Southern grid gets first flow from Kudankulam.... Happy moment for the Nation

From idyllic settings to boiling cauldron to serving the Nation – Kudankulam has seen it all…….    Half a century ago, this place lying in Tirunelveli district was an obscure place, not known to the rest of India.  It gained prominence after the Nuclear Power station - Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP)  coming up over there.  A Plant of such strategic importance and magnitude did not spring up overnight.    It was signed by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi  and  Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev   on  November 20, 1988  after being conceived in mid 1980s.

In July 2013,  came the good news of  the country’s first 1,000 MW pressurised water reactor at Kundankulam in Tamil Nadu attaining criticality.  Now more happy news with the news of the first 1,000-MWe unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, now but one stage away from commission, and  on Tuesday it getting synchronised with the southern regional grid. Initially, at 2.45 a.m., the first reactor generated 75MWe and gradually notched up 160 MWe. Subsequently, it was successfully transmitted to the southern grid at Abhishekapatti on the outskirts of Tirunelveli after the KKNNP project authorities got the ‘connecting password’ from Bangalore.  The Hindu reports that the process was halted at 5.15 a.m. so engineers could study the behaviour of the reactor’s ‘integrated systems’, the turbine and the generator — a routine procedure.

“The power will be further raised to 500 MWe, 750 MWe and 1,000 MWe in stages. At every stage, various tests are conducted and the technical parameters verified. Based on the results of the tests at each stage and with AERB [Atomic Energy Regulatory Board] clearances, subsequent stages are reached,” said a press release issued by Site Director, KKNPP, R.S. Sundar. “Though the reactor will continue to generate steam, the turbine will not be allowed to function as it has been stopped [to enable engineers] to study its performance during and after synchronisation. The functioning of the valves and the pipelines connected to the turbine is being evaluated. Moreover, the functioning of the generator is also being reviewed. All these tests and readings are being submitted to the AERB online and clearances being obtained then and there. So far, every part of the reactor, turbine and generator has performed extremely well. We are very much satisfied,” Mr. Sundar told The Hindu.

KKNPP sources said the southern grid would get 500 MWe from the first reactor before this weekend. So from 1988 to date providing energy succour, Kudankulam has come a long way indeed ~ amidst protests by groups of people, supported by some sinister designs.

The first reactor, which attained criticality at 11.50 p.m. on July 13, was expected to attain its full generation capacity by the end of October. However, fine-tuning of the Russian-origin components delayed commencement of power-generation.  Now on, Tamil Nadu will generate 1,440 MW of nuclear power, the most in the country,  and the beginning has been made now.  Tamil Nadu is  the first state to have nuclear power plants in two places — Kalpakkam and Kudankulam. Tamil Nadu will displace Maharashtra, which has four reactors with a total capacity of 1,400MW, from the top spot. Other states with significant nuclear power capacity are Rajasthan with six reactors capable of generating 1,180MW, and Karnataka with four reactors with a total capacity of 880MW. Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat each have two reactors of 880MW. With Kudankulam, India will increase its nuclear power capacity to 5,780MW from 4,780MW.   

TOi reports that as per the original agreement between the beneficiaries of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry, Nuclear Power Corporation was to sell the power at Rs 3.50 per unit. “We are planning to revise the price at which the power will be sold,” said Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project site director R S Sundar.

More than Kudankulam, some newspapers have been devoting more space for the orchestrated protests from Idinthiakarai…. As one could recall, the agitations at some point turned violent too…….. betraying the inherent contradictions of a “peaceful” “Gandhian” movement that the anti-Kudankulam agitation claimed itself to be. The agitation in between changed colours and a 4000-strong group of people moved towards the plant threatening to disrupt its activity, preventing engineers from going in and some had the audacity to question the knowledge and understanding of honourable APJ asking whether he was a nuclear scientists ~ the Questioners had no knowledge of Nuke was conveniently forgotten.  Their protests have been prominently covered by some newspapers ~ and many people know it all……….

Nation is happy that it is functional and the first current is energizing the Nation.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

23^rd Oct 2o13

The unusual stoppage at Coimbatore caused by Climicidae !!!

They are perhaps part of legend – once tamil magazines would be ripe with jokes on them…  in one tingling tamil cine comedy Vadivelu would sell a machine that could kill them – many would buy instantaneously….   There are many types of  - Cimicidae – the most common amongst them being - Cimex lectularius – these are of insect family but commonly found in many households.  (don’t jump to think of cockroach !)

Once upon a time, these were found in enormity in residential houses and also in buses and trains…  I thought they have been reduced if not exterminated.  But the recent news items prove me wrong !!

It is the common bedbugs (மூட்டைப்பூச்சி) – a species that prefer to feed on human blood. The name "bed bug" is derived from the insect's preferred habitat of houses and especially beds or other areas where people sleep. Bed bugs, though not strictly nocturnal, are mainly active at night and are capable of feeding unnoticed on their hosts.   All insects in this family live by feeding exclusively on the blood of warm-blooded animals.   They are known by variety of names such as wall louse, mahogany flat, crimson rambler, heavy dragoon, chinche and redcoat.  They can live in any area of the home and can reside in tiny cracks in furniture as well as on textiles and upholstered furniture.

They can cause some  health effects including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms.  The Developed World claims to have exterminated them many decades ago but they are in news once in a while and experienced by some more frequently !   The exact causes of this resurgence remain unclear; it is variously ascribed to greater foreign travel, more frequent exchange of second-hand furnishings among homes, a greater focus on control of other pests resulting in neglect of bed bug countermeasures, and increasing resistance to pesticides.

The very presence of them makes some feel sick – the poisons used to kill them also contribute in a big way in making people sick !!  A Govt. study in US states that dozens of Americans have fallen ill from the insecticides, and a North Carolina woman died after using 18 cans of chemical fogger to attack the tiny blood suckers.  Such cases which are in some ways misuse of chemicals have made the Federal Health Officials warn the consumers to be careful and urging them to utilize professionals in killing these insects.  The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 80 illnesses and one death linked to the insecticides over three years. Most of the cases were in New York City, the apparent epicenter of a recent U.S. bedbug comeback.  The data pertains to 12 states, and only seven had reports of such illnesses. One was New York, where bedbugs have become a highly publicized problem and where health officials have also been extra vigilant about reporting unusual chemical poisonings.  About 90 percent of the cases were linked to pyrethroids or pyrethrins, insecticides commonly used against bedbugs. Such products are not a health risk to most people but should still be applied by a trained exterminator,  stated the authorities.  CDC officials suggested people trying to rid their homes of bedbugs should first thoroughly vacuum all floors and furniture and wash linens.   Professional exterminators would be expensive !

Upon browsing read of an incident when Irate commuters in III tier AC coach of the Mangalore – Jammu Tawi train staged protest at the Coimbatore Junction in the small hours resulting in the train being detained at the junction from 1.10 a.m. to 3.40 a.m.  The report stated that the passengers in the coach had a sleepless night due to bed bugs.  At Coimbatore, they demanded changing of the coach and the Coimbatore Railway Junction authorities managed to source III tier AC coach of another train from the yard.  The train left Coimbatore Junction after 2 and a half hour halt.

Regards – S. Sampathkumar.

14^th Oct 2011.

dangerous cargo protruding out of lorries; posing danger to road users.... PIL before Supreme Court

“pro·trude’ : ~ (V)  To push or thrust outward; to jut out; project.

Dangerous goods carriage…….

There are trucks and there are killer trucks ~ without them goods cannot be moved from place to place and the lorries are indispensable. Often you find them and fear them – for they are driven rashly and sometimes by people not holding proper licence (!)

The catastrophic explosion of a freight train this month in Quebec has raised fresh questions  about the safety of rail lines and the transportation of oil and other hazardous cargo. As many as 50 people are dead or still missing five days after a runaway train loaded with crude oil jumped the tracks and exploded in a series of enormous fireballs, devastating the center of the village of Lac Megantic, Quebec, just north of the Maine border.

There are some dangerous and hazardous cargo. Dangerous goods are solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property, or the environment. They are often subject to chemical regulations. In the United States and sometimes in Canada dangerous goods are more commonly known as hazardous materials, (abbreviated as HAZMAT or HazMat). People who are to handle hazardous cargo are specially trained.  Dangerous goods include materials that are radioactive, flammable, explosive, corrosive, oxidizing, asphyxiating, biohazardous, toxic, pathogenic, or allergenic. Also included are physical conditions such as compressed gases and liquids or hot materials, including all goods containing such materials or chemicals, or may have other characteristics that render them hazardous in specific circumstances.

When it comes to transportation by sea, there is International guideline for safe transportation of dangerous goods or hazardous material known as ‘IMDG Code’ or International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.  The implementation of the Code is mandatory in conjunction with the obligations of the members of united nation government under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78).

That is all about ‘dangerous good’ but on road the more you fear about is the way goods are transported i.e., ‘goods danger’ – those cargo jutting out and protruding out from the carrying vehicle. We see so many of them – some care, some fear, some intentionally neglect them… the other day, saw a truck transporting industrial cylinders passing over a mound created due to repairs to road – as the lorry passed by, one of the cylinders not so properly placed – just got thrown a few feet in air and very fortunately got back to its place inside the truck itself… what would have happened if it were to come out of the truck and fall on other vehicles following closely or on two-wheeler riders or pedestrians – one shudders to think. One often see waste material and iron rods carelessly carried projecting outside the lorry with a small piece of red cloth being the only indicator of danger.

iron rod truck - courtesy telegraph newspaper

Recently in news is the petition in Supreme Court and Apex Court issuing notice to Centre seeking framing of guidelines for vehicles carrying iron rods and other protruding objects which pose a serious threat of accidents. Rule 93(8) of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, permits protrusions up to a one metre or 3.28ft beyond the rear-most point of a vehicle. “Such protrusions cause severe harm to motorists and other road users. Keeping Indian road and traffic conditions in mind, it is a provision that is fraught with danger,” the petition stated.

Newspaper reports state that the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices T S Thakur and J S Khehar issued notice to the Union government and sought the Centre's response on the issue after a PIL gave scary details of thousands of motorists meeting bloodstained deaths every year because of trucks and trailers parked without adequate warning on highways, many carrying iron rods protruding out dangerously. By using the Right to Information (RTI), 'Save Life Foundation', an NGO collected details of fatalities resulting from collision of vehicles with these haphazardly parked trucks, many of which carry construction material, including iron rods and angles. The contention of the NGO was the absence of law to punish the drivers and owners of these trucks, which caused accidents resulting in the death of 8,304 people in two years (2009-11) in eight states.  The petition points out that the penalty usually levied in such cases is done under the heading general provision for punishment of offences under Section 177 of the Act, which is a mere Rs 100 as there is no specific penal provision either in the Motor Vehicles Act or the rules to impose fine on those who park trucks laden with iron rods and construction material without sufficient and clear warning for other motorists.

The NGO besides mandating carrying of iron rods within compact containers also suggested a series of penal measures. It said the owner of the transport company or persons hiring the vehicle and the driver be made jointly and severally liable, both civil and criminal, for any injury caused by such vehicles. Moreover, trucks or other heavy vehicles stationed on the road or road-side must be barricaded by traffic cones and reflector tripods at least from a distance of 50 metre from the rear of the vehicle and all states must adopt uniform regulations in respect of stationary or stalled vehicles on highways and expressways as well as for trucks carrying iron rods and bars.

According to the NGO spearheading this, construction companies transport rods longer than vehicles, which cause them to protrude, either impaling others or causing vehicles to swerve dangerously to avoid them. This is dangerous as when the carrying truck breaks suddenly, the vehicle following would be caught unawares resulting in accidents, sometimes fatal. The lack of laws banning this practice led to indiscriminate loss of lives.  There is compelling necessity for  addressing this issue due to the large number of accidents that have occurred due to vehicles carrying protruding materials. Those which can be avoided are not accidents and occur more due negligence and absence of application of care.

We now look forward to Apex Court for strict laws and stringent measures in  implementing them.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

24^th July 2013.

the genius maestro Sachin Tendulkar's farewell test at Wankhede...

The first price of popularity is that one is hounded quite often of ‘retirement’……… the great genius writer Sujatha in his heydays was confronted in a student’s forum with the Q  : Sir, when will you stop writing ? Pat came the reply – ‘in the night ~ when I feel too sleepy’………… ~ one need not be guided by the Q and can have one’s own way !! The Genius Little Master has been haunted with the Q of his retirement and sadly his exit from the Cricketing zone is on the horizon…………………from that day onwards, people will feel sad that they have nothing to follow…………………….

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The Master Blaster known for his aggression on field is also known for his placid demenaour off it.. ……… just 2 more tests to go….. the expectations are high… we for sure would love to see Sachin Tendulkar finishing on a high……… may be score a century at least if not a double…… but remember William Eric Hollies who played 33 tests is still remembered for that one wicket  - that of Sir Donald Bradman on his farewell innings at Kennington Oval in Aug 1948 dismissed for a duck – and you have Sunil Naraine here…….

For decades – Sachin has the been the face not only promoting products but promoting the game itself – a genius stemming from combination of attributes – superhuman hand-eye coordination, lightning reflexes, powerful wrists, delicate shots, avaricious appetite for runs, perfect balance – the glee exhibited when taking a wicket – and giving his 100% on field…. From the age of 16 in 1989 when he made his debut amidst bullying but not overawed by the star studded opponents, he has shouldered the responsibility for a long time………. ‘all good things too come to an end’.

There was a time when 10000 Test runs was a far dream – Gavaskar secured it…. after its first ODI in 1974, India had to wait for that golden day in 1983 – when Kapil made that epic 175 not out to see its first century and for long those 4 by Srikkanth remained the highest by an Indian…….. records are meant to be broken and Sachin devoured everything of them….

Right now, he is alone at a peak –

Most appearance in Tests                   : probably 200

Most appearance in One dayers          : 463

Most runs in Tests                              : 15837

Most runs in One dayers                     : 18426

Most centuries in Tests                       : 51

Most centuries in ODIs                        : 49

…………….the list can be endless, if you are to count most 50s, youngest batsman to reach ….; most ODI nineties………………… and ….. and …. More…

Between 1914 and 1988 lived a Cricket administrator and politician who studied at Nagpur and later entered bar in England.  He was elected to the Madhya Pradesh State assembly in 1952 and served as the deputy speaker of Bilingual Bombay State from 23 November 1956 to 5 April 1957. He was the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly;  was  mayor of Nagpur for three years. In 1967, he was a member of the Indian delegation that took part in the 22nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  Later he became the President of BCCI …………  it is : Seshrao Krishnarao Wankhede

The little Master wishes to retire on his own terms and perhaps decided the venue for his farewell test.  BCCI has acceded to his requests  ~ so, 199th would be at Kolkatta and Sachin’s 200th Test would be at Mumbai from Nov 14-18th – more specifically at Wankhede Stadium.  It is pure sentiment and there is nothing to question why it is not Chepauk, his famous haunting ground or why not Chinnappa stadium….

The now famous Wankhede stadium was built in 1973  after disputes between the Cricket Club of India which owned the Brabourne and Mumbai Cricket Association; and was named after SK Wankhede – hence Wankhede stadium.  It reportedly was  built in six months and opened in time for the final Test between India and the West Indies in 1975 ~ whence Eknath Solkar made his century and Clive Lloyd made a double century.  . The stadium has a capacity of 45,000 and is always in contention to host an international match in India. It has been host to numerous high profile cricket matches in the past, including the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final, in which India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets.

Mumbai,  has seen Test matches played at three different grounds. The Bombay Gymkhana ground hosted the first ever Test in India, in 1933–34 against England. After the world war II, the Cricket Club of India Ltd's Brabourne Stadium – second ground of the city – was used for 17 Tests and thence came Wankhede.  The first Test here was the last test for Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.  The Jubilee Test in 1979–80, remembered  for Botham’s heroics and Gundappa Vishwanath recalling Bob Taylor was played here.

Just as we have Wallajah road / Pattabhiraman ends in Chepauk…. It is Garware Pavilion end and Tata End at Wankhede.   The stands are named after : Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Merchant, Sachin Tendulkar – while rest are known as North, MCA, Divecha and Garware….  The architect was  – Shashi Prabhu and Associates who was also involved in Indira Gandhi indoor stadium, Sports City Hyderabad, Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, which hosted the National Games in 1995 and the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2008

Often one uncharitable remark aired by detractors is that Sachin has not made runs at crucial juncture…… facts are otherwise. 

Of his 51 Test centuries, 20 have come in matches when India won and in One dayers – 33 of them out of  49 in One dayers were winning efforts ~ not to speak of some more – where he waged a lone battle. Sure, when the legend exits – it the end of a great saga…. Farewell to Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest batsman, whom we had the fortune of seeing playing and making runs…………

Sachin, Sachin……….. Sachin… Sachin…

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

Photo courtesy : cricinfo.com