Traders in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have banned the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in favour of local products.

The ban, which was proposed by the state’s top two associations of traders, came into effect on Wednesday (March 1st 2017).

It was around 2:00 AM in the morning, when I saw my editor’s message to continue with this article.

The moment I started researching for this article, it was pretty obvious that I have to take sides. That’s when I decided to have a cup of Green Tea and started thinking about my past.

Cut to 2006, I was studying 6th at that time. I came to Madurai for summer vaccation and stayed there for like 2 weeks at my aunt’s house in K.K Nagar. She used to have a shop below and I used to spend most of my time there, just because it had a computer. That’s when, I was introduced to ‘Badam Milk’, ‘RoseMilk’ and ‘Jigarthanda’. 250 ml bottles were stocked inside the fridge and people frequently used to come on a hot sunny day and get a gulp. Sales would usually go high during evenings- thanks to students, staffs and parents from a nearby school.

In 2008, I was studying at Madurai and my school took us for an industrial visit to the manufacturing plant of Badam Milk and Rose Milk. The guy, who was explaining all machinery and stuffs, was saying that there had been significant decrease in the sales.

Fast Forward to 2011.

I came back to Madurai to get my 10th std certificates. I was searching all the streets I know, just for that bottled Badam Milk. I couldn’t find any. Not even in my aunt’s shop.

2012 – I was introduced to Pepsi and Coke, thanks to McDonalds. Later, I became a frequent consumer of Mountain Dew during 2014-15, to a point that I used to drink 600ml daily along with 2 Lays packets. Since then, even though I have reduced the consumption to once in a week, every time I see those bottles lined up in the fridge at mess, I have a tendency to buy one.

Back in November 2015, I wrote an article insisting to save Thamirabarani River from Tamilnadu Government selling it to Pepsi. That seems to be one of the reasons now.

TNVSP secretary K Mohan explained the rationale behind this boycott. “The decision was taken to wean the youth away from MNC soft drinks, which are killing domestic companies. Besides this, these foreign firms are also using up scarce water resources at a time of unprecedented drought.”

Let’s clear few things up.

First, it’s not an overnight ban like Maggi but boycott. Mohan, on the other hand, calls it more like an appeal to TN youth. Second the boycott was announced by two associations of traders Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu (TNVSP) (or Tamil Nadu Traders Associations Forum (TNTAF)) and the Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders Associations (FTNTA).

Coming back to the rationale, the very first question one might ask is ‘Wouldn’t the local companies drain up the ground water and rivers?’. May be so. But then I remembered an interim stay on the supply of water to the tune of 15 lakh litres per day to PepsiCo’s Aquafina water purification plant and 9 lakh litres per day to Coca-Cola’s bottling plant at Gangaikondan in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district issued by the Madurai bench of the Madras High court. A major development in this issue came yesterday on March 2, 2016, when Madras High Court overruled the stay and allowed the giants to take water from Thamirabarani river.

I am purposefully not going to arguments like “Why ban Pepsi and Coke alone? Ban i-phone, Samsung, Nike, etc…”. I personally feel those arguments are kiddish.

The next argument was by A.M Vikram Raja president of TNTAF. “About 70% of the traders have decided to boycott the sales of Pepsi and Coke from today onwards for their toxic nature.”

Indian Beverages Association quotes, “the products manufactured by Coca-Cola and Pepsi are of global standards and one of the safest available.” It also cites Supreme Court order of 2013, which had reportedly quoted an FSSAI panel’s submission that ingredients present in aerated beverages do not pose any health hazard.

IBA’s press release also states that, “Hindustan Coca Cola and PepsiCo India are local companies registered in the country, and comply with all applicable rules and regulations.” and also added, “Coca-Cola and PepsiCo India together provide direct employment to 2,000 families in Tamil Nadu and more than 5,000 families indirectly, through their extensive supply chain. They also play a critical role in improving the livelihood of over 2 lakh retailers, who earn more than Rs. 400 crores in income by selling products manufactured by the two companies. The companies also sustain the interests of thousands of Tamil farmers, by procuring agri-produce.”

This is exactly where I was stuck in choosing sides. I know that those drink contains ‘No fruit’ and have a high artificial sugar content. I know that there are manufacturing sites of these products in India. (Two in Tamilnadu). A short-term dip in profits would be there. And those products are not going away from Tamilnadu overnight. Infact, many traders in Chennai and other cities, especially national and international retail and food chains like Reliance Fresh and Dominos are not going to remove them. Vikram Raja assured optimistically that this will be settled soon. He said, “Their initial response is encouraging. They only want some time to work out the boycott plan.”

IBA argues that the boycott violates the consumer’s “right to choose” and also adds, “This call is against the proven fundamentals of robust economic growth, and against the clarion call of ‘Make in India’.” The companies, on the other hand, hadn’t commented on the boycott.

Meanwhile, I heard that most of the shops are displaying “No Pepsi, No Coke” Posters. Like the Pro – Jallikattu movement in Jan 2017, something big has started. Problem is we don’t have enough facts to support the cause and prove IBA wrong, or I might haven’t dug deeper. But things are changing. I could see many youths in their Facebook statuses pledging and vowing not to drink Pepsi and Coke. I know I can’t trust those statuses, but Jallikattu proved me wrong. Hope it proves me wrong again. Hope I could see those bottled badam milk again. And I pledge to boycott Pepsi and Coke products.

The post Banning Pepsi and Coke in Tamil Nadu – the full story appeared first on OutFocus.

With effect from 9/11/2016, the present ₹500 and ₹1000 notes in your house will useless as they are being replaced by new ₹500 and ₹2000 notes. In order to facilitate this change, banks will be closed on 9th, and 10th onwards, you will have to deposit all your ₹500 and ₹1000 notes in the bank. Then the bank staff will swim in them for a couple of hours like we see in Richie Rich and exchange it for you.

This is to crack down on people with black money. Once you deposit money into your account, that money comes automatically under the radar of the government. If the money doesn’t corroborate with your tax returns, that’s when you’re supposed to get red in the face and say “This is a conspiracy by the opposition party!! My money is whiter than Donald Trump’s immigration policy!” You can’t even try to bribe someone with a few thousands to get your job done because… you know.

The Narendra Modi government has been quite focused in its efforts towards eradicating black money in myriad ways unlike it’s previous government, whose only white thing was an Italian woman.

All in all, it is a brilliant move by our PM, for a number of reasons. The element of surprise, coupled with the ironing out of the finer details, such as restrictions on exchange, withdrawal, places where it can and cannot be done for the common man, poses an insurmountable challenge to possessers of black money.

The challenge of this operation, like any other in India, lies in size and scale. By declaring all notes of 500 and 1000 not legal tender anymore, this move affects virtually everyone from all classes of society. The circulation of money will be particularly suffocated among the lower classes because of two reasons -one, that some of them aren’t part of the banking system, and two, that the regular use of plastic money and cashless transactions hasn’t pervaded this section yet. It is more for these people that the PM has announced a slew of conditions and regulations for using and exchanging their existing notes, in places such as government hospitals, ticket booking counters, etc.

In the early hours of this news, speculation is galore, like it always is. But the following conclusions are beyond speculation. This is a well thought out strategy by Modi. Although it will cause short term inconveniences, the long term benefits are immeasurable (which means it’s a very big number). It is the single biggest crack down on black money in the history of our nation, and a necessary one, to see any real progress. No matter how much water you fill, if the bucket has a hole, it will ever fill to the fullest.

On a concluding note, any black money that anyone is looking to dispose off, I’d be happy to accept it so that I can burn it and quote the Joker (“it’s not about the money. It’s about sending a message”). Yes, I’m a Batman fan. How did you figure?

The post Catch Me If You Can: Indian Black Money Edition appeared first on OutFocus.

“High impact earthquake has been reported in Indonesia. Tremors of magnitude 8.2 have been reported from capital city Jakarta and the south-western region of Sumatra. According to United States Geological Survey (USGC), the magnitude of earthquake is around 8.2. Tsunami alert has been issued in the region.”

reported by India.com at 6:49 PM IST.

Several tweets have flown already and so far, no casualties have been reported.

A suspicious forward message on WhatsApp warns us of a Tsunami alert in Tamil Nadu, reviving the memories of the 2004 disaster. Within an hour of the first report, Australian government lifted Tsunami alerts on their western coast.

USGS recalculated the magnitude at 7.9 in a tweet at 6:50 PM IST but did not give any more details. Indonesian authorities told Reuters that the shallower the earthquake, the more the threat. They said the quake was located quite far from land, about 662 kilometers (411 miles) from Muara Siberut. Evacuation is underway.

Is South-India in risk of a Tsunami?

Currently, there is no warning of an attack to south-India. Indonesia is cradled by the “Pacific ring of fire”, a highly active volcano zone, hence prone to earthquakes. Last month, there was an Earthquake measuring 6.9 and killed 10 people. While it is good to be prepared, let’s not go overboard in panic until we get an official announcement.

The post Indonesia issues tsunami warning after massive 7.9 earthquake in Sumatra appeared first on OutFocus.

Haryana has 36 castes living in the state. On February 18^th, however, a group of about 150 men, belonging to the business community, began to march through the town. They were chanting and shouting slogans against the blockades organized by the Jats. On the way, they found part of the road blocked by lawyers protesting on the JNU row. The group mistook the lawyers for a pro – Jat quota blockade, which resulted in a heated argument. It eventually turned into a fight and the lawyers were beaten up, as said by a police spokesperson.

The lawyers retreated and the group marched on.  At Sonipat bus stand, a larger group of lawyers accosted the traders and allegedly beat them up. Meanwhile, as news spread that lawyers had been beaten up by non –Jats, a group of students protesting for Jat quota marched towards Chhotu Ram Chowk, where they clashed with the traders.

“The two groups pelted stones and beat each other up. They also torched vehicles; as many as four bikes were set on fire. Police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse them.” said the police spokesperson.

The Jat agitation has left at least 30 dead and over 200 injured. Haryana police has so far arrested 127 people for indulging in violence during the 10 – day agitation, and registered 535 FIRs, said DGP Yash Pal Singhal. There has also been a report that at least 10 women were raped during the protest, although there is no concrete evidence to support that as no FIRs had been filed. Police are yet to receive any information regarding the matter. DGP Yash Pal Singhal also added that stringent action would be taken if they received any information.  According to a newspaper report, Jat rioters set fire to dozens of cars on a highway connecting Haryana to Delhi during the protests, forcing to occupants to flee. The rioters then stripped and raped 10 women in the nearby fields, it added.  Media reports alleged the police and administrative authorities urged the women to not come forward and register any complaint to ‘save their honor’ – which was denied by senior police and administrative authorities.  On Wednesday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the state government to launch an investigation into the allegations.

Large scale violence began in Haryana on 19^th February and for the next few days, Jat protestors went on a rampage, ravaging everything that stood in their way. They set fire to vehicles, shops and properties owned by the non–Jats. Similar demonstrations were also held in Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Reason behind the Jats anger –

The Jat community took to the streets and employed violent and intimidating means to achieve their goal. They want job quotas similar to those granted to the lower castes.  The Jats were traditionally affluent and has been seen as upper caste. But recently, the demonstrators had been demanding their inclusion into the job and education quotas, which had been made available to the lower castes since 1991.  In March 2014, the Congress-led national government said that it would re-categorise Jats as Other Backwards Castes (OBC), thus opening up the job quotas. But in 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the Jats were not a backward caste and their case was thrown out.  Now the community has again demanded the reinstatement of their backwards caste status to enable them to secure government jobs as farming incomes have declined and jobs in private sectors have dried up.

The caste – creed system has always been a hurdle in India for a long time. All the inequalities that it entails have caused nothing but grief.

The post JAT PROTESTS IN HARYANA ESCALATE appeared first on OutFocus.

The train crash occurred on a Monday morning on a single-track commuter line between Rosenheim and Holzkirchen. The line is fitted with a modern safety system that slows the train down if it is going too fast and then stops it automatically if it runs a red signal.  Drivers also get a warning on their cab if there is any kind of error in the system. The speed of the trains suggest that neither had any kind of warning.  Both train drivers and two train guards were among those killed instantly. Emergency teams, who were winched in by helicopters, worked for hours trying to free the casualties and the injured from the wreckage.  Both trains travelling at about 100kilometers per hour, collided in a densely vegetated region near the Mangfall River.  The difficult terrain made the rescue mission difficult. Rescue workers completed their search for further victims early on Wednesday. No more were found or reported missing.

German Chancellor Angel Merkel said that she was ‘dismayed’ by the tragic train crash.  Investigators have so far recovered two ‘black box’ from the wreckage and are still looking for the third.

Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt informed that the first black box had already been analysed. No technical fault or driver error has been discovered on the westbound train whatsoever. He also added that the black box of the eastbound train was of more importance as it was travelling late when the collision occurred.

The rail cars involved in the train crash got mangled with each other and were partially derailed. A 160-tonne crane was brought on scene on Wednesday to remove the crushed trains from site.

The incident puzzles the world because of it’s occurring despite all the safety measures being taken.  New details about the train crash are expected to be revealed in the coming days.

Written by Shiladitya.

The post Train crash in Germany appeared first on OutFocus.

Vaguely there exist three main theories. Two commissions of inquiry had concluded that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945. But the third probe panel, headed by Justice MK Mukherjee, had contested it and suggested that Bose was alive after that.

One of the remaining two theories state that he was held as prisoner of War by USSR. The other says he came back to India and led his life in disguise.

Declassification of 100 Netaji Files:

In October 2015, the prime minister had met the family members of Netaji and announced that the government would declassify the files relating to Netaji. The first lot of 33 files were declassified by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and handed over to the NAI (National Archives of India) on December 4, 2015.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23rd made public digital copies of 100 secret files relating to Subhas Chandra Bose on his 119th birth anniversary, which could throw some light on the controversy over his death.

The files were declassified and put on digital display at the National Archives of India in New Delhi by the prime minister, who pressed a button in the presence of Bose family members and Union ministers Mahesh Sharma and Babul Supriyo.

Later, Modi and his ministerial colleagues went around glancing at the declassified files. They spent over half an hour at the National Archives. PM also spoke to the members of the Bose family.

Later in the day, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee demanded that Netaji be given the title of “leader of the nation”, just as Gandhiji was honoured with the title of “father of the nation”.

Political Significance:

The timing of the release assumes political significance as West Bengal goes to polls later this year. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had already released 64 files last year. She will seek to cash in on the fact that she was the first to declassify the Netaji files.

These 64 documents, running into more than 12,000 pages, had stunning revelations. It mentioned that Subhash Chandra Bose’s family was snooped for nearly a decade by the Nehru government after his disappearance. The documents also show that the British suspected Bose was still alive after his plane crashed in Taipei. But, the letter, purportedly written by Nehru to Clement Atlee, that mentions Netaji as a ‘war criminal’ is likely to spice up politics in the run-up to West Bengal elections.

Despite all the noise and fury the BJP is still not a major player in the state. It would still go to town claiming it did what the Left and the Congress couldn’t in all these years. But it might have less momentum as it had lost its declassification card to Mamta.

The Left Front has been demanding of the center that these be declassified. But it never took the initiative to make public the state documents concerning Netaji during its 34 long years in power.  Congress was beginning to look confident again after random electoral victories across the country. Yet here, the clear loser seems to be Congress.

Several conspiracy theories, tell-tale ‘revelations’ and three inquiry commissions later we stand exactly where we were decades ago on the Netaji disappearance mystery.

The NAI had planned to release digital copies of 25 declassified Netaji files on Bose in the public domain every month. It would take time for scholars and researchers to analyze on the declassified files. So let us rest assured that the noise over the Netaji mystery will die anytime soon.

Written by S G A Thomas.

Inputs from:

www.aninews.in

www.ptinews.com

The post Netaji Files: Will the Declassification shed some light ? appeared first on OutFocus.

In mid-2006, reporters at the paper used private investigators to illegally gain access to hundreds of mobile phone voicemail accounts held by a variety of people of interest to the newspaper. From 2009 -2010, further revelations emerged on the extent of the phone hacking, and how it was common knowledge within the News of the World and its News International parent.

The Closure of ‘News of the World’ made a point clear. Even a biggie would have to face the results of it’s activities. The trend #ShutDownNDTV clearly reminds us of ‘News of the World’. Will NDTV become India’s News of the World?

New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988 by Prannoy and Radhika Roy.

Over the years, it established itself as one of the leading News Channel in India. It had organized several campaigns through its channels to support education, rural electrification, and awareness on climate change.

Though it had few controversies like Tax fraud, and Radia tape controversy, it’s recent one “Spreading False, Misleading information about Modi’s Government” made #ShutDownNDTV trending at Top.

These are allegations against NDTV by twitter users.

The news report done by Barkha Dutt tracking the arrival route adopted by the infiltrators in Punjab, along with the news story carried by online portal of NDTV, claiming that two vehicles loaded with terrorists entered the base and therefore, there could be more militants rather than the six who were reported to be locked in an encounter with security forces.

Besides, she was also trashed for her new book, This Unquiet Land: The Stories Beneath India’s Fault Lines, where she claimed that Modi and Nawaz met for nearly an hour “secretly” in Kathmandu during the SAARC summit. However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed this claim and called it ‘baseless’.

NSA’s Ajit Dowal’s letter to government’s Cabinet Secretary states that NDTV is leaking out Indian Navy secrets, raises sincere doubt in the public and government towards the credibility of NDTV.

But the seed cause of recent misleading information according to Modi Supporters, is that Radhika Prannoy Roy who owns 16.32% of the Company is the sister of Communist Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat and Abhey Oswal who owns 14.17% of the Company is the father in law of Congress MP Naveen Jindal.

BJP hardcore supporters started to shout slogans like “Barkha Dutt, Go to Pakistan” and “Ravish Kumar, (Prime Anchor of NDTV) change your name to “Maulana Ravish Kumar”. I personally condemn such slogans but that doesn’t mean that whoever is responsible for giving misleading information must not apologize.

There are two speculations. One that this issue will pass on just like other issues (Radia Controversy) and other NDTV would become India’s ‘News of the World’. Unfortunately, there seems no middle. Nevertheless, NDTV’s future is now in it’s hands.

Use #ShutDownNDTV if you think it’s right to raise your voice against what you think is going wrong. Use #iSupportNDTV if you think media can spread information even if it cannot prove itself.

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Written by S G A Thomas, Asso. Editor.

The post Should NDTV be shut down? appeared first on OutFocus.

Just a day after New Year Celebrations , 6 terrorists had attacked the Indian Air force Base near PathanKot and holed up within a building.

Pathankot is the base for MiG-21 Bison fighters and Mi-35 attack helicopters and officials suspect that the terrorists were ordered to blow up aircraft stationed at the air base.

The gun-battle started at 3.30 am when the armed forces, who had secured the compound following advance information, and detected the advent of the terrorists even in pitch dark conditions with the help of aircrafts having thermal imaging capability which was co built by Israel. One of the infiltrators was shot dead as he was climbing over the 10 ft high concrete wall of the air base.

Earlier the infiltrators had attacked a Punjab Police officer and used his Car to reach Pathankot. The alarm had been raised after the terrorists used the phone of a Punjab police officer to contact their handlers. The calls had been intercepted by the security forces. Sources say the attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Pakistan-based terror outfit that seeks independence for Kashmir. They are also blamed for the December 2001 attack on Parliament that killed 11 people.

Following the terror attacks, Security was increased both in Delhi and Mumbai. In Response to terror attacks, a Youth mob rioted in Punjab shouting anti-Pakistan Slogans. All roads leading to Pathankot was blocked. Trains arriving Delhi stations was checked by bomb squads following a rumour.

Rockets were fired by a Mi-35 attack helicopter to contain the terrorists in one area. Heavy armoured personnel carriers – which are bulletproof and mine-resistant vehicles to carry soldiers safely into operation areas — were used to close in on the spot where the terrorists were holed up.

24 hours later, an IED (improvised explosive device) exploded during the combing operation at the Air Force base in Pathankot taking the death toll of security men killed in the attack to six. On terrorist side, 4 infiltrators were confirmed dead, while two of them were still holed up. The area was under severe surveillance which was backed by National Security Guard and Army’s Special Forces on land. Few hours later, another infiltrator was confirmed dead.

With the attack coming roughly a week after PM Modi’s goodwill visit to Pakistan, opposition Congress said India should reassess its position on the neighboring country. Home minister Rajnath Singh assured that India wanted Peace but will always be ready to give a reply for such terror attacks. Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah called the attack “the first major challenge to PM Modi’s bold Pakistan gambit.”

At least twice over the weekend it appeared that the attack had ended but fresh gunfire and explosions erupted both times. The Home ministry assured that the vital air force assets MiG-21 Bison fighters and Mi-35 attack helicopters are safe.

Update : A fifth militant is confirmed dead on Monday evening. The combing operation is still on for Sixth Terrorist. Three people were arrested with arms, ammunition and a Pakistan Sim Card at Mohali.

The post Terrorist attack at Pathankot, Punjab – 7 dead appeared first on OutFocus.

In the always-now world of social media though, it appears many people clicked the link their friends had shared, didn’t notice the April date, and got confused, thinking the Kenya attack was a breaking story.

On April 2 2015, five heavily armed militants, after killing two security guards, started shooting on students. The attack was considered as second deadliest assault in Kenyan soil, the first being 1998 Nairobi blast on the US Embassy which took more than 200 lives.

Hours after the assault started, the Kenyan Security Forces cornered the militants in a dormitory. Four of the militants died using their suicide vest, while the fifth was reported to be arrested. All of the militants were associated to the terror group al-Shabab, an Islamist group from Somalia.

But while some of those clicking on the story were mistaken about timing, others shared it to make a point. They were criticizing Western media organizations for allegedly failing to cover the Kenya massacre as prominently as they covered events in Paris.

It all started from Paris attacks. The November Paris attack drew the whole attention of the World with many Hashtagging “Pray for Paris”.  Media did an exclusive coverage and the world was speaking about Paris for the next one week. Many media failed to recognize and give proper importance to the terror attacks going on at several places which were happening at the same Window leading to many users think that Paris Terror attack is over-hyped. The disparity of attention between the Kenyan attacks and the French attacks are being blamed on the fact that Kenya is a third-world country. But one may think that Paris got more media coverage than Kenya because terror is normal in Kenya. Let’s take Al-Shabab for example. What made them attack Kenya at first?

Kenyan troops entered Somalia in October 2011 in an effort to stop the Islamists from crossing the long, porous border between the two countries and kidnapping people – but their presence achieved the opposite effect, provoking al-Shabab to increase its activity in Kenya

Just look at the number of terror attacks by the Al-Shabab prior to the University attack .

On March 2015, Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for attacks in the county of Mandera on the Somali border in which twelve people died. Four of them died in an attack on the convoy of Mandera County Governor Ali Roba.

Al-Shabaab carried out large-scale attacks in Mandera last year. The militants hijacked a bus and singled out 28 non-Muslims forcing them to lie on the ground before shooting them dead. Ten days later, 36 non-Muslim quarry workers were killed by the extremists.

Police statistics show that 312 people have been killed in Al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya from 2012 to 2014. Thirty-eight people were killed and 149 wounded in Garissa in the same period, according to police statistics.

The hashtag #PrayforLebanon – a reference to suicide blasts that killed at least 41 in Beirut the day before the Paris attacks – was in particular used more than 800,000 times on Twitter. The vast majority of those tweets came not at the time of the bombs in Lebanon, but after the Paris attacks (#PrayforParis hashtag has been used more than 10 million times).

The “Pray for…” trend also lumped in other unrelated events. More than 1.6 million people tweeted “Pray for Japan” when news broke over the weekend of a massive undersea earthquake – but unlike the massive devastation in 2011, no-one was killed or injured in that event.

Meanwhile Facebook was also accused of double standards when it gave users the option of putting a filter over their profile photos in the colors of the French flag which also led many to trend Kenya attacks as an incident to criticize proper lack of coverage from Western Media.

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Written by S G A Thomas.

The post Kenya Attack – 147 killed: The real story appeared first on OutFocus.

NORTH – EAST MONSOON -2015

Every year during November , there occurs northeast monsoon. But this year, if we had expected a drought, we were in for a big surprise.

It rains all day long, without a pause. This year the delta region and Chennai, the capital city faced the trouble.

1000 people have been made to migrate from danger places to the safer places in Northern parts of Chennai due to flood. Flights have been delayed due to heavy rains in Chennai. Several low lying areas in the city have been floating in the flood. Stagnant water has been reported from almost all the parts of the city. People have been compelled to stop driving vehicles and remain safe in their homes.

ROAD CONDITIONS:

Traffic jams had been created in various parts of the city for even the slightest of stagnant water. The potholes in the main stream of road is covered with water hence the vehicles move at a snail’s pace. Old jail road has been damaged a lot due heavy rainfall.

Residents of Vadapalani, Valarasaravakkam and Virugambakkam had to avoid the Arcot road, since the traffic there is a stand still for over two hours. It is the tough for the people in those regions.

Areas in Madipakkam, Velacherry, Adayar, Korattur, Villivakkam, Maduravoyal, Arumbakkam, Sholinganallur, Perungudi, Kilapauk, T.Nagar  have reported persistent water stagnation.

In Chennai locality, 265 areas are covered with water , among that 133 areas remains a challenge for rescuing.

The Chennai corporation has deployed 21, 500 workers for rescuing purposes in 426 Sq km. of the city , where the water has been covered.

College campuses like Sathyabama also been submerged in heavy rainfall so the Chennai government has declared 1 week holiday for all colleges, schools and even for some offices.

Two boats have been brought in Ambattur as officials fear that Chembarambakkam lake may be breached. 75,600 food packets have been distributed to the victims for breakfast, lunch in various parts of Chennai. Power cut also forms a major problem.

DAMAGES IN OTHER DISTRICTS:

Five major tanks such as Manodai, Andiodai , Vettakudi, Kandirathirtham and Sukkiran in Ariyallur district will be filled shortly if the rainfall had continued.

In Nagapatinam district , the houses were marooned. More than 120 families suffered at Vandal and Kundooranveli villages near Vedaranyam. The corporation officials are making arrangements to safeguard them and due to heavy rain there is a power cut in the region for over 3 days and officials are making alternative arrangements.

Paddy fields were submerged in delta regions and hence there is a great loss for farmers.

Sadly, the death toll from one week of rain had reached 79. Compare that with 129 from the Paris attack.

UPCOMING WEATHER:

Heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur at a few places over Tamil Nadu and Puduchery. Heavy rain would occur at isolated places over Andhra Pradesh and there is a chance of decreasing rainfall over Tamil Nadu, since the wind has lost its strength. Latest speculation that another low pressure area might be gaining strength and might result in heavy downpour from Saturday on have been dismissed and occasional rain would be present in some areas of Tamil Nadu. One can only speculate the amount of loss that would result in a disaster struck again.

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Article by Aakash S, intern.

The post OutFocus: Chennai Rains appeared first on OutFocus.