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The Hindu
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Malabar Devasom Board employees to stage token protest
The Kerala State Temple Employees Coordination Committee has threatened strong protest measures if the issues faced by the employees of the Malabar Devaswom Board (MDB) are not addressed soon. A token protest will be held at 11 a.m. on July 21, marking the 31st anniversary of the 1994 Kerala High Court order that led to the formation of the board. V.V. Sreenivasan, chairman of the Coordination Committee, pointed out that none of the directions in the High Court order—apart from the formation of the Board—had been implemented by the State government, despite the political changes over the years. The temples under the MDB still follow the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, instituted during the British era, while other Devaswom Boards in the State follow different legislation. As a result, employees under the MDB are denied many of the benefits enjoyed by their counterparts in other boards. This has led to several disputes over the wage structure of MDB staff. Meanwhile, a comprehensive Devaswom law framed by the State government eight years ago is yet to be implemented. The coordination committee had staged a 64-day-long protest a few years ago, which failed to achieve the desired results.
The Hindu
12-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
SIMS Hospital performs India's first combined TAVR and aortic graft surgery in a redo heart procedure
: SIMS Hospital, Chennai, has successfully performed India's first combined transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and Frozen Elephant Trunk (FET) graft procedure on a 61-year-old patient from Mumbai. This marks the country's first hybrid cardiac surgery of its kind – remarkable as it was performed on a patient who had already undergone a complex Bentall procedure 11 years ago. The 10-hour marathon surgery involved stopping the patient's heart for two hours, and placing him on a heart-lung bypass for over four hours. Despite the immense complexity, the surgery was completed without any complications. The patient spent two days in the ICU and was discharged on the eighth day. 'I feel much better now and am looking forward to a full recovery,' he said. The patient's deteriorating tissue valve and dangerously dilated aorta posed significant risks, necessitating this dual approach. The surgery combined the minimally invasive TAVR with the FET technique – where a special graft replaces the diseased aortic arch and descending aorta. V.V. Bashi, director, Institute of Cardiac and Advanced Aortic Diseases, SIMS Hospital, called it a historic success, highlighting the precision, innovation, and collaboration involved. 'This dual-stage, single-sitting approach is a first in India. It reflects how far cardiac care has come,' he said. Mohammed Idhrees, senior consultant, cardiothoraic surgery at the hospital, added, 'This was one of India's most challenging cardiac cases, but the patient's strength and the team's planning made recovery smooth.' 'New era' Ravi Pachamuthu, chairman of the hospital, said this landmark procedure brought in a new era in cardiac excellence, reaffirming advanced patient-focused care.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Catering unit found serving food to Railways sealed after health officials seize stale food from kitchen
The health wing of the Kochi Corporation raided and sealed a catering unit reportedly serving food on trains, including Vande Bharat, near Kadavanthra here, after finding large quantities of stale food and its kitchen in unhygienic condition on Wednesday (May 14, 2025). Brindavan Food Products operating in the Elamkulam division of the Kochi Corporation had been under the health wing's scanner for a few months following public complaints and had been served multiple notices before. It was found to be operating without the requisite licence issued by the Corporation. The latest action followed a complaint by residents of a colony in the vicinity of the catering unit on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) night. They complained of unbearably bad odour from a godown and the workers' quarters in the neighbourhood of the firm. 'We found nearly 50 kg of stale chicken, seemingly months old, in the godown. It was almost impossible to stand anywhere nearby. Those in charge of the firm took it away after spraying disinfectant. I also asked the health inspector to take immediate action, following which the canteen was raided today [Wednesday],' said Antony Painuthara, Elamkulam division councillor. The health officials found printed food containers suggesting that the catering unit supplied food on trains. 'We have sealed the unit, and a report will be filed with the Corporation secretary. They [operators] will have to obtain the licence, set up facilities for treating wastewater, and then file a fresh application with the secretary to get the firm open again,' said V.V. Suresh, senior public health inspector of the Corporation. Reportedly, no authorised person from the catering unit was around during the raid to receive the mahazar or other relevant documents. The firm had been served with notices in the past for operating without the requisite licence and wastewater treatment plant. Wastewater and food waste were being dumped into a nearby canal linked to the Punchathodu canal. It was also fined ₹10,000 for allegedly dumping waste into the canal a month ago. M.G. Aristotle, the United Democratic Front (UDF) parliamentary party secretary, accused the Corporation of being apathetic in tackling a serious issue like food safety. A prime example of that attitude was a mobile food quality test lab received more than a year ago under the Corporate Social Responsibility fund, lying idle, he said. Later in the day, the UDF staged a protest in front of the mobile food lab. Railways slap fine The Southern Railway has slapped a fine of ₹1 lakh on the catering firm, Brindavan Food Products, for lapses reported in cleanliness standards, and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been advised to take stringent action. Besides, a high-level committee of senior officers comprising Divisional Commercial Manager (Thiruvananthapuram), Health Officer (Thiruvananthapuram), and Area Manager (IRCTC) has been constituted to conduct an inquiry, a release issued here said. This, the statement said, was following media reports on supply of old/expired food by a base kitchen being run by the catering contractor of the IRCTC and the Railways near the Ernakulam station as found during inspection by health officials of the Kochi Corporation. Though the unit was having Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Certification licence, the Corporation authorities claimed that the Kitchen unit was operating without a commercial licence and did not have a sewage treatment plant (STP). Meanwhile, the IRCTC has said that arrangements had been made to ensure uninterrupted and hygienic food supply to passengers of mail/express trains, and major corrective steps were also being taken to maintain the standards of hygiene and food quality, the statement added.
