Demonetized currency: After Tirupur sisters, it’s a 92-yr-old

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

26.12.2019

Coimbatore: A month after two septuagenarian sisters from Tirupur drew media attention for saving ₹46,000 in demonetized notes, it has now come to the light that a nonagenarian granny from the same district had saved ₹33,500 in banned notes.

The granny, R Kamalammal, 92, has been saving the money for more than two decades, one of her family members said. Due to old age, she was unable to remember the amount of money she had saved.

When TOI contacted her on Wednesday, Kamalammmal was unable to say when she had started to save the money and what she had intended to do with it.

Her son R Gopal, 64, said she must have started saving from the income she used to get from the houses they had let out for rent at Ganapathy. “She had saved ₹100, ₹500 notes and also notes of lower denominations such as ₹1,” he said.

When around a year ago, Kamalammal was shifted from the house she was living at Ganapathy to Gopal’s house at Kondayampalayam near Keeranatham, they found the notes hidden inside her old clothes in an almirah, Gopal said. “She had saved the money by hiding it in between her saris. She had tied the notes with strings. My daughters found it when we were moving her almirah,” Gopal said.

However, he said, when they had inquired for what she had saved the money, she was unable to answer. “We also tried to tell her that the old currency notes had no value now. But all she said was she did not remember saving the money,” he said.

Kamalammal’s husband Rajuvadu passed away a few years ago. She has three children, two daughters and a son. She now lives with her son.

Last month, it had come to light that K Rangammal, 75, and her younger sister, P Thangammal, 72, in Tirupur, had saved ₹46,000 in demonetized notes for their last rites and medical expenses. Later, the Tirupur collector offered them old age pension.

SAVING FOR NOTHING: R Kamalammal had been saving for more than two decades

Numbers that lure to kill

Villupuram Family Suicide Due To Mounting Debts, Exposes Underbelly Of Illegal Lottery Trade In TN

D Govardan & R Gokul | TNN  26.12.2019

“For every single case of AIDS detected in India, hundreds go undetected,” said noted physician and microbiologist Suniti Solomon, in the early 1990s. It was this remark that came to one’s mind, when news about the death of a five-member goldsmith family in Villupuram came to light less than a fortnight ago, after the family head had run up huge debts due to his addiction to the ‘three number’ lottery.

“Stop this ‘three number lottery’ menace. At least 10 other families could be saved in this town,” Arun’s video appeal, minutes before he consumed a cyanide-laced drink after giving it to his three daughters and wife, shook social media. The deaths indicate that more than two decades after the sale of lottery was banned in Tamil Nadu, the illegal trade is thriving, not just in Villupuram but across the state. Such a trade cannot sustain without the connivance of police.

“It is because five members of a family died in this case, it attracted a lot of attention. There are many other cases that go unreported. It is time to put an end to this menace,” said P V Ramesh of Makkal Paadhukaappu Kazhagam, a human rights organisation from Villupuram.

For a section of people in Trichy, illegal lottery remains an addiction despite this ruse leaving addicts in severe financial distress and pushing a few debt-ridden to end their lives. “Though the probability of winning is low, addiction forces them to squander their hard-earned money with the false hope of taking in bulk returns one day,” said an addicted customer on condition of anonymity. His friend, who has run up a ₹20 lakh debt, nods in silence.

The nexus between police and illegal lottery agents is evident, with 11 police officers, including three inspectors and three subinspectors, being transferred to armed reserve police in June 2017, following the arrest of illegal lottery kingpin S Manoharan in Trichy.

The transfers were made after senior police officers chanced upon a list of policemen receiving bribe from lottery sellers.

While police crackdown once in a while brings down sales for a few weeks, the same people resume their business after coming out on bail. “All assistant commissioners have been instructed to crack the whip on the illegal lottery sale in the city. We have got some inputs about the key persons and they will soon be arrested,” said Trichy city police commissioner, V Varadharaju.

The illegal business continues unabated in Villupuram, despite the district police boasting about having nabbed several people involved in the trade.

Mannan (name changed), 25-year-old graduate, became addicted to lottery around six years ago. “I got closer to local agents, through whom I got to know the main agent, ‘Reddiyar’ of Villupuram. After gaining his faith, I turned into an agent. Now, I collect a minimum of 500 sets of numbers (tickets) from my 50 regular customers daily. For every ticket, I get a commission of ₹5,” he said.

According to a special branch police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, there used to be a competition among policemen to get posted in Villupuram town, west and east police station limits, as the region used to command huge sums of money as bribe from arrack and spurious liquor business.

“After that trade was curtailed, the number lottery has become the mainstay and policemen continue to vie for postings there,” the officer said. In Coimbatore, diehard lottery addicts were known to take a 50km bus ride to Kerala to buy lottery tickets legally. Now, police say several gangs have set up base in the area. Police have busted at least six such networks in the past two years and arrested more than 15 people. But the network is well oiled comprising agents, sub-agents, and local agents who visit various places to collect money from people.

“They had worked in lottery shops in Kerala and learned the tricks of the trade before starting here,” said a police officer.

Tickets from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bhutan are also sold in the state. “The three number lottery is not just an addiction from Kerala. I am told it is quite popular in Malaysia too, where workers from Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts have migrated, many of them lost heavily over there too. They retain their addiction when they return home. If it is taken to the attention of the CM, I am sure he will put an end to this menace, just as J Jayalalithaa did to sale of spurious liquor in the 1990s,” says Siva Elango of Satta Panchayat. Sooner the better, since the numbers keep changing by the day.

(With inputs from Karal Marx, V Mayilvaganan and V Devanathan)

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Insurance firm to pay ₹22L to family of accident victim

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:26.12.2019

An accident claims tribunal in the city has directed an insurance firm to pay ₹22.26 lakh as compensation to the family of an accident victim who was killed by a rashly driven truck near Madipakkam ten years ago.

Parents of D Suresh, Dhamodharan and Visalatchi moved the petition seeking a compensation of ₹35 lakh for the death of their son. A rashly driven truck hit their son’s two-wheeler. In the impact, Suresh fell off the bike and the truck ran over his head, killing him on the spot, according to the petition. The deceased was 25 years at the time of the accident and was working as a driver.

After perusing the submissions and documents, the tribunal held that the accident was due to the rash and negligent driving by the truck driver. Noting the young age of the deceased and that he was the only son of the couple, the tribunal computed various factors including loss of dependency, loss of affection and arrived at a compensation of ₹22.26 lakh.

Of the total amount, the mother and father are entitled to an amount of ₹11.13 lakh each, the tribunal said and directed the insurance firm to deposit the amount within two months.

In another order, the tribunal directed the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC)- Kanchipuram to pay ₹5.57 lakh to a pedestrian who was injured after he was hit by a TNSTC bus near Padappai five years ago.

The petitioner, A Murali who runs an eatery on a push cart was returning home along with his push cart, when a rashly driven government bus hit him from behind. He was 52 years at the time of the accident and because of the injuries he suffered 30% disability according to the regional medical board.

Though the corporation countered that the pedestrian was at fault, the tribunal went by the FIR and other records and held that their bus is responsible for the accident and directed the corporation to pay the compensation.

The tribunal computed various factors including loss of dependency, loss of affection and arrived at a compensation

New Year cheer: Expect some rain in Jan

NE Monsoon Extending Till January

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:26.12.2019

The city’s residents are likely to ring in the New Year carrying umbrellas or wearing raincoats. The weatherman says an extended northeast monsoon could bring cloudy skies and light rain in January 2020.

“This time northeast monsoon is extending to January and because of that, we can see light rain in the coastal districts in the first week of the month,” said N Puviarasan, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.

Weather bloggers too have forecast rainfall in January.

“There is some light rain expected around new year for Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chennai and there is also some rain in January first week,” Pradeep John posted in his online update.

This, according to experts, is because of the flow of the easterlies, which normally begins to decline by December.

While meteorologists said it is normal for the monsoon to extend beyond December, this year the southwest monsoon, which was supposed to begin withdrawing in September, ended only by mid-October. The southwest monsoon withdrawal, which takes place over a month, was rapid and northeast monsoon began within a few days by October 16.

However, the rain forecast for early next month may not make up much of the monsoon deficit in the city. As of Wednesday, Chennai has recorded 613.3mm rain so far this monsoon season against the average 740.4mm, leaving a deficit of 17%.

“The rain next month could bring down the deficit by one or two percentage points, not more than that. It could last for four or five days,” an IMD official said.

For the next 48 hours, IMD has forecast the sky condition likely to be generally cloudy and light rain likely to occur in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 30 and 25 deg C.

IMD had forecast light rain for the last two days, but the city only recorded a trace — around 2mm of rainfall. These conditions, experts said, are likely to continue till the end of this year.

Mahesh Palawat, chief meteorologist, Skymet weather, said a cyclonic circulation in the Comorin region extending up to southern Tamil Nadu could bring moderate rainfall in southern districts and isolated spells in the northern districts of the state for the next two days. “Chances of rain around New Year are very slim,” he said.

Since there was no rain and the sky was clear, the temperature touched 30 degree Celsius on Wednesday while it was around 26 degree Celsius on Tuesday because the sky was cloudy and there was a drizzle.

A met official said temperatures will fall only if the day is cloudy.


BE RAIN-READY: Weathermen said Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur will receive rain in the first week of January

At Broadway bus terminus, hawkers crowd out passengers

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:26.12.2019

The Broadway bus terminus, which sees at least 50,000 passengers arriving or leaving by the 700 to 800 services every day, is under siege from hawkers. People selling vegetables and fruits have virtually taken over the terminus, crowding out commuters from the waiting areas and shrinking the space for the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) to park its buses.

The hawkers also leave behind mounds of garbage everywhere, which is hardly ever cleared by Greater Chennai Corporation workers. The rear of the premises, especially, reeks of urine and commuters blame the hawkers and the homeless, at least 200 of whom spend the night at the terminus. Not that the toilets can be used. Everyone uses the compound walls.

The MTC blames the corporation, saying it does little to evict the hawkers, who have encroached the bus bays and even the entry and exit points, or clear the packing material and rotten fruit and vegetables left behind.

Passengers are lucky if they can find an empty seat among the few that can still be used. Elderly passengers waiting for buses are often forced to squat on the floor.

A V S Marimuthu, coconvenor of North Chennai People Rights Federation, said at least 200 people take refuge at Broadway bus terminus at night, and they are largely responsible for the appalling conditions.

“They sleep and attend to nature call inside the facility," he said. Entry of unauthorised persons should be restricted by closing the gates once services end for the day, he added.

At the rear of the terminus, the entire platform has been taken over by pavement dwellers and vendors. Prabhakaran, a resident of Chengalpet, said the poor condition of the facility was akin to Chengalpet bus terminus.

MTC crew say they suffer as much as the passengers. They point out that driving the buses into and out of the terminus, is fraught with danger as people are milliing all around as the waiting areas are overrun by hawkers.

MTC sources charged that the hawkers are ruling the roost with the support of political parties. "There is kneejerk response from authorities when we complain," said a MTC official.

But the hawkers are back the next day, he added.

When contacted, Greater Chennai Corporation officials said raids are conducted on a frequent basis to keep hawkers and vendors at bay.



SORDID SAGA: Hawkers at Broadway bus terminus selling flowers, and (above), a mound of garbage left behind by them

Garbage in every corner, hygiene a casualty at GH

Aarthi N

Chennai:26.12.2019

If there is one thing that needs aggressive therapy at the government’s premier Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital it is hygiene.

On Wednesday, doctors and nurses could be seen chasing away stray dogs that were digging into piles of garbage including hazardous biomedical waste stacked at different places such as staircases and corridors of the hospital.

None of the dogs has collars and most of them depend of food left behind by attendants of patient or visitors. The hospital has more than 3000 in-patients and 15,000 out-patients. It sees at least 50,000 people every day. Although a board says how many dogs have been sterilized, no one is sure about the number of strays in the hospital.

Hospital resident medical officer Dr S K Thirunavukkarasu said Greater Chennai Corporation picks up stray dogs from the campus, sterilises them and drops them back on campus. “We are told that the civic agency is following a government order. It is a big nuisance because they roam about everywhere,” he told TOI.

Although the waste is segregated at source as hazardous and general waste, it often gets mixed up when left beneath staircases for pickup. “This is the area for the patients and visitors to sit. No one is here because it stinks,” said Santhosh S, a visitor.

Another visitor Ranjan V said the management should ensure hygiene. “They tell us to take care of patients because their immune system is not good. Sadly, even hospital isn’t safe enough for them.”

There are 34 points for general waste collection and the civic agency picks them up at least twice every day. About 450kg of bio-medical waste is picked and sent for incineration, autoclave or deep burial.

Hospital dean Dr R Jayanthi said the hospital has been making appeals to visitors. “We clean the hospital every day. We also ask visitors to leave the place the way they would like to see it. That doesn’t happen,” she said.

FULL OF FILTH: Bags of biomedical waste kept inside the hospital raise a stink, say visitors

Seven key posts in TN medical varsity vacant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:26.12.2019

At least seven key posts in the state medical university including of registrar, controller of examination and administrative officers remain vacant, increasing risks of delays and slips in administrative work such as affiliation and conducting exams.

The issue triggered a storm during the recent senate meeting of the university where members wanted to know why the government had not appointed a registrar and deputy controller even though a committee had selected two doctors. University officials said the government did not respond to more than a dozen reminders sent from vice-chancellor Dr Sudha Seshayyan’s office since July. When contacted, the vice-chancellor merely said, “all efforts are being made to fill up vacancies. We are also working harder to ensure there are no delays or slips.”

The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University affiliates 24 government medical colleges and 10 self-financing colleges, besides several nursing and paramedical colleges and AYUSH institutions.

Ramkumar Ramamurthy, the Governor’s nominee to the senate and president of the Madras Chamber of Commerce, wanted to know why so many posts were unfilled. “He referred to the discussions at the governor’s retreat for vicechancellors in Ooty, where vacancies to key posts were seen as one of the major reasons for inefficiency,” said a medical college representative, who is also a senate member.

The university has deputed various officials to hold additional charge of key administrative posts. “Neither can they concentrate completely on academics nor can they focus on the administrative work,” said the principal of a medical college. In May, the university advertised for the post of registrar and received applications from several inservice candidates from across the state. On June 17, the panel selected Dr Ashwath Narayanan, who works for Madras Dental College. The decision was approved by the governing council the next day. Along with Dr Narayanan, Dr S Y Jagananthan, currently deputy director of medical education, and Dr Vasumathi of Villupuram Medical College were selected as deputy controllers. Now, all the four deputy controllers posts are vacant.

However, these doctors have not joined as they are yet to be relieved by the directorate of medical education.