Ponmudy gives away compensation

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy on Saturday gave away compensation of Rs. 1 lakh each to the kin of four persons who died in rain-related incidents in Villupuram district.
He said that 13 persons died in the district in wall collapse, drowning and electrocution. Chief Minister M. Karuanidhi had ordered for Rs. 1 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased under the natural disaster and social security schemes, and for the houses damaged at the rate of Rs. 2,000 each.
Later, Mr. Ponmudy, accompanied by Collector R. Palanisamy, inspected the Manimuktha Dam at Sankarapuram from which 10,000 cusecs of water was being released.
Though Sitheri at Kallakurichi was getting copious flow because of faulty sluices, water could not be released. Mr. Ponmudy directed the officials to repair the sluices without delay and keep the storage at a safe level.

Army airdrops food to flood-hit Cuddalore

CUDDALORE/TIRUCHI: Cyclone Nisha, which brushed past Tamil Nadu coast near Karaikal in Puducherry brought in its wake destruction and death, taking the toll due to heavy rains in the last four days to 51.
With rains lashing several districts in the north and the delta districts, several villages and vast acreage of crops have gone under sheets of water. The Cuddalore district administration has declared 126 revenue villages as rain-hit and has set up 96 relief centres to house the displaced.
A team of 40 commandos from the defence base at Arakkonam assisted in relief activities, including air-dropping of food packets in Thirunaraiyur and Nandimugam in Cuddalore district. The commandos rescued people trapped in flood-hit regions in the two hamlets with the help of 21 boats.
Meanwhile, in the delta districts, the cyclone left a trail of damage, isolating submerged villages from rest of the state. Orthanadu in Thanjavur received record rainfall of 65 cm in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Thursday. According to officials 1.24 lakh hectares of paddy crops were submerged in Thanjavur district and 70,000 people were evacuated to safer places.
The state government has urged the Centre to despatch a team to assess the damage caused by heavy rains. Announcing a Rs 100-crore relief package in the first phase, chief minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday said immediate relief works would be taken up in the flood-hit coastal districts across the state.
Chief secretary K S Sripathi said as many as 1.35 lakh people had been affected in 1,380 revenue villages. A total of 54,525 people had been provided shelter in relief camps. Nearly 1,000 huts had been damaged completely and 2,000 huts partially.
The government had provided food packets to more than a lakh people and the administration had opened up 242 relief centres. Karunanidhi announced that Rs 1 lakh each would be given as solatium to relatives of those killed in rain-related incidents. About Rs 2,000 would be given as compensation to the huts that were damaged fully or partially.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Veeranam lake in Cuddalore district touched 46.5 feet and administration ordered that water be released and people living in vulnerable areas around the lake be evacuated to safer places. Similarly Villupuram district administration also directed for the immediate release of water from Manimuktha and Komugi dams and alerted those residing in vulnerable villages to move to safer locations.

Minister Ponmudy and Pushparaj M.L.A. inspects rain-hit areas in Villupuram, Tindivanam

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy and Collector R. Palanisamy on Friday visited rain-affected areas in Villupuram and Tindivanam.
Mr. Ponmudy went to the main bus stand at Villupuram and held a discussion with officials on draining the water that had stagnated there. Later, he went to Dr. Wahab Nagar and Municipal Employees’ Colony in Tindivanam, which were inundated.
He directed the officials to take speedy measures to clear the sewerage and prevent water-logging. He proceeded to the Veedur dam that was surplussing because of heavy flow. To maintain storage level well within control, the authorities had been releasing 6,000 cusecs from the dam.
Mr. Ponmudy instructed the officials to keep a close watch on the water level and ensure the safety of standing crops downstream.
MLAs V. Kannan and S. Pushparaj, Villupuram Municipal Commissioner R. Janakaraj, Tindivanam Municipal Commissioner Bhoopalan and officials accompanied the Minister.
On Thursday, Mr. Palanisamy inspected the flood situation at Soorapattu on the Villupuram-Tiruvannamalai Road and Pilloor, where temporary causeways were washed away. The Collector said that calls on toll free phone number 1077 were being attended immediately.

Hundreds of villages inundated

NAGAPATTINAM: Through there was some respite from rain after nine days on Friday, people continued to suffer as flood water is yet to drain in Nagapattinam district.
With breaches reported in almost all the rivers, hundreds of villages are waterlogged and over 3.74 lakh people are staying in the relief centres opened at 641 places in the district. Ten people were killed in the last three days. Principal Secretary to the Government Leena Nair is camping at Nagapattinam overseeing the relief operations with District Collector M Jayaraman.
Speaking to reporters, Leena Nair said Mudikindanaru and Arasalaru in the district were in spate and people of several nearby villages had been evacuated to safety. DRDA Project Officer Arunmani was overseeing the PWD operation to plug the breaches in the rivers in the district, she said.
Collector Jayaraman said the Chief Minister had ordered the administration to expedite the flood relief measures.
“According to preliminary estimates, the total loss in Nagapattinam district has been estimated at Rs 331 crore. Samba crops in 1.32 lakh ha have been damaged. Banana, vegetable and other crops have been affected in 1,010 ha,” said the Collector.
Jayaraman said the rain has claimed 10 lives in the district and the kin of the dead have been provided with Chief Minister’s solatium of Rs 1 lakh each.
PUDUCHERRY: The restoration of power supply, that was cut off for the past two days following heavy rains and gale, has bought some respite for the residents here, but the opening of Veedur dam in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu is causing a new concern for them.
The Veedur dam, now at 30ft against its capacity of 32 ft, has been opened and water will pass through the Sankarabarani River to Puducherry and hence there is a threat of damage to Puducherry. Similarly, of the 84 tanks in Puducherry, 83 are overflowing including the Ousteri lake, said the Revenue department officials. Three lakh food packets have been distributed to the rain-affected people who have been housed in marriage halls and schools.
The distribution will continue on Saturday too.
Meanwhile, political parties from Puducherry have sought rain relief for distribution among the affected people in the Union Territory. Puducherry Munnetra Kazhagam MLA K Lakshminarayan on Friday urged the government to distribute Rs 3,000 cash relief and 30 kg of rice each to the affected families. The CPM has sought a relief of Rs 2,000 and 25 kg of rice each for the affected families. In a statement, V Perumal, secretary of the local party unit, said farmers, daily-wage earners and labourers had been severely affected by the rain.
DHARMAPURI: Dharmapuri district collector P Amudha has issued a flood alert in villages situated in low lying areas near Vaniyar dam and appealed to the people to vacate and move to safer places.
According to PWD officials, since the dam, 55 km from here, is filled to its capacity of 65 ft, the surplus water is being released since Thursday evening.
A team of officials consisting of PWD and Revenue officials were deployed to monitor the situation in Vaniyar Dam, she added.
CUDDALORE: Cyclone Nisha has been a blessing in disguise for students in Cuddalore as they made quick money with sickles and axes removing uprooted trees in residential areas and other places.
The cyclone has uprooted nearly 2,000 trees in Chidambaram, Vriddachalam, Kattumanar Koil and Cuddalore.
As the trees were raised on soft soil they could not withstand strong winds and the torrential rainfall for past six days. The cyclone has destroyed about 2400 houses completely and 13,083 partially.
S Santhosh Kuma (15) of Cuddalore Municipal Higher Secondary School said schools were closed on Monday and so along with some schoolmates they were engaged in cutting the uprooted trees. He added that they were making Rs 200 to 400 per day as pocket money for the past three days and they used the amount to buy household articles.

Rain claims 10 lives in State

CHENNAI: Ten people were killed as heavy rain lashed the coastal areas of the State, inundating crops and forcing fishermen to stay ashore.
The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard struggled to patrol the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay as the choppy seas threw up waves that hit hard the sides of small vessels.
M. Naina Mohamed Natchiar (65) died when she came in contact with a live electric wire at Kilakarai. K. Santhi (26) and her niece Mahalakshmi (10) were killed when a wall collapsed on their hut at Naidupuram in Kodaikanal.
K. Amirtha Mari (55) of Sathankulam was killed in a wall collapse in Tuticorin district. Six persons, including two girls and two boys, a fisherman were reported killed in Cuddalore and Villupuram.
Over 100 boats were damaged on the Ramanathapuram coast at Mandapam, Pamban, Rameswaram and Tiruppalakudi. Over 200 families in Ramanathapuram and Rameswaram were evacuated to safer places. One Indian fishing boat was reported to have sunk near Kachchatheevu, after it failed to negotiate a huge wave. Fishermen on board were rescued by another boat in the vicinity, according to the Coast Guard. It put off repatriation of fishermen from Sri Lanka because of the weather.
Cyclone warning flag No 3 had been hoisted at Pamban and Cuddalore as the wind velocity was recorded at 55 to 65 km per hour.
Due to gusty winds, Southern Railway regulated the Madurai-Rameswaram passenger at Pamban on Monday night. The production at Neyveli dropped to a fourth of its installed capacity.
Dams were nearing their full capacity in the southern districts on Tuesday. Several rivers in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts were in full flow and tanks in many of the districts were getting filled up.
As 506 PWD tanks in the district were getting filled up, officials opened the Ramanathapuram Big Tank and the Sakkarakottai tank to drain surplus water into the sea. Breaches were reported at some places in smaller tanks. Paddy crop was found submerged at several places but farmers were hopeful that the water would drain in a few days.
Generally cloudy weather has been the forecast with one or two spells of shower/thundershowers for the next two days.
Rain continued to pound delta districts on Tuesday, disrupting normal life and causing widespread inundation of paddy crop. The core delta districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts bore the brunt. In Nagapattinam, up to 20,000 hectares may have been submerged, officials said. However, an assessment of damage was at a preliminary stage.
About 32,000 hectares of late thaladi and 25,000 hectares under samba, planted late in the district due to scarcity of water, might be affected by the heavy rain and possible flooding from the upper reaches. Crops submerged
Standing samba and thaladi paddy crops in several parts of Thanjavur district, particularly in Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Thiruvaiyaru, Tiruvidaimarudur and Orathanadu blocks were submerged in the continuous rain since Monday night. Samba paddy crop has been raised on about 1.05 lakh hectares and thaladi paddy crop on about 25,000 hectares in the district. Revenue and Agriculture officials said the crops would not be affected if the water drained quickly.
System tanks in Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Thanjavur districts under the River Conservation Division of the Public Works Department, Tiruchi Region, have been receiving heavy inflows. Of the 187 tanks under the division, 50 have reached full capacity.
The capacity of the Veeranam tank is being maintained at 45 feet as against its full level of 47 feet. As much as 2,200 cusecs of water was being discharged.

Rain claims 22 more lives, control rooms set up in affected areas

CHENNAI: As many as 22 people were killed, mainly in coastal districts, in the rain following the recent development of a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, officials said.
Schools and colleges remained closed and normal life was affected because of the heavy rain since morning.
Thanjavur and Cuddalore reported five deaths each, Chennai three, Ariyalur and Dindigul two each, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Tiruvarur, Villupuram and Tuticorin one each.
A fishing boat was missing off Pulicat near 20 fathoms area and another off Rameswaram. Chief Secretary K.S.Sripathi requested the Eastern Region Coast Guard to conduct search operations to locate the two boats and the fishermen.
Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi will chair a meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday to take stock of the situation. Local Administration Minister M.K.Stalin convened a meeting of top officials and the police on Wednesday and they briefed him on the emergency steps taken.
Mr. Stalin wanted them to carry out relief operations and directed them to ensure that coastal districts were well equipped with grains, clothing and medicines.
A central control room is functioning from Chennai and regional control rooms have been established in the affected areas to convey immediately the needs of the affected areas.
While a few Ministers and MLAs toured the coastal districts of the State on Wednesday to present a first-hand account to Mr.Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister’s Office maintained close liaison with the district administrations and is moving in personnel in places where there is a need.
Since the monsoon began on October 15, as many as 64 persons have lost their lives. More than 3,000 huts have been damaged and 121 heads of cattle perished. Relief amounts have been handed over to the next of kin of 42 of the 64 families.

Caste Hindus never mingled with us

CHENNAI: Dalit students of Dr Ambedkar Law College trace the source of the unending tension on their campus to the persisting caste atrocities in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, where they face discrimination and oppression at the hands of caste Hindus.A majority of students from both the groups that clashed on Wednesday hail from these districts.When the caste Hindu students try to extend the same domination over Dalits in the campus too, the latter, who came to the city in the hope of getting some relief from the oppression, resent the attitude and oppose it.“When we enter the college, we feel we have been empowered.As we study law, we delude ourselves into thinking that nobody can ill treat us on the basis of our caste,” said a group of fourth year students, who were close to the Dalit students named as accused in Wednesday’s incident.Some of the accused - Chitraiselvan of Tiruvarur, Tanjore district; V Govindran and P Govindan of Dharmapuri district; Balamanigandan of Cuddalore; Jayakumar of Tiruvannamalai; Dilipan Joe of Villupuram; and S Prabhakaran of Dharmapuri - bore the brunt of caste atrocities in their villages. “From day one, the caste Hindu students loo ked down upon us and will not even mingle with us,” they said.Recalling an incident, a Dalit classmate of Bharathi Kannan, a caste Hindu who was injured in the clash, said: “When I touched his food plate in the canteen, he flew into a rage and shouted and flung the plate away.” The attitude is not confined to students alone. The entire college, including members of the faculty, display similar behaviour.“The professor will address you pointing out your caste identity and sometimes even there will be a lecture supporting the caste order,’’ said a student.The caste problem starts at the hostel. “According to hostel rules, Caste Hindus and Dalits should share rooms. But when I approached a caste Hindu student and asked whether I could share a room with him, he insulted me,” said a third year student from Cuddalore district. They prefer staying with caste Hindus only, he added.“Last year, caste Hindu students staged a protest demanding that Backward Classes be allowed to stay in a separate block.When the warden refused it, around 30 BC students left the hostel. But they successfully deflected the blame on us, accusing us of driving them out.” There are 30 students from the Backward Classes and other religions staying with 100 Dalits.“False cases such as homosexual harassment were foisted on us,” the student said.

All-time high ticket checking earnings

TIRUCHI: Over one crore people travel by trains every day across the country. And yet the increase in revenue of the Railways year after year unwittingly reflects a rise in the number of ticket-less travellers as well, notwithstanding the deterrent measure in the form of imposition of penalty as punishment on passengers travelling without tickets or without a proper ticket.

The provisions made in the Railway manual to put a check on ticketless travellers has evidently fallen short of serving the desired purpose. A tangible indication is the collection of a penalty amount of a whopping Rs. 21.12 lakh accruing from ticketless travellers and unbooked luggages during October alone by the Tiruchi Railway Division.

Intensive ticket checking

Incidentally, it was an all time high ticket checking earnings in a month. A total of 125 ticket checking staff, 15 Railway Police and 10 Railway Protection Force personnel were involved in the intensive ticket checking drive round the clock during the entire month in all express and passenger trains at Tiruchi Junction, Tiruchi Fort, Srirangam, Lalgudi, Ariyalur, Vriddhachalam, Villupuram, Pondicherry, Budalur, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuturai, Cuddalore and Tiruthuraipoondi Railway Stations. A total of 8,140 cases were booked, according to Railway sources. Besides augmenting the revenue of the railways, such a drive has enabled the people with tickets to travel more comfortably.

Drive to continue

The intensive drive will be continued, the sources added.

Over 1.75 crore ticketless travellers in the country face the music of the authorities every year, railway sources said.

Postal services in Puducherry to get a fillip

PUDUCHERRY: Postal services will soon get a major fillip with the Department of Posts identifying two post offices for upgrading under the Project Arrow programme, an initiative to reach out to the common man. A business cell would also be established in the Head Post Office on Rangapillai Street for promoting premium products.

Post offices in Bahour and Mudliarpet have been included in the second phase of the Project Arrow programme of Department of Posts, Senior Superintendent of Posts, Pondicherry Division V. Santhanaraman told The Hindu. Two post offices at Villupuram and Ginjee, that comes under the Pondicherry Division, have also been included.

The post offices selected would go through a complete makeover in terms of look, feel and IT-enabled services. Upgrading computer facilities, improvement in delivery of products, customer-friendly staff, spruced up interiors and exteriors and a new slogan were some of the salient features of the initiative, he said.

The Ministry of Communication would be spending Rs.5 lakh on modernisation of each of the post offices. These four post offices have been selected as they had been operating from their own buildings, Mr. Santhanaraman said.

The post offices would be provided an information kiosk and an internet facility for the customers to register complaints. They could also get to know the status of their complaints online, he said.

The department also planned to establish a business cell, exclusively to deal with premium products such as Speed Posts, Business Posts, Express, parcel services, money transfer and sale of re-charge cards.

A separate counter was being constructed inside the Head Post Office to offer premium products under one roof. The Ministry of Communication had sanctioned Rs.12 lakh for providing facilities in the business cell, Mr. Santhanaraman said. The business cell would become active by the end of November.

Once it becomes active, customers could call up the Head Post Office to collect Speed Post from their house or office.

A group from the department had been given training to handle customers seeking premium products in a better way, he said, adding that some of the operations would also be outsourced.

On an average, the Pondicherry Division collected around Rs.25 lakh through its premium products every month, he said.

Its overall business had shown a steady increase in the last three years. While the division collected Rs.1,174 lakh during 2006-07, the amount touched Rs.1,436 lakh in 2007-08. In the last six months during the current financial year, the division collected Rs.800 lakh through various services, Mr. Santhanaraman said.

A major share of its revenue had come from foreign money transfer and parcel services to foreign countries.

On an average, more than 3,000 Western Union money transfers were done from its division every month, he said.

Baalu's meeting with Ramadoss revives hopes of DMK-PMK tie-up

Chennai (PTI): A recent meeting of senior DMK leader T R Baalu with PMK founder S Ramadoss has revived the hopes of an alliance between the parties. The DMK snapped ties with the PMK, its poll partner in 2004 Lok Sabha polls and 2006 assembly elections, in June this year, following an 'outburst' by a senior PMK leader J Guru against the DMK leaders in a series of public meetings.

Ramadoss, confirming the meeting held at his residence at Tindivanam two days ago, told reporters that Baalu told him that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK Chief M Karunanidhi wanted both the parties to work together.

"I told him a decision on this will be taken at a meeting of PMK leaders soon", Ramadoss said. Baalu told him that the issues between the parties could be settled if he met Karunanidhi and had an 'heart to heart'talk, Ramdoss said adding that whenever he got the opportunity, he would meet the DMK Chief. On the Sri Lankan issue,he said Karunanidhi had been issuing "contradictory statements" on the matter.

Ramadoss, who is the father of Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, said he was not satisfied with the steps taken by the Centre on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. Earlier, TNCC President K V Thangabalu called on Ramadoss. The Congress leader described the meeting as a 'courtesy call'.

Forest officials rescue monitor lizards

Puducherry, Nov 4 Forest and wildlife department officials in Puducherry have rescued monitor lizards, which were being caught by poachers, at Villianoor near Pudhucherry.

An official source said the monitor lizards were rescued from two persons, hailing from Villupuram district, and the reptiles were allegedly caught from the hilly area in Kedar village in Tamil Nadu yesterday.

The monitor lizards were normally purchased by bar attached restaurants and cooked as dishes for the consumers. Each lizard was reportedly sold at a cost of Rs 400 or Rs 500 depending upon the meat content.

Acting on a tip off from local people, the forest officials rescued two monitor lizards which were stocked in a restaurant at Villianoor last week.(Agencies)

Rs. 18 lakh collected for Sri Lankan Tamils

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy said on Saturday that it has been proposed to collect a sum of Rs. 1 crore in the district towards the Sri Lankan Tamils Relief Fund.

In the past two days, he had mobilised Rs. 18 lakh from various sections of society and handed it over to District Collector R. Palanisamy. Mr. Ponmudy told the reporters that cheques and demand drafts could be drawn in favour of ‘Sri Lankan Tamils Relief Fund’ and handed over to the Collector or the designated officials.

The Collector had made special arrangements with the banks so that the latter would not collect any commission either on cheques or demand drafts. While the Collector would issue temporary receipts for the contributions, regular receipts could be obtained from the Revenue Department in course of time, Mr. Ponmudy said.

Besides cash, the people could also contribute new clothes, including dhotis, lungis, sarees, readymade garments, blankets and bedspreads.

They could also hand over medicines to the district administration.

Educational institutions such as Siga Education Trust, Vikkiravandi Suriya Engineering College, Mayilam Engineering College, and Venkatachalapathi Engineering College had contributed Rs. 1 lakh each.

The faculty of Sruiya Engineering College had donated their one day salary amounting to Rs. 13,500. MLAs, elected representatives of local bodies and party functionaries should also make liberal contributions, Mr. Ponmudy said.

Rough sea keeps fishermen ashore for fourth day

CUDDALORE: Fishermen in the district have not ventured into the sea for the past four days owing to the unusually rough sea.

Incursion of seawater is another factor worrying those living along the coast. The affected areas include the Silver Beach in Cuddalore. The boulders that constitute a protective wall along the Thevanampattinam coast have to come loose due to strong waves.

According to fishermen, roots of the coconut trees to which they tie their boats had been weakened, forcing them to drag their boats away from the shore, which involved a lot of effort.

But, for want of space, all boats cannot be secured this way.

The fishermen, who were incurring a loss on account of not going out fishing, now faced the additional threat of damaged craft.

In Chinnamudaliyarchavadi village in Villupuram, fishermen complained that seawater was getting closer to their tenements. Collector R. Palanisamy visited the place on Friday and told them that a proposal to construct a 3.5-km long protective wall at a cost of Rs.23 crore would be sent to the government. Another proposal, to place boulders on the Chinnamudaliyarchavadi coast, estimated to cost Rs.40 lakh, would also be sent to the government.

Law college violence: Politics, casteism to blame

The atavistic violence that broke out inside the Dr Ambedkar law College last evening may have brought brickbats to the police who watched all the savagery in embarrassing silence. But sources in the know point out that the police were wary of embroiling themselves in the politics of law students, who have unfortunately gained notoriety for being, er, a law unto themselves.

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The police had been roundly criticised for entering the law college hostel premises a few years back and using lathicharge to quell a clash among the students. After that high-profile incident, the police began to err on the side of caution when dealing with issues pertaining to law college students. Said a senior police official, ‘dealing with lawyers and law students is becoming a ticklish issue for us’. The reasons for the ticklishness, according to him, is rampant politicisation and caste factors. Lawyers and aspiring lawyers in Tamilnadu today are invariably affiliated to some political group. ‘The politicians go out of the way to cultivate them. The entire set up has rotted with murky politics,’ he adds. The scenario among law students is worse. They are hand-picked by political parties and given backing. The law college campus is the most politicised and caste-ridden among all educational institutions, says the police. Almost vindicating this, all the political parties made a beeline to the hospital where the injured are being treated. ‘Caste factors run high in the campus,’ confirms a senior lawyer, who also teaches at the college. ‘Students are riven among themselves on caste lines,’ he adds. Points out social scientist V R Sivasailam this was always on cards. ‘When students are selected on the basis of their caste such extreme manifestation of the same was always going to happen’. Another expert, refers to the inverted vehemence from Dalit students. ‘When they are in a group, Dalit students know that they are on a politically strong wicket. None dare touch them in Tamilnadu. And when they also happen to be law students the chances for mischief are high’. What happened at the law college yesterday was poltics and casteism that have been plaguing Tamilnadu for long. Police are to blame for their inaction. But, in a different sense, they would have been pilloried had they intervened.

Separate office to coordinate functioning of welfare boards

VILLUPURAM: Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy has said that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has ordered to set up a separate office in each district for taking coordinated measures to provide assistance through the welfare boards to unorganised sector workers.

He was speaking at an awareness rally organised here on Tuesday, in which over 15,000 people participated.

Mr Ponmudy said that each office would have 16 officials. He said that when he was Labour Minister in 2000, the welfare boards for the unorganised workers existed only in three cities, with a total membership of 25,000.

Now, the membership in 24 welfare boards had crossed the one-crore mark.

Under the Moovalur Ramamirtham Marriage Assistance Scheme, education qualification of Standard X had been fixed. However, under the welfare boards, no such precondition had been fixed for the workers for availing themselves of benefits, including Rs. 1 lakh for decapitation and death.

Mr. Ponmudy said that in Villupuram, 8,79,478 members had been enrolled so far in various welfare boards, including 6,6,366 farm labourers, 1,024 folk artists, 64 tribals and 50 narikoravas.

He gave away assistance of over Rs. 2 crore to 5,963 beneficiaries.

Revenue and Housing Minister I. Periasamy said the rally indicated that people were fully aware of the welfare boards and their functioning. He would direct officials in other districts to organise such rallies.

Fisheries Minister K.P.P. Samy dwelt at length the rehabilitation measures taken up for the coastal community.

Collector R. Palanisamy, District Revenue Officer R. Kathiravan, MLAs T. Udayasuryan, V. Kannan, K. Thirunavukkarasu and A. Angayarkanni and other officials participated.

Contributions to the tune of Rs. 20 lakh, including Rs. 5,000 from the Press Club, were made towards the Sri Lankan Tamils Relief Fund. With this, the Villupuram district has donated Rs 47.79 lakh, besides a tonne of rice.

Anti-filariasis drive in Villupuram

VILLUPURAM : As part of the intensive drive against filariasis, over 27 lakh people in Villupuram district will be administered anti-filarial drugs from November 19 to 21.

Villupuram is one of the 14 districts in Tamil Nadu where filariasis is endemic.

The other districts are Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Tiruchi, Perambalur, Kanyakumari and Chennai Corporation (64 wards).

Preventive measures

At a review meeting held here recently, Villupuram Collector R. Palanisamy focused on preventive measures to be taken up by the Health Department. Deputy Directors of Health Krishanaraj (Villupuram) and Geetha (Kallakurichi) and other officials attended the meeting.

Filariasis, a vector borne disease, was caused by a thread-like parasitic worm, that used to disfigure legs and arms by swelling.

However, with annual dosage, the spread of disease could be checked.

The required dosage is as follows: between two and five years – one dethylcarbamazine (DEC) tablet (100 mg) and one albendazole tablet (400 mg); between six and 15 years – two DEC tablets and one albendazole tablet, and between 16 and 60 years – three DEC tablets and one albendazole tablets.

However, children below two years, adults over 60 years, sick persons and pregnant women should not take the tablets.

At the doorstep

The district administration would depute 12,852 personnel, including health workers, anganwadi workers, members of self-help groups and voluntary organisations to deliver the drugs at the doorstep.

It is targeted to cover 14,27,655 people in the Villupuram health division and another 13,51,016 in Kallakurichi health division.