Sulphur 2013: Fill & Download for Free

In 2013, I stayed with a consul general's assistant from a western country while in Chennai. He lived by himself - no wife, no kids, no roommates.He had a fully furnished four bedroom (all ensuite - three full, one 3/4) apartment in Poes Garden (same neighborhood as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) . Marble floors, huge western style kitchen with giant oven and fridge. He also had on demand hot water (though it smelled heavily of sulphur), and empty tree lined streets that were reminiscent of typical American suburbs.While the power went out regularly in the rest of the city, theirs was almost never turned off because the Chief Minister's house was in the same neighborhood. He said she had backup generators just in case of an extended outage, not to mention the half dozen armed guards at the gate.If I remember correctly, he said the rent the embassy paid was in the neighborhood of $4000 USD a month not including utilities or his two maids. My guess is that it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 square feet.Here's a photo of our room:Formal dining room and entrance to kitchen:Living room:And remember he's just one of the assistants.In 2008, I had a similar experience staying with another consul general's assistant from a western country (though not as rich) in Bogota. It was in a very nice apartment in a wealthy area. Two bedrooms, one full ensuite with a walk in closet, one shared bathroom with a rainfall shower. Large open plan kitchen/dining/living room with Ikea style furnishings and a large fireplace in the middle of the room.

Sterlite industries: Facts highlighted in 20 points, followed by truths1992 - Sterlite was suppose to setup in Maharashtra/Gujarat/Goa. But thrown out due to environmental causes.1994 - ADMK Jayalalitha laid the foundation stone in TN1996 - DMK Regime, TN Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) issued the plant a licence to operate ( without seeking NoC from Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) )1997, Locals complained of headache, coughing and choking due to smoke emanating from the plant.1998, the factory was closed by the Madras High Court for the reasons listed by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)Contaminating the groundwater with arsenic, lead, selenium, cadmium, aluminium and copperTampering the online air monitors;1999, within 45 days of the earlier report, NEERI gave clean chit to Sterlite to resume operation2001, Tuticorin residents complained about toxic wastewater2004, Supreme Court Monitoring Committee (SCMC) team learnt that a no of proposed expansion plants had been built already.2004, Within few days, the Min of Env & Forests issued a clearance certification for plants constructed without permission. (Congress/DMK were the respective Cabinet Minister/MoS in UPA-I ministry of Env&Forests)2004, TNPCB submitted its report confirming Sterlite was engaged in unlicenced production2010, the Madras HC ordered the closure of Sterlite factory for constantly releasing noxious effluents in air2010, Supreme Court issued stay on Madras High Court order, and gave free hand to Sterlite to resume its unlicensed production2013, Locals at Tuticorin experienced suffocation, coughing, eye irritation, miscarriages and severe discomfort due to gas leak.2013, NEERI found large scale deposits of hazardous chemicals in the ground around the plant,2013, TNPCB and other environment monitoring agencies submitted evidences against Sterlite towards causing pollution.2013, ADMK Jayalalalitha/TNPCB issued a closure order as Sterlite's Sulphuric Acid Plant–I recorded levels of sulphur dioxide nearly three times the permissible limits2013, Sterlite found operating without taking renewal consents from TNPCB. But Tribunal announced the TN Govt closure order as void. Slashed minimum penalties(Rs.100 crore) but gave them free hand to operate!2016, TNPCB issued notice to Sterlite for dumping copper slag along the Uppar river and polluting the river2018, Sterlite Copper proposes to expand the facility and add a second unit in the factory2018, Massive protests started against Sterlite. On the 100th day of protests, protesters thronged the Collector office demanding justice. Due to chain of violent incidents, police opened fire on the innocent civilians participated in the protests, causing life of 12 and injuring 90+ civilians.Some truthsCentral government always stands by Sterlite irrespective of Sterlite evading Rs. 750 crore import duty. Honest tax payers? (Sterlite VP gets bail in Rs 750-cr customs evasion case)Sterlite Vedanta is the top fund donor to both congress and BJP (BJP, Congress accepted foreign funding too, Vedanta top donor - Firstpost)You cannot drive your vehicle without a pollution certificate. But you can operate a highly pollution causing industry (Red Zone) for years without obtaining required NoC’s from Pollution boardDMK, Congress were hand-in-hand helped Sterlite industries to reach this feat of delivering record production and causing pollution. P.Chidambaram was a director earlier at Sterlite (Vedanta). But due to massive protests now Congress is pointing fingers at BJP and DMK pointing fingers at ADMKTribunal rulings gave freehand for pollution causing industries. Now industries can cause maximum environmental damages and need to pay only minimum penalty (if caught).Sterlite plant (4 lakh tpa) has got only 60 metre stacks against a legal minimum of 103 metres5. In 2008, when Sterlite operating at 70–170 tpa, Dept of Community Medicine, Tirunelveli Medical College did a study “Health Status and Epidemiological Study Around 5 km Radius of Sterlite Industries (India) Limited, Thoothukudi.”. Report findingsa. Iron content in the groundwater were 17 and 20 times higher than permissible levels prescribed by the BSI for drinking water. Cause of chronic fatigue, joint pain, and abdominal pain.b. Respiratory diseases were 14% more prevalent in the areas surrounding the factory. Incidence of asthmatic bronchitis is 3% more.c. More people suffering from Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) disorders near the factory.

Image Source - Indian Acid Attack Survivor Reshma Quereshi Walks at New York Fashion WeekThis is Reshma Qureshi, she was born in East Mumbai, India, as a Taxi Driver's daughter. Just another teenage girl, content and full of life. On May 19, 2014, at the age of 17 she was attacked with Sulphuric Acid by her estranged Brother in law, and two other assailants. The attack was actually aimed at her sister Gulshan, but Reshma was mistaken for her.After the attack, she felt suicidal for a short period of time as she was left scarred on her face and arms and lost one of her eyes completely. After healing, she overcame her struggles with depression and became the face of Make love not scars campaign, which aims to give a voice to those who have been assaulted by acid attacks and campaigns for the end of the sale of acid in India.Fb page - Make Love Not ScarsFor the 2016 New York Fashion Week, she opened for Indian designer Archana kochhar and wore a stunning cream and floral floor-length gown.Reshma stated 'This walk was important to me because there are so many girls like me who are survivors of acid attacks, and this will give them courage. And it will also go to show people who judge people based on their appearance that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover - you should look at everyone though the same eyes.'Source - Reshma Qureshi - WikipediaThis picture shows her resilience and how unhesitatingly strong she is. She has come to the aid of various other acid attack victims in numerous ways.Even after all these reported cases of such horrific abuses and even though India’s supreme court banned over the counter sale of powerful acids in 2013, but they’re still fairly easy to get.An Acid Attack Survivor Shares How Shockingly Easy It To Buy Acid In IndiaImage source - Make Love Not Scars, Author at The Better IndiaThis is another acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal, with her partner and campaign supporter Alok Dixit, talking about the root cause of acid attacks.Read more - Laxmi Agarwal - WikipediaHow many more Reshmas and Laxmis do we need, to have stricter laws for the sale of acids, I will never know.