Eight cardamom estate workers hospitalised

KATTAPPANA: Eight workers who developed allergy and vomited while harvesting cardamom on an estate at Kailasapara were admitted to a private hospital at Nedumkandam on Saturday.

The police said a primary inquiry revealed that the allergy was due to the pesticide sprayed at the estate.

It was alleged that pesticides, including Endosulfan, arriving in fake bottles from Tamil Nadu, had being sprayed on the plants as there was a spurt in the prices of cardamom.

Hospital sources said nearly 20 workers came to the hospital and others had been given primary treatment. Two of the patients were in the intensive care unit, they said.

Source: The Hindu, 28-11-2010

Kaiga-4 achieves criticality

Karwar (Karnataka): The fourth unit of the Kaiga Generating Station (KGS) — the country's 20th nuclear power reactor — achieved criticality on Saturday. With this unit becoming operational, India now ranks sixth in terms of production of nuclear energy, behind the United States, France, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

Addressing journalists at Kaiga, S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL), said criticality, in nuclear terms, signified the start of the self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction in the reactor core, which led to the production of energy. The new unit would produce 250 MWe of nuclear power, which would be distributed among the southern States. The unit would be synchronised with the southern grid after certain mandatory tests are carried out early next month.

He said units 5 and 6 would raise the nuclear power installed capacity in the country from the current 4,560 MWe to 4,780 MWe. Kaiga-4 is an indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR).

Unique distinction

Dr. Jain said two Light Water reactors (LWRs) of 100 MWe each, at Kudankulam and a prototype fast breeder reactor of 500 MWe at Kalpakkam were at advanced stages of completion. He said the NPCIL was unique in having comprehensive capabilities in various facets of nuclear technology — namely site selection, design, construction, commissioning operation and maintenance, renovation, modernisation and life extension of nuclear power plants.

Forest undisturbed

Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, said units 5 and 6 would come up at Kaiga in the next couple of years and the site would be decided by a selection committee of NPCIL. The capacity of the each new unit would be 700 MWe, and the project would come up in the land already owned by NPCIL. He said there was no human habitation in the very small area required for the new units and the forest in the area would not be disturbed.

Dr. Banerjee said the Dhruva reactor was supplying isotopes required for the other plants, having never been shut down. In Apsara, another reactor, the NPCIL had been using imported fuel, but had now changed to locally developed fuel. Another reactor in Vizag would supply the isotopes to other reactors, he said.

Employees lauded

Later, addressing a public function arranged by NPCIL, Dr. Jain lauded the efforts of employees towards the corporation's success. He declared that it would reserve 2 per cent of its profit for community work and he would ensure that the demand of the locals to build a bride near Kaiga and other works was taken up. The money allotted would never lapse, he said, and help would be taken from the district authorities to complete it.

Dr. Srinivasan, former AEC Chairman, was honoured at the function

Source: The Hindu, 29-11-2010

Paddy seeds cocooned in tribal ark

KALPETTA: Tribal families at Cherukara, near Vellamunda, in Wayanad district have been conserving and propagating indigenous paddy seeds, which they consider a gift of divine providence. In the process, they have set a model for farming communities across the country.

The Peruvadi Kurichiya Tharavadu, one such joint family, is a treasure trove of indigenous paddy seeds, with a rare collection of 29 varieties. Other farmers can get the seeds for cultivation in a kind of a barter arrangement — for every “pothi” (approximately 60 litres), the buyer should return 70 litres post-harvest.

The family has been following a traditional method, called “Moodkettal,” to preserve the seeds.

“A few generations ago, our ancestors used to cultivate more than 150 varieties of paddy seeds, but most of them had been lost in the tide of time,” Achappan, chief of the family, says. “Hence, we have set up a gene bank of traditional paddy seeds to preserve the remaining seeds for our future generations with the technical advice of Voice.”

Voice is a non-governmental organisation based in Sultan Bathery. Under its initiative, a booklet has been published on traditional rice cultivation.

Mr. Achappan says the tribes believe that paddy seeds have a divine property and preserving and propagating them are obligations to the future generations.

In the collection are seeds of Gandhakasala, Kayama and Jeerakasala aromatic varieties; Thonnuramthondy and Palthondy, which can be harvested fast; Navara and Chennellu medicinal varieties; and drought-resistant Chenthadi and Chenthondi.

“Nowadays, many farmers in the district have been showing interest in traditional rice cultivation, as various afflictions affect hybrid varieties. We are providing them seeds from our gene bank,” Mr. Achappan said.

For the tribes, every stage of paddy cultivation is a divine activity and ritual. Sowing, transplanting and harvest are all celebrated with religious fervour. Following an organic method of cultivation, the tribal farmers abjure chemical fertilizers and harmful pesticides.

“As we follow the organic method, the yield may be a little less than that given by high-yielding varieties. But we can ensure the authenticity of the seeds. We are satisfied with the yield as paddy cultivation is not a business for us,” Mr. Achappan says.

Source: The Hindu, 28-11-2010

Kaziranga has highest tiger density in the world

KOLKATA: Notwithstanding the three tiger deaths in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam this month, the sanctuary has the highest density of the big cats in the world, a top forest official has said, maintaining that none of the recent fatalities was due to poaching. "Kaziranga has the highest tiger density in the world.

As per estimates arrived at by the camera-trapping method, there are 32.64 tigers per 100 sq km at Kaziranga which is even better than Kanha in Madhya Pradesh and Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand," KNP director Surajit Dutta told PTI. The exact number of big cats in KNP, a world heritage site, would be known once the tiger census was over, he said. On the death of three tigers at Bagori, Agoratoli and Kohora ranges of Kaziranga this month, he said these were natural deaths.

The tiger at Bagori range was injured by a wild buffalo, he said. Aaranyak, a prominent NGO working in the field of wildlife conservation, also felt the three big cats died natural deaths.

Firoz Ahmed, an official of the organisation, corroborated the forest department''s statement that the tiger at Bagori was injured by a wild buffalo. "The tiger at Kohora range died of old age, while the tigress at Agoratoli was quite healthy.

We don''t know exactly what happened, but there was no evidence of poaching." He said many camps in the park made it difficult for poachers to kill a tiger.

Dutta said "our staff are always vigilant. There were a number of encounters in which seven poachers were killed in the park this year.

Some forest guards were also injured." "We ensure regular patrols to ward off any threat from poachers besides motivating the people.

Many poachers have also surrendered," he said. Pointing out that there were 2,048 one-horned rhinos in the park as per 2009 census, he said three were killed by poachers this year.

Last year, six rhinos had fallen victim to poaching.

Source: Times of India,29-11-2010