Touch-free hand washing system developed

The regional centre of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Institute of Agri Engineering has developed a touch-free hand wash system and portable touch-free hand sanitiser that can be installed at hospitals, markets, malls offices and industries.

According to a press release, the hand wash system has a water tank, photo diffuser sensor, water pump, speed regulator, battery, relay board and touch-free hand sanitiser dispensing unit. When the hand reaches near the sensor, it triggers the pump to turn on. Liquid soap / water goes to the tap. The discharge rate of water and soap can be regulated. This can be run on AC current and there is provision to run it on DC battery. There is also provision to attach solar energy panel.

The hand sanitiser dispenser is a stand-alone unit and a sensor is located near the outlet of sanitiser dispensing bottle.

Details of the products are available at the regional centre on Veerakeralam road.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore – April 28th, 2020

Breast milk bank at CMCH a haven for newborns during lockdown

However, sources claim it has become difficult to procure milk from new mothers from Coimbatore and Tirupur districts due to the lockdown as vehicle movement has come to a standstill.

A newborn being fed milk from the human milk bank at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital | Express
A newborn being fed milk from the human milk bank at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital | Express

Coimbatore :

No mother would want to experience the pain of being separated from her child, especially right after they give birth. However, due to the unusual situation that prevails, women from containment zones who delivered babies at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) are separated from their newborns until they test negative for COVID-19.

This measure has been undertaken to ensure that the newborns are not infected, even as the World Health Organization (WHO) permits new mothers infected with COVID-19 to breastfeed their babies.

The babies are fed milk from the human milk bank at the hospital. The milk bank has proven to be a haven for low-birth-weight babies since its inception in 2015.

Sources said, around 190 low-birth-weight babies in March and 123 babies in April (until 27) have benefited from the milk bank.

CMCH Neonatologist P Senthil Kumar said, “An asymptomatic mother hailing from a containment zone could later develop flu-like symptoms. Thus, we want to make sure that the mothers test negative for COVID-19 before breastfeeding their newborns. If or when the health condition of the mother does not allow her to breastfeed the baby, he or she is given milk from the milk bank.”

Between January and March, about 407 mothers have donated breast milk to the hospital, through which nearly 1,344 babies benefitted, said higher officials from the Department of Pediatrics (Newborn unit).

Another official said the breast milk, donated by volunteers, undergoes bacterial examination multiple times before it is pasteurised at the milk bank.

However, sources claim it has become difficult to procure milk from new mothers from Coimbatore and Tirupur districts due to the lockdown as vehicle movement has come to a standstill.

The usual practice is that lactating mothers store breast milk in containers or storage packs and earlier, they would drop the packets at collection points, from where they would be brought to CMCH.

Amirtham Breast Milk Donation Drive Founder Roopa Selvanayaki (28) said there are around 600 mothers in Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode who are donating breast milk to the milk bank at CMCH.

Roopa said, “As we cannot commute during the lockdown, I coordinated with the mothers from various localities. Then, Neonatologist Senthil picked up the containers from the mothers.”

Besides, Roopa said milk secretion in lactating mothers will not reduce if they donate.

A WhatsApp group comprising of lactating mothers has been formed in order to constantly motivate them to donate breast milk, she added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Deepak Sathish / Express News Service / April 28th, 2020

Volunteering effort by MCC student and his friends nears 1,500 mark

MCCcf24apr2020

Called ‘Chennai Corona Warriors’, they have been distributing provisions to needy families

A. Daniel Riju, a student of Madras Christian College, East Tambaram, and his friends have distributed groceries to around 490 needy families since March 24.

A. Daniel Riju says, “We call ourselves as ‘Chennai Corona Warriors’.Our services are being supported by Milaap, a crowd funding platform. We provide groceries to the poor. We have packing centres at Tambaram, Tondiarpet, K. K. Nagar and T. Nagar to distribute the provisions.”

The group mainly focuses on daily-wagers and visually-challenged people.

The group also reaches out to those referred by Disability Welfare Commission. Students of Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College and Ethiraj College for Women are also part of our group.

The volunteers have catered to the fishing community at Kasimedu. Besides, they have extended help to iron-men and peanut vendors.

A. Daniel Riju can be contacted at 99529 01359.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by T.S. Atul Swaminathan / April 22nd, 2020

‘Corona’ an age-old term, finds mention in Nanjil Nadu dictionary

It denotes a disease affecting the palm

The term ‘corona’, which is now commonplace, thanks to the global pandemic, has been in vogue in Kanniyakumari for ages.

In fact, its use to denote a type of skin disease was so widespread that it found its way into the Nanjil Naatu Sollakarathi (Dictionary of Nanjil Nadu), compiled by folklorist A.K. Perumal.

“In the spoken language, it is pronounced as ‘corona’, but we write the word as ‘corna’. It is a skin disease normally affecting the fingers and palm,” said Mr. Perumal.

Achiammal, an 80-year-old woman who is familiar with the word, said it was used to curse those who tampered with weighing measurements to cheat the customers.

“We would say, kaiyile corona theenam pidikkattum (Get corona disease in your hands),” she recalled. Theenam denotes disease.

Agriculturist Shenbagasekaran said the word was common among traders, particularly among those buying and selling milk and paddy.

“If women notice the milkman trying to tamper with the weighing vessels, they would say, ‘Let your hand get corona’,” he said.

At a time when paddy was given as remuneration instead of money, the word was used to curse the employer if he tried to reduce the amount of paddy.

“In the process it also became more of an imagery. It means that you should be fair when it comes to paying remuneration to workers,” Mr. Shenbagasekaran said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – April 23rd, 2020

The spoken word’s worth

Mockingbirds, the city’s first spoken word/poetry collective, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with online events curated to create awareness on this less-explored art.

Participants at an event held in 2019
Participants at an event held in 2019

Chennai :

To have your voice heard without judgement, to give shape and sound to your thoughts, to get a place under the spotlight (even if it’s only for a couple of minutes), to string words together and perform in front of an audience — for any budding poet and spoken word artiste, to have a conducive platform is essential to grow. Five years ago, when the city lacked such a definite space, a group of friends gathered at a cafe and discussed ways through which their poetry and spoken word can find an audience.

The group, instead of waiting for serendipity, decided to create it and in April 2015, on a summery afternoon, Mockingbirds, the city’s first spoken word/poetry collective was born. In several interviews, Michelle Ann James, one of the co-founders, has often reiterated that the group is built on these lines from the award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird — ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.

They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’. Over the years, the group has diligently stuck to its vision — of providing a platform to budding performers and inspiring expression through versification. “It’s all about poetry for poetry’s sake,” says Michelle. To commemorate their fifth year anniversary, the group recently curated an Instagram live open mic session — of poetry reading in English and Tamil. “We had about 136 people join us for the live session and about 33 active participants. That’s a lot, especially for something as niche as spoken word and performance poetry,” details Michelle.

Growth and adversity

From curating poetry performances in quaint cafes and open terraces to conducting workshops and aiding literary events, the group has slowly yet firmly carved a space for itself in the city. “Back when we started out, Instagram wasn’t a popular medium, so, most events were announced through Facebook and people came to know about us through word of mouth. I vividly remember one of the initial events we had curated. It was at Spaces, Besant Nagar, and we had just one participant. A lot of people had promised to make it but didn’t turn up. We were heartbroken but we kept going,” recalls the word artist. Yet, something constructive was born out of the adversity.

The sole participant who made it to the event — Ishvar Krishnan — eventually became one of the core members of Mockingbirds. “Ishvar experiments with sound, music and words. I remember the first time I met him — he came for the performance with a bunch of papers, nervous, his hands shivering. Now, he has grown, has his own style and audience. That’s what Mockingbirds aims to do — act as a non-judgemental platform for people to explore and grow,” she says. Similarly, Aashika Suresh, another performer who skipped work to attend one of Mockingbirds’ open mic performances has now found her calling. “She is one of our core members. She is now a freelance writer and poet. Our growth as a group has been organic,” says Michelle.

Magic through words

Weaving magic with the inherent music in language and verbal expression, the group has been a force to reckon with. As performers, the group is also informed about their responsibility to give back to society and to raise consciousness. This is perhaps why, most of their events are a free ground for expression — about mental health, politics and whatnots.

As they step into a new year, Mockingbirds aims to become a resource organisation, take alternative ways of interpreting poetry — to understand ideas and concepts — into educational institutions. With the lockdown in place, several online-based events and workshops are scheduled to take place. “Our main commitment is to poetry as a craft. We are also in the process of organising longer workshops and open mics in the coming weeks. We want to receive video entries of spoken word and create an audience for the performers,” she adds. For details, visit Instagram page @mockingbirdsinmadras or send a mail to projectmockingbirds@ gmail.com

UPCOMING EVENTS
Hindi open mic poetry (Insta live) on April 25 from 8 pm to 9 pm. An introductory workshop on Poetry
Appreciation in English by Aswin Vijayan, poet and assistant professor of English, on April 26 from 7 pm to 9 pm. This is a pay-as-you-wish workshop.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Roshne Balasubramanian / Express News Service / April 23rd, 2020