up above the electric line ~a motor-bile on the wire !!

Pylon is the Greek term  for a monumental gateway of an Egyptian temple. It consists of two tapering towers, each surmounted by a cornice, joined by a less elevated section which enclosed the entrance between them.  The entrance was generally about half the height of the towers.  Can you imagine a bike on top of a pylon 20 feet up ? ~and it was no stunt show !!

As you pass rural areas,  the somewhat lonely pylons stand – carrying electrical lines – anything new attract people and stories about them would galore – these pylons are transmission towers,  a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  When the electric lines were laid first, innocent villagers thought that it carried ‘man ennai [kerosene]’and in one film – comedian Senthil would climb the tower to illegally tap the oil, and would get electrocuted !

A few decades ago, one of my relatives was returning from her school – there was a railway line and it was usual for people to go under and sometimes jump over the barricade and cross the railway track without waiting for the train to pass-by.  On that day, even as she was attempting to jump-over, the barricade was lifted hydraulically and alongwith it went up the little girl, screaming – rescued immediately by those nearby and hence became a scene of comedy !

~here is something similarly different .... as read in MailOnline - Onlookers were left aghast after a motorbike got entangled in a power transmission high-tension cable at a height of 80 feet.  The incident happened at Batuali in Ambikapur district, north Chhattisgarh, 320km from Raipur.

However, the reality was that it was no stunt act. Bewildered passersby just couldn’t stop asking: How that happened? Airlifting of high-tension cable wire for a power transmission tower was being carried out near a bypass road. One end of the heavy wire was tied to a tractor at a distance of 600 metres. The cables are so heavy that a tractor uses force for lifting, hauling or towing to a considerable height over the ground on a power transmission tower.  Rajesh Toppo, 25, was driving by when the cable that was placed on the road came between the two wheels of his bike and both vehicle and rider were almost instantly thrust upward.

The shocked youth clung on to the bike. But, when labourers noticed him, they told him to jump despite he being at a height of 20 feet.  “I shouted at the workers to halt, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. I tightly held onto the bike and it was consistently going up. I got scared and jumped from a height of 20 feet,” said Toppo, who sustained minor injuries. The bike remained entwined with the wire and continued going up to over 80 feet.

News of the spectacular scene spread like wild fire. Villagers who rushed to the area to have a ‘dekkho’, however, complained that the work has been going on close to a bypass road but one will not find any warning or caution indicator displayed in the area.  “I was returning home and the moment my front wheel crossed, the cable lifted it. I was at a loss not knowing whom to call for rescue as the workers too found themselves helpless and kept shouting, asking me to jump,” Toppo, who had a miraculous escape, told reporters.

The  workers had reportedly asked Toppo to quickly cross, as the cable was to be lifted immediately but the biker could not ride to safety.  Finally, after seeing Toppo and his bike “accidentally anchored” on the rising electric cable, the supervisor and ground labourers yelled and called the driver of the tractor to stop. But, the tractor was 600-700 metres away and moreover, it was impossible for the driver to hear anything in the backdrop of the heavy engine noise from the running tractor.  “Despite waving their hands and signalling to apprise the tractor driver of an emergency, it did not work,” the supervisor, whose name couldn’t be confirmed, told the villagers at the site.

Soon, the supervisor and workers fled the spot. Toppo was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.  “It is the responsibility of the company’s staff and workers to ensure the safety and avert any possible danger to passersby,” said Maheshpur village sarpanch Pusao Ram.  Must have been pretty frightening for the person involved.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

Photos and news source : www.dailymail.co.uk

Nepal earthquake # India's swift response # Google launches 'Person finder''

A severe  earthquake struck Nepal today, the estimate of dead people seems to be going up with many news sites reporting it to be well voer thousand.  It is feared that  death toll is expected to rise. The quake was epicentered 81 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, with walls crumbling and families racing outside of their homes. Initially measured at 7.5 magnitude, the quake was later adjusted to 7.9, with a depth of 15 kilometres.

India has reacted swiftly.  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an emergency meeting to discuss the impact of the earthquake. He also phoned his counterpart Sushil Koirala to pledge India's immediate assistance to Nepal. The Prime Minister directed evacuation of tourists and immediate dispatch of relief and rescue teams to Nepal, as well as to affected areas in India. Nearly 125 Indian nationals are stranded in Nepal after the high-magnitude earthquake.         A plane carrying 3 tonnes of medical equipment and a team of 40 members of the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) flew out of Delhi to Kathmandu this afternoon, Foreign Secretary Jaishankar said. More planes and rescue helicopters will take off soon.

According to Business Insider : A massive rescue effort has been planned by the Indian Government and is on its way to Nepal. In a press conference a short while ago, the National Disaster Management Authority said that all possible relief measures are being provided not only to Nepal, but also the affected areas within India, which includes UP, Bihar and West Bengal. The death toll has been rising rapidly and Nepal has requested for all possible help from India, it's closest neighbour. The National Disaster Response Force is sending a total of 10 teams to the affected areas in Nepal. Each team consisting of 45 trained personnel will be carrying along with them a cache of relief equipment including cutting and breathing equipment, airlifting bags, stretchers, medicines, satellite phones, other communication devices such as VHF and HF as well as paramedics and doctors. 6 of these teams will be airlifting from Ghaziabad near the National Capital Region, where as the remaining four will leave from Bhatinda today. The NDRF isn't ruling out sending more teams if required.

In addition, 2 C17 Globemasters have been dispatched to provide further help in the rescue operations in devastated Nepal. M 17 choppers that were sent to Nepal, have returned to India, given they were unable to land because of the bad weather. 4 NDRF teams have also been dispatched to Bihar, where the death toll o the Indian side has been the highest, with as many as 22 deaths reported. A total of 34 people have reportedly died so far in India because of the earthquake, from Bihar, West Bengal and UP. 

A disaster of this magnitude is certainly very bad… here is something on how technology can be utilized. Search engine giant Google has launched an application “Person Finder” to offer information on missing people. Google Person Finder is a web application that allows individuals to post and search for the status of relatives or friends affected by a disaster, Google said in a blogpost. It is claimed that the  Google tool helped find people in the devastating tsunami in Japan in 2011 and also during the Boston Marathon bombings. Google Person Finder is a project of the Google Crisis Response division of Google.org, built by Google engineers in response to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti to help those affected by the earthquake.

Google has launched its Person Finder service to help track missing people of massive earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude that hit Nepal.  Users can go here to use the Person Finder service and can share and look for information about missing persons affected by the 2015 Nepal earthquake. The Person Finder website allows anyone to list a person missing and to search the database for names. The interface is very simple to use. If you have any information about someone, go to the right (blue) box and enter the details. And if you are looking for someone, go to the left (green) box, enter the person's name or parts of the name to know the status about him. You can also create a new record for the missing person.

All data entered are available to the public and viewable and usable by anyone. Google does not review or verify the accuracy of this data.  Google Person Finder is written in Python and hosted on Google App Engine. Immediately after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Google employees worked together to develop Person Finder. The software was based on previous work on the September 11 survivor registry and on the PFIF data standard.

With grief – S. Sampathkumar

25^th Apr 2015 # 22:04 hrs

devastating earthquake of 7.8M in Nepal ~ dharahara tower flattened

Nepal, the landlocked Nation is in news for wrong reasons. Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India.  Today is stands devastated by earthquake and more than 700 are feared dead according to varied reports.

Of the many places of tourist attraction, Dharahara also called Bhimsen Tower, was a nine storey 61.88 metres (203.0 ft) tall tower at the center of Sundhara in Kathmandu.  It was a built in 1832 by the then Prime Minister of Nepal Bhimsen Thapa. It was a part of the Architecture of Kathmandu recognized by UNESCO. The tower had a spiral staircase containing 213 steps. The eighth floor held a circular balcony for observers that provided a panoramic view of the Kathmandu valley.

According to US Geological survey a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on Richter scale and a series of aftershocks struck Nepal today with its epicentre laying near 35km E of Lamjung, Nepal.  The quakes also jolted parts of North and Northeast India. Widespread damage has been reported from Nepal.  The April 25, 2015 ‘M 7.8 Nepal earthquake’ occurred as the result of thrust faulting on or near the main frontal thrust between the subducting India plate and the overriding Eurasia plate to the north. At the location of this earthquake, approximately 80 km to the northeast of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, the India plate is converging with Eurasia at a rate of 45 mm/yr towards the north-northeast, driving the uplift of the Himalayan mountain range. The preliminary location, size and focal mechanism of the April 25 earthquake are consistent with its occurrence on the main subduction thrust interface between the India and Eurasia plates.

Seismicity in the Himalaya dominantly results from the continental collision of the India and Eurasia plates, which are converging at a relative rate of 40-50 mm/yr. Northward underthrusting of India beneath Eurasia generates numerous earthquakes and consequently makes this area one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth. The surface expression of the plate boundary is marked by the foothills of the north-south trending Sulaiman Range in the west, the Indo-Burmese Arc in the east and the east-west trending Himalaya Front in the north of India.

Tremors were felt across the region, with further loss of life in India, Bangladesh and on Mount Everest.  The Nepalese Govt has declared a state of emergency in the affected areas. Nepali Information Minister Minendra Rijal said there had been "massive damage" at the epicentre, from where little information is emerging.  Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam has appealed for international humanitarian assistance.

The ancient Dharhara tower - which is one of the most prominent buildings to have collapsed in the heart of Kathmandu’s historic old city - was one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. The white nine-storey tower was once the place where kings were once crowned. The Dharhara tower has now been reduced to just its base when the earthquake struck.

Dharahara in Kathmandu was the second such tower built by Bhimsen Thapa. The first tower was built eight years earlier in 1824 and was 11 stories high, two stories taller than the Dharahara. Dharahara is said to be built for Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari, who was the niece of Bhimsen Thapa. During the earthquake of 1834, both towers survived, but the first Bhimsen's tower suffered severe damage. A hundred years later, on 15 January 1934, another earthquake completely destroyed the Bhimsen's first tower. Only two of the 11 stories on the second tower remained. The then Prime Minister of Nepal, Juddha Shumsher carried out the renovation work of the Dharahara tower to restore it to its previous form. While the original Bhimsen Tower was obliterated, Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari's tower got its name, 'Bhimsen Stambha' or 'Bhimsen Tower'.

Google has launched a 'person finder' for worried friends, relatives and collagues of people potentially caught up in the Nepal earthquake.

There have been devastating tremors in Nepal earlier and one prays that the death toll and devastation is much lesser.  Sad for the people of Nepal.

With grief – S. Sampathkumar

25^th Apr 2015.

a day after farmer's death at rally CM Kejriwal apologises - could it have been prevented ?!?

The political parties or its leaders are unlikely to change – it is time, party cadres learn the futility of dying for leaders.  A day after the alleged suicide of a farmer at AAP rally, political leaders are busy trading charges as more news emerge on the incident, which raises doubts on whether it indeed can be termed as a suicide or whether the death was indeed preventable !!!

Speaking to the media after meeting the family of Gajendra Singh, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said he shared the grief of the family and will put forth their requests to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. "Since he died for farmers' cause, we will talk to CM Kejriwal about granting him the status of 'Kissan Shaheed'. We will also consider giving a member of their family a government job when they are eligible," Sanjay Singh said.  Typical political response, one thought !

Devendra Singh, one of the three brothers of Gajendra, is a constable with the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary . On Thursday , he rejected the AAP offer for Rs 10 lakh compensation for his brother's death.  “I offer Rs 1 crore to AAP leaders if they return my brother alive,“ Devendra told reporters about compensation offers pouring in.  While Rajasthan native Gajendra Singh's suicide on Wednesday in Delhi has led to a political slug fest, National Crime Records Bureau figures show that the state lags far behind Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh in the number of farmers suicides recorded. Out of the total of 11,772 farmers who ended their lives in India in 2013, 292 were from Rajasthan, putting the state at tenth place when it comes to farmer suicides.

TOI reports that Gajendra was not the typical distressed farmer of say , UP's Bundelkhand or Maharashtra's Vidarbha, regions notorious for farmer suicides. Gajendra was one of sixty-five-year old Bane Singh's eight children. Bane owns 17 bigha of land at his native Nangal Jhamarwada village near Bandikui in Rajasthan's Dausa district. His five daughters and three sons are married. Gajendra had a share of 4.3 bigha of these 17 bighas, had built a house in a portion of the farmland, away from his ancestral house, where his wife and children live. Gajendra is survived by wife and three children -a daughter (Class XII) and two sons, studying in Class I and IV .

Could he have been brought down and saved ? – photo credit : BBC

A man with political ambitions, Gajendra frequented political rallies, mostly those that raised farmers' problems. He had earlier taken part Congress and BJP meetings but was disappointed with both parties and was exploring the AAP option.Probably this brought him to Jantar Mantar and he wanted to attract AAP leaders' attention. Gajendra was regular at the Jaisalmer desert festival and was a major draw among tourists, thanks to his turban-tying skill.   Family members say this year was the first time Gajendra had done farming on his own and done some plantation work. “He was upset at the district officials' response to his crop damage as no compensation was offered to him,“ a relative said.

BBC reports that the Chief minister of Indian capital, Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, has apologised for continuing his speech after a farmer hanged himself at his rally. "I think I was wrong, I should not have gone ahead with my speech and called off the rally. I apologise if I hurt anyone," he told news agency ANI.

On Thursday, activists from the opposition Congress party and the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested outside Mr Kejriwal's house. They accused Mr Kejriwal of insensitivity in having continued his rally after the farmer hanged himself, as well as responsibility for the death itself. Mr Kejriwal has blamed government policies which he says led to the farmer's death. The police have also been accused of failing to prevent the death, while some have questioned whether the farmer had intended to kill himself. In the interview on Friday morning, the chief minister for the first time admitted that it was a bad idea to go ahead with the rally, but said he could not see the tree from which the farmer hanged himself because it was at a distance from the stage.

There have been suicides - Gajendra Singh's death is the most high-profile incident of its kind, taking place as it did before thousands of people at a rally in the capital. In another development, Gajendra Singh's family claims that the purported suicide note found at Jantar Mantar wasn't written by him. It might have been slipped into the rally venue by someone to muddy waters.“It was not his handwriting,“ Gopal Singh, the deceased's uncle, insisted. “What's written is hard to read.“ “The note is full of lies.We're farmers but not completely dependent on farming. It's also false that Gajendra's father had thrown him out.“ He seldom carried a pen with him. Where did he get one, Gajendra's younger brother, Bijendra asked.  “Why did no one try to stop him from climbing the tree? Why did no leader of AAP try to dissuade him? There are lots of questions that remain to be answered. We hold police and the AAP leadership responsible. If any of them had acted swiftly , he could have been saved,“ Gajendra's uncle Gopal Singh said.

Sadly another life lost, an inopportune moment – seemingly preventable – but everyone is indulged in shifting the blame ..... the lesson to be learnt is for the ‘party cadres’- why should one sacrifice for their leaders ?  has there been any instance where leaders have sacrificed for the party. SAD.

With grief – S. Sampathkumar

24^th  Apr 2015.