Sofia Ashraf’s video has had more than a million views on YouTube, drawing attention to accusations against a thermometer factory in the town of Kodaikanal that closed down 14 years ago.
Sofia Ashraf.
An Indian rapper has gone viral with a music video calling on consumer products giant Unilever to clean up alleged toxic waste from a forested southern hill station. Sofia Ashraf’s video, posted online by a nongovernmental organization called Jhatkaa, or “shock” in Hindi, has had more than a million views on YouTube, drawing attention to accusations against a thermometer factory in the town of Kodaikanal that closed down 14 years ago.
Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of the consumer goods company, has denied wrongdoing. It disputes claims of former workers who say their health has been damaged by exposure to mercury. The company said it shut down the factory in 2001 when environmental activists including Greenpeace “brought to Hindustan Unilever’s attention the fact that glass scrap containing mercury” had been sold to a scrap dealer about three kilometres from the factory.
“We have been rigorous in establishing the facts and several independent expert studies have concluded that there were no adverse impacts on the health of our people at Kodaikanal. We have also taken action to ensure the clean-up of soil within the factory premises,” a Hindustan Unilever spokesperson said in an email.
“There is still work to do here – which we are committed to fulfilling – as soon as we have received final consent from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to start the soil remediation.” Set to the beat of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”, and retweeted by Minaj herself, Ashraf also asks Unilever to compensate workers.
“Kodaikanal won’t step down, until you make amends now,” she raps.
source : YouTube
source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> News> India / Reuters Mumbai / August 04th, 2015
Wheat varkey being prepared in a bakery in Udhagamandalam.- Photo: M. Sathyamoorthy
Rajkumar starts work at 3 a.m. every day at his baking station, preparing and baking the “Ooty Varkey” for nearly six hours daily. Their family has been making varkey in Ooty for more than seven decades now and they have customers coming in from different parts of the State and also from Bangalore and Puducherry. They make about 100 kg of Varkey a day and have added more varieties to cater to the demands of the customers.
This is one of the popular products that tourists to the Nilgiris want to take home. There are nearly 150 bakers in Ooty who make Varkey and they plan to submit details soon to get the Geographical Indication certificate for “Ooty Varkey”. Some of them, such as Rajkumar, follow the recipe that the family has used for several years now.
K. Mohammed Farook, President of Ooty Bakery Owners Association, told The Hindu that there were many in the plains who sell the product as “Ooty Varkey”. Getting the certificate will benefit the bakers in Ooty. The bakers in the Nilgiris procure the raw materials locally.
The quality of water and the weather in the Nilgiris give a special taste to the Varkey, he says. “We have collected the details and will submit the final copy to the officials soon for the GI certificate,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by M. Soundariya Preetha / Coimbatore – July 27th, 2015
With the success of brinjal cultivation under the Indo-Israel project by the Horticulture Department in Dindigul, the farmers in the region are showing interest in the scheme.
S Thangavel, a farmer from the region said he was impressed with the cultivation method used in the farm when he visited it recently. “I will take it once the trial is completed,” he said.
K Srinivasan, the project officer said Reddiarchathiram in Dindigul is the only place in Tamil Nadu that has been selected as the centre of excellence for vegetables under the project. Also, nine places in nine states have been selected for the same purpose.
Speaking about the project, he said by open cultivation method, the seeds of the Indo-American brinjal in 45 cents of land were cultivated in Reddiarchathiram.
He also said techniques like mulching and minimize evaporation, powered by Israel were implemented in the project for a cost of Rs 10.8 crore.
Ten grams of seeds is priced at Rs 300. According to him, 100 gms would suffice an acre and its yield is expected to be not less than 25 tonnes.
The presence of pesticide residue is less in vegetables as they are sprayed once in 15 days. However, in farmers’ conventional method, they are sprayed once a week.
To prevent wastage and monitor seedlings, a few special techniques like pro tray seedling production will be used.
The brinjals cultivated in this method would weigh between 100gms and 150gms. Srinivasan said in the next phase, they have planned to implement cultivation of organic crops in a section of the test area under the protected net house cultivation method. Polyhouse cultivation will also be started soon, he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India /Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / July 16th, 2015
Jute making workshop at Queens Mary’s College in the city. Photo: Paul Joshua
Dhanalaxmi teaches jute-bag making and helps student start their own businesses
Over 100 students of Queen Mary’s College learnt the nuances of jute bag-making from Dhanalaxmi, who has been encouraging woman to become entrepreneurs. The owner of IVERS Bags, Dhanalaxmi has been in this business for the past 11years. Five years ago, she started helping others start their own businesses. She has been training self-help groups and NGOs in making and marketing jute bags and jewellery.
“A few years ago, when the IT scene was bad, one couple from the IT industry approached me, asking me to train them in the art. Today, they run a successful jute business,” she said.
In the session conducted at the college, students from corporate secretaryship, sociology, zoology and B.Com departments walked away with certificates presented by Akathar Begum, principal, on successful completion of the workshop.
“These are the bags we have made. Dhanalaxmi ma’am also gave us a kit box with materials to try more designs at home,” said a student showing off a table full of sling bags, pencil pouches and tambulam bags made by her.
Dhanalaxmi is ready to conduct training for groups and individuals . “This is an eco-friendly product and helps reduce the use of plastic. People should make a switch to jute product.”
Dhanalaxmi can be contacted at 92831 35238/98405 33611.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Downtown / by Flavia Plaidus / Chennai – July 04th, 2015
The last of the traditional weavers of Kancheepuram cotton saris display their work at Co-optex.— Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam
The last of the traditional weavers of a cooperative society in Vadamanapakkam in Cheyyar taluk of Tiruvannamalai district have returned to creating the famed Kancheepuram cotton saris after a gap of 15 years.
The Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society, better known as Co-optex, has tried to revive the nearly extinct variety of saris by increasing the weavers’ wages. The weavers had switched to jacquard machines and elaborate designs as it brought more earnings. Now, a group of 30 weaver families attached to the Vadamanapakkam Sakthivel Murugan Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society has taken up weaving traditional designs.
“Kancheepuram silk weavers use the korvai method and we adopted it. In those days, weaving was a family effort and children were employed as they were deft. Ever since child labour was banned we had to adopt a different method,” recalls Kadirvel, a weaver. Mr.Kadirvel has never been to school and learnt weaving from his parents. Like him S. Ambiga joined her parents at the age of 10. Since last year, when Co-optex began attaching cards with each handloom sari, introducing the weaver to the buyer, Ms.Ambiga has earned respectability as a weaver. The Vadamanapakkam Society was a one-man show for over 20 years, with M. Lakshmi as president.
“The children would finish the toughest part and we would do the rest. Just one weaver can create the entire sari in three days. We used to provide 50 saris a month to Co-optex. But now they have raised our wages by Rs.100 per sari and we produce 100 saris a month,” she says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by R. Sujatha / Chennai – July 08th, 2015
K. Kamaraj, the then president of the Congress, takes a look at a model of the Ambattur Industrial Estate that was inaugurated on July 3, 1965.
Ambattur Industrial Estate that turns 50 today has great milestones to cherish and new goals to reach for.
From a sleepy village of paddy fields with mud paths for roads, the Ambattur Industrial Estate has come a long way. The estate, which turns 50 on July 3, is now a thriving hub of small- and medium-scale industries.
Established in 1965 with the efforts of the then Industries and Power Minister, Madras State R. Venkataraman, the estate was inaugurated by the then Congress president K. Kamaraj and was home to 400 units, manufacturing locomotive and automobile accessories. Now, spread over 1,200 acres, the estate has grown to accommodate over 2,000 industrial units in the manufacturing and service sectors, including consumer durables and garments.
Senior industrial unit holders and members of the Ambattur Industrial Estate recall those days when the estate was dotted with units manufacturing engineering components. It was reported to be Madras State’s largest industrial estate that accommodated small-, medium-, and large-scale industries by The Hindu . Mr. Venkataraman had also contributed to the four-page inauguration supplement brought out by The Hindu .
A former president of the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufaturers’ Association (AIEMA) recalled Mr. Venkataraman’s foresight and how he pitched for an elevated corridor to divert heavy vehicular traffic from the estate right then. Chennai Bypass now takes the traffic from Tambaram to Red Hills without any hindrance to the estate.
In the late 1960s, many engineering graduates launched units at Ambattur. “I shifted from Pune to Chennai to open my unit here. It was convenient for many like me to stay in Anna Nagar and run the unit at Ambattur that also has a railway station,” said a past president of AIEMA.
With rapid development in the past decade, several software companies have also set their eyes on the estate. Infrastructural issues such as poor roads and waterlogging have been eliminated.
“We have many welfare measures for employees, including a hospital. Our crèche, which accommodates 100 children, is one of the few such facilities available in industrial estates. We are focussing on making it a green estate with effluent and sewage treatment facilities,” AIEMA president K. Sai Sathya Kumar said.
Having exhausted space for expansion, the units are now scouting for land to set up an ancillary estate.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by K. Lakshmi / Chennai – July 03rd, 2015
The long awaited electric train service between Coimbatore and Mettupalayam commenced operations today.
The 32 KM stretch from Coimbatore North to Mettupalayam, electrified at a cost of Rs 28 crore, was a long pending demand of passengers of the district, including a large number of tourists visiting nearby Nilgiris district.
Eleven bogies of Blue Mountain Nilgiris Express were attached to the train, which made its maiden trip to Mettupalayam.
The electrified service had been delayed due to technical snags and two trial runs were carried out last month before before the service commenced today, railway sources said.
Six trains operate between the two destinations daily, covering the distance in 45 minutes.
However passengers wanted the speed to be increased from 90 km to at least 140 KM to reduce running time for the benefit of office goers and tourists.
Railways attributed the lower speed to the inability of the track to withstand higher speeds and load, which can be augmented in a phased manner.
Since Mettupalayam railway station does not have a lengthy platform to accommodate 26 bogies of Nilgiris Express, only 10 were coming there, after detaching 15 bogies at Coimbatore junction.
Passengers said Railways should take efforts to extend the present platform.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by PTI / July 03rd, 2015
A.Preethi created a record of sorts when the drove the first Metro service. Photo: K.V.Srinivasan
For Preethi, from the time she aspired to serve as a loco pilot in the Railways to driving the first train in Chennai Metro, it has been one exciting ride.
As A. Preethi was about to ease the train out of the station during the maiden run of Chennai Metro Rail from Alandur to Koyambedu, she saw her mother and niece standing on the platform, eagerly watching the proceedings.
A surprised Preethi immediately beckoned the two to get inside the train. But, her mother asked her to stay put and gestured that she would take the next train.
“I am so proud of her,” Preethi’s mother said, even as her voice choked and her eyes welled up. “Initially, I did not want her to take this job. But now, I m so happy that she’s driving this train,” she said.
For Preethi, from the time she aspired to serve as a loco pilot in the Railways to driving the first train in Chennai Metro, it has been one exciting ride. “I was absolutely thrilled. Beginning now, my concern is to drive carefully and keep passengers safe,” she added.
While she is more than happy driving along this elevated stretch, Preethi is eager to drive through the tunnels of the Metro when the underground stretches become operational.
After Preethi, it was Jayashree’s turn on the second train. Both of them bagged diplomas in electronics and communication before taking up jobs as train operators. Soon, five more women operators will join the team.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sunitha Sekar & T.K. Rohit / June 30th, 2015
The seeds of innovation sown by Gokuldas Thulsidas is continuing to help the region create wealth out of waste.
Thulsidas Murarjee and his brother Keshavlal were Gujarati merchants from Porbander. In the 19th Century, They travelled between Porbander and Calicut and traded in nuts and silk from Persia and took back spices and tiles to Gujarat. It took them more than 10 days to do a one way trip in those days. On one such trip a storm delayed their return and they decided to visit Coimbatore. They liked the city and decided to settle down here. They lived in Vysial street and began trading in cottonseeds by procuring them from Pollachi. More than 100 years ago, they established Thulsidas Murarjee & Company and thus began their business tryst with Coimbatore.
Thulsidas Murarjee had five sons and two daughters. The third and fourth sons, Gokuldas Thulsidas and Narsi Thulsidas continued with the firm. Gokuldas (1904 -1957) travelled on his motorbike to Pollachi for his work. He was an innovative entrepreneur. He used cottonseed waste as fillers in pillows and mattresses.
Gokuldas Thulsidas
Gokuldas was an excellent communicator who quoted extensively from the Thirukkural. He also spoke fluent Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, besides Gujarati. He had only studied only till the fifth standard. Gokuldas or Babu Sait as he was popularly known married Kesaribai from Calicut and the couple had one daughter and three sons – Suresh, Pratap and Arun. They lived Vysial street, spent a few years in Race Course before moving permanently to R.S.Puram.
Gokuldas tied up with some foreigners who wanted cotton waste to make coarse yarn used in the manufacture of jeans. He procured and exported cotton waste from mills in Tamil Nadu and these included Rajapalayam Mills, C.S & W Mills, Lakshmi Mills, Radhakrishna Mills and Pioneer Mills. He exported cotton waste to USA, UK, Italy and Germany prior to the World War II. Later in 1951 he went to England and furthered his business knowledge. He was a pioneering Coimbatorean who unlocked the commercial potential of cotton waste in South India. Thanks to this vision and ability Thulsidas Murarjee & Company made a fortune those days.
Gokuldas acquired the Managing Agency of Sharadha Mills during the early years of independence. The doyen of South Indian industry R.Venkataswamy Naidu was also associated with this venture and a dividend was declared within two years of their administration. Gokuldas visited the silk mills located in various parts of our country and studied their potential.
Septugenarian Suresh fondly recalls his father, “My father was a workaholic and he took very good care of his family, employees and clients. He wanted me to learn business after my school education (Stanes School), but he passed away early. He built a maternity home in his mother Ramkurbai’s name in R.S.Puram. He promised my mother Kesaribai that he would build a school and temple.
The Kikani family took this dream forward. We built the Satyanarayana Temple in R.S.Puram within a year of his death in order to make his dream come true. He was the agent for the global major Snia Viscose of Italy and motivated mills to use viscose yarn that was unheard of those days. He guaranteed returns to the early users of viscose. Balasubramanya Mills was his first customer.
The Italian Directors of Snia Viscose, Dr.Spinelly and Cesar Rossi, often came home and ate with us. My father was an active Rotarian and was associated with the Rotary Club of Coimbatore and an avid Bridge player. He was very close to a number of leading mill owners such as G.K.Devarajulu, S.R.P.Ponnuswamy Chettiar, Karumuttu Thiagaraja Chettiar, G.R.Govindarajulu and others from across the country. He had excellent overseas contacts and several large ventures were born in Coimbatore as a result of his networking.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Rajesh Govindarajulu / June 19th, 2015
TAKE Solutions — a Chennai-based global business technology solutions provider — has been awarded a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its clinical data standardization process.
The process, delivered by Navitas — the life sciences arm of TAKE Solutions — is referred to as “Method for Optimizing Clinical Data Standardization.”
This process captures data from clinical trials coming in different formats and leverages TAKE’s clinical accelerator systems to standardize the data.
According to TAKE, the patented process is capable of reducing the time taken to standardize trial data, thus simplifying the analysis process by regulators and also reducing time to market.
“The process includes various pre-defined steps that convert raw data into tabular data sets. This enables regulators to easily understand the data, as well as enables easy analysis of trial data,” TAKE Solutions said in a statement.
“The clinical data and regulatory service accounts for almost 30% of our life sciences business and we expect the patented process to reduce cost of providing the services by around 20%,” Srinivasan H R, vice-chairman and MD of TAKE Solutions, told TOI.
TAKE’s clinical data and regulatory services team offers clinical data solutions, including clinical data standardisation, clinical data management, statistical programming and data standards.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India /Home> City> Chennai / by Sindhu Hariharan, TNN /June 25th, 2015
