Win in a low scoring match - India beats Newzealand to enter Finals

A win in a low scoring match – How many of you remember the match that India played on 22nd March 1985 at Sharjah (ODI 321).  and can you identify this person

Even for the die hard cricket lovers, there is overdose of cricket and a league match in a 3 Nation Micromax ODI tournament should not have provided this much of anxiety. However the lacklustre performance of the young brigade so far in the tournament made it appear that India would not qualify for the finals of the 3 Nation event, especially after they were bundled out for 223. At a time when there were talks of devil in the pitch at Dambulla Ranagiri stadium, Sehwag was on a different track – it was a brilliant blitz of 110 in 93 balls. Viru continues to amaze everyone with the casual manner of shot delivery – when others struggle.


It was to be a regular tale of late – Indians losing wickets at regular intervals. Dinesh Karthik did not trouble the scorers and at 66 indians had lost 4 (Kohli, Yuvi and Raina) – Dhoni played a scratchy innings but was involved in a saving 107 stand with Sehwag. Viru departed at 173 having made 110 – there were not much of contribution from others as Indian innings folded in 46.3 overs. How long to continue with Dinesh, Virat, Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja is the question everybody is asking ? Solid Pujara and awesome S Tiwary have been waiting on the wings for long.


Low scoring games can be dangerous. Remember our successfully defending 183 in 60 overs in WC 1983. The woes of Kiwis were to continue. Praveeen kumar bowls with jest if not pace and Martin Guptill played for swing to one which straightened. Watling was castled by Nehra and Ross Taylor edged one – Dhoni taking a good catch. Styris pulled one back to his stumps and Kiwis were tottering at 22-4. It was a comic sight to see Kane Williamson struggle – he had made two ducks in his previous forays and some records were beckoning him. On the third ball he faced, he steered it to thirdman and heaved a big sigh of relief having scored his first run in International cricket. At one point, Newzealand had lost 8 for 53 and would have shrunk to their lowest but comfortably surpassed their 64 Vs Pak in 1986 due to some lusty hitting by Mills who made 52 off 35 and delayed the end.


In the end it was a good bowling display and more than anything – belligerent hitting by Viru. For long, he has been one criticized for lack of foot movement, but his class is far above the rest. His caliber and class tells when others struggle and he is unfazed by wickets falling at one end.


ODI 321 was played on 22/3/1985 at neutral venue of Sharjah Cricket association stadium – it was Rothmans 4 Nations Cup. Pak won the toss and put India in – Imran was steaming in with Wasim akram at the other end. Imran literally sliced through the top order. Shastri out for a duck, Srikka followed making 6, Vengsarkar, Gavaskar and Amarnath were all consumed by fiery Imran (34/5); Kapil & Azhar took them to 80 when Kapil (30) was consued by Tauseef. Azhar was out at 121 and India folded at 125 in 42.4 overs. Imran had a magic spell of 6 for 14 in 10 overs.


The famed Pak line up was to wallop this small total easily. The start was ordinary and the sleepy Mohinder hit the stumps direct to send Mohsin packing. Mudassar was consumed by Binny & Pak were 35/2 . Miandad was out for a duck to Shastri. Ashraf Ali was promoted above Saleem Malik & Manzoor Ilahi but could not pick up L Siva and Sadanand Vishwanath had a smart stumping done off Siva to send back Imran. Pak crumbling at 41/5. A small partnership – Saleem Malik gone at 74 and eventually Pak folded at 87 – short by 38 runs chasing a paltry 125.


That match will be remembered by 3/17 by Kapil and 2/16 of Siva – the 3 catches taken by Gavaskar, smart fielding by Mohinder – good work behind by Vishwanath; all these if you’re an Indian – but the effort which went in vain was the one that fetched MOM – Imran whose figures read 10-2-14-6.

                   This is L Siva and the man at the start is Sadanand Vishwanath - who sparkled briefly.

Regards – Sampathkumar.

Police complaint lodged on missing tree on road - Chennai report

The Indian Emperor Ashoka of Maurya Dynasty is credited to have encouraged the development of herbal medicine and planting of trees alongside roads. The history book would read, Ashoka planted trees and dug wells along roads for the benefit of travelling public.

Day and day out, we read about property losses arising out of thefts and burglaries. The affected parties visit the nearest Police Station to lodge their complaint in pursuit of having them traced by the Law Enforcing authorities. The Police Force complains that they are outnumbered very badly almost 1:609 going by the 2001 consensus. Last year Chennai Police received close to 23000 property crimes of which theft were close to 16000.

Topping the list would be gold ornaments, jewels, followed by vehicles, electronic items and more. Besides there are complaints for items lost in public transport buses and trains which are in the nature of loss of personal belonging, cell phones, laptops etc., In European countries, they generally are Coats, books, bags, clothing, mobile phones, tennis racquets, paintings, bicycles, crutches and even rocking chairs. Sometimes there are strange and funny items that are claimed lost which have included - stuffed puffer fish, pet animals, exotic animals, false teeth, human skulls, breast implants, lawnmower. In England & Wales there are also complaints of ‘neglect of duty’, being slow or ineffective, Police officers being rude to public etc.,
In a rib tickling comedy vaigai puyal Vadivelu would go to a Police station seeking to lodge a complaint of theft of a well. Yes the agricultural well. He would state that he took a bank loan for digging a well and planned to provide drinking water to the residents of nearby villages and provide water for irrigation. In his defence, he would state that for loan, the bank officials had visited, made a report and then approved loan. On the Govt. side, he would claim that Govt officials had issued receipt approving the well – all this done by taking bribes and without physically inspecting the site / property at all - thus he would say he has the receipt and would go to the Collector or to Court for filing a suit, if the FIR for missing well was not registered. The stunned Police Inspector would resign his job and run away in the comedy.

In what appears to be a scene straight away from the comedy track, a strange complaint of loss of a tree from VM Balakrishnan Salai has been lodged at MGR Nagar PS in Chennai. The odhyan tree (Indian ash tree) about 25 ft tall under the care of City Corporation is the object claimed to be missing. For removal of a tree, if considered to be hindrance to public / traffic, permission has to be obtained from Corporation officials. No one is allowed to chop down trees on the road side on their own and such act is punishable under law. The Police authorities reportedly have recorded the complaint and have promised severe action against those who erred.

                                                                [photo : Times of India]
Whether any action is initiated or not, whether the culprits are apprehended or not, this complaint certainly has made waves and has made people read the news with interest. The crime against green cover is certainly not a laughing matter though….

- Sampathkumar S

Wishing the Trapped Miners in Chile - early and sure recovery- Welcome back.

This land has some connectivity to the Inca civilization and was in news in Feb 2010 for the devastating earthquake that occurred off the coast of Maule region rating 8.8 on Richter scale and lasting upto 90 seconds. It is also the land when thousands of years ago, migrating native americans settled in fertile valleys and coastal areas.


This South American coastal country lying between Andes Mountains and Pacific ocean is in news, as the lives of 33 miners is at stake – they are alive and how they will be saved is the Nation’s concern. Mining sector is one of the pillars of its economy and copper experts alone stands for more than one thirds of its income. Mining is extraction of valuable minerals from the earth which has been happening from time immemorial. It is often perceived as bad for the environment. The digging of underground often is of grave concern from safety angle as well.


You might also know Odyssey, a Greek epic – the story of Odysseus (Ulysses) long journey of ten years in reaching back home after fall of Troy.

Quite unfortunately, on Aug 5, 2010, the roof of San Jose copper gold mine in Chile collapsed leaving 33 miners trapped at approx 700 metres / 2300 ft below the ground. The San Jose mine is about 45 km north of Copiapo and the miners are struck 5 kms away from the mine entrance. The collapse of a tunnel at the 300 level, trapped the workers and there was no communication or information about their condition. The access to mine is hard and the rescue efforts could not be undertaken immediately. Generally when such accidents occur, it is but certain death and even the whereabouts or the facts would also get buried along.

These workers but were destined to live long and in a miracle of sorts they are alive and could establish communication with the outside world after 17 days. It is sensational and a remarkable tale of survival – not even dreamt of by many. The initial rescue efforts kept failing and slowly hopes were vanishing. Now after two weeks of failed efforts, a video camera threaded deep underground has captured first images of 33 miners alive and apparently in good health. The Nation is rejoicing but the ordeal of miners is far from over.

                                                       Chilean President showing the message
In a startling revelation, the Government officials have announced that it could take as long as four months to dig a new tunnel wide enough to lift the miners one by one to the surface – 4 months would mean that they would be close to seeing the New Year 2011.


Optimists never lose hope – till such time they are rescued thin shaft will be used as an umbilical cord to keep them alive, supplying food, water and medicine, providing them information about the rescue operations and carrying back their communications to the concerned family members.


Life down under must be pretty different – certainly not pretty – miners fortunately have been able to use heavy equipment to provide light and charge the batteries of their head lamps, have some water from storage tanks to drink. Still there would be stifling heat and presence of toxic gases. Rescue team reinforced a bore hole and lubricated it to pass supplies through in capsules nicknamed ‘palomas’. The packages would contain rehydration tablets and hi energy glucose gel to help the miners recover their digestive systems. Oxygen was also pumped in. inside the caved in portion, lies a shelter, a living room-sized chamber big enough for all men, strong enough to remain intact.


Rescuers are finding out the condition and have sent small microphones to enable the trapped workers communicate to outside world, to their families.


A huge machine capable of drilling 26 inch wide tunnel through solid rock and boring at about 65 ft a day is being transported to the accident site. Even during this madness, there appears to be more than a system in the rescue efforts. On Aug 19, one of the probes could reach the area where miners where believed to be trapped but to no avail. On 22/8 another probe reached a ramp underground – the miners wrote notes and attached them to the drill bit with insulation tape. Perhaps one of the greatest communication letters that the modern world has seen in recent times. The whole Nation erupted with joy when the President Pinera displayed the note sent from the shelter reading ‘we are fine – the 33 of us’. Hours later, cameras could make contact with the miners beaming the first images of trapped workers. The food is very limited and miners were fast losing weight. Between them they had rationed whatever was available and had survived consuming two mouthful of tuna and half a glass of milk every 48 hours. Think of their condition, when we waste food that is in plenty for us !!!!


On Aug 23, voice contact could be established with the miners. Obviously some of them were having medical problems but the Doctors stated that the discomfort was much less than what was expected !! some psychiatric help is also being arranged.


It is admirable of these men caught in a rock collapse to remain in good spirits and remain confident. Every soul would pray and hope with optimism for the success of long, technically complex operation described as ‘human odyssey’.
What has reached them is perhaps only the umbilical cord – the design, the plan and execution of drilling is a long way in rescuing them alive.
It takes a lot of mental toughness and confidence to survive in such circumstances and the rescue team is trying to identify a natural leader – somebody who can make sure that those trapped inside are mentally focussed and do not lose hope in the long days to come. A 63 year old man has been identified – his letter to his wife is stated to be full of expressions of faith and determination, portraying that they were brave and strong.
Even in this world of technological advancement, faith in God and some supernatural help is required. Sure that these strong men would get that hand of God, survive and be rescued.
Last year 3 miners survived 25 days trapped in a flooded mine in China; few others have seen more than 2 weeks. It is fortunate that the health hazards in a copper and gold mine are much less unlike a coal dust field.
This shelter itself could not be reached easily by them as it took them 7 failed attempts – they had the courage and foresight not to cave in and succeeded in their next – probably the map was not error – free.
As the next borehole is drilled and fully functional, the rescuers would be able to send down solid food such as bread, yoghurt and milk.
Those trapped inside require all that and much more – hope, prayers, blessings, wishes, greetings – in any form – hopefully, we should read see them on ground earth coming out of the mine live and kicking, watched by the entire world. That should happen much sooner that what is being said now
Regards – Sampathkumar S

International Trade Restrictions - How much of control Indian Government has ???

Dear(s)

There are some news items which regularly appear but common man may not get attracted. Here is something which has international ramifications and can potentially harm the national interests. Trade is exchange of capital goods and services and becomes international in nature when the parties involved are across the border or territories. From an era of licensing Raj, where the import can happen only when the Govt license was available and when the Govt regulations were so high, the liberalisation of economy has brought in free movement of goods into and out of the country.

ivory seized

A free flowing trade is good for the economy but unscrupulous elements utilising this do harm the national interest – smuggling and moving goods fraudulently not only results in loss of revenue for the exchequer but also is a threat to the security of the country.

                         

cannabis drug

Most of the movement of goods is by containers – the introduction of containers has resulted in vast improvements in the movement of goods, its handling, lowered the costs and in many helped in protected movement. To those conversant with trade and with marine insurance – FCL does not need any explanation – the Full Container Load (FCL) does not necessarily mean that the container is fully loaded or has cargo to the brim. The trade goes by volumetric and not by the weight or the no. of items put inside the container. In practice, it means that the whole of the goods inside the container is intended for one. It would be economical to have the container packed to its full capacity but it depends on the type of goods. Once I had seen a containerised cargo of costly leather jackets – it had ropes running across the length and breadth of the container in which those jackets were hung without being packed in cartons or the like.

It is common knowledge that all goods imported or exported out of India pass through the procedure of Customs for the purposes proper examination, appraisal, assessment and evaluation. This is done to check the legality of the trade as also for charging taxes as applicable. There are documents known as Bill of entry and Shipping Bill which would provide the necessary declaration to the Customs about the goods that are contained inside the box.

For long clearance by the Customs and assessment of customs duty used to take long time and was cumbersome – the introduction of tariff and categorisation of goods as also the modernisation including e filing of B/E have all eliminated the delay to a large extent. Some major importers are granted the facility of green channel clearance. This is just like walking out of the airport unchecked based on a mere declaration of what you possess. Thus there would be no physical examination of goods for assessment or check up.

                                               

               

pangolin seized in China

The entire hub of activities once took place only in & inside the Ports leading to delay and concentration of too many goods but now we have ICDs and CFS which facilitate easier movement of cargo and containers. Some ICD are located in remote inland places also. These are common user facility with public authority status equipped with fixed installations, where services of handling, storage, clearance, assessment are all available. Receipt and dispatch / delivery of cargo, stuffing / unstuffing, transit operations by rail/road, customs clearance, consolidation / destuffing, reworking of containers, maintenance and repair of container units – are some of the activities which takes places here.

Instances of spurious Chinese products making their way into India with fake "Made in India" labels are clearly on the rise. It is natural that the trader is facilitated by all these and the trade increases bringing in more revenue for the Nation. BUT unscrupulous elements mar the facilities by misuse. Here are some recent instances of what happened:

1) 36 boxes of copper waste (dore anode) containing precious metals including platinum and palladium allegedly meant for export were seized in Tuticorin by the Central Excise. The seizure was made as only gold and silver contents of the copper waste reportedly were declared by a famous Industrial house as declared in the documents whilst it contained other precious metals like platinum and palladium.
2) Spurious goods landing into India have not been uncommon. Recently Chennai Customs seized 2 lakh pieces of counterfeit spark plugs that bore a famous brand and the made in India tag
3) Some time ago, Chinese made spurious anti malarial drugs Maloxine and amalar with ‘Made in India labels’ were seized by Nigerian govt Drug regulatory authority.
4) Consignment of fake mobile phone batteries, cellphone covers of famous brand, range of cosmetics and toiletries including skin naturals, face wash were reportedly seized by Chennai Customs.
5) At Chennai Airport, regularly star fishes, ornamental fishes, star tortoises and other animals including lizards are seized from individual passengers trying to smuggle them in.
6) At Tuticorin, a container on ship sailing to Dubai via Colombo was recalled and 5.2 tonnes of red sanders wood was seized. It was being shipped as polished Kashmir white granite tiles. In a startling revelation, it was found that the stamp and signature of customs officials had also been forged.
7) A consignment of second quality palm date packages from Saudi was intercepted and to the surprise of everyone, it had concealed inside electronic items such as LED TV, LCD TV and home theatre systems. The palm dates were also of superior quality intentionally declared as second quality to evade customs duty.
8) Not long ago, another misdeclared cargo was intercepted and found to contain honey, date syryp etc.,
9) A scrap consignment which landed at Tuticorin ended up to be highly valuable and readily usable ‘Electrolytic tin plate sheet’.
10) In a reversal of roles, two export consignment of garments intended for Malaysia from Kerala turned out to be substandard garments to exploit the export benefits.
11) It is reported that dumping of e waste has been going on for some time now. Very recently, DRI at Chennai intercepted a container full of old computer parts imported from Brunei. At the CCI godown at Tondiarpet, it was found to contain e waste – the recent hauls put the dump at more than 127 tonnes which could pose serious health hazards to public and damage the environment.

                                                    

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e-waste dumped

The developing countries often become a dumping ground for e wate – small industries try to extract metals from it and again would dump them. The import of e waste is covered under Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 and can be imported only with the permission of the ministry of environment and health in addition to a licence from the Director-General of Foreign Trade.

Alarming revelations disruptive to economy and potentially harming National Security and interests, could only be an understatement. Whilst the tricksters try to con the Government and become rich, poor continue to work in all these places seeking - a quality meal a day.

Regards – Sampathkumar S