Jaya constantly monitored; Kerala Guv, CM visit hospital

October 11, 2016

Chennai, Oct 11: With Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa continuing to receive treatment, a stream of high-profile visitors, including Kerala Governor P Sathasivam and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, today visited the Apollo Hospital and enquired about her health.

The hospital, where the AIADMK general secretary was admitted on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration, said she was "constantly being monitored".

"Prof Dr G Khilnani, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), visited Apollo Hospital again on October 9 and 10 and examined Honourable Chief Minister," the hospital's Chief Operating Officer, Subbiah Viswanathan, said in a release.

Khilnani, part of a three-member AIIMS panel which had examined Jayalalithaa last week, had discussions with the hospital's expert panel and "concurred with the present line of treatment" being given to the chief minister, the release said.

Jayalalithaa continues to be under treatment and "is being constantly monitored by the intensivists and other consultants in the expert panel", it added.

Necessary respiratory support, antibiotics, nutrition, supportive therapy and passive physiotherapy were being given to her, the release said.

Earlier, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who visited the hospital yesterday, described Jayalalithaa as a "fighter" and expressed confidence that she would continue to serve the people of Tamil Nadu.

"I am confident that she has a strong willpower and she is always a fighter. I am confident that she will fight back, become normal and continue to serve the people of Tamil Nadu and that is my wish," he told reporters after making a "courtesy call" on Governor Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan.

Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi also visited the hospital and quoted the doctors as saying that Jayalalithaa "was recovering".

Vijayan, accompanied by Sathasivam, visited the hospital and held discussions with hospital CMD Prathap Reddy.

"We met Dr Prathap Reddy and the other doctors providing treatment to the chief minister. The specialists informed us that she was responding well to the treatment," Sathasivam told reporters.

"Within a short period, she is likely to be discharged and it is possible for her to take charge of the administration. We also pray for her speedy recovery," he said.

Vijayan said the two had come to "convey the collective good wishes of the people of Kerala". Bedi said, she was informed by Reddy that Jayalalithaa was "progressing".

"He said, Amma (as Jayalalithaa is addressed) is under very good care and that she is progressing. I would like to pray for her to keep progressing. I have come here out of absolute respect as a neighbour as Puducherry is Tamil Nadu's neighbour and it is my duty to be here," she said.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK said "all is well" with Jayalalithaa.

"All is well with Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (revolutionary leader mother)," the official Twitter handle of the party, @AIADMKofficial, said.

Party workers and supporters continued to hold prayers across the state at different places of worship for the chief minister's speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, the police today arrested two persons, including a software engineer, for allegedly spreading rumours regarding Jayalalithaa's health.

The Central Crime Branch arrested Sathish Kumar, a software engineer from Tiruchengode, for allegedly sharing such information on his Facebook page.

He "confessed" to his crime, the police said, adding that the arrest was made on a complaint from AIADMK IT Wing secretary G Ramachandran.

Another person, Madasamy, was arrested from Madurai on a complaint from a Chennai resident who alleged that an audio clip, purportedly featuring the voice of a hospital employee and referring to Jayalalithaa's health, was being circulated on the internet.

The two were booked under IPC sections dealing with "wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot" and "statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes," the police said, adding that they were remanded to judicial custody.

Steps were on to nab those behind "spreading rumours" about the chief minister's health, the police said.

Efforts were on to remove such posts from social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp, the police said, adding that 43 cases have been filed so far in this regard.

Such an offence, if proved, was punishable with seven years of imprisonment, the police said and warned the people against indulging in such activities.

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IndiGo offers full waiver on cancellations, reschedule requests for bookings between Dec 5 and 15

News Network

December 6,2025

With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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Average age of school children picking up drugs, smoking habit in 10 Indian cities around 13 years!

News Network

December 13,2025

New Delhi: School-going children are picking up drug and smoking habits and engaging in consumption of alcohol, with the average age of introduction to such harmful substances found to be around 13 years, suggesting a need for earlier interventions as early as primary school, a multi-city survey by AIIMS-Delhi said.

The findings also showed substance use increased in higher grades, with grade XI/XII students two times more likely to report use of substances when compared with grade VIII students. This emphasised the importance of continued prevention and intervention through middle and high school.

The study led by Dr Anju Dhawan of AIIMS's National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, published in the National Medical Journal of India this month, looks at adolescent substance use across diverse regions.

The survey included 5,920 students from classes 8, 9, 11 and 12 in urban government, private and rural schools across 10 cities -- Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Ranchi. The data were collected between May 2018 and June 2019.

The average age of initiation for any substance was 12.9 (2.8) years. It was lowest for inhalants (11.3 years) followed by heroin (12.3 years) and opioid pharmaceuticals (without prescription; 12.5 years).

Overall, 15.1 per cent of participants reported lifetime use, 10.3 per cent reported past year use, and 7.2 per cent reported use in the past month of any substance, the study found.

The most common substances used in the past year, after tobacco (4 per cent) and alcohol (3.8 per cent), were opioids (2.8 per cent), followed by cannabis (2 per cent) and inhalants (1.9 per cent). Use of non-prescribed pharmaceutical opioids was most common among opioid users (90.2 per cent).

On being asked, 'Do you think this substance is easily available for a person of your age' separately for each substance category, nearly half the students (46.3 per cent) endorsed that tobacco products and more than one-third of the students (36.5 per cent) agreed that a person of their age can easily procure alcohol products.

Similarly, for Bhang (21.9 per cent), ganja/charas (16.1 per cent), inhalants (15.2 per cent), sedatives (13.7 per cent), opium and heroin (10 per cent each), the students endorsed that these can be easily procured.

About 95 per cent of the children, irrespective of their grade, agreed with the statement that 'drug use is harmful'.

The rates of substance use (any) among boys were significantly higher than those of girls for substance use (ever), use in the past year and use in the past 30 days. Compared to grade VIII students, grade IX students were more likely, and grade XI/XII students were twice as likely to have used any substance (ever).

The likelihood of past-year use of any substance was also higher for grade IX students and for grade XI/XII students as compared to grade VIII students.

About 40 per cent of students mentioned that they had a family member who used tobacco or alcohol each. The use of cannabis (any product) and opioid (any product) by a family member was reported by 8.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent of students, respectively, while the use of other substances, such as inhalants/sedatives by family was 2-3 per cent, the study found.

A relatively smaller percentage of students reported use of tobacco or alcohol among peers as compared to among family members, while a higher percentage reported inhalants, sedatives, cannabis or opioid use among peers.

Children using substances (past year) compared to non-users reported significantly higher any substance use by their family members and peers.

There were 25.7 per cent students who replied 'yes' to the question 'conflicts/fights often occur in your family'. Most students also replied affirmatively to 'family members are aware of how their time is being spent' and 'damily members are aware of with whom they spend their time'.

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