GENRE: LN

May is usually the busiest month in the arts and science colleges of Chennai as applications start pouring in, entrance exams are held and the admissions process gets going in full steam. Not this year.  Thousands of Class 12 students are still awaiting exam results, while some are even waiting to complete the examinations. Students studying for their Bachelors or Masters degrees are yet to write semester exams and the near future looks uncertain as COVID-19 cases continue to rise and the lockdown gets extended. What are colleges in Chennai planning to do in this situation? While government colleges and…

சென்னையில் கொரோனா தோற்றால் மாய்ந்த மருத்துவர்களின் உடல்களை புதைக்க மற்றும் எரிக்க விடாது செய்த மக்களின் மூர்க்கத்தனம் தொடர்ந்து இருமுறை நடந்தேறியதானது சமீபத்தில் எல்லோரின் மனதிலும் வலியையும் வேதனையையும் ஏற்படுத்தியதும், அது பரபரப்பான செய்தியாகி அரசு நேரடியாக தலையிட்டு அதற்காக அவசர சட்டமியற்றும் அளவிற்கு சென்றதும் அனைவரும் அறிந்ததே. கொரோனா நோய்த்தொற்றால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை உயர்ந்து கொண்டே வரும் தற்போதைய சூழ்நிலையில் மருத்துவர்கள் மற்றும் சுகாதாரத்துறை பணியாளர்கள் சேவைச் செயல்பாட்டின் முன்னணியிலிருந்து தம் உயிரைப் பணயம் வைத்து தம் சக மனித உயிர்களைக் காக்கும் அரும்பணியில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர்.  குடிமக்கள் அனைவரும் அவரவர் வசிக்கும் பகுதிகளின் ஊரடங்கு விதிகளுக்குட்பட்டு வீட்டுக்குள்ளேயே இருக்க,  உயிர்காக்கும் உன்னத களத்தில் உணவு, உறக்கமின்றி, காலநேரம் குறித்த கவலையின்றி, தங்கள் குடும்பத்தினர் குறிப்பாக குழந்தைகளிடம் பேசக்கூட வாய்ப்பின்றி,  கடமையே கண்ணாகக் களமிறங்கி இவர்கள் பணியாற்றி வருகின்றனர்.  இந்த மகத்தானப் பணியில் ஈடுபட்டு  உலக அளவில் 200 க்கும்…

Lockdown relaxations in Bengaluru As Bengaluru (Urban) is categorised as a red zone district by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), relaxation in restrictions from May 4 will be minimal here unlike districts categorised as orange and green zones. However, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, S Suresh Kumar, said Bengaluru will not be completely locked down, and that economic activities would restart in wards that do not have containment zones. He said restrictions will be more in the 24 containment zones in the city. State government has also categorised wards within the city as red, orange and green zones…

Partial relaxation of lockdown Karnataka government has announced partial relaxation of lockdown from the midnight of April 23, so as to mitigate hardships faced by the public. An official order issued by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar explained that some select activities would be allowed outside COVID-19 containment zones. Public transportation will remain suspended till May 3. Only private vehicles with passes for emergency services and for commuting to workplaces and back, will be allowed. Construction activities will be allowed for Metro rail projects within the municipal corporations. Meanwhile, IT and ITeS (IT-enabled services) will be allowed to work…

A few residents across the city have started planning to axe venerable Illupai trees also known as the Indian Butter Tree (Madhuca longifolia) in their neighbourhood. One such tree stands majestically at 2nd Cross Street, Karpagam Gardens. It was declared as a heritage tree in 2015 due to its age and rarity in the city, by the Greater Chennai Corporation, facilitated by K.S. Kandasamy, then Deputy Commissioner Works, and Nizhal, a Trust for tree conservation. This gruesome thought seems to have been triggered by a WhatsApp message by a news channel with the misleading headline ‘In a First, Coronaviruses found…

“How would you feel if someone took a picture of your misery? I can’t even refuse the food though, because I am very hungry,” Manjunath, a 38-year old former sugarcane vendor said. Manjunath used to do quite well, earning Rs 700-1000 a day. But he was evicted during a BBMP drive last month, after cholera cases were reported in the city.  “The same corporator and police officials who made us jobless, now come with mobile cameras, give us some packet of food worth Rs 20 and take pictures. They barely talk to us, or even come close to us. They…

April 15th is the day that marks the beginning of the annual 60-day trawling ban in Tamil Nadu. A ban that restricts fishermen with mechanised boats from venturing into the sea. A ban that sees fewer boats getting into the sea along the coastline of Chennai. Not this year! The Bay of Bengal was abuzz with activity on the 15th when scores of fishermen (mechanised boats are still banned) sailed into the sea after 21 days of the first phase of the nation-wide lockdown. While the lockdown was extended for another 18 days, the central government’s move to exempt fishing…

COVID-19 testing scaled up The number of tests for COVID-19 has been scaled up by five times, said Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K. He said that earlier, 200-300 real time RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests used to be conducted in the state everyday. This has been increased by around five times, to 1500 tests per day. Given the rate at which the disease is spreading, Karnataka needs to further ramp up testing but is ill-equipped for this, said health experts. There is shortage of PCR machines, testing kits, biosafety level-2 labs, and trained technicians. Sources admitted that the…

Workers building Namma Metro are facing a severe crisis due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Despite the central government’s order to all states to ensure that wages are paid during the lockdown period, the companies and contractors involved in Metro work have not paid most workers their salaries for February and March.  The construction of Metro Rail’s Yellow Line was stopped overnight on the day of the lockdown, and workers were asked to leave the construction site without any prior notice. Unless urgent action is taken by BMRCL and concerned authorities, thousands of workers will be directly affected and the secondary…

COVID-19 has put the spotlight back on Bengaluru's government hospitals. When COVID-19 cases started to be reported in the city, authorities rushed to ensure that these hospitals were cleaned up and prepared to deal with the situation. But on an average day, how well-maintained is an average government hospital in the city? These hospitals are all spruced up now, but how do we ensure this becomes the norm? First, let's see how hospitals are supposed to be maintained. The Centre's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has issued several guidelines on this. Most recently, this January, the National Centre…