Jalakanyaka’ did not have fitness certificate and insurance
The ill-fated ‘Jalakanyaka’ that had capsized in the Mullaperiyar reservoir, killing 41 people on board, did not possess the mandatory fitness certificate issued as per the Canals and Ferry Act, according to highly placed sources attached to the Water Resources Department.
Talking to The Hindu on conditions of protecting his identity, a senior expert attached to the Water Resources Department said the boat was pressed into service, sidelining certain key safety regulations.
He further clarified that the boat was not even insured.
Many a boat plying in the Veli Lake, houseboats and many vessels attached to the State Water Transport Department do not possess this annual fitness certificate as per the Canal and Ferry Act, he added.
According to him, the boat tragedy in Thekkady was a testimony to the State’s negligence in ensuring safety of the scores of tourists visiting God’s own Country. It is high time the State authorities reviewed the safety measures in our water transport system, especially in the reservoirs and sanctuary areas, he adds.
The authorities have miserably failed in providing a disaster response system at various major tourist places in the State. The boats deployed in the Thekkady reservoir were not provided with a wireless set or any other communication facility to send an SoS in case of an emergency.
A judicial probe into the boat tragedy would only lead to further waste of the public exchequer and what is needed is a full-fledged inquiry into the technical and safety aspects by a team of experts, he said.
The official alleged that even the advisor to the Chief Minister for inland navigation appeared to have taken a negligent attitude towards various important safety aspects such as this.
Each person on board should have been provided with a life jacket before embarking on a trip in the lake.
It is noteworthy that the KSEB too runs hydel tourism in its reservoirs at Munnar, Madupetty and Kundala at very high altitudes. The sorry state of the boat which runs through Kallada reservoir as part of the eco tourism project should also be taken seriously.
It is equally important that the government should have a self-introspection about the action taken on the recommendations being made by various judicial inquiry commissions in the past, he said.
“A unified disaster response authority with statutory powers for all major tourism centres is a fitting homage we can pay to the victims of the Thekkady boat tragedy to avert such mishaps, at least, in the future,’’ the official said.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article28032.ece
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, June 13, 2008
Aryabhata lived in Ponnani?
A scientist says the great astronomer’s place of observation can be identified from the astronomical and geographical information mentioned in Aryabhatiyam.
Stellar science: An artist’s depiction of Aryabhata
Was Aryabhata, a 6th Century astronomer and mathematician, born in Kerala?
“Aryabhata lived in Ponnani in the northern coastal belt of Kerala,” says K. Chandra Hari, senior geoscientist at the Institute of Reservoir Studies of Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Ahmedabad.
The birthplace of Aryabhata has been a topic of debate, with scholars arguing over the belief that he was born at Kusumapura, near modern Patna, in present-day Bihar. However, Mr. Hari, who claims to have done considerable research on the topic, is all out to establish that the familiarity to Aryabhata’s name, his tradition and works convey that he lived in Kerala.
Mr. Hari told The Hindu that publications of scientific bodies, such as the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), and web sites had been giving “ambiguous information with no conclusive evidence” to establish whether t he great astronomer lived in Bihar or Kerala.
“While Aryabhatiyam published by INSA speaks of Kusumapura as the birthplace of Aryabhata, another INSA publication, A Concise History of Science in India, mentions Kerala as his birthplace,” he said. Citing what the called evidences, Mr. Hari said Aryabhata lived precisely in the modern Ponnani-Chamravattom area (latitude 10N51 and longitude 75E45) in Kerala in 6th Century AD.
According to him, Aryabhata’s place of observation can be identified from the astronomical and geographical information contained in Aryabhatiyam, a work noted for its brevity of expression and excellent organisation of astron omical and mathematical contents. Two values of Earth’s circumference at the equator given by Aryabhata suggest that his latitude of observation was 10N51, where the Bharathapuzha merges with the sea and the prime meridian of Ujjaini touches the coastline of Kerala, he said.
Aryabhata had his astronomical observations from Kerala. His adherence to the theory of Earth’s rotation and apparent revolution of the starry canopy might have its genesis from the experience of apparent motion of the shore during his sea voyage along the Kerala coast.
Mr. Hari has published over 20 papers in the Journal of Indian National Science Academy.
Stellar science: An artist’s depiction of AryabhataWas Aryabhata, a 6th Century astronomer and mathematician, born in Kerala?
“Aryabhata lived in Ponnani in the northern coastal belt of Kerala,” says K. Chandra Hari, senior geoscientist at the Institute of Reservoir Studies of Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Ahmedabad.
The birthplace of Aryabhata has been a topic of debate, with scholars arguing over the belief that he was born at Kusumapura, near modern Patna, in present-day Bihar. However, Mr. Hari, who claims to have done considerable research on the topic, is all out to establish that the familiarity to Aryabhata’s name, his tradition and works convey that he lived in Kerala.
Mr. Hari told The Hindu that publications of scientific bodies, such as the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), and web sites had been giving “ambiguous information with no conclusive evidence” to establish whether t he great astronomer lived in Bihar or Kerala.
“While Aryabhatiyam published by INSA speaks of Kusumapura as the birthplace of Aryabhata, another INSA publication, A Concise History of Science in India, mentions Kerala as his birthplace,” he said. Citing what the called evidences, Mr. Hari said Aryabhata lived precisely in the modern Ponnani-Chamravattom area (latitude 10N51 and longitude 75E45) in Kerala in 6th Century AD.
According to him, Aryabhata’s place of observation can be identified from the astronomical and geographical information contained in Aryabhatiyam, a work noted for its brevity of expression and excellent organisation of astron omical and mathematical contents. Two values of Earth’s circumference at the equator given by Aryabhata suggest that his latitude of observation was 10N51, where the Bharathapuzha merges with the sea and the prime meridian of Ujjaini touches the coastline of Kerala, he said.
Aryabhata had his astronomical observations from Kerala. His adherence to the theory of Earth’s rotation and apparent revolution of the starry canopy might have its genesis from the experience of apparent motion of the shore during his sea voyage along the Kerala coast.
Mr. Hari has published over 20 papers in the Journal of Indian National Science Academy.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
LDF loses Pathanamthitta council
SECURITY COVER: UDF councillors, escorted by the police, being transported in a police van after the municipal council meet in Pathanamthitta on Thursday.
Staff Reporter
PATHANAMTHITTA: United Democratic Front-sponsored no-confidence motions moved against the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Pathanamthitta municipality were passed amidst tight security in the town on Thursday.
Municipal chairperson Amrutham Gokulan, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and vice-chairperson P.C. Muhammed Sali, Independent, were voted out when 15 members in the 29-member municipal council voted for the no-confidence motion. Thirteen councillors, who belong to the Left Democratic Front and their Independent supporters, did not attend the meeting. Though LDF council party secretary and chief whip Zakir Hussein participated in the discussion on the motion, he abstained from voting.
The no-trust motion was moved after two councillors, Rosamma Kuriakose of the Kerala Congress(J) and Sandhya Santhosh, an Independent, switched their loyalties. The lone BJP member Ambily Rajendran voted for the no-trust motion.
The council meeting was held amidst tight security arrangements in the town and around the municipal office. The discussion on the motion against the civic chief was held in the forenoon and that against the vice-chairman in the afternoon.
District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh had issued prohibitory orders in the town under Section 21 of the Police Act from 11 p.m. on Wednesday on the recommendations of the Superintendent of Police M.N. Jayaprakash. The Inspector-General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Nithin Agarwal and the Additional Superintendents of Police Anoop John Kuruvilla and C.H. Nagaraju were camping in Pathanamthitta.
According to the SP, 600 policemen were deployed in the town as part of the security arrangements.
UDF council party leader and former chairman P.Mohanraj and 12 other councillors had moved the Kerala High Court seeking police protection to them. The UDF councillors were brought to the office in a police van and were taken back with police protection. Municipal Joint Director M.A. Sreedharan Nair would submit his report to the Election Commission on Friday.
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
Municipal chairperson Amrutham Gokulan, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and vice-chairperson P.C. Muhammed Sali, Independent, were voted out when 15 members in the 29-member municipal council voted for the no-confidence motion. Thirteen councillors, who belong to the Left Democratic Front and their Independent supporters, did not attend the meeting. Though LDF council party secretary and chief whip Zakir Hussein participated in the discussion on the motion, he abstained from voting.
The no-trust motion was moved after two councillors, Rosamma Kuriakose of the Kerala Congress(J) and Sandhya Santhosh, an Independent, switched their loyalties. The lone BJP member Ambily Rajendran voted for the no-trust motion.
The council meeting was held amidst tight security arrangements in the town and around the municipal office. The discussion on the motion against the civic chief was held in the forenoon and that against the vice-chairman in the afternoon.
District Collector Ashok Kumar Singh had issued prohibitory orders in the town under Section 21 of the Police Act from 11 p.m. on Wednesday on the recommendations of the Superintendent of Police M.N. Jayaprakash. The Inspector-General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Nithin Agarwal and the Additional Superintendents of Police Anoop John Kuruvilla and C.H. Nagaraju were camping in Pathanamthitta.
According to the SP, 600 policemen were deployed in the town as part of the security arrangements.
UDF council party leader and former chairman P.Mohanraj and 12 other councillors had moved the Kerala High Court seeking police protection to them. The UDF councillors were brought to the office in a police van and were taken back with police protection. Municipal Joint Director M.A. Sreedharan Nair would submit his report to the Election Commission on Friday.
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
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