Ever since Jayalalithaa took over the reins of the State again, the eponymous schemes such as Amma Marundhagam, Amma Unavagam and Amma cement have once again come to hog the limelight. Officials, too, seem to be devoting considerable time to popularise these schemes. Recently, the department of cooperative conducted a health camp at Sempattu to create awareness on buying medicines at Amma Marundhagam with 12 per cent subsidy. K.C.Ravichandran, Joint Registrar of Cooperatives, said more such camps would be organised to treat patients and spread the message on subsidies offered at Amma pharmacies.
Of late, cut-out culture has taken deep roots in Pudukottai town. Being a small town with broad streets converging at various intersections all through it, the Samasthanam-era town has numerous junctions which facilitate erection of a large number of hoardings and cut-outs.
While the hoardings hailing the leaders of various political parties try to draw the attention of road-users, the motorists have to be fight hard to retain their focus while driving on the roads in the town.
Industrial safety officials from Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, who took part in a training programme organised in Tiruchi last week, were exposed to how a single slogan on safety could bring about a tremendous change in the approach of workers towards safety at hazardous industries.
A mock fire drill was organised at the training site for the participants. To drive home the significance of safety slogan, C.Gnanasekara Babu Rao, Director of Industrial Safety and Health and Chairman, National Safety Council, Tamil Nadu Chapter, explained the impact of training on workers of match factories in Sivakasi.
The slogan ‘run, run, run’ had been drilled into their heads through safety training and thus the immediate reaction of workers to fire accidents now is to flee from the spot. This helps avoid fatalities during accidents.
At a time when delta farmers are scratching their head over availability of water to meet their irrigation demands for the kuruvai season, there was a conclave in Thanjavur recently that discussed the methods to reduce water for irrigation and increase productivity through the use of bio nutrients.
During the deliberations, the chairman of MAK Group that specialises in aero ground support systems, Athapa Manickam, outlined his vision for the delta farmers in increasing productivity and generating more revenue from their lands.
He emphasised the need for putting the available vast expanse of fertile lands to better use than just concentrating on a mono crop – paddy. Mr.Manickam suggested a model of corporate farming that ensured enormous returns for its stakeholders even as the farmers continue to hold on to their lands. Frugal use of water could lead to better productivity and could infuse heightened confidence among farmers, he said.
Other speakers dilated on value addition of agricultural produce, bettering productivity, mechanised farming, prudent deployment of farm labour, use of modern agricultural inputs, precision or micro irrigation techniques, and bringing about a change in the psyche of the delta farmers to propel them to greater economic heights.
