Monthly Archives: July 2013

Orthopaedic does free surgeries for poor

July 31, 2013Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technologiesadmin

Coimbatore:

Unlike most other social workers who have chosen to do service for a living, this 42-year-old orthopaedic surgeon has come to the limelight in Coimbatore doing surgeries free for patients living below the poverty line.

Dr S. Karthik, who is inspired by Vivekananda’s books and quotes, decided to operate on poor patients for free and also educates them through his guidance. He said since he was born and brought up in Coimbatore, he has often visited Ramakrishna Mission in Periyanaickenpalayam to attend seminars to know about Vivekananda’s life history and principles.

A native of Palladam, he now resides along with his family at Ram Nagar residential area. Dr Karthik conducts free medical camp and provides free treatment for residents of the rural area through an organisation called ‘Nesam’.

In the camp, Dr Karthik with the help of a few other doctors, performs free health check-up for sugar, blood pressure and other medical conditions. Recently, they conducted camps at Kothagiri, Kethanur and Bharathi colony. Apart from this, Dr Karthik is also operating on poor children free of cost using Rotary funding.

Speaking to DC, Dr Karthik said he studied in the United Kingdom and had done his fellowship in Australia and New Zealand before returning to Coimbatore. “My aim is to provide the best preventive healthcare to the villages and the poor,” he asserted.

Besides running free camps, Nesam has done surgeries for many labourers injured in road accidents and other industrial mishaps. To make the free service better, Dr Karthik joined a team of doctors in Coimbatore, including Dr R.P. Dharmendra , Dr Bala Senthil Kumaran, Dr Jayanthi, Dr Raghu, Dr Usha and Dr Karthikeyan all of whom specialise in various fields.

Dr Karthik is also looking to extend his preventive healthcare awareness mission to schools in villages where stress levels are at an all-time high.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by DC / V. Palaniappan / July 29th, 2013

Chennaiite works on science train

July 31, 2013Science & Technologiesadmin

Chennai:

S. Harini (25), a Chennaiite, will be in the bio diversity Science Express train till October 2013 as science communicator.

After completing her two-year masters in medical science from Uppsala University in Sweden, she returned to India to work in city hospitals as a technician. But her plans changed when she got selected to work in the science express project of the Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre. Now Harini wants to be a teacher and take simple science lessons for students in India.

Speaking to DC about her work on the Science Express, she said, “Students eagerly go around this train. They are happy trying experiments in the Joy of Science lab in the compartment. Our job is to explain the models and information charts to them. We are surprised by the knowledge of the students.

Compared to urban children, students from remote areas have learnt about the Science Express and await our arrival.”

Harini was awestruck when a group of children and adult visitors in Nagaland explained to her the biodiversity of their forests in detail.

“We learn only through books. But they live in the forest and could talk to us specifically about animals and plants because of their traditional knowledge. I admire those children,” she said. Pendulums to explain Newton’s law, maps of animal and plant species in India, interactive visual boards captivate children, she added.

Harini’s parents, Geetha and Sampath, understand her interests and encourage her to work for her passion.

“I realise that my duty is to work with children and teach them science with easy examples in day-to-day life. In this train, I meet at least 1,000 children a day,” she said.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by DC / Pramila Krishnan / July 29th, 2013

MCCians cross seas to be together after many years

July 31, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Nri's / Pio'sadmin

Students enjoy the shade under the trees while sitting on the philosopher 'thrones' at MCC in Tambaram on Saturday.— DC — Students enjoy the shade under the trees while sitting on the philosopher ‘thrones’ at MCC in Tambaram on Saturday. — DC

Chennai:

MCCians from both hemispheres of the globe crossed several seas and lands to be present at the global alumni meet 2013 in Tambaram on Saturday-Sunday. A Sri Lankan settled in Australia, another in Canada and two Indians in the US did not mind sinking their money in the trip meant solely to be part of the global re-union.

“In those days, we had only one university and only sons of influential people got seats. So, I followed my brother and came to MCC to study,” said M. Karunananthan (74), who hails from Jaffna in Sri Lanka. After graduating with B.Sc. in Botany in 1962 at MCC, Karunananthan went to Brunei and worked as a principal in a school for 30 years.

“Politically things were not good in Sri Lanka and so I chose to settle down in Australia,” said Karunananthan who spent about Rs 1.25 lakh to attend this event. “I used my 30 years’ savings to return to my alma mater. I came because it is a global meet and I wanted to touch base with my friends and classmates,” he said, adding that he and his friends would continue the meeting with a separate party on Sunday night.

Ambi Harsha (66) couldn’t wait for the cricket match to start on Sunday, as the former MCC cricket captain made it to the alumni meet all the way from Santa Barbara, USA.

While the alumni cricketer who passed out with M.Phil in History in 1971 was keen to get back to the field, he was also a little upset because a few of his old friends had passed away. When asked about the absence of some big names like PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Harsha said all of them were equal till they left college.

“We don’t think about big shots. They made it big only after leaving this campus and so we are happy to meet the old bunch who made all efforts to join the re-union,” he added. For Saravanan Kannan (40) it was MCC that helped him develop in life.

As a sports convener and later college union secretary general, the 1995 M.Sc. Physics student dedicates the rise in his career at IBM Software in New Jersey to the planning and implementation that he learnt from organising sports events in his college.

Canadian T. Siva Yogathy, who graduated with B.Com. in 1973, said the re-union was something unique. “We met five years ago to celebrate our B.Com. class re-union. But this global re-union where all batches across departments were invited to one place is simply mind boggling,” he added.

A college visit that evokes nostalgia

Chennai: Where are the classrooms? For a newcomer, Madras Christian College (MCC) would be ideal ground for a treasure hunt, as the 365 acre scrub forest hides most of the buildings.

How much the students in those well concealed classrooms value their green cover became apparent when the cutting down of a few of those very trees occasioned a strike.
Students go on strike for a variety of reasons, including bad hostel food or water shortage, but here they were up in arms against the management for shearing a few of the trees in their midst.

“To reinstate the trees that were to be cut, we planted many new saplings. But, fortunately, the college decided against the planned felling of trees and it made us feel doubly happy,” said K. Chendilnathan, a B.Sc. Zoology alumnus of 1992.

The college has managed to maintain till date the beauty of its natural surroundings, be it the lake or the scrub forest, over a span of the last 76 years. Further, the college has also made sure that the students’ natural talent and interests were not diluted.

“There were no rigid divisions between departments. We used to discuss freely with all our teachers across disciplines,” recalled Dr C. Selvaraj, who passed out with an M.A. in Economics in 1973.

The main grooming ground for the boys were the three ‘Halls’ where the hostel students resided. Day scholars were also attached to one of the Halls. All sports and cultural events were conducted between the three Halls.

An alumnus pointed out that the Halls had their own nicknames, the students of Heber Hall being called ‘barbarians’, Selaiyur Hall students were known as ‘kataans’, and Thomas Hall men were reduced to ‘thaiyer vadais’.

“We used to go for night walks and also ride through the entire circumference of the campus, which extends to 6 km, as part of cross-country events,” recollected Raj Mohanan, who passed out with an M.A. in History in 1997.

One place that always attracted young boys, and now girls, inside the campus were the philosophy ‘thrones’. “We enjoy sitting on these stones under the shade of the trees and discuss things,” said R. Nikitha, a first-year, B.Com student.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by DC / S. Sujatha / July 29th, 2013

Tiruchy collector gets down to earth

July 31, 2013Business & Economy, Leadersadmin

Collector Jayashree Muralidharan, along with a group of volunteers, is seen de-silting the Maavadikulam, an irrigation tank, at Ponneripuram near Ponamalaipatti in Thiruverumbur taluk on Sunday.—DC — Collector Jayashree Muralidharan, along with a group of volunteers, is seen de-silting the Maavadikulam, an irrigation tank, at Ponneripuram near Ponamalaipatti in Thiruverumbur taluk on Sunday. —DC

Tiruchy:

Much to the surprise of the officials and public, collector Jayashree Muralidharan donned the role of an unskilled labourer and dug the earth with spade and removed the mud from the Maavadipatti irrigation tank at Ponneripuram, near Ponamalaipatti, on Sunday to encourage and motivate a group of volunteers engaged in desilting the sprawling 143 acre irrigation tank.

A group of NSS students and volunteers have been engaged in desilting the Maavadipatti irrigation tank at Ponneripuram for the past two weeks.

Collector Jayashree Muralidharan rushed there along with a team of officials, comprising DRDA project director Ramasamy, PWD (RC division) executive engineer Bala subramanian and joint director of agriculture Gururaj Singh. Then, she held a spade and started digging the earth and removing the mud.

“She arrived there at 7 am. But, she held the spade soon after arriving there and started working continuously for five hours except for a short break of just 10 minutes to have her breakfast (idlis) which she had brought from home. She left from there at 12.40 pm,” said sources.

On seeing her digging the earth, other officials also got down to work, the sources said.

About 40 acres of the tank have been under encroachment for many years. The encroachers had raised brinjal and banana on it. But, the officials evicted the encroachments and restored the tank in the presence of revenue divisional officer M. Basheer, the sources said.

“The tank will help irrigate 200 acres of lands in the surrounding areas. If all lakes and irrigation tanks are properly maintained, rainwater can be harvested. The groundwater table will increase and there will be no problem of groundwater in the district”, collector said.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by DC / July 29th, 2013

Gudalur banana growers tap global market

July 31, 2013Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

Bananas at a field near Gudalur in Theni district on Tuesday. / Photo: G. Karthikeyan / The Hindu

Precision farming techniques, effective irrigation methods yield high quality fruits with better shelf life

Progressive banana growers in Gudalur and nearby areas not only get bumper harvest this season but also get to tap global market, particularly countries in the Middle East. They harvest high quality fruits with better shelf life, thanks to advanced technologies, precision farming techniques, use of organic manure and effective irrigation methods.

“We do not directly export banana to foreign countries. We export through exporters. The high quality of the fruits, their uniform size, colour and long shelf life help us gain access to international market,” says R.Madhan Kumar, a banana grower from Lower Gudalur.

The weight of one bunch of bananas is around 45 to 56 kg. Some farmers have produced bunches weighing up to 62 kg. Many farmers in Gudalur have shifted to banana cultivation from grape, which is a labour-intensive one. Moreover, acute care is also necessary to protect the plants till harvest. Labour shortage has pushed most to shift to banana cultivation.

After 75 per cent of ripening, bananas are transported to harbours in refrigerated containers and shipped to countries in the Middle East in 12 days’ time. Later, the fruits can be kept alive for two months, say farmers.

The banana growers have also been selling raw bananas to agents who ripen them and market them in Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi and Chennai.

Now, some banana growers have started engaging themselves in direct marketing. They undertake ripening process on their own. The existing private ripening chambers in Chinnamnur are dominated by traders only.

To help banana growers, the Agri-produces Marketing Committtee has set up a ripening chamber with a processing capacity of five tonnes a day in Chinnamanur.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Staff Reporter / Theni – July 31st, 2013

Did Japanese originate from Tamil?

July 31, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Katsuma Doi, Director, Japan Foundation, addressing the inaugural of a Japanese language school in Madurai on Friday. / Photo: S. James / The Hindu

The debate continues three decades after it was raised at the fifth World Tamil Conference held in Madurai in 1981.

It is more than three decades since Japanese linguist Susumu Ohno stirred a controversy at the fifth World Tamil Conference held here in 1981 by raising the possibility that the Japanese language may have originated from classical Tamil. The debate rages to this day.

Vimala Solomon, head of the Madurai-Japan Cultural Foundation and Director of Surya Nihongo Gakko, a Japanese language school here, says:

“I agree with Mr. Ohno because we find many similarities between Tamil and Japanese. We can think in Tamil and speak in Japanese. The syntax is also very similar.” However, she points out that one must learn Japanese first to appreciate the connection.

On the need for more Indians to learn Japanese, Savitri Vishwanathan, former head of the Department of Chinese and Japanese Studies, University of Delhi, says learning Japanese has its advantages as it facilitates interaction with the native speakers and helps in understanding their culture better, especially because Japanese is the only language spoken in all regions of Japan.

Katsuma Doi, director of the Japan Foundation in New Delhi, told The Hindu he is not aware of Mr. Ohno’s theory as the subject is confined to linguistic circles. But he adds that people-to- people contact between Japan and India has been excellent.

Referring to a great wave of interest created by the dubbed version of the Rajinikant film ‘Muthu’ in Japan in 1998 and the consequent interest evinced by Japanese audiences in watching Tamil movies, he says: “Now there is a second wave with the Japanese exhibiting much enthusiasm in watching Bollywood movies such as Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots, Shahrukh Khan’s Om Shanthi Om and Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger.”

He points out that a survey conducted in 2012 has revealed that Japanese is being taught to 3.98 million learners in 136 countries. “India is in the fourteenth position among countries where Japanese is popular. The number of learners in India has increased by 2,000 over the figure of 18,000 recorded in a survey conducted in 2009,” he points out.

He believes that Madurai will make great strides in learning Japanese in the years to come. “I feel that there will be rapid growth in the number of Japanese learners here as Ms. Vimala, a native of Madurai, has the ability not only to teach Japanese but also nurture the next generation of Japanese language teachers here,” he adds. Mr.Doi was in the city on Friday to inaugurate the Japanese language school.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Mohamed Imranullah S / Madurai – July 20th, 2013

Record attempt by enacting ‘three monkeys’ in sign language

July 30, 2013Records, Alladmin

Coimbatore :

In an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, 10,000 students from 40 schools and colleges will enact the famous ‘three monkeys’ sings in sign language on July 28 in Coimbatore.

The students will repeat the sign language of ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil’ 10 times, under guidance of Dr V G Mohan Prasad, chairman, VGM Hospital Institute of Gastroenterology, joint organisors of the attempt, as part of World Hepatitis day.

After the Guinness record event, all students would take an oath ‘each one teach one’ on the importance of safeguarding the liver and awareness on Hepatitis and all participating students would get a certificate from World Hepatitis Alliance, UK, one of the partners of the programme, Mohan Prasad said.

Hyderabad-based Shantha Bio-Technics will provide 10,000 doses of Hepatitis ‘B” vaccine free of cost to the children of Coimbatore, which will be administered free of cost at VGM Hospital, for the benefit of those who have not so far vaccinated, he said.

Mohan Prasad said he would speak on ‘Love Thy liver’ will while Anusha Ravi, CEO, Park Institutions, would speak on ‘how can youngster protect themselves from the luring vices of the modern era.’

District Collector M Karunagaran and Chief Educational Officer A Gnana Gowri will be the guests of honour at the function, in which I Varaprasad Reddy, Chairman, Sanofi, would be honoured, Mohan Prasad said.

PTI

source: http://www.news.oneindia.com / Oneindia News / Hone> Oneindia> News> India / Thursday – July 25th, 2013

A student cabinet to enhance leadership skills

July 30, 2013Educationadmin

Students at MOP Vaishnav’s fourth student cabinet installation programme.| A Raja Chidambaram/ File

The fourth student cabinet installation programme was held at the MOP Vaishnav College for Women on Wednesday.

MOP is among the first few colleges in the country to have introduced the student cabinet which has a representative body working in a parliamentary set up.

The 26 members of the student cabinet, elected on the basis of voting system, were officially assigned their roles at the installation programme by R Thandavan, Vice-Chancellor of Madras University, who was the chief guest.

The cabinet has nearly 11 ministries and each ministry is assigned a minister and deputy minister.

Sharing her agenda for the year, Aprajita Ghildiyal, the elected student prime minister, said: “It is a huge responsibility to coordinate with all other ministries and execute tasks. But this is a platform to learn and manage. Since we have all the departments involved, the learning is also diverse. We have included a new Ministry for innovation this year, so we can expect a lot of innovations happening in and around the campus. The cabinet helps us to be socially conscious citizens and that will surely reflect in our events this year.”

Principal Nirmala Prasad, who also acts as a president of the student cabinet said, “The ‘Student to Student’ mode of communication has more acceptance than ‘Teacher to Student’. This cabinet helps in uniting the whole student community into one and also helps in inculcating leadership skills in them. The students learn good governance in such a scenario, which, in turn, will help them to get into politics too.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / July 18th, 2013

Book expo at Royapettah

July 30, 2013Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Educationadmin

Urdu books on wheels at New College in Royapettah / .Photo: K. V. Srinivasan / The Hindu

The Department of Urdu and e-Centre of The New College, Royapettah, in association with National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, Ministry of Human Resource Development, organised ‘Exhibition of Urdu Books on Wheels,’ recently at the college premises.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Downtown / July 14th, 2013

This year, govt. hospitals are richer than ever before

July 28, 2013Records, All, Science & Technologiesadmin

For the past year, government hospitals in the city have been generating more money than they ever have before.

One year after the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) was introduced the once fund-starved hospitals are delighted with the outcome, as through it, they have earned crores of rupees, which in turn has translated into better facilities and equipment.

The CMCHIS has not only changed the lives of several patients, but has also brought smiles to the faces of doctors and heads of institutions.

Under the scheme, cashless treatment is provided to those whose income is below Rs. 72,000 per annum at various government and certain specified private hospitals.

Hospitals are reimbursed by the government for treatment costs. Of the funds received, hospitals can use 15 per cent for incentives to staff – including doctors, nurses and paramedical personnel, while the remaining 85 per cent can be used to upgrade infrastructure and equipment.

The nine institutions under Madras Medical College have received Rs. 53 crore, benefiting 35,000 patients. Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) alone has earned Rs. 41 crore benefiting 25,000 patients, Dean V. Kanagasabai said.

“We have been able to improve wards and upgrade facilities. We have invested in new cots and mattresses as well as equipment. For high-end surgeries, we have started using disposable aprons, which reduce infections,” he said.

The top five revenue-generating departments are – cardiothoracic, medical hepatology, neurosurgery, urology and cardiology, Dr. Kanagasabai added.

Over the past year, GH has used most of the funds on implants, amounting to Rs. 14.4 crore.

Expenditure on equipment has been to the tune of Rs. 5.76 crore and drugs have cost the hospital Rs. 2.52 crore. Incentives given to the medical staff accounted for Rs. 3.92 crore.

The hospital has bought and used 250 pacemakers since the inception of the CMCHIS, Dr. Kanagasabai said.

GH has also placed orders for a fibroscan, a device to conduct liver biopsies that can diagnose cancer even before histological changes are registered.

A liver intensive care unit and a dialysis centre are two major units that have come up thanks to the CMCHIS.

Government Stanley Medical College Hospital has generated nearly Rs. 25 crore. General surgery has earned the most under the scheme with Rs. 3 crore, followed by cardiology and plastic surgery with Rs. 2 crore each.

Orthopaedics generated Rs. 1.5 crore and medical gastroenterology, Rs. 1 crore.

“Doctors are happy as they now have access to new equipment and consumables. We are also performing day-care surgeries such as laparoscopy procedures,” said S. Geethlakshmi, dean of the hospital.

CMCHIS has brought in Rs. 9.37 crore to Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, with paediatrics emerging as the top earner at Rs. 2.42 crore.

The hospital has invested the money on equipment such as ventilators, pulse oxymeters and implants for knee and hip joint replacements.

At the Government Royapettah Hospital, oncology (surgical, radiation and medical) generated Rs. 3 crore followed by cardiology and nephrology at Rs. 2 crore each. Total funds generated stood at Rs. 10 crore.

An ENT professor at GH said that for three years before the CMCHIS, the budget for equipment at his department was Rs. 16 lakh.

“After the introduction of CMCHIS, we have generated Rs. 1.6 crore in a year. This has taken the department ahead of those in the private sector as we now have state-of-the-art equipment,” he said.

Name of hospital Earnings beneficiaries

Rajiv Gandhi Govt. GH Rs. 41 cr 25,000

Institute of Child Health Rs. 6 cr 4,000

Egmore Maternity Hosp Rs. 3 cr 3,000

KG Hosp. Triplicane Rs. 2 cr 1,600

Govt. Eye Hospital Rs. 1 cr 1,400

Stanley Hospital Rs. 25 cr 11,500

Kilpauk Hospital Rs. 11 cr 6,000

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by R Sujatha and Serena Josephine M / Chennai – July 19th, 2013

Chennai First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Chennai, Tamilians and all the People of TamilNadu – here at Home and Overseas