What is Copenhagen?

Copenhagen simplified for kids

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is hosting the fifteenth United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15). The abbreviation COP 15, means that this is the fifteenth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).

What is the FCCC?
The FCCC is an international treaty to stabilise the level of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere. These gases trap the sun’s heat within the atmosphere which heats up the earth.

The FCCC was produced at United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. 192 countries have signed the FCCC.

The treaty does not fix the maximum levels of greenhouse gas emissions per country. It is not a law, instead it calls for protocols to fix levels. The Kyoto Protocol is the most important protocol of the FCCC.

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and in force from 2005, asks developed countries to promise to reduce their emissions of four greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, and two groups of gases: hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons.

187 countries have ratified the treaty. United States of America, which emits the highest amount of carbon dioxide per person, has not ratified the treaty. They have not ratified it because they want legally binding levels of emission also on developing countries and, they feel that by reducing emissions to Kyoto specified levels, they will become less productive and their economy will suffer.

Yet, many states and cities in the US are using their own methods to cut emissions.

Why are people in Copenhagen fighting?

Protestors in Copenhagen feel that developed countries want to escape their responsibility of cutting emissions. Leaked documents of negotiations between developed countries show that they want to sideline the UN and create divisions among poorer countries. This has angered developing countries. Developed countries are trying to shirk their responsibilities under the Kyoto Protocol.

Also, developing countries like India want no legally binding deal on when our emissions should peak, after which it will be reduced. Also, we want no legally binding emission cuts. The principle of the Kyoto Protocol puts greater responsibility to cut emissions on developed countries which have polluted the most. But what countries like the US want work out to them polluting twice as much as we do.

We also do not want any foreign agency to be checking what we do on our own about pollution. Such measures include removing vehicles that consume excess fuel, environment friendly construction and clean coal technology which will reduce India’s carbon emissions by 20 to 25 per cent by 2020.

(something that didn't make it to Young World. Nice one for the year end I hope)

What an adventure

Book Review: Around the world in 80 days: Wing Commander Rahul Monga; Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi in association with KW Publishers, 4676/21, First Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi- 110002. Rs. 720

Pheroze L. Vincent

It is what legends are made of. Reality is much more fantastic than fiction, because of the intricacies of it.

On June 1, 2007, Wing Commanders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar set out from Air Force Station Hindan, near Delhi, in a CTSW microlight aircraft. Their mission: to create a world record of circumnavigating the globe in a microlight aircraft. The previous record was held by Colin Bodil who performed the feat in 99 days in 2001.

The author, in very simple English, lets the reader vicariously enjoy the 80 day adventure, spaced across 81 airstrips in 17 countries. Apart from the treasure of practical flying knowledge the book offers, Monga’s description also makes it a delightful read for the lay reader.

It reads like a log book, a journal of sorties from one landing to the next. Through Monga’s eyes you see the purple lagoons of Thailand and hear the hysterical screams of Russian navigator as they fly through heavy rain. You even feel the pain of frostbite and injuries that don’t heal.

There are innocent descriptions of the colourful characters that bind the tale together. People like Robin, the Chinese barber. “Robin was a dude. He set the pace for the haircut by switching on the TV in front to a channel blaring Chinese rock and started jiving.”

Monga isn’t the best of writers and he fails when he experiments with sophistication. But he is really good at painting a colourful picture even of the most mundane things like filing flight plans with an air traffic controller.

Another critical aspect the book throws light on is the networking of Indian diplomats and the camaraderie of aviators all over the world. Men like a 75-year-old British paratrooper who served in the Second World War, who offers the author “the most wonderful sortie” of his life in a 1943 Piper L4; and the Indian diplomat in Iran, who drove in the middle of the night with 200 litres of incendiary aviation fuel. The book is replete with such adventures and wonderful people.

Jet lag and fatigue lets the mind philosophise. Monga gives plain observations on the little things like traffic, markets, the smiles and body language, the tempers and the view from the skies. There are moments when he jokes about situations that could have been fatal, in the most casual manner. In brief sentences he ties them together with opinions on human nature and the purpose of it all. There are also hilarious tales of the hotel and the food, like the one about a Chinese hotel room stocked with spermicidal lotion and tiger balm and, the homogeneity of American fast food.

Conspicuous in his fleeting presence is the co-pilot Anil. There is hardly any mention of him, as the author hogs most of the limelight. The author does give examples of how they deal with snags in the aircraft like short circuited transformers, high oil pressure, punctured tires and other such unnerving obstacles. The credit of the success goes not to technology, but to their presence of mind and uncommon courage.

The intricate details of documentation and red tape are given a fairly good explanation in the book. Most shocking though, is the shabby treatment of Indian officials when the plane gets back. This is in sharp contrast to the warm and lavish reception by the Pakistan Air Force in Karachi. The author bluntly admits being driven to tears by the irrational interruptions to the mission on its seventy ninth day, in India.

The essence of this book is in the preface where Monga writes, “I learnt something very important. I learnt that the world is beautiful and that some places on our earth are so wonderful and so fragile that we must never go there.”

Coimbatore ryots give up paddy for cocoa

Cocoa is the new buzzword for farmers in Coimbatore district. Grown in the shade of coconut, cocoa gives a profit of around Rs. 15,000 per acre per year. It takes about three years to obtain the first harvest, and production peaks after seven years. It has a productive lifespan of 25 years. This well irrigated district, known for paddy, sugarcane and groundnut, is gradually shifting to cocoa.

“Rice is a suicidal crop,” says V. J. Prasad of Pollachi Taluk..Mr. Prasad began farming on his family’s 75 acres in Sethumadai, after voluntary retirement 15 years back. He tried every method to make paddy cultivation feasible but in vain. “The inputs are too costly. But the main problem here is the labour shortage,” he says.

With the youth choosing to work in textile mills in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, farmers say, most of the workforce is above 45 years of age. “Their work hours have come down from seven to four a day. It is hard to find labour, even for high wages,” says farmer K. Sethuraman, who cultivates three acres in Ramanamudalipudur Thottam, near Anamalai.

Women are paid Rs. 80 and men, Rs. 150 for a day’s work here. Women now opt for work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which fetches Rs.100 a day.

Heaps of coconuts gather cobwebs on his land, for want of labourers to extract the copra. “No one will steal them. The price is too low,” he says. A coconut fetches the grower a maximum of Rs. 4 in these parts.

Sethuraman, Prasad and other farmers now raise cocoa intercropped with coconut. Cocoa is neither capital nor labour intensive and the returns are as high as Rs. 110 per kg of dried beans. Upto 250 plants can be raised per acre to get almost 1.5 kg of dried beans per plant.

In June 2007, Tamil Nadu’s Horticulture Department signed a memorandum of understanding with Cadbury, one of the largest confectionery makers. As part of the deal, Cadbury’s nursery near Anamalai gives saplings to farmers for which the state foots the bill. The farmer is also assured of a minimum price of Rs. 60 for a kg of dried beans produced. The government gives them organic fertilizer and organic pesticide for free, and arranges technical assistance and institutional credit, through Cadbury.

The total government subsidy is more than Rs. 4,500 per acre, for the first three years of cultivation.

Farmers say that Cadbury's technical assistance they get is irregular, neem cakes are ineffective and credit is a nightmare. “We have to get the clearance from the tehsildar for pledging our patta (legal document of the ownership of the land) to get a loan from cooperative banks at 12 per cent interest. Why should we pledge our lands for a small loan,” asks Mr. Prasad.

Private lenders charge a monthly interest of two to three per cent, which compounds to 27 to 43 per cent per annum. Most farmers here though have invested their own money. They make a profit of only six to eight per cent of their investment, if they multi-crop. “We can get that much by just leaving the money in the bank,” adds Prasad. “We only keep our land for pride,” says Sethuraman.

Cultivation costs of cocoa range from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 an acre, depending on labour charges and irrigation. “This is a plantation crop and we can’t shift overnight if the prices fall,” says K. Krishnaraj who has 18 acres of cocoa at Ambarampalayam.

And that is the biggest risk. Between 1981 and 1982, cocoa cultivation peaked in Kerala and Karnataka. Farmers were assured of high prices and procurement. But in the late 80s, demand suddenly fell and chocolate manufacturers failed to honour their promise, just as the plants began to yield.

Unlike food crops, affected farmers can’t eat cocoa to survive.

According to P. Thirugnanasambantham, Coimbatore district secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, the MoU’s assured price only holds good if there is any procurement of cocoa. “The government must provide labour to agriculture through the NREGA. Without subsidising labour, agriculture can’t survive,” he adds. Shunning food crops for cash crops is a serious threat to food security, he explains.

Farmers say that the government asks them to mechanise. But complete mechanisation is impossible and unviable for small farms. “Cadbury is only concentrating on big farms now,” says Mr. Prasad.

This could spell disaster for small farmers like Sethuraman, who swears that he will never let his children do agriculture. “Let my troubles die with me,” he says.

All in a day's work

Biography of a Municipal bullock

The natural witness

Hidden in the woods of Forest Campus, R S Puram, is a repository of jungle heritage, discovers Pheroze L. Vincent

Temperature drops as you turn in to Cowley Brown Road. That’s because of the forest campus which, apart from training institutes and a wealth of plants, birds and butterflies, has a botanical garden, a bambusetum (nursery for bamboo plants), th e Fischer Herbarium, and the Gass Forest Museum...

It's a jumble out there!

The annual jumble sale organised by the Vasantha Memorial Trust was a huge success

A 1995 Fiat for Rs. 30,000, scooters for Rs. 4000, Sony music systems for Rs. 1000 and a revolving chair for Rs. 500; the sale had it all in three floors of the school. Thousand of people jostled to get their hands on old dolls and trophies and even an old Mofa circus bike.

It’s a funny site there

Webcomics are an integral part of cyber life. Profane, funny, sadistic and inspirational at the same time, Pheroze L. Vincent finds out why they tick

Trek into the heavens

Treacherous terrain, incessant rain and the breathtaking ghats greet climbers to the Vellingiri Hills

A tale of terrific tiramisu

The Blueberry pastry is a creamy wonder that melts in your mouth. It has generous layers of cream mildly flavoured with the berry. To let the guilt sink in there’s an extra dollop of flavoured cream on top, with a thin dribble of chocolate sauce.

Voice of the hills

A mild mannered former banker challenges the idea of development to save the Western Ghats. Pheroze L. Vincent finds out why and how

The perils of being single

Pheroze Vincent finds out that if you’re single, they’re out to get you ..

Now time to walk the walk

From Gorky to Didi, how the meaning of 'storm petrel' has changed

Community education: the way forward

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi plans to offer, 2- year long, associate degree programmes through 200 community colleges in India. These courses will focus on employability and will initially be offered in business, office practices, accounting, agriculture, computer technologies, para medicine and para legal disciplines. Students will be able to vertically upgrade to a 3-year degree, in this scheme.

Community colleges, which started in India in 1995, primarily cater to students who cannot afford formal higher education. They offer courses according to the employment needs of the area they are situated in.

Dr. Helen Vincent, Secretary, Stella Maris College and former principal of Madras Community College, Santhome, explains that while class IV workers do not need higher education for their professions and technicians are trained at industrial training institutes, a large number of youth do not fall into either of these categories.

A large number of literate youth can’t afford to go to Arts and Science or Professional colleges. These youth feel left out of the “stereotyped degree system” Community colleges, she says, concentrate on life skills like personality development and spoken English, while preparing them to work in sectors like computers, travel and tourism, logistics and so on.

“Young women are in great demand as home nurses and for old-age care. There are petty shopkeepers who, with basic skills in retail management, can run their businesses efficiently and with dignity,” adds Dr. Vincent.

There is a feeling among educationists and industrialists that mainstream colleges have outlived their utility as providers of employable youth. Community colleges are attempting to fill this vacuum.

Currently, the Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU), Chennai recognizes 118 community colleges in India. The Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), Nashik is to follow suit in Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat, while the Haryana government has also come forward to do the same.

Despite the 11th five-year plan directive for community colleges to be established in backward districts, most of them are based in urban areas. This is more feasible as they draw upon faculty from regular colleges and are able to get industry experts for work training. To bridge this urban-rural divide, many such colleges offer scholarships and limited hostel facilities.

Dr. Vincent points out that a group of nuns that run a community college in the Sathyamangalam forests, teaching para medicine to tribal women. The students intern in a hospital attached to the college.

N. Manimegalai, undergoing teachers training at Nirmala Community College in Santhome, says that the hostel facilities are good in her college. She and her friend Suganthi, studying desktop publishing (DTP) in the same college, are enjoying full scholarships, which include tuition fees, hostel and mess facilities.

Manimegalai, who joined this course after completing school, is from Alathur, a village near Vandalur, on Chennai’s outskirts. She says she is confident of getting a job in a kindergarten school, as almost all her seniors have got jobs.

Suganthi too is confident of getting a job and doesn’t want to get married at the moment. She is interested in computers and may pursue further studies after working for a while.

According to their principal, Sr. Angela Antonysamy, their annual hostel and mess fees are Rs. 10, 000 and the annual courses fees are Rs. 7000 for teachers training and Rs. 4000 for the DTP course. “We are subsidized by the fees we collect from students of the Cultural Academy we run next door. We can’t afford to pay the staff more than Rs. 10, 000,”adds Sr. Antonysamy.

The nature of community colleges is such that the administrations that manage them cannot expect any profits. Though job prospects are good, the students are economically backward and find it hard to get education loans. Most community colleges, therefore, are run by charitable organizations.

Christian institutions play a big role in this sector. Even the national nodal agency, Indian Centre for Research and Development of Community Education (ICRDCE) is run by the Chengai Jesuit Society and is headed by a priest. As a result, 39 per cent of students are Christian.

The proportion of Muslim students in community colleges is only 3 per cent. Fr. M. S. Jacob, Deputy Director of ICRDCE explains this is not different from the general trend for Muslims in the country. He adds that after IGNOU’s announcement of the new scheme many organizations, including Muslim institutions, have come forward to start community colleges. The ICRDCE plans to collaborate with them after consultation with IGNOU on 31 March.

According to 2001 data from the National Information Centre, Vellore, 36 per cent of school students in Tamil Nadu drop out by the time they reach high school. 90 per cent of these are girls. In the higher secondary level the drop out percentage is a whopping 82.3 per cent. Madras Community College, one of the oldest, of its kind, in India, now only concentrates on coaching students to finish school and helping them pursue degrees and join community colleges.

Though community colleges were initially expected to admit students who just had an elementary education, today a majority of the students already have a higher secondary certificate when they join.

Almost all the students pursue a correspondence degree from a regular university, while studying at these colleges. The ICRDCE statistics point out that while 75 per cent of the students begin to work after graduating from community colleges, 15 per cent go for higher studies.

Dr. Vincent points out that there is a mind set about community colleges that needs to be changed. Looked upon as inferior colleges by society, students do not enjoy government bus passes or scholarships. Ironically, it is in these colleges and not mainstream universities, where the concentration of depressed classes, women and minorities is the highest. Three out of every four community college graduates in India are women.

Placements rates these graduates stand high at 75 per cent. According to Fr. Xavier Alphonse, Director of ICRDCE, in most cases their family income has doubled and this has led to poverty alleviation. He advocates the setting up central placement cells in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries and chambers of commerce.

The Indian community college model is being replicated in South Africa and Papua New Guinea, where the ICRDCE trains teachers and prepared text books.

For the love of the land

Shanta Ramaswamy has networked with organic farmers across the region to give them a fair deal, and us, a healthy life. PHEROZE L. VINCENT finds out how

In letter and spirit

In the zonal consultative meeting for developing a national dementia strategy happening in Coimbatore on July 25, one of the issues to be discussed is the legal hassles that plague patients and their families.

The Mental Health Act (1987), which came into effect in April 1993, replaced the anachronistic Indian Lunacy Act (1912). It did away with offensive terminology like “lunatic”, established licensing authorities and recognized the human rights of those afflicted. But is this enough?

The red orchestra

Pakistani fusion band Laal has catapulted to fame with its uplifting music and poetic lyrics. Pheroze L Vincent interviews Taimur Rahman, the composer of the band.

A former teacher at the Lahore School of Economics and the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Taimur Rahman used to play the guitar in his classes to entertain and teach. In fact, Shahram Azhar, the lead vocalist of the band, was his student at LUMS. Taimur is also famous in Pakistani theatre as a producer, director and actor.

When the guns fell silent

India celebrates Kargil Vijay Diwas (Kargil Victory Day) on July 26. On this day, in 1999, India declared victory over Pakistani forces that had captured around 200 square kilometres of Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir.

Stick with the starters

Forrest Gump’s mother would definitely have found Rathna Regent’s new menu like a box of chocolates. You never know what you get. Well, for one, there’s so much to choose from, if you aren’t full with the starters.

Nostalgia for the Raj

The 20-hairpin bend ascent to Yercaud is dotted with lovers on bikes, and monkeys. On approaching the top you see the vast expanse of Salem below; the highways lined with amber sodium-vapour lights and the city spotted with star-like white fluorescent lamps. Come here in the morning and you'll see the Stanley Reservoir shimmering in the sunshine, like molten gold splashed in the valley. (got a dozen threat calls after this one)

An immortal musician

“On stage for me was home. I was most comfortable on stage but once I got off stage, I was like very sad.”- Michael Jackson to Oprah Winfrey in 1993

Never say die

I can’t see, so I have no fear.” These were the words of 24 year old Gopalakrishnan, who despite his visual impairment, trekked 62 kilometres up to Beas Kund, more than 3895 metres above sea level.

Welcome to the spice club

“If he was in Hong Kong, he (would) die,” says Chef Hardy Cheung, wiping the sweat off his scalp. His victim, the soup chef, scurries away into the kitchen, before Chef Hardy could start Kung Fu fighting. This is the most entertaining food festival I’ve been to.

Jayaram of the jungles

The house is spotless, without a speck of dust. Identical pots filled with leaf compost surround the bright living room. K. Jayaram is surrounded by colonial era volumes of Fauna of British India, Flora of Nilgiri and Pulney hill-tops and Flora of the Presidency of Madras. He doesn’t have any curtains. He loves light.

Making a metro

A CII seminar on Brand Coimbatore (tripped a bit on this one)

Heart is where the nest is

An excise superintendent and a birdwatcher come out with a seminal work on birds

Symphony of dissent

The last century saw the expression of public outrage against injustice, through music. Pheroze L. Vincent takes some notes

Romancing the tomes

The booksellers of Eswaran Koil Street are a passionate tribe of bibliophiles, subsidising education in their enterprising little way, writes Pheroze L. Vincent

New buffet on the block

“Greet all those who rule over you,” reads a slogan on the walls leading to the cellar... click to read on.

The tragi-comedy of choice

I don't get it! Why on earth was Amma cribbing over the Chennai Central seat (CPM was dying to have it) so much, when her party isn't even campaigning for it? D. Pandian, CPI’s state secretary and Chennai North candidate, may have had a better chance here against a candidate that can match his arrogance.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) isn't splitting too many hairs on the seat because they are sure of victory; the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) candidate S. M. K. M. A. Jinnah is sticking to his pocket borough of Triplicane while the Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) is going berserk printing pamphlets in English.

The BJP, which has forgotten Sukumaran Nambiar, hasn’t even fielded a candidate and the BSP’s Yunus Khan remains content with sending a campaign jeep into Triplicane Mosque in the dead of the night.

The Youth and Students Party, which seems strangely familiar to the Syrian Christian Youth Club, is parading its pathetic slogans on a tempo on Uttamar Gandhi Salai. As if all this wasn’t enough, Nungambakkam residents found themselves staring at Pyramid Party of India pamphlets (with a flowing white bearded Maharishi peeping out), as they started their vehicles in the morning.

I am sorry to say that I may have ended up voting for Hyder Bhai of the Manithaneeya Makkal Katchi (MMK), if I had a vote in the constituency. The joke that the Chennai Central campaign has been reduced to, has made even a party like MMK seem ideal to the few incurable romantic socialists that live in this constituency. No, there’s no sign of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI).

Coming home, to vote in Krishnagiri constituency, was fun. The Election Commission has played the perfect party pooper (literally) from the hinterland to the state capital, ensuring nobody has any campaign kondattam except the BJP.

This is the only party I find actually campaigning in Tamil Nadu. Kovai to Krishnagiri is dotted with saffron flags and banners with images of Advani, Karthik and Sarath Kumar and Subramanian Swamy on them. What a sangam;D

The flags don’t seem to bother either of the squabbling Dravidian twins, who are busy clashing from Luz Corner to Anchetti forest, apart from stoning the Central Industrial Security Force in Krishnagiri. The vinyl banners though, are a comic relief.

Much to the chagrin of my photographer roomie Kapil Ganesh, the election stalls of the DMK in Hosur are attracting more crowds than any others. I think I spotted late Com. Mohit Sen’s United Communist Party of India flag, among the many others, decorating a DMK stall opposite the town’s police station.

T. Rajendharr’s Latchiya Makkal Katchi’s teeny-weenie stall lay barren beside it. I actually appreciate the man for not joining the bandwagon of ‘election-parties’ that are the NDA in TN this time, but he really does push his luck to ensure the joke is on him doesn’t he?

The UPA may not be so lucky in Salem, where the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s mobilisation coupled with the Vanniyar loyalty to the PMK is punishing poor Mr. Thangkabalu. Yes, all you Tamil nationalists, I actually like Mega TV :)

Nowhere have I seen the DMDK so popular, as in my district. The night before polling two bubbly gentlemen came home to give our voting slips with the ‘Murasu’ (DMDK’s drum symbol) on it. These courageous poll code violators seemed like excited little children stealing mangoes in the dead of the night.

Despite their charm, I violated the Party line and pressed the ‘Udaya Suryan.’

Poll Punch:

1. All you Dakshin Kannada voters who think you did a favour to the cause of pub-going by voting for BJP rebel Ram Bhat, think again; he's backed the the Sri Ram Sene.

2. Ever visited Kerala's Left Democatic Front website. There's only CPM, CPI and Kerala Congress (Joseph). See, Mr. smarts pants RSP and AIFB, the CPM finally gave it to you tit-for-tat for South 24 Parganas and Dinhata. Long live Left Unity!

The rise and fall of public health in Tamil Nadu

“Tamil Nadu has always been the leader in immunization,” says Dr. T. Jacob John, virologist at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. Though small pox was eradicated in India in 1974, Tamil Nadu had already accomplished this almost a decade earlier, in 1965.

In 1977, India accepted the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), without the measles vaccine. But, in 1978, Tamil Nadu introduced the Measles vaccine against national policy. In 1984, the Planning Commission acknowledged this as a “fantastic success” and by 1990 it was introduced all over the country, says Dr. John. Tamil Nadu also became the first state to conduct laboratory investigations of measles outbreaks. There are no more deaths to due measles in the state.

Dr. John attributes these strides in public health to the state’s former health minister Dr. H. V. Hande. In 1986, Hande mandated five doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for infants. The national policy only mandated three doses, so Hande got Rotary International to sponsor the additional doses. Tamil Nadu became the first state to eradicate Polio.

Sadly, this trend is in reverse. The second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2) in 1998-99, recorded 89 per cent complete vaccine coverage of children between 12 and 23 months old. This has fallen to 81 per cent, according to the NFHS-3 in 2005-06.

Nowadays, only the first OPV dose is given free and peopled are forced to spend Rs. 500-600 on vaccines for infants, says Dr. Shanmugavelayutham, Professor of Social Work at Loyola College, Chennai. He adds that the poor spend upto 40 per cent of their income on medical expenses in states like Tamil Nadu, where health awareness is high.

After the deaths of four babies in Tiruvallur district, close to Chennai, in April, last year, due to a mix up of the measles vaccine, the state government ordered that vaccines only be given in primary health centres (PHCs).

Before this tragedy, health workers went to individual households and vaccinated infants. As a result of the government order, daily wage earners, who cannot afford to take a day off to travel to a PHC, are not getting their children vaccinated. This has lead to the number of vaccine recipients decreasing by almost 50 per cent, says Dr. Shanmugavelayutham.

Immunity from communicable diseases can be achieved by vaccinating up to a critical threshold of 80 to 85 per cent of the population and hence it will take two to three years for the immunity to fall below the threshold and diseases like measles, diphtheria and polio to make a comeback. Diphtheria outbreaks have already been reported from Vellore and Tuticorin districts of the state.

Where were you...

Pachaiyappa’s and Nandanam boys fight pitched battle at Choolaimedu subway

Students of Pachaiyappa’s College and Government Arts College, Nandanam pelted each other with stones in the Choolaimedu subway, on March 5.

As part of the annual ‘Bus Day’ celebrations, Arts College boys rode in a decorated bus on route 41D. The bus passed on Periyar EVR high road in front of Pachaiyappa’s College, on Thursday morning. In the previous years, celebration buses have taken Nelson Manickam road, to avoid trouble. When the bus was returning on Nelson Manickam road, in the afternoon, it was stoned in the subway.

According to local resident Thyagarajan, around 100 Pachaiyappa’s College boys came walking along the railway tracks at about 12.30 in the afternoon. As the 41D route celebration bus passed through the subway under the tracks, they began stoning it. Nandanam College boys got out of the bus and threw the stones back at them. This fight went on for about an hour. He added that a police officer then came in a jeep and warned them to leave, brandishing his revolver at them. They threw big stones and broke his jeep’s windows, before fleeing.

The police haven’t yet traced the culprits and no arrests have been made. A case will be filed against Pachaiyappa’s students, said Inspector U. K. Pasupathy of Choolaimedu police station. Pasupathy suspects the motive behind the attack to be past enmity between students of both colleges.

The officer, whose Tata Sumo jeep was damaged, is a crime branch inspector of the Aminjikarai police station. He was on his way from Metha Nagar, when the incident occurred.

Traffic came to a standstill on either side of the subway for more than an hour. Trains also did not run for more than 20 minutes.

Railway officials said that the Railway Protection Force is also investigating the attack.

Murugesan, an auto driver sustained minor injuries on his head and leg. “They were fighting like mad men. They didn’t listen to us when we asked them not to injure bystanders,” he said.

Speaking to the Daily Word, Rizwan, a student of the college, boldly said, “We won’t relinquish our rowdy-ism to any other college,” as he nursed a 100ml bottle of Mcdowell's brandy under his arm.

Annual ‘Bus Day’ celebrations of men’s colleges, in February and March, have become a recipe for disaster, leading to violence, traffic jams and damage to public property. A ‘Bus Day’ poster in Pachaiyappa’s College reading “Dil Irundha Vaa” (Come, if you have the guts), clearly spells out the stuff the revelers are made off.

CPI mum on Lok Sabha candidates for TN

The Communist Party of India (CPI) remains tight lipped on its candidates in Tamil Nadu for the general elections this year. Speaking to the Daily Word, the party’s assistant secretary C. Mahendran said it would be unethical to leak the list before coming to an understanding with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The AIADMK is the Left’s main ally, in Tamil Nadu for the elections.

The Party has announced that it would be contesting from 50 seats all over the country. The first list of 33 candidates has been released. The lists for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are to be announced after consulting local allies.

CPI’s main left front ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will be contesting for 80 parliamentary seats.

Refusing to talk about ideological differences between the AIADMK and the CPI, Mahendran said that the objective was to form a government without the Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The AIADMK has not been participating in the agitation, of which the CPI is a part, against the conflict in Sri Lanka. R. Thirumalai, state secretary of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), the party’s student wing, said, “Alliance partners may not be of the same opinion. The Congress led government is supplying arms to Sri Lanka.”

The CPI(M) is also not part of the agitation. “The CPI(M) stand is wrong. They have failed to understand the emotions of the people for Sri Lankan Tamils,” said Thirumalai.

Mahendran emphasized that his party has no electoral understanding with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). “The BSP has a policy of no pre-poll alliances, hence we are not having any seat adjustments with the BSP,” he added. The CPI and CPI(M) are fielding 8 and 6 candidates, respectively, from BSP ruled Uttar Pradesh. CPI’s Atul Anjan is contesting from Ghosi.

Thirumalai explained that though some of the party’s supporters may temporarily shift to the BSP, they would come back to the party in the long run. “The party will continue to be the vanguard of the downtrodden,” he added.

Autos fight bikes for parking space

Parking space on Usman Road is a scarce commodity due to thousands of shoppers that throng its huge retail outlets. The area below the half-year old Usman Road flyover has provided succour to vehicle owners. This area is also used by auto-rickshaw drivers who woo customers at the entrances of shops. The quest for parking space is now a contest between non-commercial vehicles and auto-rickshaws.

The situation is manageable on weekdays but fights over parking space can get ugly on weekends. “Auto men refuse to let us take out our bikes from below the flyover. They claim the area opposite Saravana Stores as theirs, though it is for two-wheeler parking,” says Raja, an IT professional from Perambur.

On condition of anonymity, an auto- driver points to a line of autos occupying the entire parking space opposite Saravana Stores. “They are T- Nagar autos. They even chase us away.” This driver is from Egmore but comes to Theagaraya Nagar for business.

He says that autos aren’t allowed to park on Usman Road, though it’s good for business. They flee when the police raids or they are fined Rs. 100. This reporter witnessed a traffic head-constable on duty, not bothered about auto-rickshaws parked under the flyover.

Stands allotted for all major auto-rickshaw driver unions are almost empty, as all the autos stand on the road, to solicit customers. Two wheeler and car owners struggle to park or take out their vehicles, as many auto-rickshaw drivers leave their vehicles unattended and blocking movement.

According to G. Suresh, traffic sub- inspector at Mambalam police station, the area under the flyover is a no-parking zone. “As per a Supreme Court directive, no vehicle can be allowed to park there. It is a security risk. Anyone can leave a bomb in the vehicles and go.”

Usman Road is a sea of humanity during weekends and festivals and the flyover has a constant flow of traffic. Any explosion in this area would be devastating.

Suresh says that since the shop owners have not provided parking space, the police is forced to relax enforcement of the directive. “We regularly seize autos violating rules,” he says.

There are 45 traffic police personnel in Mambalam, an area which has a very high flow of traffic. Suresh says that despite paucity of staff, they try their best to keep traffic flowing in the worst of conditions, like peak hours, festivals, rallies and so on.

Many prominent retail outlets on Usman road are in violation of building norms. On 31 October 2006, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority had cautioned seven establishments on this road for improper construction. These establishments had illegally added several storeys to their palace-like shops.

A fire that broke out in Saravana Stores on 1 September, last year, exposed the lack of safety measures taken by the owners.

Despite the government regularizing many such violations, shops have not even spared their basements for their customers’ vehicles. Apart from the fight for space between autos and others, this carelessness by the shops, increase the vulnerability of the city to terrorist attacks.

Into the great wide open

If you want to go to Pulicat, also known as Pazhaverkaadu, do not go online. The transport, tourism and forest department websites, of Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh have nothing to offer.

Pulicat Lake is a backwater on the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border, 90 km from Chennai. Most of it is in Ponneri taluk of Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu. It is known for Flamingoes, Painted Storks and Pelicans. The route is motorable, as most of it is on National Highway 5.

It is on route 58C of the state’s transport corporation. Five buses go there from 8.15 a.m. to 8.45 p.m. One can also go to neighbouring Ponneri town by bus or train, and take a connecting bus from there. Public transport from Chennai and back only costs Rs. 28.

On Sunday morning, the 15th of February, The 8.15 bus pulled out of the Koyambedu bus terminus with the mild golden sun and thin mist creeping through its windows. The noise of vehicles horns and the smell of petrol fumes fade away as the driver changes gear and darts onto NH5. Dry wild grass lines the highway. The drowsy muffled roar of the bus has caressed most passengers into blissful slumber. The bliss does not last.

An infant sitting beside me wakes up to a distant hammering of an engine piston. The hammering gets louder and soon a rapture of hammering roars past the bus. Men in grey t- shirts race along NH5 on beautifully painted and polished Yezdi motorcycles, with the words “Roaring Riders” emblazoned on their backs. Gazing at the bikes riding off into the horizon, the young father of the infant turns away from his wife and smiles, slowly.

After Ponneri, the bus turns right onto State Highway-104. The road gets bumpier and a lady vomits out of the window. State transport buses desperately need to be cleansed. Ground nut shells and dirt are all over and betel spitting colours the windows.

At 10.40 a.m. the bus reaches Pazhaverkaadu bus stand which is in a garbage dump cum open toilet, opposite the 400-year-old dutch cemetery. The smell of dry fish overwhelms me.

The cemetery’s entrance is a stone arch with skeletons sculpted on both sides and a skull on top. A haunting air prevails in the cemetery. A beggar lies drunk under the dome of a mausoleum. Another beggar, who looks like Hagrid from Hogwarts, melts way behind a tomb. There are 20-feet-tall pyramids atop two tombs. Graves bear coats of arms of Dutch nobility.

The Dutch Fort Geldria at Pulicat, traded with the East Indies, from 1606 to 1690 A.D. Locally woven coloured (check-pattern) handkerchiefs and lungies were the chief items of trade, apart from medicinal herbs, silk, diamonds, spices and donkeys, procured from the hinterland. Only ruins of this fort exist.

The town is quite dirty and there are no public toilets. Avoiding restaurants is advisable. If hunger overpowers you, the safest cooked meal is Sambar rice at Jamaal’s.

SH104 ends at a jetty-under-construction on the Buckingham Canal. The place is filled with blue metal and rusty iron rods. The earth is carpeted with shiny silver fish, drying under the blinding sun. The Yezdis of the Roaring Riders line the entrance of the jetty.

Boats offer to take groups of people around the million-year-old lake, for Rs. 500. I choose to walk along its banks to reach the sea.

A tall fair chap wearing a Roaring Rider t-shirt stands beside a petty shop in the shade. He looks like Aurobindo Ghosh. He is Sachi, moderator of the riders.

“We are a club of Yezdi and Java riders from in and around Chennai. We ride to places near Chennai, once a month, besides meeting at 7.30 every Sunday morning on Elliots Beach. There are a 157 of us,” says Sachi.

The riders are a colourful bunch wearing hats and stylish helmets. They offer me a banana which energises me for the walk ahead.

I pass through quiet streets lined with trees until a reach a quieter bank of the lake. I only see the cloudless grayish blue sky above and hear bay lashing in the distance, behind the row of palm trees that appear like matchsticks. Tom Petty’s song “Into the Great Wide Open, Under them skies of blue” plays in my head. The mind is clear and the joy of escaping Chennai lifts my heart.

Three young men appear with a packet of ‘Hide n Seek’ biscuits and bananas. They jump into a boat. One of them puts the rotor in the water and spins the engine into throttle with a thin jute rope. Thick black diesel fumes burst out and they roar off into the lake. They wave me goodbye. I walk on.

The bank is never ending and I decide to walk across the lake at a point where the remains of some old concrete cylinders stretch across to the other bank. My feet sink into the clay. With each step, black earth mixes with the transparent water, like rain clouds appearing on a white sky. The water is shimmers in the sunlight. Little balloon like organisms dot the brownish-yellow bed of the lake. A stork trots gracefully beside me as I struggle through the clay. A mild breeze cajoles me on and I reach the bank.

I stumble through a small settlement. A huge Peepal tree growing on top of a ruined Hindu shrine marks the entrance of the settlement. There is a lot of construction activity. A worker hums a hypnotic tune, while two little boys lie in a concrete basin flying a kite.

As I sneak out my camera, some kids in the distance yell out “Police!” The boys in the basin scoot across the sands, into the settlement. “I’m not a cop,” I shout back. They slowly come back and pose for the camera. I move on along the shore.

Villagers catch fish with little bags woven with palm leaves. The bags are immersed in the water. The fish slip into them and the water drains out. This lunch time activity goes as I continue to seek the sea like a deer thirsting for water. I reach the Arni River which is too deep to be crossed on foot.

The earth is caked with salt. There is a burnt cactus beside me. I am dying of hunger and thirst. I contemplate whether to eat red berries growing off a shrub, as a Grey Heron comes and perches on it. My slippers are pierced with thorns and I turn back, defeated.

I walk in the shallower part of the river to cool my feet. Weeds below crunch under my toes. I reach the settlement. Wade waist deep through the lake and find my way back to town.

As I stagger back to civilization, I see an old temple which looked like a piece of the Angkor Vat. The concrete entrance to the temple which led to its iron-studded gate and coconut trees all around is like a scene from ‘Apocalypse now.’

D. R. Mani, the caretaker shows me around. “This temple was built during Krishnadevaraya’s reign. It was closed for a hundred years. I git the jungle around it cleared 15 days back and held Poojas. We plan to hold a temple festival soon,” he says.

The Adinarayana Perumal temple is awe inspiring. It is made of brick and supported by rock pillars. There is a shrine inside this complex which is a chariot carved in stone. Mani shows me an inscription, on a rock beam supporting the ceiling of the chariot. The script looks like ancient Telugu. “This is a mystery,” he says, pointing towards it. “I cannot understand it. If someone from the archaeological department could come make sense of it, we will be satisfied.”

I thank him and rush to the bus stand. I pass through neat rows of streets populated by muslims, said to be of Arab descent. It is 3 p.m. and everything here is closed. I get a bus to Ponneri and eat to my hearts content.

There aren’t any buses to Chennai, so I decide to take a train. People around ask my to walk to the railway tracks and keep walking on then till I reach Ponneri railway station. I stumble along the tracks with unburnt diesel of the trains sticking to my toes. Finally, beyond the glare of the blazing sun, I see Ponneri railway station.

Advani riding on the Tiger's back?

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani’s veiled demand for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka during a Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) led fast in Chennai on Friday has surprised political pundits. Advani, who has consistently opposed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants the issue to be resolved through negotiated political settlement and not by "brutal use of force".

During the BJP-led-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, Advani, then home minister, opposed the former defence minister George Fernandes, over his support to the LTTE. Fernandes was even asked not to host Tamil nationalist leader P. Nedumaran or other LTTE supporters.

Advani’s new stance has upset conservative politicians like Subramanian Swamy of the Janata Party. Swamy said that Advani's statement at the fast was not in line with BJP's zero tolerance policy on terrorism. Swamy who is believed to be supportive of BJP’s ideology, said that there can't be any talks with Tamil Tigers and India must support the government of Sri Lanka in eliminating the LTTE.

During the release of the Tamil edition of BJP leader Narendra Modi’s quotes on education yesterday, Thuglak editor, Cho Ramaswamy, criticized Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for demanding a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. Cho compared Eelam to Kashmir implying that India should oppose secessionism in both.

The crowd, largely of BJP supporters erupted in defiance, forcing the police to intervene to maintain order. Advani seems to have recognised this latent pan-Tamil solidarity even in his party supporters in Tamil Nadu.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which is close to the BJP, has long been trying to project the Sri Lankan conflict as a Buddhist genocide of Hindus in Lanka. Even the LTTE attempted to enforce a traditional Tamil dress code for women, in the late 1990s, in areas they controlled. The LTTE brand of nationalism, thus appeals to a section of the Hindu right.

Left without an alliance partner in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Advani has joined the bandwagon of politicians attempting to ride on a wave of sympathy for Sri Lankan Tamils caught in the crossfire between the LTTE and Sri Lankan forces. He is also attempting to get close to subtle Tamil chauvinists like Vijaykanth in order to bolster support for his party in the General elections.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has promised to field three “forward community” candidates from Tamil Nadu in these elections. Currently Jayalalithaa and S. V. Sekhar, both of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), are the only Brahmin members of the states legislative assembly. None of Tamil Nadu’s Members of Parliament are Brahmin. Brahmins are a little more than three per cent of the state’s population and are considered BJP’s core vote bank in the state.

Brahmin leaders like S. V. Sekhar are getting close to the BSP, whose ranks have swelled with defectors from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a pro-LTTE party. The BSP’s Tamil Nadu and Puducherry units are openly supporting the LTTE in their rallies.

The BJP is attempting to mobilize the Hindu vote bank on this issue. During a protest in Coimbatore on January 30th, against the killing of Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka, BJP leader S. R. Sekhar was quoted saying, “"The BJP is the only party, which is viewing it as a Hindu problem. The whole nation will be responding. The Central Government is not responding because they are thinking it's a Tamil problem alone.”

The BJP is clearly interested in exploiting the Sri Lankan Tamil issue for national mobilization, something the other national parties have failed to do.

An IT worker's story

Com. "Olba", a friend of mine, published this in a workers' fortnightly in Faridabad. In this article, she writes of her experiences in India Inc. and about the prospects of organising IT workers. She works for an IT company in Delhi.

Lal Salaam Com. "Olba" ! ! !

Reservations to end in IITs, NITs, AIIMS, JIPMER etc

The ruling classes have moved to consolidate and legitimise their casteist hegemony over premier educational institutes by trying to abolish reservation of teaching posts. Soon it will follow even for students. The only Dalits in IIT will then be conservancy staff.

This calls for a Dravida Kazhagam style violent agitation, which rid Guindy Engineering College, AC Tech and other colleges in Tamil Nadu from upper caste hegemony in the 70s.

What I fail to understand is why is the Congress hell-bent on committing political suicide before the General elections?

Blood and monsoon passion

another blast from the past

25/11/2005
the inter block soccer matches at thomas's had more colour today with the warden threatening to stop the tournament. apparently he's sulkin coz he wasnt informed. he vented out his frustration by abusing and intimidating senior residents(including a minister) of da hall threatening to dismiss them if they stood on the field. My dear Karadi jesudasan you arent a fuckin zamindar to order us off our football field. we pay for its maintenance not you.

The jolliest fellows of Tambaram, led by Jude, rose to the occassion by collectively approaching karadi, demanding an explanation for his reactionary behaviour only to be rebuffed by a familiar excuse, " I have an appointment". He scooted away on his CD dawn to gather all the resident profs to, "fix the boys".

The grapevine has it that Jude and Randolph are going to be enquired by wardy, dean and gabriel sir. the tournament including the exciting match with martin went on as scheduled, much to the chagrin of wardy. Latest news: senthil n randy wrote apologies. jude's in a tight situation

MCC sports convener attacked

picture of the gang that ruled mcc in 05-06 (standing l-r)Anil Abraham, Madhan anna, Palani sir, Arms, Vasu (princi), shagpathi, Manoj cheta, duck, Vipin, Rajpurohit, Sid, Ajai Kuruvilla, David Ibin.squatting- ME

remembering the days when our blood was inflammable and our heads were in the skies
Feb 6, 2006 6:53 PM

In an unprecedented display of criminal behaviour, Johnson- security liaison officer, violently intercepted and humiliated sports convener- Madhan and sportsman Kumar, while they were neck deep in organising the Danis Esau tournament. their bike also was illegally seized in broad daylight. This shocking incident occurred on Friday, feb the 3rd in front of the eco & hist. depts building.

after obtaining permission from the vice-presi and the physical director, the boys were allowed to bring the bike on campus for organizing purposes. they did exactly this on 3rd morning, with the full knowledge of the security supervisor. on returning from the pavillion, johnson theatrically attempted to ram his bike into their front wheel. they narrowly missed collision, thanks to madhan's acumen. Without wating for any explanation, Johnson began hurling the filthiest abuses for using a bike on campus. perhaps that what he obtained his PH.d tamil in. he also physically threatened them shoving his index finger in Madhan's eye.

Hats off to the two machomen, Madhan and Kumar for keeping their cool or somebody would have been at Christudas hospital now. that indeed would have been delightful. as if that wasnt enough, the bike also was seized. so much for MCC-ian fairplay, justice and transparency. are you readin VJ. Johnson, despite his antagonistic tactics, couldnt agitate the boys, much to his chagrin. that bald headed bastard sure is pushing his luck.

When the VP went to retrieve the bike, a guilty and frustrated johnson falsely accused the students' council of gherao. the lust of power and marital conflict apparently has blurred reality for the old reactionary. Meanwhile Madhan, in the highest gentlemanly traditions of christian college, has preferred a complainy with the chairman. all eyes are on princi now, who needs to prove that at least 1 set of balls exists in the management. the recent past hasnt shown that.

Tanneries killing Pernambut

“Like refugees in their own land, land owners are now working as coolies for others,” says G.M.Munirathnam, President of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) in Pernambut town. Munirathnam showed, this writer, acres of land lying fallow, due to the excessive soil salinity caused by the tanneries.

Pernambut is in the tannery belt of Vellore district. There are 36 tanneries in and around the town. 18 of them pipe their effluents, 350 kilolitres in total, to TALCO Pernambut Tannery Effluent Treatment Company.

This writer observed effluent tanks of the company leaking. The land around the plant had shades of blue, black and white, and the whole area had a foul stench. Children play cricket in the vicinity of these open-air tanks.

Salim Basha, the manager of the plant, said that the total dissolved solids (TDS) levels of the treated water discharged by the plant, is five times the permissible limit. In 12 to 18 months, he hopes to complete a government sponsored renovation and upgrade of the plant, which would bring this under control.

“The water discharged from this plant is unfit for any purpose like agriculture, drinking etc. It is let off into the Palar river bed,” says Basha. The Palar now runs dry as it has been dammed off in Karnataka.

Munirathnam says that the company has been promising this for months without showing any results. “Tanneries have not paid the cess for compensating farmers that have lost their livelihood due to their pollution. The government doesn’t touch them.”

He points out that people suffer from vomiting, dysentery and renal failure due to the ground water. In localities like KK Nagar and MGR Nagar, cases of cardiac problems in children have been reported.

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had, in the past, closed down 135 tanneries, for causing pollution. This has not proved a sufficient deterrent on to the tanneries, which continue to plague Vellore district.

Tourism overuns tribal culture

Kolkarar, Nilavoor’s village guard shows this writer traditional coarse grains like Cholam, Saamai. These grains are at the risk of going out of production due to low rainfall and poor irrigation, says G. Raju, village headman and Congress leader of Nilavoor, a Kaaralar tribal village in Yelagiri Hills, Vellore district.

Raju, a former Panchayat president says, “People are selling their land as the tourism boom has made land prices shoot up. One acre is selling for 1.5 to 2 crores.” Though a tribal area, Yelagiri hills is not reserved for them as it is a tourist area. There are no restrictions on transfer of tribal lands.

“PMK founder Ramadoss aiyya has also said that these traditional grains are much healthier, but the younger generation wants polished rice instead,” Raju explains.

“I used to grow Saamai on my 3 acres of land. I sold 2 acres to the resort people for 7 lakhs in 1999, to get my seven daughters married,” says Govindan, a tribal elder. Tourist resorts now dot the hills.

Once dense jungle, large patches of forest have been cleared out for construction activity. Construction labour wages are as high as Rs. 200 a day and there is no visible unemployment.

“Our people don’t know what to do with all this money from real estate and higher wages. They are buying motorcycles or becoming alcoholics. There are only 5 men in this village, including me, that do not drink,” woes Raju.

Due to the influx of money, most youth from the village are well qualified and work in cities. Modern Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) find many buyers in Nilavoor.

Nagamma, a shopkeeper, who sources groceries from Athanavur, the administrative centre of the hills, sells them at a profit of 50p to Re1, per item. I have good sales. Most leading cigarette brands, soft drinks and packaged snacks are sold in this village.

“We are now rich, but arrogant. We need to preserve our culture or risking losing our identity and harmony in our community,” says Raju.

“The contract system must go”

The Word reporter PHEROZE L. VINCENT talked to K. G. Kalimuthu, a beedi labour leader, about the problems and prospects of beedi workers in Vellore district.

K. G. Kalimuthu is the President of the Tirupathur Taluk Beedi Labour Union in Kodiyur, Vellore District. The union is affiliated to the United Trade Union Congress of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), a constituent of the Left Front.

Over 70 years old, Mr. Kalimuthu has rolled beedis since his childhood. Influenced by the communist movement in his boyhood, he joined the undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) in the 1940s. He has undergone imprisonment several times, spending two years behind bars in all.

In 1964 he followed his mentors Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Jyoti Basu, P. Ramamurthi and A. K. Gopalan to form the Communist Paty of India- Marxist (CPM). He spearheaded the successful agitation in 1985 to regularise the services of beedi workers in Tamil Nadu and achieve minimum wages, provident fund, bonuses and paid leave. These benefits won through bitter struggle have now been eroded by the introduction of the contract system.

Two years ago, he split from the CPM and joined the RSP. He says he did so because he felt that the CPM had begun to only represent organised workers in the private sector. He broke away when he was asked to merge his union into a Vellore district wide union of beedi workers. “Our account books are open to all, but we can’t sacrifice our independence,” says this veteran revolutionary.

The walls of his office are still adorned with portraits of the CPM leaders named above.

Excerpts from the conversation:

PLV: Since when have you been involved in the union?

KGK: We started this union in 1955. It was then affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress of the undivided CPI. Later on it was affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions of the CPM.

PLV: What are the demands of the beedi workers?

KGK: We demand payment of minimum wages, provident fund, bonus during festivals and leave with pay. We achieved these rights after a massive agitation in 1985. To get around these regulations the beedi companies started the contract system more than a decade ago.

In this system, the rolling work is given to contractors who employ people in villages to do the job. They work at home and are not organised. They do not get any benefits apart from their wages. If we are to realise the rights we fought for, the contract system has to go. We demand direct employment under the principal employers.

PLV: But, the law allows contract labour. The liability of providing mandatory benefits to the workers is on the company.

KGK: The companies bribe the government officials and get around these regulations. The Labour and Provident Fund departments of the government do not implement these benefits.

PLV: Then why aren’t beedi workers agitating?

KGK: Only 10% of the 1 lakh workforce in the district is organised. Ours is the largest union. There are other unions affiliated to CITU, AITUC and Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) of the Congress party.

PLV: Why such a low level of union membership?

KGK: Workers are nowadays largely in the villages. It is easier to organise in urban centres, where large numbers of workers live and work in proximity, often together in factories. We are not that successful in penetrating rural areas.

PLV: Isn’t the trade itself bad? Beedi rolling is said to cause tuberculosis and cancer.

KGK: If the government wants to ban this trade, it must provide us alternative employment. The beedi industry is the third largest employer in the country. Cigarettes are more dangerous.
I have been rolling beedis ever since I can remember and I’m perfectly healthy. I know people who smoke 20-25 beedis a day and live into their nineties. There is a lot of adverse medical propaganda in this regard.

(This reporter spoke to five families that rolled beedis, in three villages in the district. None had any diseases. Other reporters of this paper came across some cases of respiratory diseases in beedi workers.)

PLV: Has the Smoking Ban reduced employment of beedi workers?

KGK: No, the employment levels are the same. The way I see it, people with breathing problems shouldn’t go anywhere near tobacco or it will kill them. For the healthy, there is no problem.

The government is busy implementing smoking bans. Can’t it do something to provide alternative employment? Agriculture has failed. I haven’t gone to college like you and I can’t speak English, but I know that if we don’t save this industry, we will starve.

PLV: What about child labour?

KGK: Times have changed. People of my generation and the next grew up rolling beedis. Now, awareness of the need for education has been spread. Even the poorest of landless labourers send their kids to school. Some children do the work of closing beedi ends, after school, but most kids don’t touch beedis.

PLV: Doesn’t the fragmentation of unions jeopardise labour unity?

KGK: I left CITU with a heavy heart. But, the leaders like Ramamurthi (he glances at his portrait hanging on the wall) who led me into the movement are now gone. I have rolled beedis for decades. We workers know our problems. Union leaders without experience in the field cannot effectively guide us.

Also, leaders like Surjeet and Gopalan were austere mass leaders who were revered. I have heard reports of Income Tax Department raids on the homes of present day Communist leaders. How can a man whom the IT department raids be a communist?

Low rainfall hits Cotton crop in Tirupathur taluk

Periamotur, Vellore District, Jan 9: “I don’t know how much we spend every month,” says a V. Vanitha, after she and her husband R. Vellikannan, spend five minutes trying to figure out their monthly expenses. Vellikannan and Vanitha are farmers in Poonaikuttaipallam in Periamotur, Tirupathur taluk, Vellore district. Both of them are illiterates who live off the acre of land they own. Rain is the only source of water. The neighbouring well has run dry due to low rainfall.

“I spent almost Rs. 5000 for sowing this cotton. I am now keeping the harvest at home and not selling it until the price rises. The market price is only Rs. 2700 per quintal. Last year we got Rs. 3000 per quintal,” says Vellikannan. The Cotton Corporation of India increased its Minimum Support Price (MSP) by 39% last month to Rs. 2500.

Vellikannan says that he used to harvest almost 10 quintals of cotton every year, but this year he won’t get half as much, due to low rainfall. According to ikisan.com, the total cost of producing a quintal of cotton for a small farmer like Vellikannan is almost Rs. 2250.

“I used to work as a labourer in Himachal Pradesh. I have used our own savings to cultivate this crop and haven’t gone to the moneylender. All three of my daughters are in school. How will we manage?” asks Vellikannan.

The cotton is grown between June and January, of the following year. During the rest of the year, Vellikannan and Vanitha grow tomato and ash gourd.

Sampath grows cotton with his wife and two daughters on their 2.5 acres. They share a borewell with a neighbouring farmer.

“It costs Rs. 50,000 to sink a borewell. When the water table is normal, it irrigates up to five acres a day. But now, only half an acre can be irrigated,” says Sampath, who has invested Rs. 15,000 in sowing his land. He too has not gone to a moneylender.

During a good year, the prices go up to Rs. 4000 per quintal. Look at our fate this year. I haven’t hired labourers for harvesting. Even my married daughter has come to help us,” Sampath says.

When not working on the land, Sampath works as a construction labourer while his younger daughter and wife roll beedis. Sampath hopes to get work digging a government sponsored rainwater storage tank, on which work is expected to start soon.

Farmers associations have demanded that the MSP of all crops be at least 30% more than the cost of producing them. The Press Information Bureau’s jubilant announcement of an MSP increase, that is even lower than the market price, is a slap on the faces of farmers here in Vellore district whose children are forced to roll bidis when they should be doing their homework.

Dying fish and crumbling flats

“How can we complain against the government and big people,” says a puzzled Prakash, when asked about why he has not complained about fish dying from effluents dumped by Metrowater and the skyscrapers of neighbouring MRC Nagar.

Prakash is fisherman from Srinivasapuram, a slum on the banks of the Adayar Creek, in ward 150- Avvai Nagar (South) of the Chennai Corporation. The seaward side is picturesque and wonderful to walk through, but the side facing the creek is terribly congested and stinks of sewage.

The local municipal councillor is T. Velu of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Srinivasapuram is in the Mylapore assembly constituency and Chennai South parliamentary constituency, represented by S. V. Shekher All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) and T. R. Baalu (DMK), respectively.

Karthik, another fisherman from Srinivasapuram says they find syringes in the creek, dumped by hospitals. The water stinks. This writer observed dead fish floating below Broken Bridge, on the creek.

Sundar, health coordinator of Montfort Community Development Society (MCDS), which regularly conducts health camps in Srinivasapuram, says fishermen suffer from skin diseases due to contact with sea water. They usually do not bother to get it treated.

People here also fall sick after drinking contaminated water from Metrowater tankers, says Sundar. The MCDS spreads awareness about health by conducting these camps with organisations like Rotary International.

Daisy Rani, a resident from the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) apartments here, says people cannot afford to boil water. Only some can afford packaged water cans while the rest have to depend on Metrowater. The Apartments do not have running water but some of the private houses do.

She says Corporation health personnel only visit during calamities, the tsunami, or for neo-natal care. Only three physicians, all private, frequent the area. Underground drainage has only recently been constructed. “The nearest hospitals are in Santhome and Triplicane (3-6km away).We need to go until there even for a delivery,” Daisy points out.

“The TNSCB flats have toilets but the sanitation in the huts is bad. Still, some residents rent out their flats and live outside. Public toilets are very dirty. There is moss growing in the urinals,” adds Daisy. After the tsunami, Daisy was relocated to a single storey house in Chemmancherry, a southern coastal suburb. Despite amenities like running water, she shifted back to Srinivasapuram for her childrens’ education.

According to Gomathi Manoharan (DMK), former municipal councillor of the ward, there are 1356 TNSCB apartments here, which came up in 1993. They house about 2000 families. 5000 more families live in huts. The government relocated 4000 families to Chemmancherry after the tsunami, but many, like Daisy have come back.

“(TNSCB) Flats residents sleep outside for fear of the roof caving in. The buildings are damaged but the government won’t resettle us in situ as they want to sell the land to Larsen & Toubro. The company doesn’t want us beside the buildings they construct.”

Gomathi says 50 people from Srinivasapuram got killed in the tsunami. That is because the area is surrounded by water on 3 sides. Even the fourth side got flooded and there was no where to run. She believes these could have been avoided if the TNSCB tenements were in neighbouring Pattinapakkam. According to her, this was the original plan, but the Pattinapakkam tenements were given to other slum dwellers in Chennai.

“We need 2000 more flats. 1000 in Pattinapakkam, for the kids and 1000 here, for the elders. There are three families living in my house (single storey private construction, less than 500 square feet) itself.” She adds that the Corporation has an elaborate plan to resettle them in apartments, to be built in Pattinapakkam, with a park and other amenities. But the execution of it would take two years. “Where will we live during that time,” she asks.

According to resident Srinivasan people have complained to the MLA and MP, but nothing seems to get done because people are divided on caste lines. “After the Tsunami, fishermen got boats, but we (non-fishermen) got nothing. Parties can keep winning here by appeasing the fishing community,” says Srinivasan.

According to Srinivasan, the Pattinapakkam dispensary has attenders but no physicians and the nearest government hospital is in Royapettah, 7 km away. The nearest government schools are CMS higher secondary school, Santhome and Pattinapakkam elementary school, yet people spend more and send their children to private schools like PS Senior Secondary School, Mylapore or Santhome High School.

Gomathi Manoharan agrees. She says in the 1970s the government had to raid homes for children not going to school. Now, due to awareness, people are even sending their children to expensive private schools. Government schools are also good and mid-day meals are served. “It doesn’t matter if the fathers are drunk. At least the children don’t go hungry,” says an ageing Gomathi.

She smiles saying how the one child norm is voluntarily followed here. “In 1976, men were forcefully sterilised. Now my son has just had one daughter and he doesn’t want any more,” she boasts.

There are many christians and muslims here and inter-religious marriage is common, says Gomathi. “There are no communal clashes and our girls can roam freely even at 1 AM. That’s because we have known each other for 50 years.”