cases have mild symptoms," Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said while underlining the need to maintain increased compliance of public health measures and ramp up coverage of full vaccination. TNN

Chennai Collector hands over Veda Nilayam to legal heirs of Jayalalithaa following court order

Chennai Collector hands over Veda Nilayam to legal heirs of Jayalalithaa following court order

11/12/2021

New owner: Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa paying her respects to the former Chief Minister during her visit to Veda Nilayam in Chennai on Friday.R. Ragu

Special correspondent CHENNAI

Former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s niece and nephew, J. Deepa and J. Deepak, received the keys of Veda Nilayam, her Poes Garden residence, from Chennai District Collector J. Vijaya Rani on Friday, following a court order.

Ms. Deepa and her husband visited Veda Nilayam on Friday. She later spoke to presspersons about the house needing repair and renovation as it was in a dilapidated condition.

Revealing her desire to live in the house, she also mentioned that they had to clear all the income tax cases first.

“This is the first time I am visiting the house in the absence of my aunt. I was not allowed to visit the house after my aunt died,” Ms. Deepa said, and added that she was surprised by the condition of the house.

“All the furniture used by my aunt has been removed. The interior used to be beautiful. It seems barren and empty. Many elements in the home are missing,” she said, and added that though she used to frequent the place, she had not visited it in the last 10-12 years.

COVID-19 cases could rise next year: expert

COVID-19 cases could rise next year: expert

The nature of Omicron mutations suggests increased efficiency of infection and evasion of antibodies

11/12/2021

The Hindu

There have been many calls for India to devise a policy for booster doses.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI

Coronavirus cases in India are expected to rise by early next year following the experience of Israel and the United Kingdom (U.K.) with the Omicron variant, an expert said at an online discussion on Friday organised by the Ashoka University, Sonepat, Haryana.

India is currently adding a little under 10,000 cases a day and has about 88,000 active cases.

Omicron cases in the U.K. could exceed 1 million by the end of the month on the current trajectory, U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said this week in a statement delivered to the House of Commons.

The online discussion was between Shahid Jameel, Director, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University and Gautam Menon, Professor of Physics and Biology, Ashoka University.

“Before the emergence of the troubling variant of SARS-CoV-2 named Omicron, it was expected that people in India may be able to return to a life similar to pre-pandemic days by early next year, but this possibility now seems distant,” said Dr. Jameel. “The nature of Omicron mutations suggests increased efficiency of infection, transmission and evasion of antibodies and interferon, an early innate antiviral response.” Early lab results from South Africa and Pfizer show a 40-fold and 25-fold drop in virus neutralisation ability of the Pfizer vaccine.

According to various studies, booster shots have shown to increase the number of antibodies and cut reinfection rates. Given these results, it is now time that India devises policies on booster shots and vaccination for children, Dr. Jameel added. “The news of emergence of the new Omicron variant from South Africa is worrying. We will know more in the coming weeks, but what we know so far is that this variant spreads more efficiently and can evade immunity even from an earlier infection of COVID-19 and vaccination.

“There are some positive indications, such as the severity of the illness being possibly less than that caused by Delta variant, but this requires confirmation. In India, it is essential for us to now step up the vaccination programme to vaccinate around 15% of India’s totally unvaccinated adults and also administer the second dose to the remaining population,” Dr. Jameel said.