SCTIMST performs complex cardiac surgery on child

The child had failed to thrive because of a rare congenital anomaly of the mitral valve of the heart  mitral arcade or hammock mitral valve which had resulted in heart failure (a progressive condition in which the heart is unable to pump sufficient blood for the body).

Mitral valve repair surgery for this anomaly is quite complex. On Thursday, Ananthu became the first patient at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to undergo this complicated open heart surgery. Pedro Del Nido, cardiac surgeon from Children's Hospital Boston in the U.S., assisted by the cardiac surgery team from SCTIMST performed the surgery. The child is doing well at the ICU, doctors at the SCTIMST said.

Surgical and interventional workshops were the highlights of the day and these were relayed live to an audience of over 500 delegates from the operation theatres and Cath lab. A hands-on 3D Echocardiography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging workshops and symposiums on all the frontier areas of paediatric cardiology are being organised as part of the conference.

Paediatric cardiology has come a long way in the treatment of congenital heart diseases in children. From an era (1970s) when closing ‘hole in the heart' or Atrial Septal Defect was a major open heart operation requiring even 26 transfusions, today this is just a 20-minute procedure done in the Cath Lab itself, said S. Sivasankaran, Professor of Cardiology at SCTIMST. 

The fourth annual conference of Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute, South East Asia Region, is also being organised concurrently. The event will be inaugurated on October 1. Several international faculty and experts from across the country will participate in the conference.

 

NAOB-displaced persons undertake 70-km padayatra to Collectorate

More than 2,000 people, including many women from Vaadanarsapuram and Kothapatnam in Rambilli mandal and Bangarammapalem in S. Rayavaram mandal, who have been displaced by the Naval Alternate Operations Base (NAOB) coming up in their area, undertook a 70-km padayatra to the city and staged a dharna in front of the Collectorate on Wednesday. Collector Lav Agarwal, after a few hours of talks with their representatives and leaders of political parties, assured the villagers that four of their main demands would be accepted.

Mr. Agarwal addressed the dharna participants and announced that the relief package would be given to the list of displaced prepared by the government in the past and if there were any additions, the gram sabhas must accept them; the government and the Indian Navy would provide training to the youth aged above 18 years and engaging them as contract workers or permanent employees would depend on their skills; the women and widows would be included in the package; and a school would be established and a jetty for fishing boats would be provided at a place acceptable to the Naval authorities.

Mr. Agarwal said and wanted the fishermen to cooperate with the authorities in this regard. He also announced that Rs. 21.5 crore, including Rs. 14 crore received from the Navy and Rs. 7.5 crore from the government, would be disbursed to the DPs within 10 days.

 

Air passengers geta warm welcome

As an initiative to mark World Tourism Day, members of Travel Club received passengers who arrived in two morning flights and greeted them with sweets at the airport terminal here on Tuesday. More than 150 passengers were given a table-top album containing colourful pictures of heritage sites, cultural activities and festivals of Madurai. The passengers included Tamil film actors, directors, business persons and foreign tourists. 

Travel Club president S. Arumainathan, vice-president K. Muralidharan, secretary B.S.G. Musthafa and other officer-bearers of the club welcomed them. Prominent among those received include actors Karthi and Nazar, directors Amir and Seeman, and industrialist Nalli Kuppusamy.

Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) celebrates World Tourism Day on September 27. It was the day in 1970 in which two statutes of the UNWTO were adopted. The theme of this year is ‘Tourism – Linking Cultures.'

 

Three students fatally hit by lorry

Three students were fatally knocked down by a lorry near their school at Velliyur in Tiruvallur district on Tuesday morning. According to police, the students of Government Higher Secondary School on Tiruvallur-Red Hills Road were standing near a roadside eatery opposite their school when the lorry ran over them after hitting a road divider. 

Five other students sustained injuries in the accident and were referred to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai. According to police, the accident took place around 9.30 a.m. when the students were about to take their breakfast near the roadside eatery. 

They had little time to react as the lorry suddenly crashed into the eatery after hitting the median.While Munusamy, Mohandoss and Rajkumar, studying in class XII, were declared dead at the District Government Headquarters Hospital in Tiruvallur, Sabhapathy, Thambidurai, Selvakumar, Nagaraj and Rajbharath, their classmates, who sustained injuries, were taken to Chennai. 

The Vengal police who have registered a case are on the lookout for the lorry driver, who fled the scene after the accident. Traffic on Tiruvallur-Red Hills Road was disrupted for some time after locals and school students staged a road roko. They withdrew their agitation after senior officials assured them that necessary steps would be initiated to apprehend the driver and measures initiated to prevent accidents in future.

 

 

Teenager beaten to death by police: Family

The family of a teenaged boy staged a protest outside a hospital in South-East Delhi on Sunday alleging that their son was beaten to death by the police. The police denied the allegations as baseless and fabricated.

The teenaged boy, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, died at Batra Hospital on Sunday following which the agitated family staged a protest and blocked traffic. The family alleged that their son was on his way home from tuition on September 3 when he entered into an altercation with a policeman who took him to the Ambedkar Nagar police station and allegedly beat him up. He died due to the injuries sustained during the beating, the family alleged.

For their part, the police said he was never brought to the police station and was not beaten up. “There was a call to the Police Control Room on September 3 saying that some men were consuming liquor in the open following which a Sub-Inspector went to the area. When the policeman reached the spot, the others managed to escape but the boy injured his ankle while trying to flee and was caught. He was scolded and let off. He was not brought to the police station. The family took him to a hospital the next day for treatment and told the doctor that the boy had met a road accident,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Meghna Yadav.

On September 18, the sub-inspector again called up the boy's father regarding a complaint of encroachment against him. “Two days later, the boy's father came to the police station and gave a written complaint alleging that his son was beaten up. The boy died on Sunday morning and they staged a protest. He was probably under treatment for some other ailment. We have decided to get his post-mortem done to know the cause of death,” said Ms. Yadav.

 

Families of Tamil Nadu victims to be flown to Kathmandu

The family members of the eight air crash victims from here will be taken to New Delhi on Monday morning and flown to Kathmandu to identify the bodies, Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister N.R. Sivapathi said on Sunday. 

The State government was making all efforts to bring back the bodies, he told journalists here after conveying condolences on the government's behalf to the families. Tiruchi MP P. Kumar will take a member of each family by a flight from Chennai to Delhi. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and DMK president M. Karunanidhi have condoled the deaths. 

Ms. Jayalalithaa said: I am greatly shocked that most of the victims are Tamils.  Mr. Karunanidhi said the relatives of DMK leaders, S. Regupathy and Tiruchi Selvaraj, were among the deceased.

 

Nature soothes quake-ravaged

On Friday morning, the road was cleared up to Toong from Mangan, headquarters of North Sikkim district. Five days after the massive earthquake that struck the region, it came as a big relief to local residents as well as the Army personnel who were engaged in the gargantuan task of clearing the roads.

 

From Toong, the road bifurcates towards two quake-ravaged destinations, Shipgyre and Chunghthang.

The real fight starts from here though. What we have done so far will be nothing in comparison to the challenge that lies ahead,  Sanjay Sharma, Commanding Officer of 52 Engineer Regiment of the Army asserted.

Ashok Subba was searching for remnants of his makeshift home at Toong amid rubbles. The house was flattened under tonnes of debris that rolled down the mountain side during the earthquake. One of his relatives was injured.

He went to Chunghthang on Thursday to find his friend who has not communicated since last Sunday.

It started raining while returning to Mangan from Toong. When the rains stopped, a middle-aged woman's happy voice drew my attention. She was calling her son to show the rainbow that had appeared on the horizon.

Maybe it was the first time that a rainbow was visible in North Sikkim after the quake hit the district as it immediately led people to forget all their fear and pain experienced over the past few days and become delighted.

And, needless to say that nature only can do it!

 

Safety first, power generation comes later: Narayanasamy

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy on Tuesday met those protesting for the past 10 days against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and assured them that the safety and security of the people were paramount. 

“People's safety first and power generation comes later,” he told them at Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district. 

Mr. Narayanasamy, on his way to Kudankulam from Madurai, had a preliminary discussion here with Collector R. Selvaraj along with Chairman of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Shreyans Kumar Jain to ascertain the situation at Idinthakarai. 

Emerging from the meeting, the Minister told journalists that the safety and security of those living close to the project site was more important than power generation. To break the impasse and arrive at an early solution, a meeting between the protesters and the Prime Minister could also be arranged, said Mr. Narayanasamy. 

Though the protesters could get this assurance from the Minister, they plan to continue their agitation as they complain that the State government had not extended a proper invitation for talks to end the agitation and thereby bringing back normality in the hamlets around Kudankulam. 

Representatives of the protesters have decided to meet Ms. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday.

Railways imposes speed restriction on trains following quake

The Railways has imposed a speed restriction of 30-40 km per hour on movement of trains plying through north Bengal and Bihar, after an earthquake shook Sikkim and other parts of the north-eastern region.

“Even though there has been no report of any damage to the railway network in the affected region, Railways has imposed a speed restriction of 30-40 km per hour on movement of trains running through north Bengal and Bihar,” said a spokesperson of Northeast Frontier Railway.

A powerful earthquake with a 6.8 magnitude hit Sikkim and several areas in the eastern part of the country and neighbouring Nepal, leaving at least 18 dead and over 100 injured besides causing extensive damage to buildings and roads.

 

 

L-G for installation of Intelligent Signalling System across Delhi

Lt.-Governor Tejendra Khanna inspecting the operations control centre of the Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transit System for intelligent signalling system on Wednesday.

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna on Wednesday suggested installation of the Intelligent Signalling System and cameras at all the junctions in Delhi saying it would help a great deal in streamlining the traffic management in the city. 

Mr. Khanna made the observation during a visit to the Operations Control Centre set up by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited at ISBT Kashmere Gate.

During his first visit to the OCC, Mr. Khanna was briefed about the five main projects that are connected to the centre. The OCC helps in the efficient management of traffic flow, monitoring of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor as well as the bus clusters through the integration of various transportation technologies like Intelligent Signalling System (ISS) and Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVLS).

The OCC, he was told, allows for the control and monitoring of traffic through the ISS installed on the BRT corridor. The 24 cameras installed at the 17 junctions provide live feeds to the control centre of all activity on the corridor, thus paving the way for recording of violations and incidents.

He was also told that the Global Positioning System installed on the cluster buses transfers continuous data on the location of the cluster buses to the OCC. This apart, the Centre also stores data captured on the Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETM) as well as the newly introduced e-challan machines.

 

Suburban train driver did not stop at red signal: Minister

Preliminary investigations by the Railways into Tuesday night's train collision near Arakkonam point to an error on the part of the driver of the Chennai Beach-Vellore Cantonment Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit. 

Driver Rajkumar did not stop at the red signal ahead of the Chitheri station but jumped off the train before it rammed the stationary Arakkonam-Katpadi EMU Passenger. He suffered serious injuries and is undergoing treatment in the Government General Hospital, Chennai. 

 Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, who on Wednesday visited the site of the accident, in which 10 passengers were killed and 66 persons suffered serious injuries, said the driver ought to have stopped at the signal. But as he was now in a traumatised condition, “we cannot question him too much.” It was still too early to fix the blame on anyone, the Minister said.

The dead included the guard of the Arakkonam-Katpadi Passenger. Most of the dead and the injured were small-time traders and workers belonging to villages in the vicinity of Arakkonam. Of the 76 cases referred to the Arakkonam General Hospital, 10, including a woman, were brought dead. While 24 persons were treated there, 22 who suffered multiple fractures and facial injuries and three others, who sustained head injuries, were referred to the General Hospital in Chennai. For, there was no orthopaedic surgeon in the Arakkonam hospital. 

Seventeen persons, including six women, were referred to other hospitals at their own request. Ilango of Banavaram village, undergoing treatment in the Arakkonam hospital, said he heard a huge sound and immediately smoke enveloped his coach in the Katpadi-bound train. “Several passengers fell on me, and I had to make my way out of the compartment.” Locals rushed to the accident spot and rescued the passengers trapped in the derailed coaches. 

Two bogies of the stationary train and three bogies of the moving train jumped the rails.

 

Mullaperiyar: Experts meeting will give final picture on demolition, says Minister

Minister for Water Resources P.J. Joseph has said that a final picture on the demolition of the Mullaperiyar dam will be evolved at the meeting of the experts and engineers on September 17. 

Talking to The Hindu on Tuesday, the minister said a final meeting of the experts and engineers of the Irrigation Department including the members of the Mullaperiyar Special Cell has been convened on that day to finalise the detailed project report (DPR) and two options including the demolition of the baby dam or opening of a channel from the spill way to keep the water level at 94 feet from the present 136 feet will be finalised. A team of the Mullaperiyar Special Cell led by its chairman M.K.Parameswaran Nair on Sunday visited the site to look in to the options left for the demolition of the dam as per a direction of the Supreme Court. 

An official level meeting will be held on Wednesday to discuss the different options before the final meeting. The meeting assumes importance in the wake of the apex court asking the State to what it would do if the dam will have to be demolished. 

Mr. Joseph said that the decommissioning chapter indicate different options and it will be finalised in the most suitable manner considering the dam security and creating minimum damage to the environment as the wastes have to be deposited in a way to cause any damage to the environment of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. 

He said that the State government is committed to construct a new dam and sees things in its seriousness as it affects the security of people. “It should not be construed as a dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but an issue that raises a threat to the people living downstream,'' Mr Joseph said. 

The State government will do everything for decommissioning the century-old dam and constructing a new dam in its place. He said that the matter is before the Supreme Court and the future of the dam depends on its final verdict. The government will take all necessary step for the decommissioning of the dam subject to the apex court order, he said.

 

Inhumane approach to labour problems

It was a stirring speech. President Obama promised Americans he will help them get back to work. The government will give more support for the unemployed and teachers; it will rebuild decayed infrastructure; it will give tax cuts to employees and employers alike; it will tax the super-rich. I wanted to believe his every word. But could he pull the magic rabbit out of the hat? For his first three years in office, Mr. Obama neglected the problems of U.S. workers because he was badly advised. 

His economic team was led by people, notably Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, focussed on banking; these advisers believed that restoring the fortunes of Wall Street was the key to creating jobs eventually. Recently Mr. Obama has brought in people more expert on labour issues, but they have to deal with deep-rooted rot in the jobs world. 

Calculating unemployment

 

America calculates unemployment in a peculiar way. Its official statistics do not include under-employment, nor are people without work for more than six months counted. These are instead classed as discouraged workers non-government economists estimate their number at three to five million, and they are indeed discouraged, suffering from family crises, alcoholism and depression the longer they are unemployed. 

The U.S. remedy for their plight is similar to the idea behind Britain's big society leave it to churches, voluntary associations and the community to sort out the personal and family consequences of long-term unemployment. In practice, that means individuals are thrown back on themselves, since one real effect of the recession has been to beggar many of these civil-society

Dalits stage protest in Madurai against police firing

Hundreds of angry Dalits gathered at the Government Rajaji Hospital here on Sunday and raised slogans against the State government and the police for the firing on Dalits at Paramakudi in which five persons were killed.

Chaos prevailed at the hospital as the protesters raised slogans after six Dalit youths — Siva, 19, Paramasivam, 20, Senthil Murugan, 23, Chaturagiri, 22, Yaesu, 22, and Yogesh, 27, — who were injured in the Paramakudi firing and also at Chintamani in Madurai were brought to the GRH for further treatment. 

Paramasivam had suffered a bullet injury on his head and is in a serious condition, according to hospital sources. Two Dalits — Jayaprakash, 19, and Balakrishnan 19, — belonging to Pattam in Sivaganga district, were seriously injured in the police firing at Chintamani on the outskirts of Madurai. 

Eyewitnesses said that they were travelling in an SUV sitting on top of the vehicle and when police intervened to stop them, they shouted against the police who shot at them. Puthiya Tamilagam founder president and MLA K. Krishnasamy visited the hospital and met the injured youth. 

Condemning the police firing as unwarranted, Dr. Krishnasamy demanded a thorough judicial enquiry and also said the firing could have been easily avoided by police. He said that he would raise the issue in the Assembly. “I have been visiting Paramakudi for the last 22 years to pay respects to Immanuel Sekaran, but this time I was not able to go there as police prevented me at Parthibanallur and asked me not to visit the village as the situation was tense,” he said. 

John Pandian's arrest was made following the violation of the ban order imposed by the Ramnathapuram Collector. It was a preventive arrest only, police sources said.

 

Actor Kanthimathi dead

Actor Kanthimathi, an artist known for her powerful performances in Tamil films, passed away here on Friday after a prolonged illness. She was 65.

Irrespective of the character she portrayed, Kanthimathi's performance bore a stamp of authenticity. Her performance in director Bharathiraja ‘Padhinaru Vayathinile', as Mayil's (actor Sreedevi's role) mother is a classic example of how she could essay any role in a convincing manner, paying particular attention to dialogue delivery and body language. 

Director Bharathiraja attributes her skill to her theatre background and devotion to acting. “She has performed as a child artist and even as a heroine in a couple of films, but somehow was not very active after that… at the time I was writing ‘Padhinaru Vayathinile', I was looking for someone who could speak the ‘vattara vazhakku' (local dialect) well, and I could not think of anyone else,” he says. 

A native of Manamadurai, she started acting when she was 11 and has acted in nearly 500 films. Her role in films such as ‘Mann Vasanai', ‘Karagattakkaran', ‘Muthu' won acclaim. She received the Kalaimamani Award from the State government.

Day, site chosen carefully by bombers?

New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) The day - Wednesday - and the site - Delhi High Court - were chosen purposefully by the bombers for maximum casualties, it would seem. It is the day of the week that is fixed for filing public interest litigations, and Gate No. 5 is the place where the litigants crowd to enter the court premises.

If the blast had taken place on any other day of the week, the casualties would certainly have been lower, said lawyers.

Wednesday is especially kept for taking up or filing public interest litigations before the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

The day was fixed for hearing PILs to make it convenient for both petitioners and respondents. Earlier, varying days were given for the hearings which caused a lot of chaos, a lawyer said. 

'Around 300 people were waiting outside Gate No 5 of the court when the blast took place. On regular days the number used to be half,' said an advocate Ashok Kumar.

The blast that took place at 10.13 a.m. killed 11 people and left 76 injured.

At the site, where the blast was marked by a crater, Bhagwan Das, an eyewitness, recounted his 'close encounter' with a moment of terror that left him numbed. 'I saw some people losing their hands and legs. Their bodies drenched in blood. God, it was terrible,' Das told IANS, himself in a state of shock.

A low-intensity blast had hit the high court in May this year.

 

Feasting the traditional way

I didn't know that it's called Sambharam . Buttermilk has always been just morru at home. So now this fancy new name intimidates me a little, and I realise that I don't know my own food as well as I thought I did. 

Authentic

The Onam Ela Sadya at Enté Keralam is the back-to-basics version of vegetarian Malayali cuisine. Without the bells and whistles and abundant greasiness of coconut oil our food is known for, the sadya's simplicity can be refreshing.

The spread is light and healthy and well-worth it if you can't, or don't know how, to dish up all 28 components on your own. 

The sadya here is specially prepared by Unnikrishnan Namboodiri. A priest-chef-ayurvedic doctor, he visits Chennai every year to fire up the vats for the festival.

My ela (the serving leaf) comes on a plate. The first course is rice and lentils, and we follow that up with generous servings of sambhar , pulissery and rasam .

The vegetables border the plate in the time-honoured order of eating. Beginning with the eruseri and kaalan (a yam and yogurt preparation), we move on to the avial (mixed vegetables), kichadi pachadi , and end with thoran (vegetable garnished with grated coconut).

Rajiv Assassination convict Nalini shifted to Vellore Prison

Nalini, the life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, was shifted from a Chennai jail to the high security Vellore Prison on Wednesday where her husband and death row convict in the same case, Murugan, is lodged.

Nalini, who was shifted to the Puzhal prison here last year following her complaint of harassment by authorities, was moved back to the Vellore Prison this morning, police said. 

Nalini was among the four convicts awarded death sentence in the former Prime Minister’s assassination case but it was commuted to life. The other two death row convicts are Santhan and Perarivalan. 

Typhoon Talas hits Japan Shikoku island

Slow-moving Typhoon Talas has made landfall in southern Japan, dumping heavy rain across a wide swath of the country. Public broadcaster NHK says one person has died and three others are missing. 

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Saturday that the centre of the typhoon, the 12th of the season, had reached the island of Shikoku and was moving north at less than 10 km per hour. Because of the storm’s slow speed, the agency warned of heavy rain and strong winds centered in south-central Japan that could lead to flooding and landslides. Kyodo News said 2,200 people were evacuated in 12 prefectures. 

NHK and Kyodo said a 75-year-old woman died when she was swept away in a swollen river in Tokushima prefecture, but authorities could not immediately confirm that.

After Irene: When will the power come back on?

Cold showers. Meals in the dark. Refrigerators full of spoiled food. No TV. No Internet. Up and down the East Coast, patience is wearing thin among the nearly 1 million people still waiting for the electricity to come back on after Hurricane Irene knocked out the power last weekend.

 With the waters receding across much of the flood-stricken region, homeowners are mucking out their basements and dragging soggy furniture to the curb. But the wait for power drags on, with an estimated 895,000 homes and businesses still without electricity, down from a peak of 9.6 million. 

And criticism of the utility companies is mounting. In Rhode Island, a state senator is calling for an investigation, and Massachusetts’ attorney general is demanding information from utilities on how they are dealing with the crisis, including how many crews are in the field and their response time.

The industry has defended its efforts, noting it warned the public that a storm like Irene was bound to cause prolonged outages and pointing out that flooding and toppled trees caused severe damage to utility poles, substations and other equipment. Irene has been blamed for at least 46 deaths in 13 states. With the streets drying out in hard-hit New Jersey, some towns faced new problems, namely trash bins overflowing with waterlogged debris. In Vermont, with roads slowly reopening, the National Guard’s airlift of food, water and other supplies to once cut-off towns was winding down.

The White House declared a major disaster in Vermont, clearing the way for federal aid for repairs. The declaration, signed by President Barack Obama, makes individual assistance available for homeowners. Politicians have been inundated with complaints from people who say it is taking too long. Rhode Island state Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. on Thursday called on the state Public Utilities Commission to investigate National Grid.

William Bryan, deputy assistant secretary of at the U.S. Energy Department, said it typically takes at least few days to restore power after a storm like Irene, and National Grid has done a great job. They ought to be commended for that. You are well ahead of the curve for restoration. Along the East Coast, deep exhaustion set in as work turned from pumping polluted floodwaters out of homes to keeping an eye out for looters, scavengers or more welcome visitors such as FEMA representatives and insurance adjusters.