Doctors stress healthy lifestyle and regular check-up to prevent strokes in young adults

Doctors stress healthy lifestyle and regular check-up to prevent strokes in young adults

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 29.10.2024

Sedentary lifestyle, hypertension and diabetes, and substance abuse are some of the key factors leading to rising incidence of stroke among young adults, said doctors from Kauvery Hospital at a webinar, part of The Hindu’s Wellness Series, held on Monday.

Explaining the issue, Sivarajan Thandeswaran, senior consultant, stroke and neurovascular medicine, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, said 23% of all intracerebral haemorrhages and 16% of all subarachnoid haemorrhages occurred in people aged between 15 and 49. He said diabetes and hypertension were both common risk factors. Many adults who have high blood pressure do not know they have it, and monitoring and keeping blood pressure levels in check is one of the easiest ways to prevent a stroke, he pointed out. Obstructive sleep apnea and stress were the other factors, both of which should not be ignored, he emphasised.

“Women have a slightly higher risk of stroke compared to men,” Dr. Thandeswaran said.

G. Jos Jasper, head of brain and spine surgery, Kauvery Hospital, Tiruchi, said the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns had contributed to an increase in sedentary lifestyle and eating unhealthy food, the effects of which still lingered. On the surgical management of strokes, he said nearly 80% of patients only needed medical management and did not require surgery. Dr. Jasper said that surgery was done only in cases of very large blocks, in young patients, worsening clinical status despite medical management, and bleeds even after administration of clot-dissolving drugs.

S. Senthil Babu, senior consultant, neurosurgery, Kauvery Hospital, Tirunelveli, gave an overview of the surgical management of haemorrhagic stroke.

To watch the full webinar, visit: https://bit.ly/48riYav

Airfares on Chennai, Bengaluru sectors soar in festival season

Airfares on Chennai, Bengaluru sectors soar in festival season

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI 29.10.2024

If people had a last minute plan to come to Madurai for Deepavali celebrations and return to Chennai or Bengaluru, they would have to pay through their nose for both airfares and private bus fares. Only those who were lucky can manage to get tatkal tickets for train travel for the next few days.

Despite a good frequency of flight services between Chennai and Madurai — eight flights a day by Indigo and one service by Air India — airfare for the journey from Chennai to Madurai is ₹15,000 on October 29 and ₹12,000 to ₹18,000 on October 30.

“Only business class tickets are available in Air India and it will cost around ₹33,000,” said N Sriram, a travel agent. Airfare for Bengaluru-Madurai is around ₹12,400 on Tuesday and ₹16,500 on Wednesday.

Madurai has got four flight services to and from Bengaluru daily.

The airfares for the return journey from Madurai on both the routes are also on the higher side.

“This is only because Indigo is flying only ATR flights, which can accommodate only 72 passengers,” said another travel agent, B.S.G. Mustafa.

Madurai has been the highest revenue-generating sector for the airliners in the entire country.

“Despite the longer distance between Chennai and Mumbai, the airfare on that route is only a little over ₹5,000. Airline operators do not want to lose the revenue during the festival season and make the most of the demand,” he added.

The travel agents, however, said introduction of Vande Bharat expresses from Bengaluru and Chennai to/via Madurai had given a good option to travel during festival season. The fare is only ₹1,200 for chair car and ₹2,300 for executive chair car.

A railway official said some 144 seats were available till Monday evening in Chennai Egmore — Tirunelveli Vande Bharat train for October 30. “Southern Railway has introduced several special trains to clear extra passengers. But, all the trains, besides the regular trains, are full,” he added.

Even the train on demand had got good patronage.

The only option available before the passengers was tatkal and premium tatkal tickets for relatively cheaper travel, when compared to omni buses which are charging up to ₹4,200.

Teachers’ association appeals to Governor over non-payment of salary to temporary staff of BDU

Teachers’ association appeals to Governor over non-payment of salary to temporary staff of BDU

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 29.10.2024

The Association of University Teachers has appealed to the Governor-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University to intervene on behalf of temporary teachers and staff whose salaries have been withheld for a year.

In a letter to Chancellor R.N. Ravi, the association pointed out that 116 temporary teachers and staff of erstwhile constituent colleges have been working without salary for a year. The university ignored four directives in this regard from the Higher Education Department, said AUT president M.S. Balamurugan.

He said the genesis of the issue of constituent colleges from the year 2006 till the time the department converted constituent colleges into government colleges. When the proposal was implemented, the university absorbed 34 permanent teachers.

The government advised the university to pay salaries to 49 teachers appointed on hourly salary basis, 33 guest lecturers and 34 non-teaching staff of the 10 erstwhile constituent colleges appointed by the university when it launched courses without the government’s approval. The university, however, stopped salary payment to the 116 persons from November 2023, Mr. Balamurugan said.

The university would accept to release the salary but later cite ‘paucity of funds’ for not doing so, the AUT said.

Hearing and speech-impaired govt. engineer need not clear Tamil test, rules Madras HC

Hearing and speech-impaired govt. engineer need not clear Tamil test, rules Madras HC

The court wondered how the petitioner, suffering from 100% hearing and speech impairment, could be expected to attend a viva voce as part of the test.

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI 29.10.2024 

The Madras High Court has come to the rescue of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) engineer suffering from 100% hearing and speech impairment and facing the threat of discharge from service for not having cleared the Tamil language test, which comprises a written examination and viva voce.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh exercised the extraordinary powers of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution and directed the TNHB to exempt the engineer, B. Vidyasagar, serving in the technical cell at the board’s headquarters at Koyambedu in Chennai, from the language test.

The judge issued a consequential direction to the TNHB Managing Director to issue specific proceedings for granting such exemption, within four weeks. He also ordered payment of all increments and attendant benefits that had reportedly been withheld from the engineer for not having cleared the Tamil language test.

“The case in hand depicts the sorry state of affairs that prevails in society while dealing with differently abled persons,” the judge said, and lauded the petitioner for his “grit and determination” in having completed school studies in English, obtaining an engineering degree in 2003, and securing a job in the TNHB in 2014.

Since a Government Order issued on July 9, 1996 states that government servants must clear the Tamil language test and produce a certificate, and it does not grant any exemption to the physically challenged, the TNHB had informed the petitioner that he would be discharged from service unless he clears the test.

Wondering how the petitioner, suffering from 100% hearing and speech impairment, could be expected to attend a viva voce as part of the language test, the judge said that the petitioner’s efforts to get integrated into the mainstream of society should not get disrupted due to his discharge from service.

“The barriers faced by persons with disabilities go beyond just physical accessibility issues, extending to deep-rooted prejudice, stereotypes and misconceptions that pervade many aspects of society,” the judge said.

“A constitutional court must develop an understanding of the societal, attitudinal, cultural, institutional, structural, legal and environmental barriers that persons with disabilities encounter every day. The constitutional court must strive to remove these barriers through its rulings,” Justice Venkatesh said.

RTI documents cannot be marked ‘not evidence’: GIC

RTI documents cannot be marked ‘not evidence’: GIC 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 28.10.2024

Ahmedabad : The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has ruled against the practice of govt departments adding disclaimer stamps on documents provided under Right to Information (RTI). These disclaimers typically state, “Information provided under Section 7(9) of RTI Act in its present form cannot be considered as evidence.” In a recent order, it said that the practice was inconsistent with both state and central govt guidelines. The commission highlighted the procedural dispute after Kalupur resident Pankaj Bhatt approached the commission with documents provided by the city deputy collector (East) office, which bore the controversial stamp. Bhatt challenged the manner in which the documents were certified by a Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Ahmedabad collectorate. 

The documents bore the stamp, “Information provided under Section 7(9) of RTI Act in its present form cannot be considered as evidence”. During the hearing, state’s chief information commissioner, Subhash Soni, noted that this stamping practice contradicted the circular issued by the state govt’s General Administration Department (GAD) on Dec 29, 2015. This GAD order states that each of the pages of the documents provided under the RTI Act should bear the stamp, “Records/Information provided under the Right to Information Act.” In his order dated Oct 16, Soni said, “The PIO must rectify the stamp on all the documents in accordance with the 2015 circular, and all future RTI responses must bear the correct certification.” The order also referred to the Union govt’s department of personnel and training (DoPT) order of Oct 2015. Bhatt, who did not have the original documents during the hearing, agreed to current PIO for proper certification.  

“The copy of any govt records provided by the govt under an Act is authentic. How can any stamp exist which states that they cannot be used as evidence? It is the court of law which decides. Such stamps are illegal and contravening to the RTI Act itself,” Bhatt argued.

NEWS TODAY 28.10.2024

 

Man submits fake NEET cert at AIIMS, held

Man submits fake NEET cert at AIIMS, held 

TIMES OF INDIA 28.10.2024 

Ramanathapuram : Ramanathapuram district police have arrested a 22-year-old man hailing from Himachal Pradesh after he submitted a fake NEET certificate when he tried to join first year MBBS at Madurai AIIMS. Police said M Abhishek of Mandi came with his father Mahendra Singh and submitted documents including his score card and certificate of national eligibilitycum-entrance (NEET) for admission at Madurai AIIMS. However, as the AIIMS administration found his documents to be suspicious, it alerted Kenikarai police. On inquiry, Abhishek confessed to have failed NEET twice and scored only 60 out of 720 marks in his third attempt. Fearing his father would be disappointed, he prepared a fake NEET certificate for submission. Kenikarai police registered a case and arrested Abhishek.