The situation forces new patients to wait for admission
Madurai
Almost all Intensive Care Units (ICU) and oxygen-supported beds in Government Hospitals in the district are filled, pushing new patients to wait for their admission.
According to the details provided by the public health department, only six out of the 345 ICU beds were vacant in the Government Hospitals at 8 p.m. on Monday.
A senior doctor from the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) said almost all the 1,200 beds allocated for COVID-19 patients were occupied. There was not much difference between the ICU and general wards, as many beds in the general wards too have oxygen support.
Protests against ex-chief secretary gain momentum, as Sterlite to start oxygen production
Vedanta-owned Sterlite plant was shut down in 2018 due to environment violations. Activists fear Girija Vaidyanathan’s appointment would result in the activated plant to flout regulations again
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The Sterlite plant: The police firing in Thoothukkudi pertaining to the Sterlite protests in May 2018 had occurred during the tenure of Girish Vaidyanathan as chief secretary of the state
When Tamil Nadu is battling to convince the Centre not to divert oxygen to other states and the state health department is racing to maintain oxygen availability, the recent appointment of the former chief secretary of the state, Girija Vaidyanathan, as expert member of the National Green Tribunal, has come under the radar once again.
2021-04-27 14:35:45 GMT2021-04-27 22:35:45(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
NEW DELHI, April 27 (Xinhua) India s top court on Tuesday permitted mining company Vedanta to operate its shuttered copper plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu for production of medical oxygen amid the shortage across the country under a severe wave of COVID-19 outbreak.
The apex court said the oxygen production unit will function on a stand-alone basis and that Vedanta will not be allowed to access the copper or the power plant on the premises.
The court described the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases as a national crisis . Vedanta can open the plant only to produce medical grade oxygen, the court said. The order is passed only in view of the national need for oxygen. The order will not create any equities in favor of Vedanta.
Coimbatore: The Railway Suppliers Association and Coimbatore Compressor Industries Association (COCIA) have written to chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami requesting him to reconsider the decision to shut down Tuticorin Sterlite plant permanently. They said closure of the plant since May 2018 has led to refined copper production coming down by 50%, which in turn has led to prices of the metal to shoot up by 85% recently.
The associations said before the lockdown copper price was at Rs 380 per kg, however since then it has spiked to Rs 712 per kg, a hike of 85% within a year.
“This month alone, price has increased by 21% and banks estimate that the metal price will reach Rs 1000 per kg,” said COCIA president M Raveendran. “While closure of the Sterlite plant had lead to refined copper production to fall by more than 50%, import of the same increased by 120% in 2018-’19, and further increased by 70% in 2019-’20,” he said.
Kamal Haasan hopes to lead a third front for polls
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MNM founder criticises DMK and AIADMK at the party’s founding day celebrations
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MNM founder criticises DMK and AIADMK at the party’s founding day celebrations
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Sunday attacked the DMK and the AIADMK, alleging that they were both “corrupt” and there was little difference between them. He said he hoped to lead a third front.
Addressing the party’s founding day celebrations at a private engineering college near Chennai, he said DMK president M.K. Stalin kept stating that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was only doing what he had said.