Showing posts with label Kerala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kerala. Show all posts
Monday, 24 April 2023
Saturday, 4 June 2022
Tuesday, 22 February 2022
Thursday, 4 September 2014
If a Minister can become a Judge in Kerala.....
Hon'ble Mr. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer
Former Judge who was a Minister for Law, Home, Irrigation & Power, in Kerala State during 1957-59 served as a Judge in Kerala High Court during 1968-71 and went on to become a Judge of the Supreme Court of India serving it from 17-7 1973 to 14-11-1980.
If a Minister can become a Judge what prevents a retired Chief Justice from becoming the Governor of Kerala?
PROFILE
Mr. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, Born on November, 1915, M.L.A., Madras, 1952; Min. for Law, Home, Irrigation & Power, Kerala State, 1957-59; Judge, Kerala High Court, 1968-71; Mem., Law Commission, 1971-73; Vice Pres., Indian Socy. of Intnl. Law; Indian Assn. of Lawyers; Founder-Dir., Kerala Law Academy; Pres. Intnl. Centre for Kathakali, Delhi; Mem., Law Faculty of the Kerala, Cochin & Aligarh Muslim Univs.; Exec. Cttee of Central Animal Welfare Boare; Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan (Delhi Branch); Kerala History Assn., etc.; was associated with Indi-soviet Cultural Socy., Indo-G.D.R. Friendship Socy, Intnl. Democratic Lawyers' Assn., & Several cultl. Organisations. Appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 17.7.1973. Retired on 14.11.1980. Mr. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer "SATGAMAYA" M.G. Road, Ernakulam Kochi-682 011. (Kerala) PH.2370088.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Ho! Mullaperiyar!!
I think the makers of DAM999 had clearly clarified that the film has nothing to do with the Mullaperiyar dam and that they were portraying likely turn of events in case any dam breaches. It is therefore foolhardy to relate the movie to the reality of the Mullaperiyar issue and confuse the case.
In reality the following points need attention:
1> is the dam structurally safe at all or not
2> is it prone to earth quakes? What magnitude of earthquake can it stand and at what level of
Water?
3> Why was the issue of earth quake not raised all these many years; at least not in any serious
measure?
4> is it safe to store water at 136ft or 142 ft level. Can the level be further increased?
5> Can alternate arrangement be made so that in the event of the dam breaching or overflowing
water can be diverted to safer places - within or outside Kerala?
6> what could be the worst case scenario?
7> what are the preparation / precaution required to prevent / face the worst case scenario
There does not seem to be any exercise in these directions by the politicians of both the states. Instead they (from both the states) keep raising a hue and cry of the vested interests without really highlighting the facts that are indisputable.
Hope wiser counsel will prevail on the politicians and action will be taken in the best interests of humanity without letting narrow political gains influence them at the peril of the people.
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Mullaperiyar dam: An engineering marvel
The storyline of the controversial film Dam999 — the dam breaking as it was not constructed properly due to a corrupt Mayor — has no attribute to the Mullaperiyar dam, which is a monument built out of passion.
The dam that has weathered 116 summers is an architectural and engineering marvel, says a retired PWD engineer, who had worked at the dam site. But what is amazing is the admiration the common people of Madurai and surrounding areas still have for the dam’s legendary builder, Major John Pennycuick, whose portrait can be spotted on the walls of homes and small shops amid pictures of gods.
When his great grandson was in Madurai some years ago, thousands of people turned up for the felicitation organised by the state PWD, whose office in Madurai was named after Pennycuick in 2002, though his statue already stood tall inside the premises. The chief engineer who took the initiative for naming the office said: “This is our way of salute to the chief designer of Mullaperiyar dam, who brought smiles of relief to the farmers of Melur, Madurai, Sivaganga, Thirumangalam and Usilampatti and made their barren lands fertile once forever, thereby changing their life pattern.’’
However, the unique idea of harnessing the water flowing in the western side of the Western Ghats and bringing it to the eastern side was first explored in 1789 by Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai, a minister of the Ramnad king Muthuramalinga Sethupathy, who gave it up as he found it to be expensive.
Later, the British were struck by the same idea and in 1888, the responsibility of preparing a plan was entrusted with Pennycuick, who chose a valley between two hills in the thick forest to build a 155-feet-high concrete dam.
The plan was to capture the Periyar river water, gushing wastefully towards the sea, in a reservoir, diverting it in the opposite direction through a tunnel drilled across the mountain and channelling it to the Vaigai. The dam was christened Mullaperiyar as it is located at the headwater of the Periyar river after its confluence with the Mullai river.
So, the British government in India signed a deed with the Maharaja of Travancore, in whose kingdom the area fell, on October 29, 1886, to lease out 8,000 acres of land in the forest for a period of 999 years. But, after embarking on the project in 1887, finding labour locally became a problem. So, the British army was engaged in building the dam between 1889-90 and Portuguese men were also brought in.
Besides that, transporting construction material turned out to be major task. To ferry limestone — an estimated 80,000 tonnes of it went into the construction — several innovative methods were adopted. One, through a wire ropeway from Gudalur hills to Thekady and then by bullock carts into forest and another was through a ropeway linking the dam site itself. Apart from that, bunds were raised across another river called Mulliya Panjan that flows into Periyar and on the stagnant water stretch boats were plied.
More than such difficulties, it was the death of several officers and workers that makes the saga of the dam construction more heart-rending. Between 1892 and 1895 alone, 483 people died of diseases. A cemetery of the British people still stands testimony within the leased land.
Work itself was not easy. There had been days and nights when workers stood as human walls inside the gushing water, preventing the structures from being washed away. The plan would have been abandoned, particularly after a near built dam was washed away.
Though the British wanted to wash their hands of the project, Pennycuick sold his wife’s jewellery to mobilise funds and continued the work. And the dam became operational in 1895.
from THE HEYO CRITIQ DAILY
The storyline of the controversial film Dam999 — the dam breaking as it was not constructed properly due to a corrupt Mayor — has no attribute to the Mullaperiyar dam, which is a monument built out of passion.
The dam that has weathered 116 summers is an architectural and engineering marvel, says a retired PWD engineer, who had worked at the dam site. But what is amazing is the admiration the common people of Madurai and surrounding areas still have for the dam’s legendary builder, Major John Pennycuick, whose portrait can be spotted on the walls of homes and small shops amid pictures of gods.
When his great grandson was in Madurai some years ago, thousands of people turned up for the felicitation organised by the state PWD, whose office in Madurai was named after Pennycuick in 2002, though his statue already stood tall inside the premises. The chief engineer who took the initiative for naming the office said: “This is our way of salute to the chief designer of Mullaperiyar dam, who brought smiles of relief to the farmers of Melur, Madurai, Sivaganga, Thirumangalam and Usilampatti and made their barren lands fertile once forever, thereby changing their life pattern.’’
However, the unique idea of harnessing the water flowing in the western side of the Western Ghats and bringing it to the eastern side was first explored in 1789 by Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai, a minister of the Ramnad king Muthuramalinga Sethupathy, who gave it up as he found it to be expensive.
Later, the British were struck by the same idea and in 1888, the responsibility of preparing a plan was entrusted with Pennycuick, who chose a valley between two hills in the thick forest to build a 155-feet-high concrete dam.
The plan was to capture the Periyar river water, gushing wastefully towards the sea, in a reservoir, diverting it in the opposite direction through a tunnel drilled across the mountain and channelling it to the Vaigai. The dam was christened Mullaperiyar as it is located at the headwater of the Periyar river after its confluence with the Mullai river.
So, the British government in India signed a deed with the Maharaja of Travancore, in whose kingdom the area fell, on October 29, 1886, to lease out 8,000 acres of land in the forest for a period of 999 years. But, after embarking on the project in 1887, finding labour locally became a problem. So, the British army was engaged in building the dam between 1889-90 and Portuguese men were also brought in.
Besides that, transporting construction material turned out to be major task. To ferry limestone — an estimated 80,000 tonnes of it went into the construction — several innovative methods were adopted. One, through a wire ropeway from Gudalur hills to Thekady and then by bullock carts into forest and another was through a ropeway linking the dam site itself. Apart from that, bunds were raised across another river called Mulliya Panjan that flows into Periyar and on the stagnant water stretch boats were plied.
More than such difficulties, it was the death of several officers and workers that makes the saga of the dam construction more heart-rending. Between 1892 and 1895 alone, 483 people died of diseases. A cemetery of the British people still stands testimony within the leased land.
Work itself was not easy. There had been days and nights when workers stood as human walls inside the gushing water, preventing the structures from being washed away. The plan would have been abandoned, particularly after a near built dam was washed away.
Though the British wanted to wash their hands of the project, Pennycuick sold his wife’s jewellery to mobilise funds and continued the work. And the dam became operational in 1895.
from THE HEYO CRITIQ DAILY
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Tamil Nadu Govt Bans Movie 'Dam 999'
PTI [ Updated 24 Nov 2011, 12:47:12 ]
Chennai, Nov 24: Tamil Nadu government today banned ‘Dam 999’ with immediate effect after the movie faced a storm of protests from various political parties which claim the controversial film is based on the Mullaperiyar dam, over which the state is locked in an escalating row with Kerala.
“The Tamil Nadu government has banned the screening of movie ‘Dam 999’ with immediate effect,” a terse one line announcement by Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi said.
The government’s decision comes a day after theatre owners across the state decided not to screen the movie, saying it was against the interests of the state.
Political parties, including DMK, MDMK and PMK had raised their voice against the release of the movie, a Hollywood movie directed by Sohan Roy.
The objection mainly centred around the contention that the film justifies breaking of the Mullaperiyar dam as the plot revolves around the collapse of a reservoir and was against the interests of Tamil Nadu.
The ban comes in the midst of war of words between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the 116-year old structure in Idukki district of Kerala, which is under Tamil Nadu’s control and meets the irrigation needs of farmers in southern districts.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had yesterday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing Kerala of trying to whip up fear among its people for political mileage, though the dam is as “safe and good as new”.
“The Tamil Nadu government has banned the screening of movie ‘Dam 999’ with immediate effect,” a terse one line announcement by Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi said.
The government’s decision comes a day after theatre owners across the state decided not to screen the movie, saying it was against the interests of the state.
Political parties, including DMK, MDMK and PMK had raised their voice against the release of the movie, a Hollywood movie directed by Sohan Roy.
The objection mainly centred around the contention that the film justifies breaking of the Mullaperiyar dam as the plot revolves around the collapse of a reservoir and was against the interests of Tamil Nadu.
The ban comes in the midst of war of words between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the 116-year old structure in Idukki district of Kerala, which is under Tamil Nadu’s control and meets the irrigation needs of farmers in southern districts.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had yesterday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing Kerala of trying to whip up fear among its people for political mileage, though the dam is as “safe and good as new”.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
THREE LAKH NRIs RETURNING TO INDIA...KARNATAKA BEST CHOICE..
At last our friends & relatives seem to realise the truth in the saying "Mera Bharat Mahan"....and 'home sweet home'..... About three lakh Indians who went as emigrants and wanted to be immigrants would soon be migrants!
Click on the link below to know more:
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