Kaiga sabotage of trinium pollution: Hyderabad relatively safe from nuclear radiation, despite NFC

2009
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Nov 29: Hyderabad, which meets the uranium needs of all nuclear power plants in the country, is relatively safe from radiation hazards.
Though most of the city-based Nuclear Fuel Complex is not under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, it has developed its own safety mechanism over the years to prevent radiation hazards to its employees and people living in the vicinity.
There have been quite a few instances of mishaps in the NFC since it was set up in 1971, but there's no evidence about the leakage of radiation into the environment. NFC witnessed accidents in the past. The recent one was on November 17, 2002 at its uranium oxide plant. Environmentalists then warned that large dosage of radioactive material was released into Hyderabad air then.
The DAE was quick to obtain a safety certification for NFC to "clear all doubts" in the minds of people about radiation hazard from the plant.
Moreover, a nuclear fuel processing unit like NFC is not as hazardous in terms of radiation leakage as a nuclear power plant. NFC enriches uranium from ore before it supplies to nuclear fuel plants in India.
Currently only a part of NFC is under IAEA safeguards. Now that it has been receiving uranium supplies from other countries, the department of atomic energy is bound to open some more parts of the plant
under safeguards for processing and fabricating the nuclear fuel, according to official sources.
"The adverse effect of sudden exposure to radiation on health is solely decided by the duration of the exposure. If a person is exposed for a brief period, it can cause skin irritation or skin cancer in the worst scenario. However if they are exposed for a longer duration, it can even cause blood cancer, genetic mutations and birth defects in the offspring," warns senior consultant radiologist Dr B Murali.
NFC officials claim that those who had designed NFC took enough care to prevent damage to human health and environment through radiation exposure. To ensure that enough safety mechanism is always in place, the Baba Atomic Research Centre has set up a health physics unit at NFC. It carries out in plant radiation and industrial hygiene survey, besides monitoring the health of workers at regular intervals.
NFC workers posted in the controlled area are monitored through thermo luminescent dosimeters for external exposure. Other employees in NFC are also monitored for lung 'uranium' burden.
"Studies conducted by Institute of Genetics and Hospital for Genetic Diseases could not detect any adverse work environment at NFC," a senior official said.
The safeguards notwithstanding, a plant dealing with radioactive substances always stand as a threat to human and animal life as well as environment. There have been complaints from NFC employees that they are exposed to radiation.
Radiation effect is felt more on pregnant women, says Dr Murali adding "women pregnant for less than three months are the most vulnerable as the child growing in the womb will get affected by radiation exposure. Depending on the stage of its development, the foetal growth gets stunted. She is very likely to give birth to an abnormal baby".

Visa guidelines for Indians travelling to the UK; a word of caution for Indian students against bogus agents

By Syed Akbar
The UK government has issues a set of guidelines for people including students seeking visas to the United Kingdom. Here are the guidelines:
"The UK welcomes genuine travellers. If you intend to travel to the UK, you require a valid passport and UK visa. The UK's Visa Services are committed to making the visa application process as easy as possible. We would like to give our customers the following advice: Please read the visa information on official UK Government websites and provided by UK Visa Services' commercial partner, VFS Global. For UK visa enquiries and information, customers can call 080-40084008. Calls are charged at local or STD rates depending on your location," according to UK authorities..
1. There is no charge for visa application forms. They are available on the VFS website and from VFS visa application centres (see VFS website for locations). Current visa fees are on the VFS website.
2. Obtain good immigration advice. You do not need an agent to make a UK visa application. But if you would like more advice, please choose an agent carefully. They should charge reasonable fees. They cannot influence visa decisions, which are made by UK Visa Services. If you are cheated, please report this to the police.
3. An agent cannot guarantee to get you a visa. The decision to issue a visa is made only by visa officers working for the UK's Visa Services.
4. Please complete your visa application form fully and submit all the correct documents. If you submit false information, forged documents or use a false identity, you will be detected and your application will be refused. You also face a ban on travelling to the UK for 10 years.
5. Your biometric data (fingerscans and photograph of your face) are taken when you submit your visa application. This helps us to protect your identity from being used by others. It also tells us if you try you apply in a false identity.
Beware of job scams. Many people in India are being cheated with job offers in the UK that do not exist. Please stop and think carefully before you part with your money, your passport, your identity or your current job.
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For students
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1. Before you make a student visa application, please read the current published Tier 4 PBS guidance carefully. It is available at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/pbs/Tier4migrantguidance.pdf
2.You must have a Visa Letter from your chosen UK education institution. This institution must be registered to recruit international students and the Visa Letter must make you an unconditional offer. You must submit all the original documents with your visa application that were assessed by the institution and led to the offer. These documents must be listed in the Visa Letter.
3.You must also provide evidence of your financial ability to pay the course fees and maintain yourself in the UK. The amount you are required to show depends on the duration of your course and whether you are studying inside or outside London. You must provide evidence of any fees not already paid, in addition to your maintenance costs.
There is no cut off date for student visa applications to go to the UK. There is no quota.
4. Please be aware that it is possible that your education provider's status on the sponsor's register may change. Please check the status of your chosen education provider before you apply for your visa. Its status may also change between your visa being issued and you travelling to the UK. You are therefore advised to check the sponsor's register before you travel at:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/whatisthepointsbasedsystem/sponsoringstudents.
5. If the education provider has been suspended, you are advised not to travel until its status has been resolved. If the education provider's licence has actually been withdrawn before you travel, your visa will be cancelled and you will not be permitted to enter the UK.
Websites: http://www.vfs-uk-in.com/; http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

Economic slowdown has no impact on Indian students pursuing higher studies in the UK, says British deputy high commissioner, Chennai

2009
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Nov 17: The economic slowdown had little impact on Indian students seeking higher education in the United Kingdom, says Mike Nithavrianakis, British deputy high commissioner.
Mike, who was in the city on a maiden visit after assuming charge in Chennai last month, told this reporter on
Tuesday that in fact, the number of students from South India seeking UK visas had increased. "The economic conditions are not encouraging and yet it has not impacted Indian students seeking higher education in the UK," he pointed out.
Stating that there's no cap on the number of visas issued to Indian students, Mike said the "UK welcomes genuine travellers". There is no cut off date for student visa applications to go to the UK. "There is no quota," he adds.
The British deputy high commissioner, referring to job scams, said many people in India are being cheated with job offers in the UK that do not exist. "Please stop and think carefully before you part with your money, your passport, your identity or your current job."
He has a word of caution too for Indian students. "If the education provider (university or college) has been
suspended, you are advised not to travel until its status has been resolved."

"Copenhagen must deliver a comprehensive politically binding agreement, under the UNFCCC. This must cover all the major issues including binding economy-wide emissions reductions from developed countries, significant action from developing countries to slow their emissions growth, and finance. Only this can deliver a legally binding treaty which puts the world on a trajectory to a maximum global average temperature increase of two degrees and provides a fair deal for developing countries. We want the Copenhagen agreement to lead to immediate action, without waiting years for final legal conclusion and ratification."

The UK is working for a legally binding treaty which puts the world on a trajectory to a maximum global average temperature increase of two degrees and provides a fair deal for developing countries. "We are 
going all out over the next few weeks to get an ambitious, fair and effective deal"..
Mike attended 12 meetings in 36 hours he was in the city, before leaving for Chennai. During his brief stay here, he interacted with Chief Minister K Rosaiah, leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu and a host of officials and leaders in a bid to further build the bilateral trade tie-up between the UK and Andhra Pradesh, explain and share about the problem of climate change and global warming, and create awareness about educational opportunities in the UK.
"The UK is pushing for a comprehensive politically binding agreement at Copenhagen, under the UNFCCC, which also sets out a very clear timetable to a legally binding treaty."
He said the UK wants the Copenhagen agreement to lead to immediate action, without waiting years for final legal conclusion and ratification.

Gulf Immigration racket: Illegal, unregistered job recruitment agents adopt a new strategy to "push" illiterate Indian women to Arab countries

Immigration racket has assumed a new menace. After Kallivalli, it's "pushing". Pushing, in immigration racketers parlance, is greasing the hands of immigration officials to literally push through ineligible and illiterate women and men for jobs abroad. These people, with emigration check required stamp on their passports, have to undergo a lengthy immigration process. But "pushing" makes their journey easy, without any obstacles at the immigration desk.

2009
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Nov 21: Half a dozen women from the city are now stranded on the streets of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia after an illegal recruitment agent duped them of employment in the kingdom.
The illiterate women were "employed" as servants in Arab families with a promise of a "good salary",
accommodation and food. But their "employers" changed thrice in the last four months. The women shuttled between "employers" in Jeddah and Mecca and when they learnt that they had been duped, they settled down under the Sitteen flyover in the Saudi Arabian port city.
Ayesha Sultana, Fatima Bibi and four others are victims of human trafficking of a different kind, popularly known in immigration circles as "pushing". Illegal and unregistered recruiting agents "push" illiterate and semi-skilled women and men to Arab countries without their going through the mandatory immigration formalities. According to sources, at least 12 women are "pushed" through immigration to Arab countries from Mumbai every week.
Travails began for Ayesha Sultana and others the moment they landed in Saudi Arabia, after paying about Rs 1.5 lakh each to an unregistered agent in Mumbai. An agent in Hyderabad, also unregistered, facilitated their travel through his counterpart in Mumbai.
The victims have now approached the Indian mission in Jeddah seeking action against the unregistered agents, who had cheated them. "We are now living under a flyover. None of the employers paid us salaries. We did not get food on time and often we used to starve. The agents have duped us after collecting huge amounts from us," Ayesha Sultana said from Jeddah.
Another victim Fatima said "after arriving in Riyadh I was moved frequently from one household to another. When I contacted the recruitment agent, he promised to bring back to India, but handed me over to another family in Mecca."
When contacted the local agent, Sohail, said he had collected just Rs 1000 from each of the women. Sohail blamed his Mumbai counterpart Khaled Ansari of Khaled Enterprises for the women's trouble in foreign land. "I have no role at all," he said seeking to thrown the entire blame on Khaled.
Admitting that his recruitment company has not been registered, Khaled told this correspondent that it was his first batch of women domestic helps sent to Saudi Arabia. "There's a problem there. We will sort it out soon," he said.
Ayesha, a divorcee and mother of five-year-old daughter suffering with heart valve problem, sought employment in Saudi Arabia so that she could treat her daughter in a corporate hospital back home. Fatima too is a divorcee. The other women are middle aged.

National Epilepsy Day November 17: Myths, misconceptions, stigma still continue with epilepsy or seizures

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Nov 15: Epilepsy shrouds in myths. No other disease is as enigmatic as epilepsy and despite so much advancement in science, people continue to hold their myths about this neurological disorder. The common myth is that it is a mental illness and affects one's intellectual functioning.
As India observes the national epilepsy day on Tuesday, health researchers and medical experts clarify that epilepsy is not a psychological condition and it is not contagious. It is a common problem with four to 10 out of every 1000 people suffering from it. There's no cure for epilepsy and yet it could be controlled effectively.
"Seizures are caused by a transient, excessive and abnormal discharge of nerve cells. It can be treated. Any person can develop epilepsy at any time and there's no age restriction," says senior neurologist Dr M
Tripathi.
A disease surrounded by myths, people try to "lessen" the problem by putting an object, mainly made of iron, in the mouth of the patient. This many feel will prevent the patient from biting the tongue. Iron objects are also thrust into the hands of the person under seizure. This, doctors say, will only aggravate the problem, exposing the person to the risk of injury.
"The patient should be placed on his side so the tongue falls away and to the side. Do not try to restrain the person. Though there's no known cure for epilepsy, the problem can be fully or partially controlled through proper medication," he points out.
Though the brain is involved in epilepsy, it does not affect the intellect of an individual. It is not a mental illness. Historical records show that several world leaders including Alexander the Great, Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, dynamite discoverer Alfred Nobel, eminent physicist Sir Isaac Newton and ancient mathematical genius Pythagorus experienced seizures.
According to neurologist and medical author Dr S Jain, one in every 10 people may experience a seizure in their lifetime. However, the seizure may not necessarily be due to epilepsy. "There are several myths that
surround the disorder. The problem could be tackled quite easily if we create awareness among people. This is because epilepsy has become common all over the world," he points out.
Even as the disease is surrounded by misconceptions, a team of scientists at Cardiff University discovered that studying the way a person's brain ''sings" could shed light on epilepsy and schizophrenia. Further studies on this aspect will help scientists understand the reason behind neurological problems like epilepsy and find a possible cure.
According to them, a person's brain produces a unique electrical oscillation at a particular frequency when he or she looks at a visual pattern. The frequency of this oscillation appears to be determined by the concentration of the neurotransmitter called GABA or gamma-aminobutyric-acid.
The more GABA is present, the higher the frequency or "note" of the oscillation. GABA is a key inhibitory neurotransmitter and is essential for the normal operation of the brain.

National Epilepsy Day November 17: What triggers epilepsy, do's and don'ts in case of seizure

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Do's & Don'ts

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1. Follow doctor's prescription. Do not change the medicine or alter the dose
2. Do not change regular food habits or regular sleep time
3. Do not get excited
4. Do not take alcohol and avoid smoking
5. Avoid swimming or driving without a companion.
6. In case of a seizure, turn the patient to the side and loosen any tight clothing
7. Do not restrain convulsive movements
8. Allow free breathing without crowding.

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What triggers epilepsy?
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Epilepsy is triggered by several factors.

In case of children the factors include fever, birth or brain defects, infections like meningitis and head injuries.

In the case of adults the causative factors may be reaction by drugs, excessive consumption of alcohol, head injuries, brain tumours and lack of sleep.