Drivers fatigue is a very dangerous condition and the root cause of road and rail accidents.
The term Drivers Fatigue refers to a condition when people feel tired, drowsy or asleep while driving.
Abhishi Bhatia, XI G, AIS Noida
Jaspal Singh, loco pilot of Prayagraj Express, had been on the driver’s seat for 13 hours 35 minutes, when his engine rammed into the stationary Gorakdham Express near Kanpur, causing five deaths and forty injuries. Driver fatigue is a very dangerous condition and the root cause of road and rail accidents. Do these drivers get enough sleep? Are they given rest periods? Official documents reveal loco pilots of Rajdhani were on night duties at an alarming rate of 75% of their alloted duty hours. Early hours of the morning and middle of the afternoon are the peak hours for road and rail accidents. “Driver fatigue not only impacts his alertness and response time but also increases his chance of being involved in accidents,” says Abhinav, a student of class XI. Driver languor and lethargy can make the driver miss traffic signals, ignore lanes and even experience short bursts of micro sleep. Due to long working hours, there is lack of sleep which may make the driver’s eyes feel sore and jaded and the driver may also have a drowsy and groggy feeling,” shares Anantdeep, of class XII. However, safety of the driver and the passengers must always be the top priority of the concerned authorities. “Safety management standards are being heavily compromised. The morale of drivers stand pulverized,” retired driver M R Sabapati commented.
Chinese cloudbursts on Leh?
What is a Cloud Burst?
A cloudburst is an extreme form of rainfall, sometimes mixed with hail and
thunder, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions.
Abhishi & Kavya Bhargava, XI-G, AIS Noida
At least 170 people were killed and about 500 went missing after heavy downpours triggered flash floods devastating Leh in the Ladakh region of Kashmir. The source of this cloudburst was an intense convective cloud cluster that developed over East of Leh on Aug 5, 2010. This d cloudburst caused loss of life and property everywhere, leaving behind chaos.
There are different notions behind the cause of this vitriolic cloudburst. Researchers believe that it has been caused by the Chinese WEATHER BOMB. Chinese have been developing artificial cloudburst experiments over enemy countries. The Himalayan Town of Leh is trying to recoup from the devastating effects of these trenchant cloudbursts.
Superbug or a super ploy!
Sankalp Dikshit, XI G, AIS Noida
Scientists from UK have traced down an infection to India, which is resistant to antibiotics. Reportedly, 37 cases of this infection have been tracked in Britain while its effect is being felt on countries like US, Canada and Australia. Britain has alleged that most of the people, who came from India, for medication, carried this infection along with them.
Rubbishing this theory the Indian scientists claim that the western countries are exaggerating the entire thing. “It is not as if people coming here for treatment will go back with this infection. These are all unscientific claims. Because of the medical tourism boom, this could be an attempt to defame the country,” says Dr Prashant Misra, a Physician. These developments have sprung Indian government into action.
Smothering Oil Spills
Kavya Bhargava, XI G, AIS Noida
After the disastrous British Petroleum oil spill, one must have expected things to change. However, on the contrary the recent Mumbai oil spill proved all of us wrong. The collision of MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia III which took place on Aug 7, 2010 set the city of Mumbai fearing of a potential environmental disaster. The collision resulted in the tilting of one of the ships and thus the leakage. As on Aug 8, MSC Chitra had tilted 80 degrees and the total oil spill was estimated to be nearly 800 tonnes.
Environment disaster: The oil spills adversely affected the flora and fauna. The mangrove belt are in the danger of being destroyed. The toxic spills are feared to affect over 200 species of marine life. The debris resulting from the Collison are feared to cause navigational problems.
Damage Control: Operation Chitra made hectic efforts to combat the oil spill with eight coast guard helicopters spraying anti-dispersants to over 2 nautical miles from the capsized ship-one of the biggest operations on Indian waters. Though Chitra stabilized on Aug 9, it was still tilting a good 60 degrees, but the oil had stopped flowing.
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