Efforts on to check oil spill spreading along Konkan coast

 

Efforts continued on a war-footing Monday to combat the oil spill from a Panaman ship that crashed into another vessel in Mumbai harbour as it threatened to spread further along the Konkan coastline.

Cargo vessel MCS Chitra, which was damaged after a collision with stationary MV Khalijia-III, gets submerged as fears of an oil spill makes authorities take up anti-pollution operations off the coast of Mumbai.

 

 

 

 

 

Hectic efforts, meanwhile, continued to combat the oil spill spanning around two miles in the Arabian Sea, three days after Panaman cargo carrier MSC Chitra and a St. Kitts ship MV Khalijia-III collided outside the Mumbai harbour, barely five km from south Mumbai.

In the biggest such operation mounted so far in the Indian sea waters, authorities have deployed five Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships, one helicopter and one small aircraft for controlling the massive oil spill, an official said.

 

 

 

The affected ship, MSC Chitra, was loaded with an estimated 2,600 tonnes of oil, 300 tonnes of diesel and 89 tonnes of lubricating oil at the time of the accident.

The ship has also dangerously tilted at nearly 70 degrees and nearly 30 huge containers have so far fallen off into the sea.

Some containers are floating in the choppy Arabian Sea in the busy navigation channels giving entry and exit into the country's one of the oldest and largest ports - the Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust respectively.

 

 

 

In view of the serious hazard the floating containers pose to vessels navigating in the area, the shipping traffic has been kept on hold for the time being. Ships like the ICG Sankalp, Amrit Kaur, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Kamla Devi and C-145 - have joined the ICG AOPV Sangram, which was deployed since Sunday to monitor the oil spill and guide relief efforts. A Chetak helicopter and a small Dornier aircraft were pressed into service for aerial spray of dispersants to tackle the thick oil slick.

 

 

 

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COMMONWEALTH IS NOT COMMON WEALTH

Shocking: Liquid soap for Rs 9,379

The Suresh Kalmadi-led Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) may have some more explaining to do. A scrutiny of the final inventory and price list of several “overlays” — movable fixtures and fittings for venues and stadia — hired from four foreign firms reveals major anomalies.

The total cost of hiring these "overlays" is over Rs 600 crore and the inventory list shows several cases where there is a huge price differential for the same item.

The overlays include first-aid kits, water dispensers, lecterns, office stationery, staircases, bookshelves, curtains, doormats, barricade golf carts, fire extinguishers and emergency lights.

Consider:

* After a bidding process, the OC selected four foreign firms for their mega turnkey deal and, as it now transpires, while one vendor, Nussli of Switzerland, for instance, is charging Rs 187 for renting out each "liquid soap dispenser," another firm, British consortium ESAJV, is charging Rs 9,379 for the same item. While the Hong Kong-based Pico Deepali Overlays Consortium is charging the OC Rs 2 for a single disposable glass, the ESAJV consortium is charging India Rs 37 per glass.

* All the hired items were split into seven operational "clusters" covering all the 60 venues of the Games. Each cluster is made up of specific stadia and venues.

* For instance, a 82.5 KVA generator set is hired by OC for Rs 4.65 lakh from Pico Deepali. A generator of the same specifications was hired from Nussli for Rs 14.58 lakh.

* There is a difference of almost Rs 60 lakh for hiring a single public display system of identical size and pitch between Pico Deepali and ESAJV with several such systems being hired for a single games cluster.

Asked about these discrepancies, senior OC members said it was now standard international practice for overlays to be rented per cluster for large sporting events and that the contracts were awarded to the four foreign vendors since their bids were "overall" the lowest.

They said that in such transactions, it was understood that a large quantity of the overlays would be refurbished or brought in second-hand, while other items like furniture, carpets, stationery and toiletries would obviously be new.

Said A K Saxena, OC's Joint Director General (overlays and procurement), told The Indian Express: "There are a few internationally reputed firms who deal with overlays and we have no option but to negotiate on the basis of entire clusters. There may be a price difference between identical items but we have only looked at the lowest bidder for entire clusters and there may also be difference of quality in the items."

Other OC officials admit it took them almost two years to resolve the muddle over overlay rentals since the agencies constructing the venues showed a reluctance to furbish the interiors themselves. Lalit Bhanot, OC's Secretary General, said that they had -- at an earlier stage -- requested for experts from the Central Vigilance Commission and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to be part of the hire procedure.

"When no expert joined us, we did the procurement ourselves and picked companies which were not only the lowest bidders but had also done events like the Beijing Olympics and the FIFA World Cup," he said.
He admitted that after the Games, the empty venues would be handed back by the OC to the administrative bodies -- to be refurbished.

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History Mystery

History  Mystery Have  a history teacher explain this----- if they  can. Abraham  Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.   John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in  1946. Abraham Lincoln was elected  President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was  elected President in 1960. Both were  particularly concerned with civil rights.   Both wives lost their children while living  in the White House. Both Presidents were  shot on a Friday. Both Presidents were shot  in the head Now it gets really  weird. Lincoln 's secretary was named  Kennedy. Kennedy's Secretary was named   Lincoln . Both were assassinated by  Southerners. Both were succeeded by  Southerners named Johnson. Andrew  Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in  1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy,  was born in 1908. John  Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born  in 1839. Lee  Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was  born in  1939. Both  assassins were known by their three names.   Both names are composed of fifteen letters.   Now hang on to your seat.   Lincoln was shot at the theater named  'Ford'. Kennedy was shot in a car called '   Lincoln ' made by 'Ford'. Lincoln was  shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid  in a warehouse Kennedy was shot from a  warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a  theater. Booth and Oswald were  assassinated before their trials. And  here's the kicker... A week before   Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland   A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with  Marilyn Monroe. WHO  FIGURED THIS OUT? INCREDIBLE    1)  Fold a NEW  $20  bill in half... \ 2)  Fold again, taking care to fold it exactly as  below 3)  Fold the other end, exactly as before  4)  Now, simply turn it  over... What  a coincidence! A simple geometric fold creates a  catastrophic premonition printed on all $20  bills!!! COINCIDENCE? YOU  DECIDE As  if that wasn't enough... Here  is what you've seen... Firstly  The Pentagon on fire...         Then   The  Twin  Towers. ..And  now .. look at this! TRIPLE  COINCIDENCE ON A SIMPLE $20  BILL Disaster  (Pentagon) Disaster  ( Twin Towers ) Disaster  (Osama)??? It  gets even better 9 + 11 = $20! Creepy  huh? Send this to as many people as you can,  cause: Hey,  this is one history lesson most people probably  will not  mind reading!