Saturday, September 24, 2016
‘Point of Sales’ machines installed at ration shops in salem
Paperless sales of PDS goods to commence on July 1
With installation of ‘Point of Sales’ (POS) machines at all ration shops in the district, District Supply Office has taken steps not only to ensure transparency in sale of PDS goods but also to eradicate bogus cards.
Inaugurating the sale through the POS machine at a ration shop at Chettinaickanpatti near here on Tuesday, Collector T.N. Hariharan said that the POS machines were installed at all the 1,035 ration shops in the district.
Feeding ration card details, Aadhar numbers and mobile numbers of 6.26 lakh ration card holders was being done, he said.
Already, several ration shops had fed these details into the system and commenced sale. This work would be over at all shops by the month end, and paperless sales would commence on July 1.
To know more about the new system, the public could visit the official websitewww.tnpds.com, he said.
These machines would provide real time details of ration goods.
With this facility, the authorities would know the exact quantity of items sold at all ration shops. Bogus cards would be eliminated as the smart cards issued to ration card holders would have all biometric information.
District Supply Officer N. Johnson said, “When the card is swiped at a ration shop, the connected data base will get updated with inventory records. No bills will be given to buyers. But they would get SMS detailing the quantity of products they bought, sale prices and products to be purchased instantly.”
Salesmen would get information like distribution, stock position and goods in transportation.
Once a load was taken out of the godown, details of dispatch would be sent to the salesman concerned immediately.
‘A’ register and supply register were uploaded in the machines.
The salesmen’s workload would come down considerably.
Separate user name and password were given to each salesman.
So, only the concerned salesman could handle a particular machine. These POS machines were hooked on to servers in TNCSC godowns and computers in the Collector’s office for instant and effective monitoring.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Home to Perumal temple, Thalamalai is trekkers’ paradise too
It takes around 3 hours to trek the 4 kilometre route up the mountain
The Arulmigu Thaana Valarntha (Suyambu) Perumal Temple perched atop the Thalamalai hill, 75 km from Tiruchi, receives a significant number of visitors during the Tamil calendar month of Purattasi, which started on September 17 (Saturday), this year. With a natural spring called ‘Ramar Sunai’ and a landscape filled with herbs, Thalamalai attracts not only worshippers, but also trekking groups.
Situated on the Tiruchi-Namakkal highway, Thalamalai (altitude: 2400 to 2700 feet), which earned its name due to its resemblance to a human head, can be approached from three different points from the city.
The most commonly used track is from Neeliampatti village in Thathaiengarpet Block, favoured for its less steep climb. Sanjeevipuram near Elurpatti (Thottiyam Block) will lead to the peak of the hill where the temple is situated. The third route is from Vadavathur village from Erumaipatti Block of Namakkal District.
“It is not an easy climb, because of the harsh scrubland and the uneven track. Trekkers should try and make it up the hill before 9 a.m. to avoid harsh sunlight,” J. Ramanan, architect and a qualified mountaineer who serves on the advisory board of Trichy Trekkers, told The Hindu . It takes around 3 hours to trek the 4-km route up the mountain.
Among the more unusual (or scary) sights here is that of devotees literally bracing themselves by their feet on a narrow outcrop of the temple’s outer wall to complete their rituals, unmindful of the sheer drop of 2000 feet below. “Perhaps people in a religious trance are able to do this without fear, but we do not encourage trekkers to try this out,” said Ramanan.
S. Damodaran, founder-director of non-governmental organisation Gramalaya, said Thalamalai would benefit from better access roads and electricity connections. “Most of the worshippers are senior citizens or those with young children. A road from Neeliampatti village could help transport those who cannot walk up the stony path,” he said. Last year, a Gramalaya campaign drew 6,500 signatures from the public petitioning for road access from the Government.
