This is the link to my story in The Hindu on an 'ecologue' (dialogue on conservation between green journalists and forest officials and environmentalists) held in Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary from January 22 to 24, 2010:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/27/stories/2010012753440400.htm
And this is the text:
P. Venugopal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘Stop work on new road across wildlife corridor’
Plea to take over forest lands with expired lease
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A three-day workshop on conservation issues, organised by the Jaiji Peter Foundation, an organisation of green journalists in the State, in association with the Forest Department, has urged the State government to abandon the move to turn a 20-km stretch of forest road in the Konni Forest Division into a shortcut highway for pilgrims visiting Sabarimala.
Nearly 40 journalists covering conservation-related issues for around 20 visual and print media organisations in Kerala, along with top conservation officials and environmentalists, met in the Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kollam district at the workshop discussing the conservation issues of the State in general and the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve in particular. The workshop ended on Sunday.
In its recommendations to the State government, handed over to Forest Minister Benoy Viswom, the workshop noted that the proposed wildlife corridor between the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve and the Periyar Tiger Reserve, which stretched along the Achencoil-Konni-Ranni forests, was a region of very high biodiversity. The corridor was also the region from where the rivers Pampa and Achencoil, which were virtually the lifeline of Central Kerala, originated.
Work on the construction of a new road was fast progressing from Achencoil to Kalleli Mukku and thence to Chittar, right across this wildlife corridor. The State government had also announced its intention to turn the new road into a shortcut highway for pilgrims visiting Sabarimala from the Tamil Nadu side. The workshop noted that this road project would cause alarming disturbance to the wildlife and the verdant forests of the region and urged the government to immediately abandon the road construction.
Land distribution
The Ponmudi Hills were also extremely sensitive so far as the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve was concerned, both in terms of biodiversity wealth and water security. Streams that fed the Kallada River and Vamanapuram River in South Kerala originated from the Ponmudi Hills. The workshop noted that that the State government was going ahead with a programme to distribute large tracts of ecologically sensitive land in this area to landless families in the State. The workshop pointed out that this initiative was totally against the interests of conservation in this very sensitive area and therefore strongly urged the government to drop it.
Mathikettan shola
Although forest encroachers had been evicted from the Mathikettan Shola in Idukki district and the region declared as a National Park, in the recent times, there were reports about new problems from the area. The workshop urged the government to take sufficient precautions to ensure that the shola recovered from the encroachers was not once again alienated due to want of diligence in fighting some of the cases now before various courts.
Railway line
At Murukappanchal near Aryankavu, within the Agathyamala Biosphere Reserve, there was the possibility to remove the existing break in the free movement of wildlife between the southern and northern side of the rail and road links between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The railway line in this route was now being converted from metre-gauge to broad-gauge and the Indian Railways were laying the track across the Murukappanchal stretch along a long over-bridge. The workshop suggested that, if the road along this stretch too could be laid along a new flyover, parallel to the railway over-bridge, it would facilitate the free movement of wildlife in the region.
Border realignment
The workshop further recommended that the borders of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve might be realigned in such a way as to include the contiguous forest areas stretching up to the Periyar Tiger Reserve to the existing territory under the biosphere reserve. Such realignment would be in the larger interests of macro-level conservation of an extremely significant ecosystem in the Western Ghats, considered one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world.
It also noted that the State Forest Department was heavily understaffed, especially the field staff. It was also evident from the very low allocation of funds the department was getting in the State budget that the State government was giving very low priority to the conservation of forests. At a time when the forests were facing consistent threat from various forces destabilising the ecosystem and the forest protection officials had to effectively carry out new responsibilities emanating from new conservation concepts such as Participatory Forest Management, there was an imperative need to strengthen the department at the field level. Further, the government needed to devise all possible measures to keep the morale of the protection staff at a high level by removing the disparity between their remunerations and those of other uniformed forces such as the police.
Central policy
The workshop pointed out that the Union government’s policy was to progressively increase the area under forest cover. If this was to be achieved in Kerala, the State government should not let go any opportunity to recover from private individuals the forest tracts given to them on lease. The workshop urged the State government to systematically take over all forest lease lands for which the lease period had expired. The government should adopt the policy that no lease over forest tracts would be renewed in future. Workers employed by the lessees might be suitably rehabilitated.
The workshop appealed to the State government to enforce the terms of all forest leases and also the rules relating to Cardamom Hill Reserve with unwavering diligence. For instance, reports say that there had been large-scale destruction of trees in an estate in Bison Valley in Idukki district recently. Whenever such offences came to the notice of the government, the takeover provisions of the law should be immediately employed in the case of the estates concerned. Punitive action should be such as to discourage all anti-conservation tendencies.
Kurunji Reserve
The full area declared as the Kurunji Reserve in Idukki district had not yet been taken over by the Forest Department. The workshop urged the government to do it as early as possible. The workshop further noted that the basic concept of ecotourism was being violated.
*****
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Encroachers make merry in Kannan Devan Hills
While writing the story 'State braces for Munnar action' posted just before this one, I called a senior officer for some background. He was not free to talk with me over the phone. Then I sought the help of google search and landed on a story I myself had written in 2004, six years ago. I was surprised the issue is the same; The Hindu had done its mite as a responsible newspaper to highlight the problem of Munnar encroachment much before it had become a controversial issue with the eviction measures taken two years ago.
This is the link to the 2004 story in The Hindu:
http://www.hindu.com/2004/01/02/stories/2004010207120400.htm
And, this is the text:
By P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Jan. 1 . Pristine shola forests forming part of 17,922 acres of Revenue land in Kannan Devan Hills in Idukki district are being razed down by encroachers, according to a report sent to the Government by the Forest Department.
The report mentions five specific cases of forest encroachment, in places called Chokkanadu, Silent Valley (not the Silent Valley National Park), Kurisumotta, Chanduvarrai and Seven Malai. The extent of land encroached upon ranges between 40 acres and 400 acres. The modus operandi of the land-grabbers, as described in the report, suggests the involvement of Revenue officials and Government advocates in the operation.
The land under reference forms part of 70,522 acres of land taken by the Government from the Kannan Devan Hills (KDH) Produce Company under the KDH (Resumption of Land) Act of 1971. The Eravikulam National Park, the home of the Nilgiri Tahr, came up in the area taken over under the Act. But an extent of 17,922 acres still remains with the Revenue Department, despite a 1980 Government Order to hand over this tract also to the Forest Department for conservation. The Government had issued this order on the basis of the report of an expert committee appointed to recommend the land use pattern for the area resumed under the Act.
The area in the possession of the Revenue Department has shola-grassland vegetation with exceptionally rich biodiversity, identical to that of the Eravikulam National Park. These forests are perennial water sources for the tributaries of two major rivers, Periyar and Cauvery. The Forest Department's report to the Government describes the sholas of the area as `ecological relics'.
A study done at the behest of the Forest Department by the French Institute of Pondicherry to devise a `Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for Kerala' places this area on a par with the Eravikulam National Park, which tops the list of 14 protected areas in the State for its `high conservation value.'
Till the early 1990s, there was little threat to this tract of Revenue land, lying outside the Munnar town. But land value in Munnar skyrocketed in the recent years due to tourism boom, making land grabbing in the area extremely profitable. The purpose of the land grabbing, apparently, is to build tourism resorts.
There has been a spate of encroachments in the area during the last five years or so. The Department's report to the Government mentions only a few major ones. The report says "false possession certificates/bogus pattayas have been issued by the Revenue authorities to these encroachers."
Referring to the encroachment in Chokkanad (about 400 acres), the report says that, when the Forest Department tried to free the area, 16 persons approached the High Court and obtained an interim stay on the eviction process. "Armed with this stay, the petitioners entered the thick shola vegetation and started cutting it down. They even started making permanent constructions in the area. A counter affidavit was filed by the Forest Department and the Court modified the interim stay, directing the petitioners not to change the nature of the land...At this point of time, the shola forest has been saved from destruction with much difficulty."
In two other petitions filed before the High Court, the petitioners had produced copies of cases booked by the Revenue Department for encroachment under the Kerala Land Conservancy (KLC) Act as claims to show that they have been in possession of the land. It is a popular practice for land-grabbers to bribe the Revenue officials to get Land Conservancy (LC) cases booked against them and then use these documents to claim possession of the land.
Explaining the legal position of these cases, the report notes that the provisions of the KLC Act are not applicable to the land resumed under the KDH Act. Under the KDH Act, there is provision only for summary eviction when encroachments are noticed. "But it is quite astonishing to note that LC cases have been booked in this area by the Revenue authorities...It is also notable that the OP (Original Petition) cases filed before the High Court claiming possession over the land in question were not brought to the notice of the Forest Department either by the office of the Advocate General, or the Forest Liaison Officer in time even though the Forest Department is a respondent in these cases," the report says, indicating the possibility of an unholy nexus between the encroachers, officials and Government advocates.
The report states that the "alarming trend of encroachment of these shola forests by forging ownership records and trying to legalise the same by filing court cases" can be checked only if the Government notifies 17,922 acres of land in the possession of the Revenue Department as reserved forests.
"Once this area is notified as reserved forests, it will not be possible for anyone to claim ownership over this land and the shola-grassland forests will be preserved for posterity," the report says.
*****
This is the link to the 2004 story in The Hindu:
http://www.hindu.com/2004/01/02/stories/2004010207120400.htm
And, this is the text:
By P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Jan. 1 . Pristine shola forests forming part of 17,922 acres of Revenue land in Kannan Devan Hills in Idukki district are being razed down by encroachers, according to a report sent to the Government by the Forest Department.
The report mentions five specific cases of forest encroachment, in places called Chokkanadu, Silent Valley (not the Silent Valley National Park), Kurisumotta, Chanduvarrai and Seven Malai. The extent of land encroached upon ranges between 40 acres and 400 acres. The modus operandi of the land-grabbers, as described in the report, suggests the involvement of Revenue officials and Government advocates in the operation.
The land under reference forms part of 70,522 acres of land taken by the Government from the Kannan Devan Hills (KDH) Produce Company under the KDH (Resumption of Land) Act of 1971. The Eravikulam National Park, the home of the Nilgiri Tahr, came up in the area taken over under the Act. But an extent of 17,922 acres still remains with the Revenue Department, despite a 1980 Government Order to hand over this tract also to the Forest Department for conservation. The Government had issued this order on the basis of the report of an expert committee appointed to recommend the land use pattern for the area resumed under the Act.
The area in the possession of the Revenue Department has shola-grassland vegetation with exceptionally rich biodiversity, identical to that of the Eravikulam National Park. These forests are perennial water sources for the tributaries of two major rivers, Periyar and Cauvery. The Forest Department's report to the Government describes the sholas of the area as `ecological relics'.
A study done at the behest of the Forest Department by the French Institute of Pondicherry to devise a `Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for Kerala' places this area on a par with the Eravikulam National Park, which tops the list of 14 protected areas in the State for its `high conservation value.'
Till the early 1990s, there was little threat to this tract of Revenue land, lying outside the Munnar town. But land value in Munnar skyrocketed in the recent years due to tourism boom, making land grabbing in the area extremely profitable. The purpose of the land grabbing, apparently, is to build tourism resorts.
There has been a spate of encroachments in the area during the last five years or so. The Department's report to the Government mentions only a few major ones. The report says "false possession certificates/bogus pattayas have been issued by the Revenue authorities to these encroachers."
Referring to the encroachment in Chokkanad (about 400 acres), the report says that, when the Forest Department tried to free the area, 16 persons approached the High Court and obtained an interim stay on the eviction process. "Armed with this stay, the petitioners entered the thick shola vegetation and started cutting it down. They even started making permanent constructions in the area. A counter affidavit was filed by the Forest Department and the Court modified the interim stay, directing the petitioners not to change the nature of the land...At this point of time, the shola forest has been saved from destruction with much difficulty."
In two other petitions filed before the High Court, the petitioners had produced copies of cases booked by the Revenue Department for encroachment under the Kerala Land Conservancy (KLC) Act as claims to show that they have been in possession of the land. It is a popular practice for land-grabbers to bribe the Revenue officials to get Land Conservancy (LC) cases booked against them and then use these documents to claim possession of the land.
Explaining the legal position of these cases, the report notes that the provisions of the KLC Act are not applicable to the land resumed under the KDH Act. Under the KDH Act, there is provision only for summary eviction when encroachments are noticed. "But it is quite astonishing to note that LC cases have been booked in this area by the Revenue authorities...It is also notable that the OP (Original Petition) cases filed before the High Court claiming possession over the land in question were not brought to the notice of the Forest Department either by the office of the Advocate General, or the Forest Liaison Officer in time even though the Forest Department is a respondent in these cases," the report says, indicating the possibility of an unholy nexus between the encroachers, officials and Government advocates.
The report states that the "alarming trend of encroachment of these shola forests by forging ownership records and trying to legalise the same by filing court cases" can be checked only if the Government notifies 17,922 acres of land in the possession of the Revenue Department as reserved forests.
"Once this area is notified as reserved forests, it will not be possible for anyone to claim ownership over this land and the shola-grassland forests will be preserved for posterity," the report says.
*****
State braces for Munnar action
This is the link to my story on Munnar encroachment published in The Hindu on January 26, 2010: http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/26/stories/2010012653450400.htm
And, this is the text:
Cabinet to discuss transfer of land soon: Minister
Part of 70,522 acres taken over from KDH Company
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State government is attending to certain legal formalities required to strengthen its hands in dealing with encroachments in Munnar.
Forest Minister Benoy Viswom hinted about the initiative at an ‘ecologue’ organised by the Jaiji Peter Foundation, an organisation of environmental journalists, and his department in the Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday.
Addressing the programme, which brought together green journalists and forest officials to discuss conservation issues in the State, Mr. Viswom said he expected the long-pending issue of transferring 17,922 acres of revenue land in Munnar to his department to come before the Council of Ministers within a couple of weeks.
Last week, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court had made an oral observation expressing its concern over the government’s inability to check encroachments in Munnar.
The court, while hearing a public interest litigation, had observed that the way encroachments were going on in the region, Munnar’s green hills would soon turn brown.
The land being transferred to the Forest Department is part of the 70,522 acres taken over by the government from the Kannan Devan Hills (KDH) Produce Company under the KDH (Resumption) Act of 1971.
Of the total area taken over, 17,922 acres of shola patches, lying interspersed with tea estates, had been remaining with the Revenue Department right from the time of the takeover.
Once this stretch comes under the Forest Department, the strong anti-encroachment provisions of various forest laws will become applicable to it. A study done at the behest of the Forest Department by the French Institute of Pondicherry to devise a ‘Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for Kerala’ had placed this area on a par with the Eravikulam National Park in terms of conservation value.
A major chunk of the encroachments in Munnar had happened in these shola patches. In fact, the government had issued an order in 1980 transferring these shola patches to the Forest Department following the report of an expert committee constituted to recommend the land use pattern to be adopted for the entire area taken over from the KDH Produce Company.
However, intense lobbying by vested interest groups had aborted that order of the government.
*****
And, this is the text:
Cabinet to discuss transfer of land soon: Minister
Part of 70,522 acres taken over from KDH Company
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State government is attending to certain legal formalities required to strengthen its hands in dealing with encroachments in Munnar.
Forest Minister Benoy Viswom hinted about the initiative at an ‘ecologue’ organised by the Jaiji Peter Foundation, an organisation of environmental journalists, and his department in the Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday.
Addressing the programme, which brought together green journalists and forest officials to discuss conservation issues in the State, Mr. Viswom said he expected the long-pending issue of transferring 17,922 acres of revenue land in Munnar to his department to come before the Council of Ministers within a couple of weeks.
Last week, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court had made an oral observation expressing its concern over the government’s inability to check encroachments in Munnar.
The court, while hearing a public interest litigation, had observed that the way encroachments were going on in the region, Munnar’s green hills would soon turn brown.
The land being transferred to the Forest Department is part of the 70,522 acres taken over by the government from the Kannan Devan Hills (KDH) Produce Company under the KDH (Resumption) Act of 1971.
Of the total area taken over, 17,922 acres of shola patches, lying interspersed with tea estates, had been remaining with the Revenue Department right from the time of the takeover.
Once this stretch comes under the Forest Department, the strong anti-encroachment provisions of various forest laws will become applicable to it. A study done at the behest of the Forest Department by the French Institute of Pondicherry to devise a ‘Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for Kerala’ had placed this area on a par with the Eravikulam National Park in terms of conservation value.
A major chunk of the encroachments in Munnar had happened in these shola patches. In fact, the government had issued an order in 1980 transferring these shola patches to the Forest Department following the report of an expert committee constituted to recommend the land use pattern to be adopted for the entire area taken over from the KDH Produce Company.
However, intense lobbying by vested interest groups had aborted that order of the government.
*****
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Hefty power tariff hike likely this year
This is the link to my story in The Hindu on January 17, 2009:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/17/stories/2010011750020100.htm
and the following the text:
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A hefty hike in electricity tariffs seems to be on the cards for all sections of consumers this year judging from the affidavit the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has filed before the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) showing its expected income and expenses in 2010-11.
With the tariffs remaining at the present levels, the KSEB will be left with a huge revenue deficit of Rs.2,219.60 crore in the year 2010-11, according to the 164-page affidavit now before the KSERC.
The current financial year (2009-10) too is set to bring a big revenue deficit of Rs.1,928.66 crore for the KSEB, the affidavit said. The KSERC, while approving the KSEB’s affidavit on ‘aggregate revenue requirement and expected revenue from charges’ for 2009-10, had hoped that the KSEB would close the year with a revenue gap of only Rs.335.30 crore.
The aggregate revenue requirement of the KSEB for the current year is likely to touch Rs.6,881.25 crore, while the income from non-tariff sources and sale of power will come to only Rs.4,952.59 crore, according to the revised estimate for 2009-10. In the coming year (2010-11), the KSEB expects the aggregate revenue requirement to go up to Rs.7,503.98 crore, while the income from all sources, including sale of power at the current tariffs, will come to only Rs.5,284.38 crore, the affidavit said.
“The board had been supplying electricity at the lowest price in the country for several decades. The budgetary support and subsidies for supplying electricity below the cost of supply in the past was not received in cash from the government. The board had to resort to heavy borrowings to meet the expenses. But up to last year, the board was able to contain the borrowings and the burden of interest payment. But during this year, the additional financial liability incurred by the board to purchase high-cost energy has severely affected the financial position and the board had to resort to heavy borrowings from financial institutions,” the affidavit said.
The KSEB had already submitted to the KSERC a petition seeking permission to impose a surcharge of Rs.0.46 on each unit of electricity on all categories of consumers. But, the request for this surcharge is only to recover from the consumers a sum of Rs.311.52 crore spent additionally by the KSEB on high-cost energy till September 2009. The KSERC is holding a public hearing on this request on January 27. The detailed evaluation of the latest affidavit will be done by the KSERC only subsequently.
*****
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/17/stories/2010011750020100.htm
and the following the text:
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A hefty hike in electricity tariffs seems to be on the cards for all sections of consumers this year judging from the affidavit the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has filed before the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) showing its expected income and expenses in 2010-11.
With the tariffs remaining at the present levels, the KSEB will be left with a huge revenue deficit of Rs.2,219.60 crore in the year 2010-11, according to the 164-page affidavit now before the KSERC.
The current financial year (2009-10) too is set to bring a big revenue deficit of Rs.1,928.66 crore for the KSEB, the affidavit said. The KSERC, while approving the KSEB’s affidavit on ‘aggregate revenue requirement and expected revenue from charges’ for 2009-10, had hoped that the KSEB would close the year with a revenue gap of only Rs.335.30 crore.
The aggregate revenue requirement of the KSEB for the current year is likely to touch Rs.6,881.25 crore, while the income from non-tariff sources and sale of power will come to only Rs.4,952.59 crore, according to the revised estimate for 2009-10. In the coming year (2010-11), the KSEB expects the aggregate revenue requirement to go up to Rs.7,503.98 crore, while the income from all sources, including sale of power at the current tariffs, will come to only Rs.5,284.38 crore, the affidavit said.
“The board had been supplying electricity at the lowest price in the country for several decades. The budgetary support and subsidies for supplying electricity below the cost of supply in the past was not received in cash from the government. The board had to resort to heavy borrowings to meet the expenses. But up to last year, the board was able to contain the borrowings and the burden of interest payment. But during this year, the additional financial liability incurred by the board to purchase high-cost energy has severely affected the financial position and the board had to resort to heavy borrowings from financial institutions,” the affidavit said.
The KSEB had already submitted to the KSERC a petition seeking permission to impose a surcharge of Rs.0.46 on each unit of electricity on all categories of consumers. But, the request for this surcharge is only to recover from the consumers a sum of Rs.311.52 crore spent additionally by the KSEB on high-cost energy till September 2009. The KSERC is holding a public hearing on this request on January 27. The detailed evaluation of the latest affidavit will be done by the KSERC only subsequently.
*****
Friday, January 15, 2010
VSSC fires rockets to study eclipse
Link: http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/16/stories/2010011661502200.htm
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched a total of 10 Rohini series indigenous sounding rockets from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station here and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to investigate the effects of the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium, which occurred on Friday, on the earth’s atmosphere.
On Thursday, the VSSC launched two sounding rockets each of the type RH 300 Mk II and RH 200, and on Friday, three sounding rockets of the type RH 300 Mk II and two sounding rockets of RH 200 from Thumba. The RH 300 Mk II rockets can shoot to a peak altitude of 116 km above the earth and the RH 200 to a peak altitude of 70 km.
The VSSC also launched a larger Rohini rocket of the RH 560 Mk II series from Sriharikota on Friday. These rockets are capable of reaching a peak altitude of 548 km.
The eclipse assumed annular condition at 1.14 p.m. over Thumba. The maximum obscuration of 91 per cent of the sun occurred at 11.15 p.m. The annular phase of the eclipse lasted about 11 minutes and eight seconds over Thumba.
The firing of the sounding rockets was scheduled so as to collect relevant data on atmospheric structure and dynamics at different altitudes from the earth before, during and after the eclipse.
“Many scientifically interesting phenomena occur in the diurnal equatorial atmosphere [during an eclipse]. Equatorial electrojet, equatorial ionisation anomaly, and equatorial temperature and wind anomaly are examples of such phenomena.
“When a solar eclipse occurs, there will be a sudden cut-off of solar radiation. This cut-off will affect the atmospheric structure and dynamics and there will be a large reduction in ionisation and temperature.
“Today’s eclipse offered a unique opportunity to scientists to investigate the effects of fast varying solar flux on the photochemistry and electrodynamics of the different atmospheric regions, especially the equatorial mesopause and ionosphere-thermosphere regions,” the VSSC said.
The results of the experiments would be correlated with ground-based eclipse observations.
The interpretation of the eclipse data together with the space data is expected to give new insights into earlier eclipse observations as well, the VSSC said.
*****
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched a total of 10 Rohini series indigenous sounding rockets from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station here and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to investigate the effects of the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium, which occurred on Friday, on the earth’s atmosphere.
On Thursday, the VSSC launched two sounding rockets each of the type RH 300 Mk II and RH 200, and on Friday, three sounding rockets of the type RH 300 Mk II and two sounding rockets of RH 200 from Thumba. The RH 300 Mk II rockets can shoot to a peak altitude of 116 km above the earth and the RH 200 to a peak altitude of 70 km.
The VSSC also launched a larger Rohini rocket of the RH 560 Mk II series from Sriharikota on Friday. These rockets are capable of reaching a peak altitude of 548 km.
The eclipse assumed annular condition at 1.14 p.m. over Thumba. The maximum obscuration of 91 per cent of the sun occurred at 11.15 p.m. The annular phase of the eclipse lasted about 11 minutes and eight seconds over Thumba.
The firing of the sounding rockets was scheduled so as to collect relevant data on atmospheric structure and dynamics at different altitudes from the earth before, during and after the eclipse.
“Many scientifically interesting phenomena occur in the diurnal equatorial atmosphere [during an eclipse]. Equatorial electrojet, equatorial ionisation anomaly, and equatorial temperature and wind anomaly are examples of such phenomena.
“When a solar eclipse occurs, there will be a sudden cut-off of solar radiation. This cut-off will affect the atmospheric structure and dynamics and there will be a large reduction in ionisation and temperature.
“Today’s eclipse offered a unique opportunity to scientists to investigate the effects of fast varying solar flux on the photochemistry and electrodynamics of the different atmospheric regions, especially the equatorial mesopause and ionosphere-thermosphere regions,” the VSSC said.
The results of the experiments would be correlated with ground-based eclipse observations.
The interpretation of the eclipse data together with the space data is expected to give new insights into earlier eclipse observations as well, the VSSC said.
*****
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
All about a celestial phenomenon
This is the link to another story by me on the annular solar eclipse falling on January 15:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/14/stories/2010011453970400.htm
*****
And this is the text:
P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The annular solar eclipse falling on Friday, the longest of the millennium, is a wonderful opportunity for the people of Thiruvananthapuram to understand the celestial phenomenon of eclipses.
Thiruvananthapuram is situated 8 degrees 29 minutes North Latitude and 76 degrees 59 minutes East Longitude. The outline of the moon will start creeping over the bright disk of the sun at 11.05.1 a.m. at this point on Friday.
‘Annularity’ is when the moon, as seen from the earth, does not cover the full disc of the sun when caught in a line. The edges of the sun all the way round will be visible as a bright ring around the dark silhouette of the moon.
A solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon and the earth fall in the same line. The sun’s distance from the earth is about 390 times the moon’s distance from the earth and the sun’s diameter is about 400 times the moon’s diameter. Because these ratios are approximately the same, the sun and the moon as seen from the earth appear to be about the same size.
The moon’s orbit around the earth is an ellipse, as is the earth’s orbit around the sun. So there are periods when the moon is farthest away from the earth and periods when the moon is closest to the earth. The same happens in the case of the sun in relation to the earth.
Total solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse happens when the sun is farther away from the earth because of the earth’s elliptical orbit. The apparent size of the moon as viewed from the earth then is bigger than the sun’s and so the moon’s silhouette, when the three celestial objects fall in a straight line, covers the full disc of the sun as seen from the earth. Annularity occurs when the earth in its orbit is close to the sun and the moon in its orbit is farther away from the earth. On Friday, when eclipse conditions fall into place, the annularity will reach a maximum level of only 91 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram since it is a little to the north of the central line of the path of the moon’s shadow over the earth. The central line of the path of the eclipse is slightly to the south of the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.
The eclipse will start displaying annular condition here by 1.10.50 p.m. and touch the maximum possible annularity level of 91 per cent by 1.14.28 p.m. And the annularity condition of the eclipse will end by 1.18.06 p.m. And the eclipse will end, with the moon’s silhouette completely lifting from the disc of the sun, by 3.05.5 p.m. The annular condition will last for 7 minutes and 15 seconds in Thiruvananthapuram.
*****
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/14/stories/2010011453970400.htm
*****
And this is the text:
P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The annular solar eclipse falling on Friday, the longest of the millennium, is a wonderful opportunity for the people of Thiruvananthapuram to understand the celestial phenomenon of eclipses.
Thiruvananthapuram is situated 8 degrees 29 minutes North Latitude and 76 degrees 59 minutes East Longitude. The outline of the moon will start creeping over the bright disk of the sun at 11.05.1 a.m. at this point on Friday.
‘Annularity’ is when the moon, as seen from the earth, does not cover the full disc of the sun when caught in a line. The edges of the sun all the way round will be visible as a bright ring around the dark silhouette of the moon.
A solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon and the earth fall in the same line. The sun’s distance from the earth is about 390 times the moon’s distance from the earth and the sun’s diameter is about 400 times the moon’s diameter. Because these ratios are approximately the same, the sun and the moon as seen from the earth appear to be about the same size.
The moon’s orbit around the earth is an ellipse, as is the earth’s orbit around the sun. So there are periods when the moon is farthest away from the earth and periods when the moon is closest to the earth. The same happens in the case of the sun in relation to the earth.
Total solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse happens when the sun is farther away from the earth because of the earth’s elliptical orbit. The apparent size of the moon as viewed from the earth then is bigger than the sun’s and so the moon’s silhouette, when the three celestial objects fall in a straight line, covers the full disc of the sun as seen from the earth. Annularity occurs when the earth in its orbit is close to the sun and the moon in its orbit is farther away from the earth. On Friday, when eclipse conditions fall into place, the annularity will reach a maximum level of only 91 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram since it is a little to the north of the central line of the path of the moon’s shadow over the earth. The central line of the path of the eclipse is slightly to the south of the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.
The eclipse will start displaying annular condition here by 1.10.50 p.m. and touch the maximum possible annularity level of 91 per cent by 1.14.28 p.m. And the annularity condition of the eclipse will end by 1.18.06 p.m. And the eclipse will end, with the moon’s silhouette completely lifting from the disc of the sun, by 3.05.5 p.m. The annular condition will last for 7 minutes and 15 seconds in Thiruvananthapuram.
*****
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Annular solar eclipse
This is the link to my story on the annular solar eclipse falling on Janurary 15:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/13/stories/2010011354150400.htm
*****
VSSC expects insights from eclipse
P. Venugopal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A comprehensive campaign planned
Nine rockets to blaze away from Thumba
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has said the analysis of atmospheric-ionospheric parameters being conducted in India during the annular solar eclipse occurring on January 15 will be “one of the most comprehensive [scientific] campaigns ever attempted during a solar eclipse anywhere in the world.”
In a press release here on Tuesday, the VSSC said this would be the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium.
An annular eclipse occurs when the moon covers the centre of the sun, but not its edges. This leaves just a ring of the sun visible from the earth along the path of the moon’s shadow.
The VSSC will launch four sounding rockets from Thumba, near here, on Thursday to gather data from altitudes touching up to 116 km above the earth. These will be followed by five more sounding rockets on Friday. One larger rocket each will be launched from the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Thursday and Friday to gather data from altitudes touching up to 548 km above the earth.
Close shot
At 1.14 pm on January 15, the eclipse will pass close to Thumba with 91 per cent obscuration of the sun. The edges of the eclipse will touch Sriharikota with 85 per cent obscuration of the sun, the VSSC said.
Although the central line of the path of the eclipse will miss the mainland of the peninsula, the path of the eclipse being 323 km wide, it will still be a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of the fast varying solar flux on the photochemistry and electrodynamics of different atmospheric regions, especially the equatorial mesopause and ionosphere-thermosphere regions, the VSSC said.
“The uniqueness of this eclipse is that it occurs during noontime, when the incoming solar radiation is at its maximum… Further, the obscuration of the sun during this eclipse is exceptionally long, about 11 minutes and eight seconds. The maximum obscuration occurs during noon hours (13:15 IST). As a consequence, it provides an opportunity to study, perhaps for the first time, the solar eclipse induced effects in the noontime equatorial region,” the VSSC said.
The ionosphere above 120 km becomes turbulent on certain days in the post-sunset period with structures or eddies appearing in ionization.
It will be an interesting problem to look into the possible generation of these turbulent structures during the peak eclipse period when the geophysical conditions are likely to resemble those of the post-sunset period, the VSSC said.
“Such a study [being undertaken during this eclipse] would certainly give more insights into the generation mechanism of these structures that pose a major threat to modern day GPS-based navigation systems,” the VSSC noted.
The VSSC expects that the interpretation of space data, gathered with the assistance of the sounding rockets, along with modern ground-based eclipse observations, will give new insights into the earlier eclipse observations also.
*****
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/13/stories/2010011354150400.htm
*****
VSSC expects insights from eclipse
P. Venugopal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A comprehensive campaign planned
Nine rockets to blaze away from Thumba
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has said the analysis of atmospheric-ionospheric parameters being conducted in India during the annular solar eclipse occurring on January 15 will be “one of the most comprehensive [scientific] campaigns ever attempted during a solar eclipse anywhere in the world.”
In a press release here on Tuesday, the VSSC said this would be the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium.
An annular eclipse occurs when the moon covers the centre of the sun, but not its edges. This leaves just a ring of the sun visible from the earth along the path of the moon’s shadow.
The VSSC will launch four sounding rockets from Thumba, near here, on Thursday to gather data from altitudes touching up to 116 km above the earth. These will be followed by five more sounding rockets on Friday. One larger rocket each will be launched from the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Thursday and Friday to gather data from altitudes touching up to 548 km above the earth.
Close shot
At 1.14 pm on January 15, the eclipse will pass close to Thumba with 91 per cent obscuration of the sun. The edges of the eclipse will touch Sriharikota with 85 per cent obscuration of the sun, the VSSC said.
Although the central line of the path of the eclipse will miss the mainland of the peninsula, the path of the eclipse being 323 km wide, it will still be a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of the fast varying solar flux on the photochemistry and electrodynamics of different atmospheric regions, especially the equatorial mesopause and ionosphere-thermosphere regions, the VSSC said.
“The uniqueness of this eclipse is that it occurs during noontime, when the incoming solar radiation is at its maximum… Further, the obscuration of the sun during this eclipse is exceptionally long, about 11 minutes and eight seconds. The maximum obscuration occurs during noon hours (13:15 IST). As a consequence, it provides an opportunity to study, perhaps for the first time, the solar eclipse induced effects in the noontime equatorial region,” the VSSC said.
The ionosphere above 120 km becomes turbulent on certain days in the post-sunset period with structures or eddies appearing in ionization.
It will be an interesting problem to look into the possible generation of these turbulent structures during the peak eclipse period when the geophysical conditions are likely to resemble those of the post-sunset period, the VSSC said.
“Such a study [being undertaken during this eclipse] would certainly give more insights into the generation mechanism of these structures that pose a major threat to modern day GPS-based navigation systems,” the VSSC noted.
The VSSC expects that the interpretation of space data, gathered with the assistance of the sounding rockets, along with modern ground-based eclipse observations, will give new insights into the earlier eclipse observations also.
*****
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Monsoon
This is the link to my story in The Hindu on January 7, 2009:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/07/stories/2010010754200400.htm
*****
‘Global warming can alter monsoon pattern’
P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: What could be the impact of global warming on the behaviour of the Indian summer monsoon, which is the lifeline of the subcontinent?
Scientists in the country are on the job of creating a model that can simulate the likely changes in the flow and sweep of the monsoon as the earth warms up, by small decimals of a centigrade each year, under the influence of global warming.
“We are working on a model… It is the key,” said R. Krishnan, head of the Climate and Global Modelling Division at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, while addressing a plenary session on ‘Weather, Climate and Environment’ at the 97th Indian Science Congress in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
He spoke of the dynamics of the Indian monsoon, how it flowed in from the southwest at the beginning of June every year with the building up of an atmospheric pressure gradient down to the north, how the temperature factors even in central Pacific and interior Asia had a bearing on its behaviour and how it was all a phenomenon of interrelated global factors.
The hitherto perceived pattern of the monsoon can change as the temperatures over the land and the ocean rise under the global warming phenomenon. The wind speeds and wind directions can change and so also the known and unknown factors that govern the intensity and spread of the monsoon over the subcontinent.
The IITM turned the drought of 2009 into an opportunity to study the wind behaviour that had delayed the monsoon over the central, north and northwest India this time, besides causing long lulls in rainfall activity during the four-month season from June to September. One of the findings was that an aberrant westerly current from the cold and dry central Asia had kept pushing the monsoon currents back from these regions for long periods within the season.
The drought of 2009 was the third biggest drought the country had encountered in the last 100 years, Dr. Krishnan said. There were three long break-spells for the monsoon this time, resulting in 23 per cent deficient rainfall for the country. Dr. Krishnan said it was not India alone that was monsoon deficient this time, but the whole of Southeast Asia.
Speaking in the same session, Shailesh Naik, Secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said the hottest years of the last 100 years for the country had come during the last one decade. He said his department had stepped up support for research into a whole range of climate-related topics.
*****
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/07/stories/2010010754200400.htm
*****
‘Global warming can alter monsoon pattern’
P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: What could be the impact of global warming on the behaviour of the Indian summer monsoon, which is the lifeline of the subcontinent?
Scientists in the country are on the job of creating a model that can simulate the likely changes in the flow and sweep of the monsoon as the earth warms up, by small decimals of a centigrade each year, under the influence of global warming.
“We are working on a model… It is the key,” said R. Krishnan, head of the Climate and Global Modelling Division at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, while addressing a plenary session on ‘Weather, Climate and Environment’ at the 97th Indian Science Congress in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
He spoke of the dynamics of the Indian monsoon, how it flowed in from the southwest at the beginning of June every year with the building up of an atmospheric pressure gradient down to the north, how the temperature factors even in central Pacific and interior Asia had a bearing on its behaviour and how it was all a phenomenon of interrelated global factors.
The hitherto perceived pattern of the monsoon can change as the temperatures over the land and the ocean rise under the global warming phenomenon. The wind speeds and wind directions can change and so also the known and unknown factors that govern the intensity and spread of the monsoon over the subcontinent.
The IITM turned the drought of 2009 into an opportunity to study the wind behaviour that had delayed the monsoon over the central, north and northwest India this time, besides causing long lulls in rainfall activity during the four-month season from June to September. One of the findings was that an aberrant westerly current from the cold and dry central Asia had kept pushing the monsoon currents back from these regions for long periods within the season.
The drought of 2009 was the third biggest drought the country had encountered in the last 100 years, Dr. Krishnan said. There were three long break-spells for the monsoon this time, resulting in 23 per cent deficient rainfall for the country. Dr. Krishnan said it was not India alone that was monsoon deficient this time, but the whole of Southeast Asia.
Speaking in the same session, Shailesh Naik, Secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said the hottest years of the last 100 years for the country had come during the last one decade. He said his department had stepped up support for research into a whole range of climate-related topics.
*****
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Climate forecast
Link to my Science Congress report in The Hindu today:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/04/stories/2010010455631000.htm
IMD evolving a model for accurate climate forecast
P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the problem of climate change now turning into an increasing reality, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is working on the development of a model that can forecast the subtleties of the phenomenon with a fair degree of accuracy into the next five or 10 years, according to Secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Shailesh Naik.
Addressing a session on ‘Science Programme for the Country,’at the 97th Indian Science Congress here on Sunday, Dr. Naik said this would help India plan ahead in agriculture, which depended a lot on weather and climate. Forecast now had to go beyond the weather, which was immediate, to the climate, which was spread over time.
He said weather forecast had to improve in accuracy, especially in the forecast of the summer monsoon. Not all the models the IMD had evolved showed the consistency in accuracy expected of them. In each bulletin, weather forecasts were now being given covering five days and a system was now falling in place for extending the period of the forecast. District-level weather forecast too would become possible soon, he said.
S.K. Brahmachari, Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Secretary to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, said the concern now was on how to take the benefit of science and technology to a large majority of the country’s population that was in a far away orbit from its glow. He said to address this concern, the government worked out a strategy aiming to increase the per capita income at the lowest level by Rs.15 a day.
Director of Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) V.M. Katoch, stressed the need for the States taking the help of the ICMR in setting up their own medical research institutions to overcome the difficulties associated with disease outbreaks frequently. The ICMR had only around 200 medical scientists distributed among all its institutions and the demand on their services was heavy.
T. Ramaswamy, Secretary to the Department of Science and Technology, said that one lacunae he had noticed in the functioning of various research institutions was that the fruits of the toil in one institution were not spreading ‘horizontally’ to the areas served by the other institutions. The department had it as a challenge to ensure the horizontal merging of science and technology research results.
*****
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/04/stories/2010010455631000.htm
IMD evolving a model for accurate climate forecast
P. Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the problem of climate change now turning into an increasing reality, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is working on the development of a model that can forecast the subtleties of the phenomenon with a fair degree of accuracy into the next five or 10 years, according to Secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Shailesh Naik.
Addressing a session on ‘Science Programme for the Country,’at the 97th Indian Science Congress here on Sunday, Dr. Naik said this would help India plan ahead in agriculture, which depended a lot on weather and climate. Forecast now had to go beyond the weather, which was immediate, to the climate, which was spread over time.
He said weather forecast had to improve in accuracy, especially in the forecast of the summer monsoon. Not all the models the IMD had evolved showed the consistency in accuracy expected of them. In each bulletin, weather forecasts were now being given covering five days and a system was now falling in place for extending the period of the forecast. District-level weather forecast too would become possible soon, he said.
S.K. Brahmachari, Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Secretary to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, said the concern now was on how to take the benefit of science and technology to a large majority of the country’s population that was in a far away orbit from its glow. He said to address this concern, the government worked out a strategy aiming to increase the per capita income at the lowest level by Rs.15 a day.
Director of Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) V.M. Katoch, stressed the need for the States taking the help of the ICMR in setting up their own medical research institutions to overcome the difficulties associated with disease outbreaks frequently. The ICMR had only around 200 medical scientists distributed among all its institutions and the demand on their services was heavy.
T. Ramaswamy, Secretary to the Department of Science and Technology, said that one lacunae he had noticed in the functioning of various research institutions was that the fruits of the toil in one institution were not spreading ‘horizontally’ to the areas served by the other institutions. The department had it as a challenge to ensure the horizontal merging of science and technology research results.
*****
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Indian Science Congress 2010
This is the link to my report in The Hindu dated January 3, 2010:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/03/stories/2010010360030500.htm
The challenge of taking S&T to the next stage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Indian Science Congress is an occasion for making a holistic review of the nation’s strengths in science and technology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Indian Science Congress, the largest and most comprehensive annual science event in the country, is being held on the Kariavattom campus of the University of Kerala this time from January 3 to 7 at a crucial juncture in the country’s journey towards progress.
India has been recording a commendable growth rate over the last nearly one decade and is seen worldwide as a nation marching towards the status of an economic superpower. Even the resilience the country is showing in the face of the global economic crisis that began in 2007 is being seen as an indication of the irresistible momentum of the country’s march forward.
Admittedly, however, problems remain. A vast majority of the population is not part of this growth process and the disparity between the poor and the well-off is widening. In the years to follow, science and technology will have to play a bigger role than ever before in the history of the country to satisfy the twin-objective of keeping the growth momentum going and making the growth process an inclusive one.
According to former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and general chairman of the Indian Science Congress 2010, the task of streamlining the full power of the nation’s scientific intellect and resources to address the challenges ahead is an ambitious one. The nature of the challenges before the nation at this juncture is entirely different from what it had been before and the dimension of the challenges far bigger than it had been ever before. The scientists and policy makers of the country also have before them the task of calibrating the growth process keeping in mind issues such global warming and sustainability.
97th edition
The 97th edition of the Indian Science Congress, being organised under the aegis of the Indian Science Congress Association and hosted jointly by the Indian Space Research Organisation and the University of Kerala, will be an occasion for making a holistic review of the nation’s strengths in science and technology, guiding the direction of future research and development and devising strategies for broad-basing the deployment of science and technology for the welfare of the people.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his inaugural address to the Science Congress on Sunday, is expected to give his overall vision on how to convert science and technology into a more powerful tool for the development of the country. Stalwart scientists, some of whom had helped evolve and steer the nation’s development initiatives over the past decades, the country’s highest policy-making people including the Secretaries of all departments related to science and technology, the people who hold the reins of all national institutions for research and development, young scientists who are to take the whole national programme forward in the coming years and more than 3,000 students and science teachers are attending the mega event.
The holding of the event in Thiruvananthapuram provides Kerala a wonderful opportunity, according to Vice Chancellor of the University of Kerala A. Jayakrishnan, who is also the co-chairman of the organising committee. He said it would surely inspire the young generation in the State. The most promising of the science students from all areas of the State had been selected to attend the Children’s Science Congress being organised as part of the main event and they would have space scientist and former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam addressing them.
An exhibition being organised in connection with the Indian Science Congress on the Kariavattom campus of the university also is designed to provide a comprehensive and inspiring picture of the country’s science and technology for the young generation.
P. Venugopal
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/03/stories/2010010360030500.htm
The challenge of taking S&T to the next stage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Indian Science Congress is an occasion for making a holistic review of the nation’s strengths in science and technology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Indian Science Congress, the largest and most comprehensive annual science event in the country, is being held on the Kariavattom campus of the University of Kerala this time from January 3 to 7 at a crucial juncture in the country’s journey towards progress.
India has been recording a commendable growth rate over the last nearly one decade and is seen worldwide as a nation marching towards the status of an economic superpower. Even the resilience the country is showing in the face of the global economic crisis that began in 2007 is being seen as an indication of the irresistible momentum of the country’s march forward.
Admittedly, however, problems remain. A vast majority of the population is not part of this growth process and the disparity between the poor and the well-off is widening. In the years to follow, science and technology will have to play a bigger role than ever before in the history of the country to satisfy the twin-objective of keeping the growth momentum going and making the growth process an inclusive one.
According to former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and general chairman of the Indian Science Congress 2010, the task of streamlining the full power of the nation’s scientific intellect and resources to address the challenges ahead is an ambitious one. The nature of the challenges before the nation at this juncture is entirely different from what it had been before and the dimension of the challenges far bigger than it had been ever before. The scientists and policy makers of the country also have before them the task of calibrating the growth process keeping in mind issues such global warming and sustainability.
97th edition
The 97th edition of the Indian Science Congress, being organised under the aegis of the Indian Science Congress Association and hosted jointly by the Indian Space Research Organisation and the University of Kerala, will be an occasion for making a holistic review of the nation’s strengths in science and technology, guiding the direction of future research and development and devising strategies for broad-basing the deployment of science and technology for the welfare of the people.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his inaugural address to the Science Congress on Sunday, is expected to give his overall vision on how to convert science and technology into a more powerful tool for the development of the country. Stalwart scientists, some of whom had helped evolve and steer the nation’s development initiatives over the past decades, the country’s highest policy-making people including the Secretaries of all departments related to science and technology, the people who hold the reins of all national institutions for research and development, young scientists who are to take the whole national programme forward in the coming years and more than 3,000 students and science teachers are attending the mega event.
The holding of the event in Thiruvananthapuram provides Kerala a wonderful opportunity, according to Vice Chancellor of the University of Kerala A. Jayakrishnan, who is also the co-chairman of the organising committee. He said it would surely inspire the young generation in the State. The most promising of the science students from all areas of the State had been selected to attend the Children’s Science Congress being organised as part of the main event and they would have space scientist and former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam addressing them.
An exhibition being organised in connection with the Indian Science Congress on the Kariavattom campus of the university also is designed to provide a comprehensive and inspiring picture of the country’s science and technology for the young generation.
P. Venugopal
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