January 13, 2012

Sreedharan to handle Kochi Metro project

: India's ‘Metro Man' E. Sreedharan will associate with Kerala's first metro rail project covering Kochi city and its suburban centres.

The uncertainty over whether Mr. Sreedharan, who has a celebrated record as a leader capable of beating deadlines, would lend his leadership to Kerala's dream project ended here on Thursday with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announcing that Mr. Sreedharan had consented to “lend his experience and expertise” to his home State.

The Chief Minister announced this at a press conference after a meeting of the State Planning Board. On a request from the State government, Mr. Sreedharan, who had stepped down as Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in 2011, is now serving as a member of the State Planning Board to oversee the planning of transportation-related projects in the State.

Coastal Security Group boats too took a beating in cyclone ‘Thane'

Two high-speed interceptor boats of the Coastal Security Group (CSG) have been damaged in the ‘Thane' cyclone. The vessels anchored at the Cuddalore Port got a beating when the cyclone pounded Cuddalore on December 30.

Now both the crafts are in-operational and could be made sea-worthy only after necessary repair works are carried out. The boats are now secured to the metallic-holds placed on the concrete pavement near the port and guarded by police personnel.

T. Shanmugham, Inspector and Cuddalore CSG Unit Officer, and R. Gunasekaran, Sub-Inspector and Technical Port Staff, told The Hindu that the Cuddalore Marine Police were provided with two boats of five-tonne capacity and 12-tonne capacity.

It was the smaller boat that got the maximum damage as its motor mounted on the rear was ripped off and the sides and the bottom were razed. The bigger one got its rubber coverings on the sides torn and the paint at many places peeled off, signifying that the waves tossed it around and dashing it against the jetty.

Mr. Gunasekaran said that the higher-ups had been informed of the mishap and arrangements had been made to bring in experts from the Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd.

Only after the Garden Reach team inspected the boats the full extent of damage would be known and so also when the boats could be put back to the sea.

The sources said that since the fishermen community had been on strike for the past few days, protesting against non-receipt of relief ever since the cyclone struck, there was virtually no seafaring activity in the 57.5-km long coastline of the district. Hence, the CSG personnel could relax till the damaged boats were set right, the sources added. Besides the CSG boats, one of the two barges, belonging to a private party got detached from its mooring by the sheer velocity of the wind and was carried away farther into the Paravanar (that has a confluence point near the port) towards the Sothikuppam bridge.

Now the barge stands grounded and it cannot be put to immediate use because of shallow depth at that point. Sisupal Kumar, Navigational Watch-keeping Officer, told this correspondent that the barges had arrived from Vietnam for maintenance.

It could be tugged only on the New Moon day, 10 days away, when there would be high tide.

He hoped that by then the fishermen would also resume work and be of help in getting the grounded barge back into the sea. Till then, the crew staying in another barge is provided with provisions by the owner to prepare food, Mr. Kumar added.

Memorial for Pennycuick to have a replica of Mullaperiyar

The memorial proposed by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as a mark of gratitude to the British engineer would not be complete without a replica of Mullaperiyar dam