The Hindu             02.12.2013

Amma canteen helps with hygiene at GH

More than a week after an Amma canteen was opened at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH), there is visible difference in the hygiene condition on the hospital’s premises. Unlike earlier, fewer people consume food inside the hospital wards.

“The number of those consuming food inside the wards and in the corridors has reduced after the canteen has opened here,” said a doctor at the hospital.

Apart from patients’ attendants and visitors, hospital workers too have been found making a beeline to the canteen that was opened on November 20.

“I used to spend at least Rs. 30 on lunch, a few days of the week, or eat at the hospital canteen. Now, I get lunch for Rs. 5 and this helps save a lot of money,” said Lakshmi (name changed), a hospital contract worker.

Another hospital worker said the canteen does not have parcel service and discourages people from bringing containers to take away food.

A member of the canteen staff said several hospital workers and security guards consume food at the canteen. “Initially, hospital workers did not want to wait in the queue citing the limited time available for lunch. But now, we have persuaded them to stand in queue and get tokens,” he said.

He said on an average, at least 600 to 700 persons come to the canteen every day. For instance, on November 28, the canteen sold 6,411 idlis, 1,053 plates of pongal for breakfast, 938 plates of sambar rice, 532 plates of curd rice and 308 plates of lemon rice for lunch, according to officials of the Chennai Corporation

The GH receives 12,000 out-patients every day. It has 3,000 in-patients, and their attendants and visitors constitute a sizeable population.

“Sometimes, a patient gets five visitors and the number goes up if the patient is here for a surgery. Most of these visitors sit in the corridors and consume food. They end up dirtying the place. The situation has changed to a large extent now. Maintaining the cleanliness of the hospital has become easier,” said V. Kanagasabai, dean of GH.

Deccan Chronicle        26.11.2013

100 and going strong

Chennai: Often referred to as Chennai’s own White House, the historic Ripon Buildings, where the city corporation has its headquarters, turns 100 on Tuesday.

One of the most loved landmarks of the city, located close to the Chennai Central Railway Station and opposite the Park Railway Station, it was built on November 26, 1913.

Both  beautiful and spacious, the heritage structure has rooms with ceilings so high that they measure 22 feet from the ground. The space this provides helps  keep Ripon’s interiors cool, notes former chief engineer of the city corporation, A. Swaminathan, recalling that during the early ’70s not many would even use a fan in its rooms. 

“ Only after the partitions came did the officials start using fans and later air conditioners. Even today it is the best eco- friendly building with better storm water drains than many parts of the city,” adds  the officer,  who served the corporation for 34 years.

Reflecting  Indo-Saracenic architecture, Ripon was built by Loganatha Mudaliyar and  took more than three years and  Rs 7.5 lakh to complete.  The 132 ft  tall building with corridors running over 252 feet,  was declared open by the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, Charles Hardinge.  

“It might be a little hard to believe but Ripon’s  clock tower is as tall as the rest of the building and is believed to be one of the biggest of its kind in the country. While the building is 30 meters tall, the clock tower adds another 28 meters to it,” says a senior corporation official.

While Ripon today has modern trappings like airconditioning, experts warn that it could suffer  damage because of them in the long run .  

“The civic body  has to bear in mind that the air conditioning inside Ripon could spoil the lime work in due course of time,” says Muzakkir Bijli, associate professor, Measi Academy of Architecture, explaining that the difference in temperature within and around the building created by the air conditioning could cause the lime plaster to peel off eventually.