BALCO washes its hands of the chimney accident
The Vedanta Group that has 49% of stake in BALCO is trying to wash its hands of the Chhattisgarh BALCO chimney accident in which 41 labourers from Bihar and West Bengal had perished.
Instead of compensating the workers the Group is desperate to sell its share. Shockingly, during its talks with Mining Secretary Sheila Nair the Vedanta officials did not even mention the accident.
This infuriated the Minister for Coal BK Handique
so much that he told the officials that no talks would be entertained until the labourers are compensated and rehabilitated. Even one month after the incident, only one man has been held. And the group is yet to take responsibility for the tragedy. The slow pace of the probe raises several questions. Experts who visited the site say the poor quality of construction materials led to the disaster.
The 248-metre chimney was part of the extension project that was being carried out to facilitate the 1,200 MW power plant. The initial probe confirms that the chimney collapsed because of piling failure and use of sub-standard construction material. District Collector Ashok Agarwal says: “When I picked up the debris and crushed it with my bare hands, it crumbled like sand.”
Building experts point out that the site of construction was earlier a swamp and proper care was not taken while laying the foundation. Besides, the project manager and quality control head of BALCO rarely visited the site. BK Sharma, general secretary of the Workers’ Union, told TSI that his efforts to draw the officials’ attention to the irregularities were ignored. Engineers who have first hand experience in the construction of such chimney maintain that such structures are erected phase-wise. They cite a chimney made by L&T in the area. But all the evidence are not enough to convince the BALCO officials, who continue to insist that direct strike of the thunderbolt lead to the collapse of the chimney. However, experts blame the bad quality of Reinforcement Bars provided by Chinese company for the disaster.
The callousness of the officials dismays them. The Assistance Labour Commissioner has no idea as to how many labourers were on duty at the time of accident. Passing the buck seems to be the game. BALCO says it outsourced the project to GDCL-Gannon Dunkerley & Co Ltd and therefore the onus lies on them.
The Vedanta Group that has 49% of stake in BALCO is trying to wash its hands of the Chhattisgarh BALCO chimney accident in which 41 labourers from Bihar and West Bengal had perished.
Instead of compensating the workers the Group is desperate to sell its share. Shockingly, during its talks with Mining Secretary Sheila Nair the Vedanta officials did not even mention the accident.
This infuriated the Minister for Coal BK Handique
so much that he told the officials that no talks would be entertained until the labourers are compensated and rehabilitated. Even one month after the incident, only one man has been held. And the group is yet to take responsibility for the tragedy. The slow pace of the probe raises several questions. Experts who visited the site say the poor quality of construction materials led to the disaster.The 248-metre chimney was part of the extension project that was being carried out to facilitate the 1,200 MW power plant. The initial probe confirms that the chimney collapsed because of piling failure and use of sub-standard construction material. District Collector Ashok Agarwal says: “When I picked up the debris and crushed it with my bare hands, it crumbled like sand.”
Building experts point out that the site of construction was earlier a swamp and proper care was not taken while laying the foundation. Besides, the project manager and quality control head of BALCO rarely visited the site. BK Sharma, general secretary of the Workers’ Union, told TSI that his efforts to draw the officials’ attention to the irregularities were ignored. Engineers who have first hand experience in the construction of such chimney maintain that such structures are erected phase-wise. They cite a chimney made by L&T in the area. But all the evidence are not enough to convince the BALCO officials, who continue to insist that direct strike of the thunderbolt lead to the collapse of the chimney. However, experts blame the bad quality of Reinforcement Bars provided by Chinese company for the disaster.
The callousness of the officials dismays them. The Assistance Labour Commissioner has no idea as to how many labourers were on duty at the time of accident. Passing the buck seems to be the game. BALCO says it outsourced the project to GDCL-Gannon Dunkerley & Co Ltd and therefore the onus lies on them.
only method for species of multi-cellular organisms to remain alive. If more organisms are born, more organisms survive beyond their reproductive age and the species does not become extinct. The life of each individual is not important as long as they reproduce. Even death has been programmed into the organism's DNA to make sure they do not compete for their offspring's resources. The species has thus become the new immortal organism. However, some species become extinct when all organisms die before being able to reproduce. Evolution had to find a better way to avoid death.
industry. India has given the world many magicians like Jadusamrat P.C. Sorcar Senior, Dhanpat Rai Gogia, better known as Gogia Pasha, Sorcar Junior, Gopinath Muthucad and many more. The line which separates the Indian magic or Hindustan ka jadoo from the western world is that Indian Magic and Indian magicians have for a long time played a crucial role in the spread of Indian culture, heritage and traditions. They have acted as cultural ambassadors of India to wherever in the world they have performed. Some of the unique magical mysteries that India entertained and mystified the world with are the Buzz Saw Illusion, The water of India, The floating Sadhu and the street levitation, the growing Mango tree, the Hindu Basket and not to forget, the famous Indian rope trick. It remains a mystery till date and and ranks high among "the world’s greatest illusions". 
that discussion. And why not? Just consider the numbers. The Indian Railways ferries over 18 million passengers and two million tonnes of freight daily. It is the country's single largest employer, with 1.4 million people on its payrolls. It possesses 8,000 locomotives, 200,000 freight wagons and 50,000 passenger coaches - they run over a total route length of 63,000-plus kilometers. It is not without reason that the Indian Railways is often described as "the spine of the elephant that is India". Of course, there is much more to the Indian Railways than mere statistics. Today, those, who can afford, fly around the world in Boeing and Airbus aircraft or zip from place to place in the swankiest of SUVs. But the romance of a train journey hasn't diminished a whit since the time Theroux was growing up in a New England state of the US. "Ever since childhood," he wrote, "I have seldom heard a train and not wished I was on it." Or listen to what Bill Aitken, Scottish by birth, Indian at heart and inveterate railway lover, has to say. It was on a trip from the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad circa 1960 that it dawned on him that "the system created by the mind of George Stephenson does echo a grand design worthy of the Almighty".
the suffering and the dying people even 12 years after her death. The Albanian nun founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 "to give whole-hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor." She set up the landmark institutions of Nirmal Hriday (home for the dying), Shanti Nagar (a place for lepers) and Nirmala Shishu Bhavan (children's home). In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
on the Lord's balcony with the Prudential Cup, he showed to the world what India was capable of. ‘Paaji’ of Indian cricket gave an entirely new dimension to the sport. It is only because of him we see a brigade of fast bowlers emerging from every nook and corner of this country. Of course, how our IPL stars can forget this gentleman? He came up with ICL. To counter that move, BCCI came up with IPL. Thanks ‘paaji!'
world over. But she isn't feeling well. I know this, both as a professor of hydrology and also as high priest (Mahant) of a temple. And when I take my holy dip at sunrise every morning at Tulsi Ghat, my soul is sorely split. I want to do my holy dip and I know that the river is severely polluted.
Ustad Shujaat Hussain Khan. Concert halls from Delhi to Dallas fill up for masters of Indian music. Both Hindustani and Carnatic music employs an array of instruments. The Indian musical tradition has been passed on through generations from guru to shishya. It has been dominated by a handful of families. But individuals have made their mark too, such as Shubha Mudgal. She says, “While serious students of music still learn under the guidance of a guru, there are also modern designer-gurukuls set up by musicians often with corporate funding." Classical music is among our most prized treasures. Trends come and go; the fan-base for India’s classical music survives.
to New Delhi to get her treated or rather operated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Suffering from lung tumor, Amisha has been at the mercy of the discerning apathy of the AIIMS while Khairul continues to run from pillar to pillar to dodge all the subtle suggestions of shifting the patient from AIIMS to some private nursing home (or private ward as is often termed over there) where the doctors would be too willing to get her operated albeit at a price, even though nothing in writing is ever given to him for obvious reasons. While Amisha’s life continues to hang in perpetual limbo, question remains as to whether Khairul would eventually be able to cut through the labyrinth of red tape, indifference and the unofficial, unwritten discrimination that happens towards the helpless and hapless. One then wonders why on earth a country of India’s size, stature and hype, should have only one AIIMS like hospital? Or given the incredible rush of patients from across the country in addition to the Herculean burden of keeping the army of ailing VVIPs happily healthy, can the doctors of AIIMS be completely held responsible for their apathy? Khairul is no exception. There are millions like him who wander everyday, fight and lose everyday in their quest to seek what is legitimately their due rights in a country which would any day love to champion the cause of socialism and call itself a welfare state. Well, welfare does happen only if one comes in the right kind of vehicle or has the right kind of connections. Khairul may have no idea as to what Human Development Index of UNDP is and why India has been ranked so low in that but, he is the ultimate reflection of that low ranking. And ironically it is the same reason why the Indian cities have been imbibed with slums.