cuddalore online information

St. Joseph’s Church in Kammianpet, Cuddalore.

The health effects of white asbestos

WHEN THE towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York collapsed in September 2001, they released a cloud of hazardous material that included 2000 tonnes of asbestos.

In a ruling on a class action suit filed by people who say they were exposed to this hazard, on February 2, 2006, Judge Deborah Batts chastised the US Environmental Protection Agency for having first assured that the clouds were safe from asbestos and later admitting to this misinformation, calling their assurances as `conscience-shocking’.

The asbestos used at the WTC is what is known as `white asbestos’ or chrysotile as it is chemically known. This form of asbestos is being used in the U.S., India and many other countries with the belief that of the various forms of asbestos, chrysotile is the safest.

The basic message

The Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association of India (ASCMA), during the Clemenceau controversy, issued a public interest advertisement stating that (a) chrysotile or white asbestos, when used under controlled conditions, does not pose any risk to health (b) chrysotile fibres are locked as a 8-9 per cent component in a cement matrix which prevents them from escaping into the air, and (c) asbestos occurs in nature and a lot of asbestos fibres are inhaled by us everyday full story>>

Chemplast Sanmar plans new plant

Chemplast Sanmar Ltd, a flagship company of the Sanmar Group, on Tuesday said it will invest Rs 300 crore for setting up a power generation plant and for conversion of its mercury based caustic soda manufacturing process at Mettur.

The board of directors has approved the investment of Rs 220 crore for setting up coal based power generation plant and Rs 80 crore for converting mercury based caustic soda manufacturing process to a membrane based process, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

© Copyright Sify Ltd

The Great Firewall of China : A Measure of Freedom
Bloggers Who Pursue Change Confront Fear And Mistrust

Rs. 36-cr. UGD project approved
The State Government has released an order recently on the formation of an underground drainage for the municipal area.

The same would be established at a cost of Rs 36 crores with funds from the State Government and various agencies.

The works would be commenced after finalising the tender, said the Municipal Commissioner, K.R. Selvaraj full story>>

2000-year-old site in decay
A historic site in Guduvanchery near Tambaram, dating back to the megalithic period and from where evidences of attempts to make iron from ore have been found, is now in decay. Just 100 metres off the National Highway 45, on the eastern side of the Grand Southern Trunk Road are remnants of what is called `mudhumakkal thaazhi’. It was where the dead were buried in huge earthen pots full story>>

Plea to confer union territory status on Karaikal
The Karaikal Struggle Group, a non-political organisation, has appealed to the Centre to make Karaikal a separate Union Territory full story>>

India: Flood response in Tamil Nadu

During the last December floods in Tamil Nadu EFICOR provided relief in Cuddalore and Kumbakonam districts to about 9000 families in 46 villages. Some parts of Chidambaram town including EFICOR’s office faced water logging and it was reported that water snakes entering houses created panic among the people. Boats distributed to the Tsunami affected fishermen were pressed into service to evacuate and transport the flood affected in some villages.

Most of the affected people were agricultural labourers belonging to the Schedule caste. These scheduled caste labourers work on daily wages in the land which are taken on lease from land owners by people of higher caste. The agricultural labourers in Cuddalore were earlier affected by the Tsunami when sea water had filled the agricultural land in December 2004. After land treatment and desalinataion these labourers who had hardly started farming since last August, were expecting to harvest their crops early January for Pongal. The flood in December destroyed their crops once more, severely affecting their livelihood.

EFICOR provided relief materials to 8000 familes in 38 villages in and around Chidambaram during the second phase of distribution with rice, dal, oil, bedsheet, mat etc. About 1200 families from 8 villages were also provided relief in Kumbakonam district. The distribution just before Pongal helping the flood affected to celebrate one of their important festival was much appreciated.

© 2006 ReliefWeb

Places of worship under Consumer Protection Act ?

With elections fast approaching politicians concentrate more on pseudo issues.This basically because of the sentiment driven mindset of the people.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has announced a memorial of Kumbakonam victims at a cost of Rs.60 lakhs.I am not Sagainst the construction of a memorial all together.Politicians fail to take steps that makes a real difference.Till date a large number of schools operate in an insecure condition.
On the left is the picture of a nursery school in Sanathi Street with a too narrow entrance.

If incumbents have concentrated on real issues the state would have been a far better place to live in.

Photo courtesy:Arun Gobu

French ship Clemenceau carrying not less that 700Kg of asbestos,PCBs, lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals was turned back to France.The decomissioned ship was to be mismantled in a shipbreaking yard in Alang.French government sent it to India despite stiff resistance from Greenpeace and other anti-abestos groups in France.

Greenpeace with its maverick campigning strategy attracted public attention.Trade unions and other environmental action groups like Corporate Accountability Desk,The Other Media and Ban Asbestos India also joined hand.Later the scandal attained media hype and to a greate extend this was a reason behind fair overturn of events.This is just another victory for Greenpeace.With this victory Greenpeace has now started an amibitious campign for regulating the ship breaking industry.The following link takes you to the campign page,

Call upon the international community to accelerate the work of regulating the ship breaking industry

In temple, consumer is god
- No bath water, trust fined for deficiency in service

A pilgrim who had to go without a bath after tonsuring his head at an ancient temple in Tamil Nadu has been awarded Rs 500 in damages by a consumer court.

The order is perhaps the first directing a temple devasthanam (trust) to pay compensation for “deficiency in service”.

Selvakumar, an advocate, had visited the famous Shri Devanathaswamy temple at Tiruvendipuram village, 10 km from Cuddalore, with his family on February 7, 2000.

The temple attracts thousands of pilgrims, many of whom come with their children because it also has a shrine to Hayagreeva (Vishnu with the horse’s mouth who saved the Vedas), revered as the Lord of Learning in the Hindu pantheon.

Selvakumar had his head tonsured and paid Rs 5, out of which the barber’s share was Rs 4 while Re 1 went to the devasthanam.

According to a complaint filed at the Cuddalore District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Selvakumar went to take a bath after tonsuring his head but found that the tap in the bathroom near the tonsure centre had run dry.

A nearby hand pump was also not working and Selvakumar could not take a dip in the Gadilam river that courses around the temple because the “water was contaminated with human excreta, drainage water and rubbish”.

Without a bath he could not go for a darshan of the deity, so the pilgrim approached the temple authorities for help.

But the clerk at the “devasthanam office abused me and told me he was not bothered as to whether the complainant was an advocate or a collector” and asked him to do whatever he could, the complaint said full story>>

Photo:Mouth of Gadilam River