The district administration has taken measures to provide electricity and water connection to the tribal villagers in Melvalasai, Kezhilvasai and Akkarapatti.
The administration had also directed the village panchayat to constitute the Forest Rights Committee, to speed up the process of making these basic amenities available to the villagers. District Collector Dr Vijay Pingale, who visited the tribal villages on Wednesday, by walking nearly 8 kms on the steep Kalvaranyan hills, told Express,“We are taking steps to provide electricity to the tribal villages within a month. Power now is available in Kodaram, two-kms from the villages, in Villupuram district.”
After electricity connections are provided, the villagers would get drinking water too. “We will also make efforts to repair the solar lighting facility, which had not been functioning for the last two years,” he said. Further, Pingale said, “We are also planning to bring the tribals to the plains, if they are interested in accepting the house pattas and agriculture lands on the foothills.”
The village panchayat has been directed to form the Forest Rights Committee, comprising two-thirds of women, to avail the basic amenities.
“The committee is entitled to pass a resolution to avail 13 basic needs such as establishing ration shops, formation of roads, health centres and creating water sources,” District Forest Officer, Tiruvannamalai (South), V Naganathan said.
“We have asked the tribals to pass a resolution seeking drinking water and electricity facilities after forming the Committee. It will be taken into consideration and suitable action will be taken to fulfil their demands,” the Collector added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by J. Shanmugha Sundaram / ENS – Tiruvannamalai / April 19th, 2013
Chocolate lovers at the newly-opened museum in Ooty. / – DC
Ooty:
If it is A.R. Rahman for music, then it is Rahman brothers in the Nilgiris hills for home-made chocolates. The choco-brothers, well-known in the home-made chocoloate industry, have opened a new chapter in the annals of home-made chocolates as they have set up their chocolate museum — M&N Chocolate Museum — on Mysore Road, near HPF factory.
The brothers claim it’s a first-of-its-kind in the country and it gives an insight into the history of chocolate-making, especially the home-made chocolate.
The museum, with its vintage architecture and interiors that remind one of British country architecture, also boasts of models of horse carts, boat, idols, chocolate fountain, ancient chocolate making implements, cocoa seeds and the photographs of three Swiss men who were pioneers in home-made chocolate-making, along with signages on the health benefits of chocolates, besides a counter to house varieties of home-made chocolates.
Fazloor, the younger of the duo, who completed a course on chocolate-making at Ecolechocolate Institute in Canada and who conducted quite a few innovative shows on home-made chocolates here in the past, said home-made chocolates are a roaring confectionery industry now as people from all walks of life like them.
“The cool weather profile in Ooty gives a special flavour and taste to the home-made chocolates. We make a little more than 100 varieties of home-made chocolates using nuts, resins, dry fruits and even some herbs. Home-made chocolates need special touch of the hands to bring out the desired taste.
Of course, Ooty is famed for its nature, flowers, vegetables, spices and fruits. Home-made chocolates of Ooty, which carved a name for themselves, are extra-natural attraction in the field of confectionery with a touch of delicacy. That is why they easily attract the locals and tourists,” he added.
His brother Abdul, a mechanical engineer by profession who turned a chocolatier with some inspiration and help from his brother, said the chocolate museum is an attempt to give the much-needed insight into the history of chocolate-making which dates back to the Mayan era.
The Mayans were known to be the first users of cocoa. Cocoa is the basic ingredient in chocolates and in these modern times, home-made chocolate-making has leavened by vari-
ous innovations.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by B. Ravichandran, DC / April 27th, 2013
PIECES FROM THE PAST: At the sandhai. Photos: M. Periasamy / The Hindu
Every Sunday for nine years now, Shahul Ameen arrives at 8 a.m. on N.H. Road with cardboard boxes too full to tape shut. He spreads a tarpaulin sheet by the pavement outside a shuttered shop, hoists two poles on the road, throws another tarpaulin sheet over them and settles down in this makeshift shanty to unpack his wares.
Out come worn DVD players, Japanese headphones, mobile phone covers, chargers, ancient tape recorders, rusted sound mixers, dismantled mixies and second-hand CDs. Along the length of N.H. Road, others like Shahul slowly begin setting up the Sunday-only sandhai of second-hand electrical and electronics goods. With his products now neatly ordered and his morning chai downed, Shahul plonks cross-legged on a cane charpai, almost to say, “Let the haggling begin.”
Pic: M. Periasamy / The Hindu
“1,500!” says Babu. “800,” says the customer. “1,300!” snaps Babu. “1,000,” begs the customer. They meet at Rs. 1,100 and the customer walks off with a massive set of boombox speakers, its cloth covering bearing tell-tale holes. “People come here from all over Coimbatore every Sunday because there are at least 20 stalls to choose almost anything electronic from,” says Babu, who’s been a part of the sandhai for five years.
While most other sellers stay on till 8 p.m. when the market officially closes, Babu packs up once he’s made a decent sale. Babu spends his week going house to house in colonies across Coimbatore buying old electronic goods by weight. “Sometimes we buy from kabadi-wallas as well,” he says. Shahul finds his wares through similar methods but frequents exchange melas across the city and outside as well.
Unlike these two, Babu, owner of an electronics service unit just off N.H. Road sells at the sandhai the leftovers from his centre. “I have products which are too old to be fixed, so I bring them here and mechanics and other electricians buy them for the spare parts,” he says. Another hot product is mobile phones and their accessories, both new and second-hand. “Many sellers have small cellphone outlets elsewhere. When they accumulate models which are no longer manufactured or sold by mobile brands, they bring them here and sell it for half-price without guarantee cards,” explains Shahul. “They get rid of their stock and we get mobiles that work,” says Shashidharan, a regular customer at the sandhai for the last five years.
A long shot
It’s a hit-and-miss affair with products here, adds Shashidharan. He once bought a second-hand remote that claimed to work on any television set but didn’t do so. His spoil for today is a clock backlit by fluorescent lights shining through water with floating plastic fish in it. Through the years he’s frequented the sandhai, Shashidharan says he’s seen it expand to include stalls that sell more than just electronics. Some electronic stalls now stock new film DVDs and music CDs; others have cardboard boxes full of old cassettes with Tamil songs and well-used VCD tapes. Those like Pandian have set up stalls selling rubber chappals for Rs. 20, feeding off the sandhai’s constant crowd. “Through the week we sell at Race Course and we bring the excess here on Sundays,” he says. He is accompanied by a chat-walla, mosambi-juice seller and others peddling clothes.
The sandhai gets most of its footfall thanks to the buses that stop on N.H. Road and make their way to the heart of Town Hall. “Each of us gets 90 to 100 customers and altogether at least a 1,000 people come through each Sunday,” says Shahul.
Each stall usually has a huge crowd milling around it, few among them buying though, most just looking to replicate the bargains others make. Eavesdrop on a few conversations and you’ll hear a fair smattering of Hindi, for many migrant labourers from North India come to the sandhai for second-hand products that could make their short stay here more comfortable. Besides those buying, there are those looking to sell old goods too. As we speak, a man offers Shahul a walkman from the 90s. “Not interested,” says Shahul pointing to the walkmans he’s already got to sell. As others stand in the unforgiving heat, peering over Shahul’s wares, he gets himself a lime juice to last him through the second half of this sandhai Sunday.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Esther Elias / Coimbatore, April 30th, 2013
The Madurai District Legal Services Authority (MDLSA) has set up legal-aid clinics (LACs) at the offices of the top civil and police functionaries in the district. They will function three days in a week at the collectorate and in the offices of commissioner of police (CoP) and the superintendent of police (SP).
Madurai district judge B Gokuldass inaugurated the LACs at the collectorate and the police commissionerate on Wednesday. Chief judicial magistrate S Saravanan Perumal unveiled the clinic at the SP office in the city. Collector Anshul Misra, commissioner of police S Sanjay Mathur, SP T Jayachandran and secretary of MDLSA sub-judge Jacintha Martin were present.
MDLSA has been establishing LACs at several places in the district to provide basic legal services to the people. They have come up in Madurai, Vadipatty, Usilampatti, Thirumangalam and Melur taluks where people face geographical, social and other barriers for accessing legal services.
The clinic at the district collectorate will function on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, while the clinics at the offices of city police commissioner and SP will function on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each clinic will work with one legal-aid counsel who will be assisted by a para-legal volunteer trained by the MDLSA, said the sub-judge Jacintha.
With the three new LACs, the Madurai city now has 14 LACs, said the sub-judge. Besides, four more clinics will be set up in this weekend, said the sub-judge.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / April 04th, 2013
As part of its efforts to meet the growing demand for dwelling units in urban areas, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday announced a satellite township on the outskirts of Madurai at a cost of Rs 120 crore and proposed to build 4,454 houses in several other districts.
Making a suo motu statement in the assembly, chief minister J Jayalalithaa said the township would be created some 15 kms away from Madurai along Madurai-Tirunelveli highway near the airport.
The township would be created over 586.86 acre presently owned by Tamil Nadu Housing Board in Thoppur-Uchappatti, she said.
The township would have 19,500 plots to be developed at a cost of Rs 120 crore with basic amenities like drinking water, roads, drainage system, street light, rain water harvesting facilities and parks.
Of this, 14,300, 2,500, 750 and 1,950 plots would be alloted to low, middle, high income groups and economically weaker sections respectively, she said.
The township would be complete with schools, commercial complexes, police station, post office, primary health centre, fire station and upgraded industrial houses funded by Tamil Nadu Housing Board, she added.
The chief minister also announced that 1,500 flats would be built at Sholinganallur here, using ‘pre fab technology’ at a cost of Rs 612 crore.
The 10-storeyed building would have separate sections for low, middle and higher income groups.
“With the using of this new technology (pre fab technology) being followed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the construction time frame be reduced up to 25 per cent and expenditure between 10 and 15 per cent,” she added.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by PTI / April 04th, 2013
The drumstick growers in the Aravakurichi belt of Karur district are a happy lot now with arrivals picking up along with the price. The special shandies in the region are flush with fresh arrivals that are now fetching a remunerative price for the growers.
Drumstick is grown on more than 40,000 acres of land both as a garden crop and field crop in Aravakurichi belt. The major drumstick producing areas include Tadakoil, Venjamangudalur, Santhapadi, Esanatham, Ammapatti, Koththapalayam, and 20 other villages from where around 20 to 30 truck loads of drumstick are despatched to various destinations every day. Traders from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal come down to Aravakurichi and nearby areas routinely to buy moringa in lots at the special shandies that would come up on the roadsides.
“We feared that the harvest might take a steep dip because of the adverse climatic conditions in the flowering stage of the crop. But fortunately nature has been benevolent to us and we have seen as good a harvest like any good year this time and we are doubly happy that the price is also pretty good. One bundle of drumstick, weighing around 2 kg, fetches the growers Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 and that is a good thing,” said T. Palanisamy from Santhapadi village.
The current first season for the crop lasts from April to June and the growers are happy that at the initial stage itself the price is good. They hope that the price line should hold for the season, they said. “The price tag has given us traders a big surprise as many of us felt that the price would fall due to adverse weather conditions and such other factors. But that was not to be and the drumstick prices have got off to a steady start. At present, we are purchasing along with the local traders but soon many like us from the north and Bengal would arrive and we could not fathom what will happen to the price when they perhaps next fortnight,” says a regular trader Mohammed Aijaz from Gurgaon area of Haryana.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by L. Renganathan / Aravakurichi, April 05th, 2013
using the panels will be ready on April 8. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Panels made of glass fibre reinforced gypsum can replace brick walls and RCC slabs, and are resistant to quakes.
Can panels made of gypsum reinforced with glass fibre be used as load-bearing walls replacing brick in a multi-storied building? Can they also be used as floor/roof in place of reinforced cement concrete (RCC) slab? The simple answer is, yes.
A few years ago, Rapidwall Building Systems, Australia, developed a technology to make gypsum strong and water-resistant enough to be used as load-bearing walls. This is by calcining process where glass fibre is combined with gypsum plaster to produce glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) panels. Now, researchers at IIT Madras have gone a step further.
They have developed a technology to make GFRG panels to be also used as floor/roof, thus eliminating the use of RCC slabs. An eight-storied building, for instance, can be built using the panels as load-bearing walls, floors/roofs and staircases.
They also collaborated in the indigenous development of an excellent water-proofing material. Water-proofing is essential for prolonged durability of the GFRG panels, especially in the case of roofs and toilets.
A demonstration building — ground plus first floor — is being built inside the IIT-M campus. The building, with electrical and sanitary fittings, will be ready on April 8 — just 29 days of construction after the foundation was completed. “It will be ready for occupation when it is completed,” said Prof. Devdas Menon, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras.
The building will have four units — two with a carpet area of 269 sq.ft are for the economically weaker section, and another two, with a carpet area of 497 sq.ft, are for the low-income group (LIG).
A few years ago, a couple of buildings were constructed at the GFRG panel manufacturing plants at RCF in Mumbai and FACT Cochin, and one at Visakhapatnam using the IIT technology. “Those were pilot projects,” said Prof. Menon. “This is a demonstration that the material can be used for cost-effective, mass-scale and quickly buildable housing, with improved water-proofing.”
What makes the rapid construction possible is that the panels are prefabricated and cut to desired sizes based on room sizes with openings for doors and windows.
A panel has two skins of 15 mm thickness that are interconnected at regular intervals (25 cm). The cavities formed by these interconnections are used for several purposes — filling with concrete, and laying electrical conduits and plumbing pipes.
In Australia, the Rapidwall technology has been used for constructing several 2-3 storied buildings. Since the walls act as load-bearing structures, every cavity in the panel is filled with concrete. They use conventional RCC solid slabs for the roof/floor.
“We recommend the use of two steel bars instead of one and filling all cavities with concrete in the lower floors in the case of a high-rise building,” said Prof. A. Meher Prasad of Civil Engineering Department, IIT, Madras. The number of concrete-filled cavities and steel bars keeps reducing from the ground to the topmost floor. The topmost floor will need very few concrete-filled cavities.
A reduction in amount of concrete used in turn reduces the total weight of the building. The ripple effect is the reduction in the foundation cost. The demonstration building at IIT Madras is about 25 per cent cheaper than conventional ones. “There will be greater savings when used for mass-construction,” Prof. Menon stressed. Aside from the savings and speed of construction, the buildings are subjected to lesser earthquake forces. This is because of their lighter weight.
For the floor/roof, the panels are placed over the vertical wall panels and the top skin of every third cavity is cut open. Steel reinforcement is placed in these cut cavities before being filled with concrete. The concrete-filled cavities tend to behave as hidden beams. The panel is then covered with a 5-cm thick concrete topping.
Since the panels have a smooth finish, the need to plaster them (as in the case of brick walls) does not arise. The total weight of the building (dead weight) is reduced substantially
According to the IIT researchers, tests conducted have shown that GFRG panels reinforced with concrete are also capable of resisting lateral loads caused by earthquakes. During an earthquake or strong wind, buildings tend to sway and the walls are subjected to enormous loads exerted laterally.
The Building Material & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) has approved GFRG for construction in India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S & T > Technology / by R Prasad / April 03rd, 2013
Scores of leaders of political parties and artistes paid their homage to media baron and sports administrator B. Sivanthi Adityan, who passed away on Friday. The body of 76-year-old owner of popular Tamil daily “Dina Thanthi,” was taken in a procession from his Poes Garden residence to the electric crematorium at Besant Nagar where it was consigned to flames.
Earlier, a steady stream of mourners paid their last respects to the Padmashri recipient who was also an industrialist, educationist, philanthropist besides being associated with Indian Olympic Association and various other sport bodies.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Governor K. Rosaiah and chief minister J. Jayalalithaa were among those who condoled the demise of Adityan.
DMK chief M Karunanidhi, Union ministers G.K. Vasan and Jayanthi Natarajan, MDMK chief Vaiko, DMDK Leader Vijayakant, CPI state secretary D. Pandian, CPI (M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan, TNCC president B. Gnanadesikan and BJP president Pon Radhakrishnan were among those who paid floral tributes to Adityan at his residence.
Members of film fraternity including superstar Rajni, actor-politician R. Sarathkumar, Sivakumar, director Bharatirajaa and music director Illaiaraja also paid their last respects.
In his message to Malathi Adityan, wife of Sivanthi Adityan, Mukherjee said his contribution to society as a philanthropist and educationist would always be remembered.
Expressing profound grief, Manmohan Singh said the country had lost a true champion of the media, who believed that journalism was meant to serve the common man’s need for information.
Rosaiah said, “I am deeply shocked and grieved to hear about the demise of B. Sivanthi Adityan…his death is an irreparable loss to media and to sports in particular.”
In her message, Ms. Jayalalithaa said Adityan’s demise was a huge loss to journalism and sports. The Indian Newspaper Society too paid rich tributes to B. S. Adityan who was one of its past presidents.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / April 2qst, 2013
Its little wonder that Tirupur, which has established itself as a knitwear export hub on the global map is today attracting labour, not merely from the neighbouring districts in the State but from other parts of the country as well.
Industry insiders say that the number of job seekers from Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal among others is on the rise. From just around 5000-odd persons about four years back, the number is estimated to have risen to 40,000+ at present.
Preferring anonymity, an industry source said that some units have established recruitment offices in Bihar and Odisha. ‘With local labour becoming scarce, we have no option but look elsewhere to fill this void by allowing migrants from the north,’ the source said.
LABOUR DYNAMICS
And the labour dynamics is witnessing a change not just on the shop floor, but on the streets, canteen and eatery as well.
The Nethaji Apparel Park (NAP), on the outskirts of this dollar town houses 54 units and provides employment to around 17,000 labourers.
According to R. Subramaniam, Executive at NAP, at least 7000 of the total workforce at NAP units were from the northern and central parts of the country. “Most of the northern companies prefer to engage north Indian labour,” he said, justifying the significant rise in the number of migrant labour.
And in recent years, some of the garment exporters seem to have gone to the extent of getting cooks from these states to enable the workforce appease their hunger. “We realised that the migrant workers from north Indian states missed their food and decided to address this issue,” said an exporter.
J-Marks Exim (I) Private Ltd has, for instance, five units at NAP. Not less than 65-70 per cent of the workforce in this company is from the North.
Rakesh, aged about 21, is working in the bundling section at J-Marks. Hailing from a village near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, this youngster came to Tirupur two years back.
Stating that his uncle introduced him to this knitwear exporting unit, Rakesh told this correspondent that he has been able to send home around Rs 12,000 every alternate month. “Ours is an agricultural family. We cultivate wheat in our farm. I usually go home during the harvest season. My people are using this money for building a house,” he said.
Lakshman, a co-worker with Rakesh at the same unit says he came to Tirupur to eke out a living. These two along with ten others from Uttar Pradesh take turns and make their meal. “It’s no big deal,” says Lakshman.
ACCOMMODATION
Subramaniam said accommodation was becoming a major issue, with rentals hitting the roof. “We have a women’s hostel, which can accommodate 1,000 women. Many more are coming up in Tirupur,” he added.
An industry insider meanwhile pointed out that workers from different States preferred to live in colonies. “Perumanallur, located about 12 km from Tirupur is a Nepalese settlement,” the source said.
The units continued to provide conveyance. “Earlier, one would see the locals commuting in these buses. Now, a majority of the occupants in these buses are from other states,” said Subramaniam.
According to the NAP Executive, the employer reference is sought when such migrants seek rental accommodation.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by L.N. Revathy / Coimbatore – April 18th, 2013
The average monthly handling of cargo at the airport has gone up to 243 tonnes now against the 100 tonnes in 2010-11. File Photo: R. M. Rajarathinam / The Hindu
Cargo terminal records highest monthly handling in March
Cargo exports from Tiruchi Airport have registered 44 per cent growth during 2012-13. The cargo terminal has also registered a new high by handling 395 tonnes of international cargo during March, the highest ever for the airport so far. The previous high was 313 tonnes handled in January early this year.
The cargo terminal at the airport has totally handled 2,920 tonnes of cargo during 2012-13 against 2,022 tonnes recorded during the previous financial year.
“The continued growth places Tiruchi International Airport as one of the leading cargo terminals among the non-metro airports under the control of the Airports Authority of India in the country,” said S. Dharmaraj, Airport Director.
The rise in exports come in the wake of the increase in the uplift capacity from Tiruchi after Tiger Airways started lifting cargo from here to Singapore in September last year.
Tiger Airways was the fourth major airline to lift cargo from the city after Sri Lankan Airlines, Air Asia, and Mihin Lanka. Air India Express, the other major operator from the city, remains the only airline that does not lift cargo though it has international operations from here.
The total available uplift capacity of the airlines for cargo from the city is around 350 to 400 tonnes a month and the terminal is inching towards full capacity utilisation, airport sources said.
The average monthly handling of cargo at the airport has also gone up to 243 tonnes now against the 100 tonnes in 2010-11.
Airport sources also indicate that the composition of the cargo exported from Tiruchi was also gradually changing though perishables, mainly vegetables and flowers, continue to account for 85 per cent of the exports. Of late, consignments of readymade garments, fabrics, leather goods, pharma products, tea, food products such as ‘murukku’ and other eatables, and household goods are gradually coming in.
Exports are mainly to Kuwait, Dubai, Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Colombo. The export market to Europe is still largely untapped for want of connectivity, as far as the airport here is concerned.
The expansion of the runway, paving the way for wide-bodied aircrafts, could lead to export of consignments to Europe from here. For instance, most of the handmade textile exports from Karur, headed for European markets, are currently sent by ship.
The cargo terminal is also expected to get a cold storage with a capacity of five tonnes soon with assistance from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). Although tenders have been finalised by the AAI, the work order is yet to be issued pending release of funds from the APEDA.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by Special Correspondent / Tiruchi, April 03rd, 2013
