Coimbatore :
P Senthilnathan, a surgeon from GEM hospital and Research Centre in the city, has been appointed as the Asia Pacific expert committee member by the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association (IHPBA), for promoting laparoscopic liver surgeries in India.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / June 27th, 2015
Some films inspire us to go the distance. The Malayalam movie How Old Are Youand it’s Tamil remake 36 Vayadhinile were liked by people not only because they were comeback films of Manju Warrier and Jyothika but also because it helped people to change the way they look at things. In the film, the protagonist finds her niche and respect in her family and society after she successfully meets a challenging order of supplying organic vegetables to a marriage party. When celebrities on or off screen boost an idea, they inspire people and often set off a transformation.
But for Dr.G.Natchiar, Director Emeritus at Aravind Eye Care Systems and Mrs.Premalatha Panneerselvam, the founder of Mahatma group of schools in Madurai, taking up farming was a dream long nurtured and they would certainly love more people to know and see their lush biodynamic farms – a result of sheer passion and labour of years. They are Madurai’s stars for whom life has come full circle because both belong to agricultural families.
“I am back to my roots, you will find me less in the hospital now,” laughs Dr.Natchiar, who after many debates with the family earmarked two acres for organic gardening within the Aurolab campus, a state-of-the-art products manufacturing facility of AECS at Veerapanchan. The year was 2005.
“I had no scientific training but followed my instincts and interest and started planting a variety of trees,” she says. Today, her family, staff, friends and visitors to Aurolab marvel at her “blossoming property” spread over 70 acres now and buzzing with butterflies and birds.
As we walk around the coconut, banana and mango orchards, the aroma garden with every type of jasmine, the organic garden of champa in 30 different colours and endless fields of vegetables, fruits and grains, Dr.Natchiar shares how creating, running and maintaining a farm is a lifestyle.
Unless she is travelling, Dr.Natchiar, is at the Aurofarm everyday at 8.30 a.m. to oversee the requirements of her plants – fondly she calls them babies – and the dozen permanent farmers whom she has hired and the other daily wagers who come depending on the load of work. “After taking a round, I assign them the day’s task,” she says with pride reflecting her intense love for what she enjoys doing the most — gardening and farming.
She zips around on her battery-operated two-wheeler and inspects every field personally. “Everything produced here is 100 per cent organic and the yield caters to about 40 per cent requirement of our hospital and staff canteens,” she informs, and asserts, “I am into this not for selling the produce and making money. I want more people to learn about growing strategies and eat organic.”
It was only after attending series of workshops, interacting with local farmers and researching on eco-friendly farming techniques that Dr.Natchiar could initiate a system that is regenerative to the soil, flora and fauna that are part of the farm ecosystem and the benefactors of the food grown here. “I have learnt from mistakes and now I understand every plant’s requirements and how and why business models should not be compared to farming models,” she says of organic farming still not becoming a financially viable option.
For Dr.Natchiar it is purely a heart warming relationship between her and nature. Farming makes my heart sing and I am focussing all my energy on it now, she says. “All you need is planning and hard work,” she says.
Likewise, no matter howsoever much tired she is after the day’s or week’s work, Premalatha Panneerselvam finds farming cool and spends all her evenings and Sundays in her organic farm adjoining her school’s residential campus at Alagar Koil. “I find my inner peace here, she says, taking me to her favourite spot under a banyan tree, one of the seven trees that stood tall among the shrubs and bushes on the 50-odd acres she bought a quarter Century ago in Ayathampatti village.
We had to accommodate our growing number of students and planned a residential school for them here at the foothills. The land was strewn with rocks, stones and pebbles tand we had to clear the area to raise our buildings. About 15 acres was set aside for farming and for the past eight years Premalatha has been growing a variety of plants using only organic practices. The monthly yield of fruits and vegetables from the farm not only meets the demand of all the school canteens but also saves her an expense of nearly Rs.One lakh every month. Some produce is also in excess which we sell at a discount to our teachers and other staff or in the market at a nominal rate,” she says.
There is an indescribable happiness in seeing your plants grow and flower. To feel the texture of the fruits and vegetables is a different kind of joy, says Premalatha as we walk through her multiple gardens looking at the bounty. Rows of leafy plants growing in orderly abundance reveal the wealth that can only be measured by physical labour of clearing, planting and harvesting and the physical growth of the fauna. Her zero-budget farming with home-grown vermicomposting and bio-pesticides is seductive.
Premalatha has been regularly reading about and practicing G.Nammazhvar’s agro-techniques. “With professionals like us having the wisdom and knowledge base, passion is good enough to turn around such zero-budget farming,” she says. She also understands farming, leave alone organic, many not be an easy choice for many. But hopes and advocates that more people get motivated and start doing it within their home compounds, in their small balconies or terraces, kitchen gardens or backyards, sufficient for their family’s needs.
Both Dr.Natchiar and Premalatha share a vision for a sustainable food system. That is, the food we eat should be fresh, nutritious and taste delicious and should be grown in harmony with nature. It is this thinking that makes them the true ‘FarmHers’ belonging to a period when organic farming was hardly considered an option and even less talked about.
Farm facts:
“I proved myself as an ophthalmologist but never felt proud as one. But now at my Aurofarm I feel very proud each time my plants produce something. I can show off as a farmer now.” Dr.G.Natchiar
At Aurofarm you will find over 10,000 trees including 450 mango trees, 300 coconut trees, tamarind, coriander, curry leaves, timber and almond trees; Vegetables such as lady’s finger, brinjal, cluster beans, bitter, bottle and snake gourd, pumpkin, spinach; Fruits such as black and goose berries, sapota, banana; Flowers including jasmine, manoranjitam, mullai, parijatam, bougainvillea, oleander; Paddy fields that yield 200 bags of rice every year. The farm is fenced by mehndi trees about 20 acres are fed by the Dewatts system that is 51,000 litres of waste water from the kitchen, staff quarters and washrooms are treated for use in the fields, water from the Aurolab is also recycled besides the usage of ground water. Another highlight at the Aurofarm is the 20 feet deep rain water fed quarry used for fish breeding.
“If I had not started a school, I would have surely done farming. I want to turn green ideas into meaningful action for the larger benefit of all”. Premalatha Panneerselvam.
The Mahatma-Azhagar campus farm is fenced with teak wood trees all around and has over 200 mango trees, 400 coconut trees besides several other flowering and locally grown trees, banana, papaya, gooseberry, jackfruit, sapota, custard apple, lemon and neem trees. Spinach, tomatoes, brinjal, carrot, drumstick, cluster beans, lady’s finger, groundnut, guava, custard apple are grown in abundance. Seed dispersal, multiple-cropping, drip irrigation practiced at the farm that also boasts of a small poultry and six milching cows. Apart from the two-dozen farmers working here, ten labourers are exclusively deployed to clear the land of stones regularly. Given the location of the site at the foothills, every spell of rain leads to soil erosion.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Soma Basu / Madurai – June 24th, 2015
High rises are the future. Growing population, limited land area and talented architects will ensure that. This is probably why the eVolo Skyscraper competition to acknowledge outstanding ideas for vertical living is conducted in New York every year. “The brief encourages designers to come up with digital submissions of new urban vertical living proposals using advances in technology, new architectural methods and sustainable ideas,” explains Chennai-based Suraksha Bhatla, who, along with Sharan Sundar, won the second place in the competition. Out of the 500 entries from around the world, 100 are shortlisted to be published every year.
“We thought of how slums aren’t visible in the city’s skyline,” says Suraksha. Their proposal was for a ‘shanty scraper’, to address the problem of growing slums in the county. They believe that one of the reasons their proposal won is because the jury wanted to bring the issue of slums to the forefront to drive discussion.
“Usually with slums, the Government response is to relocate the dwellers. This doesn’t work because most of them end-up sub-letting their houses to move back to the slums, which is closer to their job,” says Suraksha, a sustainability consultant and freelance architect.
“Currently, vertical living is only for people who are from a high-income bracket, so we explored something different,” explains Sharan, who works as an architect for Zaha Hadid in London. The winning Polish entry proposed the idea for a utopian skyscraper in the middle of New York City, interwoven with nature, as a means to relieve one from city life. A Malaysian team proposed an idea for a limestone scraper, China, a tower of refuge and Russia presented Cybertopia.
The duo studied together in Anna University’s School of Architecture and Planning, and graduated from the Architectural Association in London. “We wanted to create something that’s aesthetically appealing and yet made of recyclable material,” says Sharan, while Suraksha adds that the materials used — post construction debris like pipes and reinforcement bars, timber and thatch — give the structure a post apocalyptic feel.
Although theirs is only a conceptual design, they say that it is feasible to execute.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Raveena Joseph / June 22nd, 2015
Chennai :
A biography of Dr Sanjaya Rajaram, who developed 58% of all wheat varieties that exist now, was released in Chennai on Sunday.
The book, “Mr Golden Grain, the Life and Work of the Maharaja of Wheat,” traces the humble beginning of Rajaram and his success.
The book highlights Rajaram’s sheer grit and determination that took him from a humble wheat researcher to a global leader in research arena.
The book, written by agriculture communications specialist G Venkataramani, was released at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. M S Swaminathan, founder of MSSRF, released the book and applauded it for being one of the best biographies on scientists.
“Dr Rajaram has shown single-minded devotion and desire not only for knowledge but to work towards public good, bringing him awards cutting across national boundaries,” he said.
“The book not only delves on not only on the humanistic aspects of the person but also on the scientific strength of Dr Rajaram,” he added.
Rajaram — who is the recipient of the 2014 World Food Prize for his scientific research that lead to an increase in wheat production by more than the 200 million tonne — expressed his concern over the growing population and the need to strengthen a holistic approach to agriculture especially related to soils and seeds.
“Wheat is a great programme on paper. However, the quality of seeds is a great concern where different varieties are being mixed and sold. Although it is distributed by the public sector, if farmers don’t get good seed, they won’t get good crops. We can look at public-private or public – NGO supported models for better seeds,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Karthikeyan Hemalatha, TNN / June 21st, 2015
St Petersburg :
B Jayant Baliga, a US-based Indian-origin scientist, is being awarded Russia’s top technology award in recognition of his work as a major development in energy management which brought about huge increase in efficiency and major savings.
The award will presented to Professor Baliga and Shuji Nakamura on Friday by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony here.
Nakamura, a Nobel Laureate, is being recognised for his work on blue light emitting diodes (LEDs). In Russia, the Global Energy Prize is known as the electronics equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Professor Baliga invented the digital switch or the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) while working at General Electrical research & development centre in New York state in the US in 1983. The IGBT switches energy hundreds of thousands of times a second, raising the efficiency of any equipment manifold.
“Every equipment from your refrigerator to lights to motor vehicles has the need to use energy efficiently. If you take away the IGBT today, almost everything will come to a standstill,” Baliga told a visiting IANS correspondent on the eve of receiving the award.
Scientific American magazine called him among the ‘eight heroes of the semiconductor revolution’, and President Barack Obama awarded him the highest American technology prize last year and he is the 2014 recipient of the IEEE Medal of Honour, a rare distinction.
Professor Baliga, who now teaches to the North Carolina university as ‘distinguished university professor’, said that the IGBT that his invention combines two streams of electronics and electrical engineering and has possibly saved the world around $24 trillion dollars by raising efficiency, according to one detailed calculation.
“I got zero out of it. But then I did it all for humanity.”
Of course, says Prof Baliga, that he did make some money when he started three companies, but these were financed by venture capitalists who exited with enormous profits at the right time.
He says every motor today is at least 40 percent more efficient, the light bulb like the CFL better by almost 75 percent and a motor vehicle saves over 10 percent fuel because of his invention. He has written 19 books and over 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Baliga passed out of IIT Madras before going to the US for his MS and PhD after electrical engineering after which he joined GE where he spent over 15 years.
After his ‘switch’ was invented, several of his colleagues told him that it would not work, and many scientists said he would fall “flat on his face”. But he said it stood the test of time.
The chairman of GE at that time, Jack Welch flew down especially to meet him when he heard what it could do. GE used the switch in the several of the equipments it sold, including medical devices.
A US citizen since 2000, he now has very little connection with India and does not travel to his home country much, especially after his parents and parents of his wife passed away. But, says Prof Baliga, an invention like his is unlikely in India, because it needs huge research infrastructure to be in place from universities to industries.
He feels, that India has a potential which has not been fully used, although in software “it has made great strides”.
Could a Nobel be on its way in the future? “I used to say no way,” but with so many recognitions and this “global prize where I am being feted with a Nobel Laureate, who knows”, he says. His regret though is that India does not know much about him.
“Top scientists that I meet always ask me, why has India not recognised your achievement?” And with characteristic modesty, Baliga told IANS, “I tell them that perhaps my country does not know about what I did.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> NRI / IANS / June 18th, 2015
Chennai :
Three decades ago when Ponni, 48, from Kancheepuram had minor discomfort while swallowing her food, she did not take it seriously. When the problem persisted, she checked with several doctors assuming that it was a problem with her throat.
However, panic began to set in when the woman began to lose weight rapidly over the past few years. Luckily, a tricky procedure performed at hospital in Chennai helped the woman eat normally.
When Ponni recently underwent a thorough checkup at Global Hospitals, doctors found that she was suffering from a rare condition called esophegal achalasia which is characterized by incomplete relaxation of the food pipe which was causing trouble while swallowing. As a consequence, the patient had regurgitation, chest pressure and heartburn.
Dr R Ravi, who was part of the treating team, said that conventional treatment options for the disorder included surgery and medication. However, after evaluating her conditions, the team decided to perform Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) – a new technique which had a positive outcome.
“POEM is a minimally invasive, scarless technique where precise cutting of muscle is performed through the mouth. It is a virtually non-surgical as no external cut is made on the body and the blood loss is very minimal,” said the doctor.
After the procedure, doctors said that the patient recovered rapidly and was able to talk and walk the following day. “More importantly, after a gap of about four decades, Ponni could finally start eating and swallowing without any difficulty,” said Dr Ravi.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Janani Sampath, TNN / January 16th, 2015
Coimbatore :
Although the city is yet to witness a lung transplant, it saw its first lung donation late on Friday night. The lung, which belonged to a 44-year-old tailor, was allotted to and retrieved by Chennai-based Fortis Malar Hospital. It airlifted the organ to the hospital the same night. The tailor, who died on Friday after intense bleeding in the brain, had donated five of his organs.
The Tirupur-based tailor suddenly fainted while working on June 11. He was rushed to a private hospital in Tirupur, where a severe issues in his brain was detected. He was moved to G Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Hospital on Friday morning. The doctors at GKNM found there was severe bleeding in his brain. “Though he was given intensive care to control the bleeding, his brain functions began worsening. Over a few hours it began showing features of a brain stem dysfunction,” said a press statement from the hospital. Four different medical officers confirmed brain death.
Doctors were surprised because his condition looked like a hypertensive bleeding but the man did not have any history of illness. The patient’s family was counselled about his condition on Friday afternoon and they agreed to donate his organs. The Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu was informed and they allotted his lung to Fortis Malar Hospital, his liver to Gem Hospital, the kidneys to PSG and SPT hospital, eyes to Aravind Eye Hospital and skin to Ganga Hospital.
While Coimbatore has seen donation and transplants of all other organs like the heart, kidneys, liver, skin and eyes, they were yet to donate lungs. The city has also not donated pancreas and small bowels yet. Tamil Nadu has seen 63 lung transplants so far.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / June 14th, 2015
Coimbatore :
A 26-year old woman, who had her scalp torn off by a machine in a gold jewellery making firm, had a surgery done at Coimbatore Medical College and returned home with her face intact.
Ashwini, wife of Senthilkumar from Selvapuram, walked out of the hospital two days after surgery. She spoke to the media freely thanking the doctors who stitched her scalp back on her head.
“The incident happened on May 8 at 6 pm when I was working in the factory and there was no one else. During my work an ornament fell from my hand and I just bent down to get it. All of a sudden my long hair was caught in the machine and got wrapped round the drill,” said Ashwini.
She said she still remembered everything and she shivered each time she recalled what had happened.
“I was pulled out of the machine. I tried to run but I saw my scalp with hair lying next to me. I screamed and someone came running to the spot. They stopped the machine and took me to hospital,” added Ashwini.
She is all smiles now and she thanks God and the doctors in CMCH. She reached the hospital soon after the accident and the surgery brought her “back to life”.
“With high BP and heavy blood loss the patient was in a critical state and her pulse rate was low. So we immediately resuscitated her with three units of blood and intravenous fluid transfusion. Once her condition was stabilized we took her to the operation theatre for an emergency plastic surgery,” said B Asokan, professor and head of Plastic Surgery Department, who led the surgery with doctors Siva Kumar and Senthil Kumar.
The operation lasted three hours. The doctors said similar cases were increasing. “Necessary safety measures must be taken at the work place to prevent accidents and immediate care must be provided in case of accidents,” added Asokan.
What the doctors called ‘fortunate’ was even though the scalp was torn off there were not much damage to the tissue or vessels and it was easy for the doctors to do the surgery without transplanting tissues from other parts of her body.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / June 11th, 2015
Coimbatore :
If all goes well, Coimbatore will be the first city in Tamil Nadu to get a Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS). The final City Mobility Plan report submitted to the commissioner of municipal administration in Chennai on June 8 found that this system was feasible for Coimbatore.
The civic body is discussing the project with a government agency from Germany for funds. “We have sought 853crore for the first phase of BRTS and the delegation has responded positively. Soon after funds are allocated, the city corporation will lay a separate road for BRTS on Avinashi Road and Mettupalayam Road,” a senior corporation official said. Officials also plan to look at other avenues of funding including the World Bank.
To begin with 90 AC buses will be purchased to ply on the route. The BRTS envisages two dedicated lanes for buses to ply at high frequency. “As of now, more than 42% of residents use some form of public transport in the city. This will only increase in future. Thus, the ideal solution is BRTS,” the officer said.
The corporation had come up with the proposal to introduce BRTS, aimed at improving the public transport system and decongesting roads, last February. Soon after an announcement to this effect by former mayor SM Velusamy, commissionerate of municipal administration ordered a feasibility study by ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited.
Subsequently, ICRA picked Avinashi Road and Mettupalayam Road and conducted a detailed study. “The final city mobility plan was submitted a few days ago. We discussed the plan regarding the first phase, with officials in Chennai,” said the officer.
The civic body is now awaiting approval from the state government. Once the approval comes, the corporation will acquire land from Ukkadam to Thudiyalur on Mettupalayam road and from Ukkadam to Chinniyampalayam on Avinashi Road.
A few people are however skeptical about the project. “Mass Rapid Transport Systems have not yielded desired results in several cities in India. In Coimbatore, land acquisition poses a major hurdle. We need at least 30m of land along the entire stretch to implement BRTS. Besides, there are several connecting roads on either side of Avinashi and Mettupalayam Roads. The BRTS should not block these roads,” said D Nandakumar, president of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore chapter.
At a meeting called recently by collector Archana Patnaik and corporation commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan with stakeholders to discuss the mobility plan, questions about land acquisition and compensation for land owners were raised. For now, the authorities seem confident that land acquisition would go smoothly.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by A. Subburaj, TNN / June 12th, 2015
The Thanjavur Medical College has been granted its first Medical Super Speciality Course – DM Neurology.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) has permitted one seat of three-year DM Neurology course from the 2015-16 academic year.
Already the college has three surgical super speciality courses .
Disclosing this to The Hindu , TMC Dean P.G.Sankaranarayanan said the MCI gave its nod after approving faculty, special equipment and infrastructure for the department. Candidates who have completed MD General Medicine and MD Paediatrics are eligible for selection through entrance examination for the course.
Apart from addressing the neurological care needs of poor patients, particularly from rural and semi-urban areas, the course would usher in a definite improvement in the teaching component in the medical colleges in the zone, Dr.Sankaranarayanan said. Treatment for brain and spinal chord conditions such as stroke, myelitis and demyelinating disorders would see significant improvement.
The Thanjavur Medical College was started in 1959 and at present offers postgraduate courses in psychiatry, orthopaedics, general surgery, general medicine, anaesthesia, dermatology, chest medicine, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, paediatrics, ophthalmology, and surgical super specialty courses such as neurosurgery, plastic surgery and paediatric surgery apart from the staple 150 MBBS seats every year.
Candidates who have completed MD General Medicine and MD Paediatrics are eligible for the course
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by L. Renganathan / Thanjavur – May 30th, 2015