The Hindu 17.12.2009

Corporation firm on removing unauthorised structures

Special Correspondent

Photo: M. Periasamy

EQUIPPING THEM: Mayor R. Venkatachalam (second right) handing over equipment for the removal of unauthorised constructions to the special demolition squad of the Coimbatore Corporation on Wednesday. —

COIMBATORE: By procuring more equipment, the Coimbatore Corporation is conveying to building owners in the city that the drive against unauthorised structures is not only being sustained but also stepped up.

The Corporation has bought five drillers costing about Rs.40,000 each and two cutters costing about Rs.50,000 each to demolish structures that have come up in violation of building rules.

Structures

While adherence to the rules is one objective of the drive, facilitating smooth flow of traffic is the other.

Unauthorised structures built on spaces meant only for parking of vehicles are the prime target of the drive.

This is aimed at reducing space for parking and increasing it for traffic flow on the roads.

The special squad is headed by Town Planning Officer M. Soundararajan.

Assistant Town Planning Officers S. Ravichandran (North and West Zones), T. Bhuvaneshwari (East Zone) and D.T. Jothilingam (South Zone) co-ordinate the demolitions.

The equipment was handed over to the special squad for demolition formed by Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra. The drillers and cutters helped in speeding up the demolition process.

A 10-member team of workers that breaks down the structures was provided with uniform and other equipment such as cable cutters.

Armed with all these, the squad swooped on a commercial building that had allegedly encroached two cents at a busy traffic junction near Alvernia School on Tiruchi Road.

Traffic

The building housed a hotel and fish stall and it impeded smooth flow of traffic by causing the formation of a blind curve.

“We will form a bell mouth access at this spot to enable clear visibility and accident-free flow of traffic,” Assistant Town Planning Officer S. Ravichandran said.

Apart from the Commissioner, Mayor R. Venkatachalam, Deputy Mayor N. Karthik, Town Planning Officer M. Soundararajan, South Zone Chairman P. Pynthamil, West Zone Chairman and member of State-level Encroachment Removal Committee V.P. Selvaraj and Town Planning Chairman P. Krishnamoorthi were present when the equipment were handed over.

The Hindu 11.12.2009

Plastic waste sorting equipment launched

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: And, now technology that helps segregate plastic based on the polymer to curb wastage during recycling or filter out the bad mangoes in the bunch to ensure that only good fruit enters the market.

The Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) unit in Chennai on Wednesday transferred to industry two technologies developed at its laboratories on the Taramani campus of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

The plastic waste sorting system project supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests deploys Near Infra Red (NIR) spectroscopy to identify poly-ethylene terephthelate (PET) materials before recycling. The equipment, which uses NIR rays in the 700-2,500 nano metre electromagnetic spectrum, will segregate different kinds of plastic on a scale of sensor values for each base polymer.

Apart from carrying immense social benefit, the equipment is expected to address a major issue for recycling industries — the enormous wastage when different types of plastic get mixed up during recycling of PET. At present, the equipment can differentiate six types of plastic — poly-ethylene, poly-ethylene terephthelate, poly-propylene, poly-vinyl chloride, high density poly ethylene and poly-styrene. However, the experimental lab model sorts only PET on a throughput of 200 kg per hour. A more diverse differentiation of the plastic types and higher throughput is possible in industrial application, scientists said. The technology was transferred to Bangalore-based Dintis Technologies.

CEERI also showcased a device that segregates good mangoes from the bad at the maturation stage. The X-ray imaging-based mango sorting system uses the same technique deployed at baggage screening at airports and helps detects spongy tissue or seed weevil infestation that are not apparent externally. The machine is useful for traders exporting bulk quantities of exotic varieties such as the Alphonse mango. The research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology uses non-destructive screening of mangoes and maps the x-ray image for internal decay. In lab conditions the equipment with a capacity for scanning 1.2 tonnes of mangoes per hour achieved a detection accuracy rate of 95 per cent for spongy tissue and 98 per cent for seed weevil. The technology was transferred to Proteck Circuits and Systems in Chennai.

Pilani-headquartered CEERI Director Chandra Shekhar exchanged the technology transfer agreements with K. Balasubramanian, managing director, Proteck Systems and Dintis Thomas, managing director of Dintis Technologies. R. K. Gupta, head, Technology Networking and Business Development, CEERI, Nagesh Iyer, Director, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Chander Parkash, DST scientist were present.