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TN CM Stalin inaugurates distribution of free houses to SL Tamils

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Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on September 17 virtually inaugurated the distribution of free houses to 1,591 Sri Lankan Tamils in the State in the first phase of the free housing scheme at a function the Sri Lankan Rehabilitation Camp in Melmanavoor village in Vellore.

Accompanied by senior ministers including Duraimurugan and I. Periyasamy, Ministers for Water Resources and Rural Development respectively, Mr. Stalin gave keys of the new houses to five beneficiaries at the rehabilitation camp in Vellore on Sunday as a mark of the event.

He also spoke to beneficiaries including one Sri Lankan Tamil from Salem district through videoconferencing, inquiring about her experience in moving into a new free house provided by the State government. “Now, you [beneficiaries] have got your new house. However, you all should take care of your new house well. That is important,” he told her.

Beneficiaries from 19 rehabilitation camps in 13 districts were visibly happy when they shared their experiences virtually to Mr. Stalin on how they spent many sleepless nights under damaged roofed-houses all these years and how they are happy that they are moving into well-lit concrete-roofed houses. During his interaction with the beneficiaries, Mr. Stalin also asked about their family, especially children, what they study and how many years they stay in the camp.

At present, 19,498 Sri Lankan Tamil families are residing at 104 rehabilitation camps in 29 districts in the State. Under the free housing scheme for Sri Lankan Tamils, 7,469 houses will be built at a cost of ₹342 crore by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) in phases.

In the first phase of the scheme, 3,510 houses at a cost of ₹176.02 crore were built. The first phase of the scheme was launched by Mr. Stalin at a function in Vellore in November 2021. The beneficiaries are residents in 35 camps, covering 20 districts in the State.

Of 3,510 houses in the first phase, 1,591 houses that were built at a cost ₹79.70 crore and were handed over to beneficiaries in 19 camps of 13 districts on Sunday. Among the beneficiaries in the first phase on Sunday, Erode topped with 420 houses (₹21 crore), followed by Vellore (220 houses; ₹11 crore) and Salem (109 houses; ₹13.22 crore).

Under the project, each house, which is 300 sq.ft, has a living room, bedroom with attached washroom and a kitchen. The new house also has free water connection and power supply. In addition, Over Head Tanks (OHTs) are also built in the camps. Each house costs ₹5.85 lakh for the State exchequer. Each camp also gets a community centre, a common children centre for reading and tuition purposes and a fair price shop.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Stalin paid floral tributes to the statue of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, founder of Dravidian movement, in Vellore town to mark his 145th birth anniversary celebrations.

(thehindu.com)

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Card payments for expressway tolls, kick off from today

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The Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation has announced that arrangements are in place to facilitate card payments at the exit gates of the Southern Expressway, Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, and the Mirigama-Kurunegala section of the Central Expressway from today (May 21).

The ministry notes that this service is accessible at 35 interchanges and 119 departure gates along the expressways, and a team of officers has been trained for the purpose.

This program aimed at creating an efficient transportation service in the country is implemented under the government’s digitalization initiative.

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Several services of Labour Dept. suspended for 3 days

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The Department of Labour has announced a temporary suspension of several key services from today (May 21) to May 23, 2025.

A statement issued by the Department says that this suspension is due to urgent maintenance work on its computer database system.

Accordingly, the payment of EPF full benefits (K Applications), payment of EPF deceased member benefits (L Applications), payment of EPF 30% withdrawals, AH registrations, registration of new institutions and amendment of B cards will be unavailable during this period.

The Department further said that, clients who have made prior appointments for these services via the hotline 011 2201201 will be given priority once normal operations resume.

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World-first gonorrhoea vaccine launched by NHS England

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England will be the first country in the world to start vaccinating people against the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea.

It will not be available for everyone. The focus will mainly be on gay and bisexual men with a history of multiple sexual partners or an STI.

The vaccine is 30-40% effective, but NHS England hopes it will reverse soaring numbers of infections.

There were more than 85,000 cases in 2023 – the highest since records began in 1918.

Gonorrhoea does not always have symptoms, but they can include pain, unusual discharge, inflammation of the genitals and infertility.

How many people will choose to be immunised is uncertain.

But projections by Imperial College London show that if the jab proves popular then it could prevent 100,000 cases and save the NHS nearly £8m over the next decade.

Max, a sexual health campaigner, told BBC Newsbeat he would “100%” take the vaccine after being diagnosed with gonorrhoea twice within a year.

“I think this is great that it’s been announced”, he says, adding: “It’s going to take the pressure off the clinics, it’s just a big win all round.”

Vaccination will start in August and will be offered through sexual health services.

Public Health Scotland said it was also working on plans to launch its own programme for high-risk individuals.

BBC Newsbeat has asked health bodies in Wales and Northern Ireland whether they intend to do the same.

Is it effective enough?

This vaccine wasn’t designed for gonorrhoea. It’s the meningitis B vaccine currently given to babies.

But the bacteria that cause the two diseases are so closely related that the MenB jab appears to cut gonorrhoea cases by around a third.

That will require a delicate conversation in sexual health clinics as the vaccine will not eliminate the risk of catching gonorrhoea. It is normally caught while having sex without a condom.

But Prof Andrew Pollard, the chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which recommended the vaccine, said despite it only being 30% effective, it was “worth having” and could have “a huge impact” overall.

The decision is not just about the record numbers of cases. Gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly difficult to treat.

Most cases are treated with a single dose of antibiotics, but there is an 80-year history of the bacterium which causes gonorrhoea repeatedly evolving resistance to our antibiotics.

It’s happening to the current treatments too and is why some doctors are concerned gonorrhoea could one-day become untreatable.

The best way to deal with a drug-resistant infection is to never catch it in the first place.

Dr Amanda Doyle, from NHS England, said: “The launch of a world-first routine vaccination for gonorrhoea is a huge step forward for sexual health and will be crucial in protecting individuals, helping to prevent the spread of infection and reduce the rising rates of antibiotic resistant strains of the bacteria.”

The people most affected by gonorrhoea in the UK are those aged 16-to-25, gay and bisexual men, and those of black and Caribbean ancestry.

The vaccine – which costs around £8 per dose – is value for money when primarily offered to gay and bisexual men, rather than all teenagers.

However, clinicians do have the freedom to use their own judgement and offer the vaccine to people using sexual health services they think are of equally high risk.

People will be offered mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), HPV and hepatitis vaccines at the same time.

Prof Matt Phillips, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said: “This is excellent news and a landmark moment for sexual health in England.

“Gonorrhoea diagnoses are at their highest since records began and this has the potential to help us to turn that around.”

It is not known how long the protection provided by the vaccine will last or how often booster jabs might be required.

The decision comes almost a year and a half after a vaccination programme was recommended by the UK’s JCVI.

Sexual health campaigners had criticised that long wait, but have welcomed this decision.

Katie Clark, head of policy and advocacy at the Terrance Higgins Trust, called it a “huge win”.

(BBC News)

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