ரேஷனில் ரூ.2,000 வாங்க மக்கள் ஆர்வம்

ரேஷனில் ரூ.2,000 வாங்க மக்கள் ஆர்வம்

Updated : மே 15, 2021 20:26 | Added : மே 15, 2021 20:13

சென்னை:ரேஷன் கடைகளில், கொரோனா நிவாரணமாக வழங்கப்பட்ட, 2,000 ரூபாயை, அரிசி கார்டுதாரர்கள் ஆர்வமுடன் வாங்கிச் சென்றனர்.

தமிழகத்தில் தொற்று பரவலை தடுக்க அமல்படுத்தப்பட்ட ஊரடங்கால், மக்களின் வாழ்வா தாரம் பாதிக்கப்பட்டது.இதனால், முதல்வராக பொறுப்பேற்ற ஸ்டாலின், 2.07 கோடி அரிசி கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கு, நிவாரணமாக தலா, 4,000 ரூபாய் வழங்க உத்தரவிட்டார்.அந்த தொகை, கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கு தலா, 2,000 ரூபாய் என, இரு தவணையாக வழங்கப்பட உள்ளது.

முதல் தவணையாக, 2,000 ரூபாய் வழங்கும் திட்டத்தை, 10ம் தேதி ஸ்டாலின் துவக்கி வைத்தார். ரேஷன் கடைகளில் கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கு, நேற்று முதல் வழங்கப்பட்டது.நிவாரண தொகை வாங்குவதற்காக, 'டோக்கன்' வழங்கப்பட்ட கார்டுதாரர்கள், காலை, 7:00 மணிக்கே ரேஷன் கடைகள் முன் குவிந்தனர். கூட்டம் சேரக்கூடாது என்பதற்காக, சமூக இடைவெளி விட்டு நிற்கும் வகையில், கடைகளுக்கு முன் வட்டங்கள் வரையப்பட்டிருந்தன.

அதன் மேல் கார்டுதாரர்கள் வரிசையாக நின்றனர்.காலை, 8:00 மணிக்கு கடைகள் திறந்ததும், நிவாரண தொகை வழங்கும் பணி துவங்கியது.விரைந்து வழங்குவதற்காக, கார்டு தாரர்களின் கைரேகை பதிவு முறை தற்காலிகமாக நிறுத்தப்பட்டு, ரேஷன் கார்டு அல்லது 'ஆதார்' கார்டை, 'ஸ்கேன்' செய்வது உள்ளிட்ட பழைய முறையை பின்பற்றி, நிவாரண தொகை வழங்கப்பட்டது.

பெரும்பாலான கடைகளில், நான்கு, 500 ரூபாய் நோட்டுகள் வீதம், 2,000 ரூபாய் வழங்கப் பட்டது. சில கடைகளில் மட்டும், 2,000 ரூபாய் ஒரு நோட்டு வழங்கப்பட்டது. சென்னை உட்பட பல மாவட்டங்களில், காலையில் இருந்து வெயில் சுட்டெரித்தது. அதையும் பொருட் படுத்தாமல் நீண்ட வரிசையில் காத்திருந்து, கார்டுதாரர்கள் நிவாரண தொகையை வாங்கி சென்றனர்.இம்மாதம் இறுதி வரை, நிவாரண தொகை வழங்கப்பட உள்ளதால், அதை வாங்க, டோக்கனில் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ள தேதிக்கு சென்று பெற்றுக்கொள்ளலாம்.

இது குறித்து கார்டுதாரர்கள் கூறுகையில், 'ஊரடங்கால் வேலைக்கு செல்ல முடியாமல், வீடுகளில் முடங்கி உள்ளோம். கையில் பணம் இல்லாத சூழலில், நிவாரண தொகையான, 2,000 ரூபாயை வைத்து, குடும்ப செலவுகளை சமாளிக்க முடியும்' என்றனர்.

எதற்கு இந்த கூட்டம் சேர்ப்பு?

கொரோனாவை அடக்குகிறேன் என, ஒரு பக்கம் முழு ஊரடங்கு அறிவிப்பு; மற்றொரு பக்கம், 'ரேஷன் கடை வழியே 2,000 ரூபாய் கொடுக்கிறோம்; ரெம்டெசிவிர் மருந்து விநியோகம் செய்கிறோம்; காலை, 10:00 மணி வரை கடை திறக்கிறோம்' எனச் சொல்லி, கொரோனாவுக்கு ஆரத்தி எடுத்து வரவேற்பு!

இந்த தவறை தான், அ.தி.மு.க., அரசும் செய்தது. அப்போது வாய்க்கு வாய் வசை பாடிய, தி.மு.க., இப்போது ஆட்சிக்கு வந்ததும், அதே தவறை, சற்றும் பிசகாமல் செய்கிறது. 'வாழ்வாதாரம் போகிறது' என கூப்பாடு போடுவோருக்கு ஒரு வேண்டுகோள்... முதலில் நமக்கு உயிர் முக்கியம்; அதை பாதுகாக்காமல், வாழ்வாதாரம் தேடுவது வீண்; புரிந்து கொள்ளுங்கள்!

Couple ties knot in Toronto, kin gives reception in Ujjain

Couple ties knot in Toronto, kin gives reception in Ujjain

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ujjain:16.05.2021 

Besides swapping plans of a lavish wedding with a simple one, Delhi’s Bagdiya family decided to make the last family wedding of this generation count by giving reception lunch to over 700 residing at Ujjain’s Sewadham Ashram.

Delhi boy Saharsh Bagdiya who found the love of his life in Jelly Ann Narciso, who hails from Philippines amidst the pandemic, decided not to waste time any further and tied knot in Toronto’s Brampton in a simple Hindu ceremony.

The wedding was attended virtually by parents of groom from Delhi, groom's grandmother from Ujjain and relatives from different parts of the country. The wedding also had virtual presence of bride's family from Philippines.

Initially, the family had planned to throw a lavish wedding followed by a grand reception for 700 relatives and family friends from across the country in Delhi, grandmother of Saharsh, Janaki Devi Bagdiya who lives in Ujjain told TOI.

"Without breaking the Covid-19 protocol, we gave reception to over 700 as previously planned. We wanted a lavish wedding as after Saharsh's wedding, the next wedding will take place only after over two decades," she added.

Owing to the scathing second wave of Covid-19, the plans were getting delayed. However, taking a U- turn from the plans, Saharsh who has been working in Toronto along with his higher studies shared his desire of a simple wedding to which the elders of the family quickly agreed. After seeking permission from the government, the newlyweds got married in wee hours as per the Braham muhurt (auspicious timing) at Brampton's Hindu Sabha Temple in a ceremony which encompassed hawan, poojan and other ceremonies which were completed in an hour.

Soon after marriage, Narciso who is a nurse and has been rendering her duties for Covid-19 vaccination drive resumed her duty.

Delhi boy Saharsh Bagdiya married Filipino national Jelly Ann Narciso in a simple Hindu ceremony in Toronto’s Brampton

LONG WAIT Candidates suffer as BU halts jobs under compassionate ground

LONG WAIT

Candidates suffer as BU halts jobs under compassionate ground

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:16.05.2021 

Jobs on compassionate grounds in Barkatullah University (BU) are hanging in the balance due to the ongoing corona curfew. Deserving candidates are forced to wait for long as the decision will be taken about them only after the curfew ends.

Anamika Gurud after losing her husband Nitin Gurud in December 2020 has been waiting for the jobs on compassionate grounds since then. “I am told that my issue was put in the executive council. However, the corona curfew played a spoilsport as the meeting could not be organized after that,” said Anamika.

“I am waiting for the day the curfew ends so the witness process would start again,” she said.

As the situation about her is yet to be cleared, Anamika has launched a YouTube channel on cooking recipes hping to earn some bucks. “It is a small effort. The channel has been liked by several people. If it goes like this soon, I may start some earnings,” said Anamika.

Same was the situation with Saima. She had lost her husband Khalil earlier this year. “I think the process has been started but the corona curfew has turned out to be a big obstacle. I am hoping that the process will resume soon,” said Saima.

The EC had taken up the issue in the previous two meetings. “The decision was to be taken in the following meetings but the Covid has stopped the process as of now,” said a senior official of the university without quoting his name.

When contacted, BU’s registrar HS Tripathi said that 8 such cases were discussed before the curfew was imposed due to corona. “Out of them 4 has been appointed. Process was on for the rest of the cases but the curfew was imposed that has stalled the process. Once the situation clears we would be able to make decisions about other cases also,” said Tripathi.

Even if Covaxin formula shared, not many equipped to make it: Experts

Even if Covaxin formula shared, not many equipped to make it: Experts

Swati.Bharadwaj@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  16.05.2021 

After the loud chorus for vaccine maker Bharat Biotech to share its Covaxin "formula" prompted a top NITI Aayog official to invite interested vaccine makers to come forward, experts say very few players in the country are equipped to manufacture the inactivated virus vaccine.

That’s perhaps what also prompted Biocon’s founder chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to tweet: “Vaccine Makers Invited To Produce Covaxin To Address Shortage -—interested to see how many takers there are.”

“Basically nobody actually wants to deal with or work with live viruses. In the rest of the world, nobody would dare to do it, that’s why most manufacturers go for protein-based vaccines. But in terms of the pandemic, the quickest way to develop a vaccine is to take the live virus and inactivate it,” says the honcho of a leading vaccine company.

Adds vaccine pioneer and Shantha Biotech founder KI Varaprasad Reddy: “Firstly, in a vaccine, there is no formula, its a process and technology. Even if others get it, they will take at least 6-8 months to a year to get acclimatized and start production, as validation of a high containment Bio-Safety Level-3 (BSL-3) facility alone would take 3-6 months. Also, training people to handle live viruses would require at least six months. It’s not a joke.”

Sources point out that even Indian Immunologicals Ltd, which will be manufacturing the Covaxin drug substance, will take at least three months to repurpose its BSL-2+ rabies facility and full-fledged production would begin only after October.

Others like Bharat Immunologicals & Biologicals as well as Haffkine Institute, roped in by the Indian government to make Covaxin, too, would take a few months to set up BSL-3 facilities.

Explaining the need for a BSL-3 facility to make Covaxin, Dr Rakesh K Mishra, former director and now adviser of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), points out that Covaxin requires a large-scale culture facility in a BSL-3 setup for growing live SARS-CoV-2 virus.

NOT AN EASY TASK

People turned away as 12-wk rule for Covishield kicks in

People turned away as 12-wk rule for Covishield kicks in

Alok K N Mishra & Amin Ali TNN

New Delhi:16.05.2021 

Two days after the Centre approved extending the gap between two doses of the Covishield vaccine from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks, many people in the 45+ age group who had booked their second dose on the CoWin portal got a rude shock. They were turned away from vaccination centres across the city on Saturday. They had no inkling of the change and the CoWin portal didn’t in any way reflect it.

Arguments broke out at the vaccination centres with people who had completed 42-56 days after the first dose claiming they had not received any message or mail and should be allowed the second dose. The civil defence volunteers and other officials had a hard time convincing them that they had to go back.

Dilpreet Kaur, a 65-yearold resident of Lajpat Nagar, whose daughter in the US had booked a slot for her, was quite distressed that she would now have to wait for almost a month for the second dose.

She said senior citizens, especially those like her who stay alone, should have been allowed to take their second shot. The change has been brought about following a recommendation by the Covid Working Group, chaired by Dr N K Arora, which had been accepted by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19. It is based on the experience of the United Kingdom.

Ambiguity over whether this was only an advisory ended when people turned up at the vaccination centres on Saturday morning. They were told that they would get the second dose only after they completed at least 12 weeks (84 days). The orders from the central government seemed to have travelled to the Delhi government with lightning speed, bypassing the CoWin portal. It showed no change in the status of people, including many elderly citizens, who had found a slot with great difficulty, travelled some distance and stood in queue.

The Delhi government has been asked by the Centre to ensure that the second dose of Covishield is given at an interval of 12 to 16 weeks. This has been conveyed in a letter written to the chief secretary of all states and Union territories by the secretary, ministry of health & family welfare, Rajesh Bhushan. An immunisation officer in Delhi said officials and vaccinators have been asked to ensure adherence to the revised dosing interval.

Arguments broke out at vaccination centres with people claiming they had not received any message and should be allowed the second dose

Elderly show signs of depression: Survey

Elderly show signs of depression: Survey

Ambika.Pandit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:16.05.2021 

Loneliness and a deepening sense of uncertainty has hit the senior citizens like never before during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, according to the analysis based on interactions with over 5,000 elderly during the past one month by volunteers of Agewell Foundation. It has released data to flag mental health concerns with over 82% of the eldery complaining of anxiety due to rising Covid-19 cases and casualties around them.

Around 70.2% of respondents were found suffering from sleeplessness or insomnia or nightmares due to poor quality of sleep. During the past month, it was also found that 63% of the elderly developed symptoms of depression due to loneliness and social isolation and unceasing stress The analysis is based on feedback collected between April 10 and May 10.

More than half (55%) of the elderly claimed that they are also feeling weak and fatigued due to change in lifestyle, restrictions and other factors. At the same time, over 52% complained of loss of appetite.

Agewell Foundation Founder Himanshu Rath said, “During the past month, there was overall rise of 50% in the number of older people seeking counselling or help for psychological issues.”

These concerns are also reflected in the nature of calls being received by organisations like HelpAge India.

Loneliness and a sense of uncertainty have hit senior citizens during second wave of Covid-19 pandemic

Covid-19 patients can’t have visitors, attenders: DPH

Covid-19 patients can’t have visitors, attenders: DPH

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.05.2021 

The directorate of public health has prohibited visitors or attenders for Covid-19 patients admitted to isolation wards in dedicated Covid care hospitals, institutions and health centres to avoid further spread of the infection.

The order from the director of public health Dr T S Selvavinayagam directs hospitals to set up information desks for relatives to know about a patient's condition.

With increasing number of Covid-19 patients, government hospitals including tertiary care medical college hospitals such as Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital have been asking patient attenders to sit by the patients’ bedsides, in high-infection zones such as Covid-19 isolation wards and intensive care units. A family member sits by the side of patients without adequate PPEs, masks, gloves or face shields and monitors the patient's vital parameters such as saturation levels, feeds them and even walks them to the restroom.

While hospital administrators and doctors quote a shortage of nursing staff, Dr Selvavinayagam said permitting attendants can take infection back into the community. Over the past month, the state has found that 8-10% of fresh infections detected every day were picked up during patient visits or stays. Such attendees can also turn super spreaders when they travel between hospital and home. "If, due to unavoidable circumstances, attender visit or stay is essential, they should follow all Covid appropriate behaviour as directed by the head of the department or health officials. The attender’s health should be protected by giving him or her PPEs,” he said.

Covid-19 has been declared as a notified disease in Tamil Nadu under Section 62 of the TN Public Health Act, 1939 . “Under rule 71 (1) and (2) of the Act, exposure of other people to the infection is prohibited,” he said. While the order does not specify punishments for violation, legal experts say the rules permit the government to punish violators with imprisonment of up to three months or penalise them or do both.

State issues order as data shows 8-10% of fresh infections picked up from visiting patients