inventor of herbal fuel - adjudged to be fraud - Chennai Court decrees him guilty !!

The Court has pronounced the verdict ~ -besides the man, four others—R. Venudevi,  S. Chinnasamy, R. Rajasegaran and S.K. Bharat—were also sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate. The magistrate directed them to pay a fine of Rs.30,000 (Rs. 6,000 each) in the cheating case, which was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).  Can you identify who the man is ? – was he only a cheat ! 0r innocent inventor, who could not project himself properly ? – somehow I feel a tinge of sorrow, not sure, how correct !!

In the far off Tripura, hundreds took to the streets blocking several roads to protest against the crippling shortage of essential commodities and soaring fuel prices made worse by the current spate of incessant rain. Petrol price hit Rs 300/litre and diesel's Rs 150/L as damage on the lifeline Assam-Tripura national highway left traffic disrupted.  The highway has been damaged for a couple of months and the continuous rainfall has stalled repair work and turned vast stretches of the road into slush and mud. Several trucks loaded with essential items, both perishable and non-perishable, are stranded on the highway .

The Tripura government has been forced to ration fuel and follow an odd-even system of refilling vehicles to deal with the situation.

Miles away, a team of scientists from Harvard University has created a unique " bionic leaf " that uses solar energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels from CO2. Dubbed "bionic leaf 2.0," the new system can convert solar energy to biomass with 10 percent efficiency - a number far higher than the one per cent seen in the fastest growing plants. "This is a true artificial photosynthesis system. Before this, people were using artificial photosynthesis for water-splitting but this is a true A-to-Z system and we've gone well over the efficiency of photosynthesis in nature," said Daniel Nocera, the Patterson Rockwood professor of energy at Harvard University.

While the study shows the system can be used to generate usable fuels, its potential doesn't end there. "In principle, we have a platform that can make any downstream carbon-based molecule. So this has the potential to be incredibly versatile," added co-author Pamela Silver, the Elliott T. and Onie H. Adams Professor of Biochemistry and Systems Biology.

The film begins ‘in medias res’, with a masked person being brought to the Central Jail in Chennai. When asked by a fellow-inmate for the reasons behind his imprisonment, the masked person replies that he is imprisoned for attempting to do good for the people. The masked person is revealed to be Sivaji  - with the story unwinding to a flashback of a software architect returning back to native land thinking of doing good to his land but ends up beaten by the system and corrupt people - that was Rajnikant starrer – ‘Sivaji- the boss’.

The man referred to at the top is Ramar Pillai of herbal fuel who has been imprisoned.  For a brief period two decades ago, his discovery rattled the scientific community and raised hopes in the common man. The man was soon to fall to disgrace ! – last week, a  metropolitan magistrate court in the city sentenced Ramar Pillai -who earned acclaim, before being disgraced, for his so-called claim of creating a herbal alternative to petrol -to three years rigorous imprisonment in a cheating case.

It was in August 1996 that Ramar claimed to have invented a bio fuel that was a cheaper and more viable alternative to petrol. The next month, however, IIT-M rejected his claim. But Pillai, a native of Rajapalayam in Tamil Nadu, and a school dropout went on to open several retail outlets in the city selling `Ramar Bio Fuel' under the aegis of his company -Ramar Biofuel Private Ltd. At a time when petrol was being sold at `35 per litre, Ramar Bio Fuel was priced between Rs.10 and Rs.15.

After several complaints, the CBI arrested Pillai in 2000.He made his first public appearance a decade later, at a press conference in the city , with a new name - Ponnupillai Ramar, and a different fuel Velar Bio Hydrocarbon Fuel. This was a departure from his earlier method of manufacturing herbal fuel formula derived from boiling leaves and barks in water mixed with citric acid, salt and chemicals for 30 minutes, following which the fuel floated on the water surface. Pillai has said at the press conference that his new concoction, when mixed with water and heated to 78°C, turned into an inflammable bio-fuel that gave a smokeless blue flame. The mixture was 15gm ammonium chloride, 15gm sawdust and 15gm yeast. It was then fermented, distilled and mixed with water.

His claims found no takers, and Pillai receded from public memory while the case dragged on. On Wednesday , the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Egmore, convicted Pillai and his associates -R Venudevi, S Chinnasamy , R Rajasegaran and S K Bharat -and sentenced them to undergo 3 years rigorous imprisonment for each and also imposed a total fine of `30,000.

According to the CBI, between 1999 and 2000, Pillai colluded with other people to “do illegal act mixing of petroleum products like Toluene and Naphtha and to market the same in the name of Ramar Petrol, or Ramar Tamildevi Mooligai Eriporul, as if these were extracted from herbs.“ The liquid did not meet ISI standards, and its use was prohibited under the Motor Spirit Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 1988, said the CBI.  By misrepresenting the facts and misseling, Ramar Pillai and his associates earned Rs 2.27 crore by cheating the public,“ said the CBI.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

17^th Oct 2016.

Hardik Pandya wins MoM at Dharmasala ~ protective gear of Bruce Oxenford

Armour of God  ~ starring Jackie Chan  (directed by him too) was released in 1986 and ran packed houses.  The plot is about the hero, a  former musician who becomes an adventurer and treasure hunter. After successfully stealing a sword from an African tribe, he has the weapon auctioned before it is won by May Bannon, the beautiful daughter of Count Bannon.  There is this  evil religious cult possessing  two pieces of a legendary armour called the "Armour of God", and they intend to have Jackie bring them the three remaining armour pieces, including the sword. .. .. ….

In the 1^st ODI today, NZ were immediately in shatters and at one point, it seemed that the match may not go to the 2^nd half.  However, late surge ensured Kiwis setting a target of 191 which India chased with ease with Kohli top scoring 85*

Sharing the new ball in conditions that initially encouraged seam and swing, debutant Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav ran through New Zealand's top order.  From 65 for 7, New Zealand recovered  thanks to Tom Latham, who became the tenth batsman to carry his bat through an ODI innings, and Tim Southee, who struck a 45-ball 55 at No. 10. He has played a dozen matches and has not bowled a single delivery; in IPL he was seen keeping wickets – but today with NZ 57/5 – though there were two spinners Amit Mishra & Axar Patel, Dhoni masterminded Kedar Jadhav to bowl. 

He could have had a wicket with the last ball of his first over, when James Neesham missed a sweep. In his next over, he got a ball to stop on Neesham, who closed his bat face a touch too early and presented a simple return catch. Next ball, Jadhav had the man who had scored in Test series, Mitchell Santner,  cutting, top-edging to MSD for a 1^st ball duck and Jadhav was on a hat-trick.  Tom Latham became the first New Zealand batsman to carry his bat through an ODI innings.

The name would literally translate into  'spiritual dwelling' or ‘place of justice’ –  and when this ground made its debut, there were fears that snow would ruin the game.  It is Cricket on top as the venue is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, 1317 metres above sea level.  It is Dharamsala - a city and a municipal council in Kangra district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

The Tibetan settlement of Dharamshala began in 1959, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet and the Prime Minister of India allowed him and his followers to settle in McLeodGanj (in Upper Dharmshala), a former colonial British summer picnic spot.

If you had observed the photo of Hardik Pandya bowling (he took 3 and got the player of the match) .. way back in Dec 6, 1980 – in ODI no. 97 at Melbourne, there were 5 debutants for India.   Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Dilip Doshi, Sandeep Madusudhan Patil and Thirumalai Echambadi Srinivasan.  Sandip Patil was the man of the match with India winning by 66 runs. in the photo, you can see the Umpire wearing something different and intriguing !

After injuries to Umpires, especially when John Ward was struck on head at Dindigul in a Ranji and an official died in Israel, some have resorted to helmets and protective gears.  The man, Bruce Oxenford, from Australia, had worn the lollipop-shaped guard in April during the IPL match between Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and earlier at a World T20 warm-up match between Australia and the West Indies.  At Edgbaston, he proved more innovative entering the field, wearing a protective shield strapped to his left arm to protect himself in the modern world of big hitting cricket.

The Australian official made the device, believed to be the only one of its kind in the world, himself at home in Queensland using polycarbonate and placing what looks like a large table tennis bat on the end to parry or deflect any balls heading his way. It looks quite different and odd shaped – so far, no ball has struck or got deflected by the device.  There were queries on what will happen if the ball deflected by the device by a fielder and an out is claimed ?  - perhaps that applies to any part of the body of the Umpire including any protective gear worn – should become a dead ball. 

I remember Bruce Oxenford for wrong reasons though ! -  It was 29^th over of the ODI 3244 between India and Australia at  at Woolloongabba, Brisbane – 3rd ball of the over - Billy Bowden and SJ Davis  were the ones on field. Mike Hussey missed a delivery from Suresh Raina and Dhoni did a smart stumping.   The screen  on referral to 3rd Umpire showed ‘Out” – Hussey trudged back, Billy went running after recalling.  It was explained  that the Third Umpire has told him that it was not out but had pressed the wrong button –   it was not wrong technology but incapacity to do the simplest task – the man was Bruce Oxenford. 

In July 2012,  at Hambantota in the 1st ODI,  it ended up in a mess – total confusion in the modern World of communications !!  It was ridiculous laughing levels as a serious loophole in on-field communication was revealed.  By official Statistics, India opted for the batting powerplay in the 17^th  over – what a radical step one might wonder and they played out them tamely, as none – either the batters on the ground or the Captain, Coach, and players were aware of the same.  It was later revealed that when Virat Kohli signalled to the dressing room for a cap, it was misunderstood by the Umpires - Bruce Oxenford signalled with the circular motion of the arm and a tapping of hands above the head indicating it to be decision of powerplay.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16^th Oct 2016.

the lure of Bay of Bengal at Marina ~ dangerous swimming in the Sea

During a casual talk, a Coach was vociferous on the stress on the children by their parents.  He was describing the high stress that enthu mothers overbearing their children, expecting each of them to become Sachin Tendulkar or at least IPL star !!

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever ~ and one such is ‘Marina beach’ known for its  pristine beautiful sandy shores - that runs from Fort St George to Besant Nagar. The long beach with equally  long history, was conceived in 1884 and christened by Mountstuart  Elphinstone Grant-Duff, the then governor of Madras.  The sands of marina on the Bay of Bengal  is famed for the  ambience and rich eco system though it  stands a lot polluted now.  

Early morning the famous Marina beach offers intriguing things.  There are young, old, fast, slow, and varied people indulging in chit-chatting, eating and drinking the various health drinks ! that are sold on pavements.  You can see people walking, walking fasting, jogging, sprinting, skipping, doing physical exercises, yoga, laughing out loud – more – all law unto themselves – thinking and spreading that these are the passport to good health.

Nearer the sea, it is more enticing ! – one can hear the sea, the sound of waves, the  waves jumping and touching the shore and then submitting themselves to the shore but trying to comeback to conquer again ! would be very interesting sight  – One  can see monstrous  ships anchored in the middle of sea, some fishing boats and Sun coming out as a red ball from the Sea – all great sights to behold. 

Chennai swelters a lot and when Summer is peak - more people come to Marina to enjoy the natural cool sea  breeze……… during  summer vacation -  the Police control and regulate the flow of oncoming crowds by making beach road one way and by diverting vehicles at various points.  Police struggle to control another thing !

it is revellers – bathing at sea.  There are notice boards put up by Police stating that bathing and swimming at Bay of Bengal, in Marine is illegal as the undercurrent is very strong.  Sadly, we get to read news of young boys drowning in the sea also. During Kanum Pongal, Police erect barriers all across, preventing access to sea.  The spot nearer Anna Square, opposite to Ezhilagam is vulnerable.  Back in 1966, a ship SS Damatis sank off due to a cyclone.  In my younger days, remember seeing the wreck of this shop lying in waters, vaguely remember catamarans taking people nearer the ship too !! – deaths have been reported near this zone; understand that the remnants have been cut and removed and nothing is there at the spot now. 

Bay of Bengal (Vanga Kadal) is an enticer – one gets lost in its beauty watching the waves and ships.  Roughly triangular, the sea borders India on its Southern side and then Srilanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Andaman & Nicobar islands.   The sea occupies an area of 2,172,000 square kilometres (839,000 sq mi). A number of large rivers – the Ganges and its tributaries such as the Padma and Hooghly, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries such as the Jamuna and Meghna, other rivers such as the Irawathi, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri flow into the Bay of Bengal.

People love sea, waves and bathe in it.  It is not totally safe – the little swimming learnt on pools, will not be of use.  When news of drowning is heard, people allege alcoholism – which may not be the real picture. There is a different cause — rip currents. A rip current is one of the most dangerous natural phenomena one encounters at sea.  Often those caught, do not know how to encounter, especially the currents occurring in shallow waters with gentle sloping.  At sea, the waves returning carry more force and are dangerous.  Swimming at sea requires special skills, stamina and knowledge of the currents.  Of course fishermen are capable of swimming in strong currents – the number of traditional fisherfolk is dwindling as more of the newer generation are not interested in venturing into the sea.

This morning in my regular walk, saw something unusual.  Could spot a small wave of people, in fact children around 10 years of age – all swimming at sea. Understand that they are group of children learning swimming at Anna Swimming pool and were under the watchful eyes of their coaches and couple of others who were inside the sea, guarding them.

Training children in tough environments and making them reach higher levels is laudable, still, somehow I felt little nervy and uncomfortable – hopefully, lot of planning and safety arrangements had been arranged when such exercises are undertaken !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16^th Oct 2016.

Caesar, one of the heroes of 26/11 passes away !!

There is oft repeated phrase ‘It's a dog's life’ – meaning  life is hard and unpleasant.  There is another phrase associated with dog – ‘dog’s day’…. dog days refers to the sultry days of summer . … .. one may not feel comfortable when a group of stray dogs are growling and one has to pass by ! … this is a post on a ‘dog hero’.

In the beautiful motherland, there have been debates on surgical strikes with politicians calling for proof !! -  Nation can never forget 26/11 when it was  under siege by militants from across the border.  How many felt sorrowed and spoke for those martyrs of Police and jawans of the motherland ??

On 21^st   Nov 2012, -  Ajmal Kasab, the living  face of Mumbai terror  was hanged, almost  4 years after that incident that shocked India and entire World. The Nation can never forget that dreaded  day in 2008 when  Kasab and nine Pakistani gunmen launched a bloody attack on multiple locations in south Mumbai. In this great Nation of ours, even the killer was given a fair trial – the entire legal process unfolded with Kasab being served food and he asking for Urudu papers and more.  India took  the trouble to conduct and ensure, that it believed in a proper justice system and would deal with attacks against its people according to the law.

There were so many victims whose pathetic cases were buried deep – and that was not restricted to humans.  In Dec 2014,  Sheru, a stray dog who took terrorists' bullets at CST during the 2611 attack died of a cardiac arrest after surviving a few years.  The stray canine had been living on the streets outside the CST till it was hit by two bullets when the station became one of the targets of terrorists on November 26, 2008. Admitted to the hospital soon after, the dog was christened Sheru at the facility. While the bullet that had pierced Sheru's back was extricated in a surgery conducted at the hospital, the other one remained lodged in his neck till the end. It was reasoned that  the second bullet was not removed was that it had lodged itself in the respiratory tract.

There were canine heroes ~ Caesar, the last of the four police dogs who saved many lives during November 26, 2008 terror attacks and helped in various criminal cases died at a retirement animal home in Virar on Thursday morning. His handlers from the Bomb and Detection Squad (Goregaon police) were present during the funeral, which was done with the National Flag draped over Caesar.

The retirement home owner is quoted as saying that  13-year-old Caesar succumbed to old age. “He was suffering from depression, as his earlier colleagues, Max, Tiger and Sultan died a few months ago. He was admitted in the Animal Hospital in Parel for arthritis and other old age ailments for a month and miraculously recovered. But since the past week, there was a relapse,” said Shah.  She went on to add that Caesar was posted at Taj Hotel during the 26/11 terror attack and saved many lives. The four police canines had retired from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) last year, and the other three had died within four months of each other. “When Sultan first died, Tiger went into depression, and since Tiger died Caesar had been unwell. Caesar would just sit beside Tiger’s grave and mourn his death,” said the activist.

All four of them were part of major bomb blasts in the last 12 years,including the 2006 serial blasts as well as the bomb blasts in Zaveri Bazaar. In fact, Caesar recovered 8 kg of RDX from the Taj hotel area during the 2008 terror attack, said Shah. The canine had also found many bombs in various areas of CST and other areas.

Caesar was brought to the Animal Hospital, Parel in an animal ambulance and he was cremated in the presence of his handler Santosh from Mumbai Police.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

14^th Oct 2016.