General strike set to hit nation, may spare city

New Delhi/Mumbai: Having rejected the Centre's belated bid to persuade them to drop their plan for the 24-hour general strike on Tuesday, central trade unions commanding the allegiance of lakhs of workers stepped up their efforts to turn the protest into a crippling nationwide shutdown.      Life will be severely impacted across the country for 24 hours if the trade unions succeed in pulling off the show of strength and solidarity in support of their demands: an end to contract labour, amendment  to the Minimum Wages Act, an increase in gratuity payout and compulsory registration of trade unions within 45 days.      Among the sectors that are likely to be affected by the strike are the oil and gas industry, banks and insurance, aviation, defence (ordnance factories), posts and telecom, ports and the I-T department.      However,the impact on Mumbai is likely to be mixed. Local trains will run as scheduled. While BEST's King Long airconditioned buses will not ply, some auto drivers may choose to attend a morcha at Azad Maidan, inconveniencing regular commuters. Automen's union leader Sharad Rao and taxi union leader A L Quadros have reassured citizens that autos and cabs will ply as usual. While public sector banking services will be hit, the markets, as also schools and colleges, are expected to function normally today.  WHAT MUMBAI CAN EXPECT TODAY  WHAT WILL BE AFFECTED  • Attendance at some central govt offices  • BEST AC King Longs fully, other BEST buses partially  • Autorickshaws in some suburban areas  • Branch transactions in public sector banks  • Cheque clearing in RBI  WHAT WON'T BE AFFECTED  • Essential services  • Civic, state govt offices  • Black-and-yellow, fleet cabs  • School buses  • Trains and flights  • Schools and colleges (both private & public)  • Retail shops, malls, petrol pumps, hotels and restaurants  • Markets & ATMs  IN OTHER METROS  Normal life will be hit. But airports, trains, bus stations will be open in Delhi, Kolkata Bangalore. Transport will be affected in Chennai We've been forced to go on strike: TUs  New Delhi/Mumbai: Cities across the country are bracing for the strike today. For the first time, Bharat Electronics and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will be taking part in the strike, according to trade union (TU) leaders.     Apprehending that the strike will send out a wrong message against the government and its reforms agenda, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called Intuc leader G Sanjeeva Reddy on Friday evening for talks. While it seemed like an attempt to break the Congress's union away from the array of striking unions, Reddy refused to meet the PM unless he invited other TU leaders who have joined hands to call the strike. "My message to the government is that it won't make a difference by talking to me alone. If all the leaders are called then there is a possibility of finding a solution to this," Reddy told TOI.      "We could achieve this unity when all the trade unions and workers realized over the last two years that going on their own has not helped since the government has refused to pay heed to our demands," said Gurudas Dasgupta, Aituc chief and senior CPI leader. The date was decided last November to coincide with the tabling of the Union budget, but that got postponed. "We want industrial peace. We have been compelled to go on strike. Workers also lose their wage. Strike is the last option for us," Dasgupta said.  In U-turn, Didi calls bandhs 'retrograde'  Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was in a combative mood on Monday, calling bandhs and strikes "retrograde politics", as CPM's trade union wing Citu feared law and order problems because of the government's "aggressive posture". "The government cannot support bandhs. Whatever is needed will be done. One can't attend office with party badges," the CM said. "If the CPM had actually worked for 35 years instead of resorting to strikes and bandhs, Bengal would have reaped gold. The treasury wouldn't be empty. Strikes and bandhs are expressions of frustration and they serve only vested interests." she said. TNN

India loses $20bn/yr to mishaps

Estimate Enough To Feed 50% Of Malnourished Kids, Cellphone Use Top Culprit

New Delhi: India loses $20 billion (Rs 4919 crore approx) due to road accidents annually, which the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates is enough to feed 50% of the nation's malnourished children. Officially, at least 1.34 lakh people died on Indian roads in 2010, while experts claim the figure could be about 1.5 lakh considering the under reporting of such cases. 

    WHO representative in India Dr Nata Menabde while addressing international road safety experts, including the senior IPS officers at a convention held at College of Traffic Management (CTM) in Faridabad, said there is a dire need to save the vulnerable road users to reduce the huge annual financial loss. She urged that strategies have to be devised to save lives, particularly pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders besides putting curbs on drunk driving and stricter enforcement of wearing of helmets and seat belts. 
    "We need to see how we build our road, investigate properly how accidents occur and police probe these cases. There should be one group or body that should bring all sectors together, and it should announce a plan to reduce fatalities," Menabde said. 
    International experts felt that the high use of mobiles while driving is increasing the accidents globally. "The chance of accidents increase four-fold in such cases," said Adam Briggs, former chief constable of the UK. 
    CTM president Rohit Baluja said that to reduce the accidents and fatalities on Indian roads, there is a need to have proper probe to unearth the cause of accidentsEven senior traffic officials from Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Haryana, Rajasthan admitted that the investigators often have little training to probe accident cases. "The usual course of investigation is on predictable lines: bigger vehicle is the culprit, dead is the victim and alive is the accused. We need to find the reasons behind such accidents as it is done in other countries," said Vivek Phansalkar, joint commissioner of Mumbai Traffic Police. 
Road accidents reduce in US, increase in India 
New Delhi: While the number of road accidents and fatalities has reduced in developed countries such as the US, the UK and Germany between 2008 and 2010 due to financial meltdown, the toll has increased significantly in India. Global road safety experts said the recession is linked to reduced miles travelled by vehicles and that has a direct impact on accidents and deaths. However, in India, the fatalities have increased from 1.20 lakh in 2008 to 1.34 lakh in 2010. TNN

Rollercoaster weather takes health for a ride

The freak fluctuation in city temperatures over the past few days has led to more than just a spike in viral infections. Other than cough, cold and respiratory problems that are characteristic of a flip-flop weather, several Mumbaikars have also been seeking medical advice for loss of appetite, digestion troubles and overall lethargy. 

    City doctors told TOI on Thursday that they have been tending to complaints of low blood pressure, lack of focus and day-long drowsiness as well. They reason that these could be an outcome of metabolic imbalance, as body cells may not be able to cope with the extreme fluctuation of over 15 degrees Celsius in day and night temperatures. Doctors said that any gap in temperatures beyond 15 degrees can affect one's health and coping mechanism. 
    Dr Hemant Thacker, who consults at Jaslok and Breach Candy hospitals, said, "The temperature clock exposes the internal cellular metabolism to this 
fluctuation, which then cannot function normally." He said that by the time the cell adapts to the high temperature outside, it is already evening and cooler, and the cycle continues. 
    Dr Shahid Barmare, who consults in Kohinoor Hospital, seconded that after extreme heat during the day, the body is unable to adapt to a dip in temperature at night, and then, it's back to hot weather the next day. "Apart from an increase in respiratory worries, we are also seeing a high number gastrointestinal problems." Explaining the phenomenon, Barmare said even food tends to get stale faster in this weather. "Moreover, because humidity increases during the day (which causes people to sweat more), there are a few cases of dehydration too, especially among children and the elderly." 
    Besides, said Thacker, "special functions" such as thinking, eating, sleeping and digestion can get affected. "A person may suffer behavioural dysfunction... Moreover, the cells want water during the day because of the heat. But by night, the cells do not know what to do with the excess water they have collected during the day. Thus, the body passes more urine during the night and preserves water in the day. The kidneys too work overtime." 
    Dr Khusrav Bajan, intensivist at Hinduja Hospital, though, remained hopeful that Mumbaikars would weather the erratic temperatures. He said the current conditions are not as extreme and the body's thermal system is good enough to combat the fluctuation. "More viruses are thriving and thus there are more viral infections 
    —including respiratory 
    infections and conjunctivitis. The body needs good 
    hydration, regardless of the season. Since we feel hungry and eat more in winters, it does become a bit of a problem during the transition period between seasons—as it is now. Sweat glands get constricted at night, so there is no sweat and energy is conserved. That, however, is not the case during the day, which is why one may feel tired or lazy." 
    Doctors advised Mumbaikars to minimize exposure to extreme temperatures by not entering an air-conditioned room right after coming from outside heat. Avoid extreme body exertion and eat easily digestible food, they added.

SUN BLOCK: (Above and below left) Tourists and Mumbaikars take cover against the sudden heat on Thursday; (left) pigeons make the most of a puddle

Soon, state to get 972 hi-tech ambulances

UK Agency Ties Up With Indian Co For Service Mumbai: A UK-based ambulance service will provide as many as 972 hi-tech emergency medical services (EMS) in the state. The venture is being undertaken in consortium with Indian firm Bharat Vikas Group (BVG).      The initiative aims to offer assistance to accident victims and other critical patients in the crucial first hour known as the "golden hour".      While BVG is new in the field, the other bidders—GVK and Mather— are out of the race as they failed to meet criteria such as providing hi-tech devices in ambulances that were mentioned in the tendering process.      Asked why the EMS was being handed over to an inexperienced company, Bhushan Gagrani, secretary, public health department, said, "We are aware that BVG is new in the service industry. But the tender floated by the state government was global. The BVG tied up with the UK-based ambulance service provider which has good experience in handling the EMS. Before awarding the final contract, the department has called representatives of the UK ambulance services to give its presentation to the government. Also, thehealth department will take an undertaking from the foreign service provider that whenever the government calls for a meeting to discuss the subject, its representatives and technical support will be made available to the state administration."      Aware that there might be allegations and litigations, the state has kept itself away from the tendering process. "A three-member team of All India Institute of Medical Sciences was appointed to set the technical specification required for the EMS," a senior official said.      Asked how long it will take for 972 ambulances to hit the road, the official said, "If everything goes well, the work order will be issued in a couple of months. Thereafter, in phases, the ambulances with advance life support and basic life support will be on roads. For 972 ambulances to roll out in Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur and other parts of the state, it will take a minimum 12 months."      The state will spend around Rs 900 crore for the entire project for five years.  What They Offer      These ambulances will have nearly 40 types of advanced equipment to treat cardiac and other critical patients. For instance, they will be equipped with a defibrillator—a device used to counteract fibrillation of the heart muscle. TNN

At 39.1°C, it’s hottest Feb day in 46 years

Mumbai:Mumbai has experienced perhaps the most erratic February in its recorded history. Twelve days after the city experienced the third-lowest temperature in February, on Tuesday the mercury climbed to a scorching 39.1 degrees Celsius—the hottest February day in the past decade and possibly in 46 years. 

    By 1.30pm on Tuesday, Santa Cruz recorded a daytime temperature of 39.1 degrees Celsius—higher than 37.9 degrees Celsius of February 27, 2005.
    The all-time high day temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius was recorded on February 25, 1966. 
    The weather bureau blamed the easterly winds for the sudden heat. "It is because of the dry easterly winds, which have been bringing in heat from the land side, that the temperatures have risen so high," said Bishwombhar Singh, director, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai. 
    What was worse was the low 14% relative humidity when the temperature was recorded on Tuesday. "The weather was not only extremely hot in the city, but also dry due to lack of sea breeze," Singh said. The maximum temperature recorded at Santa Cruz was seven degrees above normal.ERRATIC WEATHER 'Temp to remain high for next few days' 
Mumbai: The city experienced its hottest February day on Tuesday. 
    While Colaba recorded a maximum temperature of 35.2 degrees Celsius (five degrees above normal), the minimum temperatures recorded at Colaba and Santa Cruz were 22.3 and 17.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. 
    The MET department has predicted that the city will continue to suffer high temperatures over the next twothree days. 
    "Temperatures will remain high at least for the next two-three days. However, since the wind direction changed to the north-westerly side from the second half of Tuesday, there is likely to be more relative humidity from Wednesday," Singh said. 
    In what may be even more surprising for Mumbaikars, city temperatures may see another dip in the next few 
days, if the western disturbance causes rainfall in the northern plains of the country. "A western disturbance is once again affecting Jammu & Kashmir. If there is rainfall in the north because of this activity, temperatures in the city may dip again gradually," the IMD chief said.

Extreme winter means costlier summer staples

Mumbai: The whimsical mood swings of the fruit and vegetable markethavethrown up another paradox.Vineyard producelikecucumber and grapes are summer staples and hardly see demandduring winter,especially given theextreme chill seen this year. Still, prices are soaring to unprecedentedheightswith a singlecucumber costing Rs 10, or Rs 80 per kg. 

    Pomegranate has hit new highs of Rs 180 per kg, while both green and black grapes are selling for an astronomical Rs 100-120, up from the average Rs 60-70 in summer. 
    Vendors say the bitter winter has damaged the vines. Like the cucumber creepers of Karnataka, the fabled vineyards of Nashik have seen layers of ice form upon grape leaves, leading them to turn black. The seed has split down the middle.Thishascausedsuppliestobecomeerratic, raising prices to unprecedented levels. 
    Monday evening, a homemaker from Bandra shopping for salad requirements was shocked to findthat a singlesmallcucumber costRs10. Shivcharan Gupta, a vendor in Pali Naka, confirmed thattheitemhasbeen selling for Rs80 per kg since a week. "The normal rate is Rs 28-32 per kg, but this year,thebitter coldhasdestroyedthecrop,so 
arrivals are slow. Customers are not buying at this astronomical rate," he says. 
    Wholesaler Dilip Kumar Gupta says, "Retail costs are marked up by Rs 10-15 over wholesale prices owing to transportation and wastage. Last week, white cucumber was sold for Rs 25-30 in Vashi,so naturally costs rosetoRs60in the neighbourhood market." 
    Restaurants are using less of each. The slices of cucumber in a regular vegetable sandwich are fewer andthinner while mixedfruitjuicehasless grape and moresweetlimeor pineapple. "Cucumber is a staple in our vegetable sandwich so we cannot entirely abandon it but we are certainly placing fewer slices between our bread," says Nagesh Naik of Ramnath Snacks which is frequented by the office workers of Lower Parel. 
    In Vile Parle, Shri Annapurna Juice Centre is trying itsbestto absorbthehighcostof grapesby buying smaller quantities. "Fortunately, customers do not choose the juice of grapes alone, they prefer a mix with sweet lime or pineapple. So we add volume by using more of the other fruits," says staffer Chaitanya Jawle. Jawle's worries are concentrated on pomegranate that has hit Rs 180 per kg in hislocal market.Thejuiceof thisfruitis sold solo, with not even the fig leaf cover afforded by dilution. 
    With the weather gods, there is no argument.

Disaster Preparedness Mock Drill in Delhi

The city today witnessed one of the largest ever coordinated mockdrills under which simulated situations were created in over 1000 sites including flyovers, malls, schools, hospitals, railway and metro stations and airport to check the capital's preparedness to respond to a high intensity earthquake.

The mega exercise involving almost all concerned agencies like police, health department, Fire, food and civil supplies, affected motorists, metro commuters as well as functioning of various government services.

All possible simulated situations like collapse of flyovers, crack in metro pillars, damage to hospitals and collapse of residential buildings due to an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale were created to test check preparedness of concerned departments.

"It was perhaps the biggest such exercise ever organised in the whole country to check disaster preparedness. It involved 15,000 officials of various departments and agencies," said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

She said government will now analyse the results and take all corrective measures needed to further streamline the response mechanism.

Commuters in metro, bus transport as well as motorists faced inconvenience because of the mega mockdrill between 11:30 am and 2 pm.

Revenue department officials said simulated situations were created with an assumption that an earthquake of intensity 7.9 on Richter scale epicentred at Moradabad bordering Delhi rocked the city at 11.30 hrs. It was also considered that due to "La Nina" effect, the weather was freezing cold and it has been raining for the last two days.

Simulated situations like the tremor leaving scores dead, over 140 persons seriously injured, and nearly 700 persons with minor injuries were imagined in test checking the response system.

All the emergency support functionaries participated in complete coordination with one another and due to the combined effort of all the agencies, the mega mock drill was completed successfully, revenue department officials said.

Students from schools and colleges have greatly participated in this exercise. Various Emergency Operation Centres were set up to coordinate relief and rescue operations, said officials.

Dikshit said the exercise also brought awareness among citizens as in most of the places people were part of the drill.

Officials said persons trapped in the debris were rescued with the help of the human life detection machines.

The major agencies which participated in the mockdrill were, Delhi Fire Service, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Civil Defence Organization, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Directorate of Health Services, Delhi Police, CATS & St. Johns Ambulance Services, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Transport Corporation, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam and power discoms BSES and NDPL.

Officials said the scenarios of mockdrill in the districts were of different nature like building collapse, fire incident, road accident and CNG leak.

Asked how government would tackle the problem of unsafe buildings in the city which pose major threart in the event of an earthquake, Dikshit said the mockdrill has been able to make people aware about the dangers of unsafe buildings.

"We hope people will understand the danger of unsafe buildings. This exercise has definitely educated them about the unsafe buiildings," she said.

"It was a successful exercise. The message had gone across well," she said. World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev is brand ambassador of the awareness campaign.

Stay liquid, stay mobile

Don't park all your money in illiquid, immovable assets; build a contingency fund; pick up an optimum cover. Financial planner Gaurav Mashruwala has these suggestions for two city couples

    Mr and Mrs Prashanth live in Mumbai. Prashanth, an MBA (finance), works for the financial services industry. His wife is an engineer and works in the private sector. 
Cash Flow: The couple's gross yearly income is Rs 15.03 lakh. Their yearly outflow is Rs 8.04 lakh. This includes routine expenses and those incurred to support dependent parents, life and medical insurance premiums, EMI on the home loan and taxes. About 26% of their income is being utilized to service home loans. Net Worth: Total assets are worth Rs 95.04 lakh. This includes a house worth Rs 85 lakh. The outstanding home loan is Rs 33.50 lakh. Liability is about 35% of the assets. 
Health & Life Insurance: 
Health cover for himself and his spouse is Rs 4 lakh. In addition, there is another health insurance cover of Rs 2.50 lakh for his wife. His personal life cover through a term plan is Rs 25 lakh. In addition, a life cover of Rs 15 lakh has been provided by his employers. 
Savings & Investments: The balance in his savings bank account is Rs 41,000, his bank fixed deposit is Rs 30,000, direct equity Rs 2.64 lakh, equity mutual fund Rs 3.04 lakh, debt mutual fund Rs 50,000, EPF and PPF Rs 2.65 lakh and the balance in corporate FD Rs 50,000. 
QUERY: How much should the couple keep aside for contingencies? Is theirinsurance cover sufficient? They want to purchase a car worth Rs 4 lakh in the next few months. How should they fund it? 
FISCAL ANALYSIS: Their inflow is substantially higher than the outflow. This is a big positive. Borrowing is within permissible limits. Both health and life insurance covers are insufficient. Out of overall assets worth Rs 95.04 lakh, the cost of their house is Rs 85 lakh. Assets are skewed in favour of asingle illiquid, self-consumption asset. This is usual as most younger couples would purchase a house as their first asset. However, they should now concentrate on paying back their loan and create more liquid assets. 
WAY AHEAD Contingency Fund: 
Monthly mandatory expenses are in the range of Rs 67,000. Against this, their balance in the savings bank and sweep-in bank fixed deposit combine is Rs 71,000. This is about one month's reserve. It should be enhanced to about Rs 2 lakh; Rs 25,000 should be kept as cash at home and the rest in their savings bank account linked to a sweep-in FD. Health & Life Insurance: Ensure a health cover for self and spouse is Rs 5 lakh each. This could be either purchased directly from an insurance company or provided by the employer. Prashanth should have a life cover of Rs 1 crore for himself in the form of a term plan. 
Car Purchase: The couple is able to save about Rs 7 lakh every year. They only want a car worth Rs 4 lakh. Therefore, in the next 12 months, they should start a SIP of Rs 35,000 in a debt-fund to create the corpus. 
    Mumbai-based Sarath Babu works for a private company while his wife is a housewife. 
Cash Flow: Babu's total monthly income from his salary and rent is Rs 1.12 lakh. Against this, the couple's mandatory outflow is Rs 1.04 lakh. This includes routine household expenses, insurance premium, EMI on home loan, taxes and so on. About 52% of their income is being utilized to pay the EMI. They have two home loans. The EMI on the first is Rs 28,000 and on second one, Rs 30,000. 
Net Worth: They own 'self-consumption' assets in the form of jewellery, a car and real estate. Besides this, they only have an EPF/PPF worth Rs 5 lakh. They do not have any other bank savings. 
Health & Life Insurance: Combined medical insurance for himself, his wife and parents is Rs 3 lakh. The sum assured for the life cover of Sarath Babu is Rs 6 lakh and his wife is Rs 5 lakh. Both these are investment-oriented policies. 
QUERY: How should they get out of home loan debt at the earliest? Both the loans have a 10-year tenure. The first loan is two years into its term. The second loan was taken recently. FISCAL ANALYSIS: The couple's finances are cash-flow positive; they spend less than their earnings. There is absolutely no liquid money for contingencies, though. Their healthinsurance is insufficient and so is the life insurance. Their entire investment portfolio is illiquid. Borrowings are on the higher side. The situation is tougher considering it is a single-income family and has no other assets that can be liquidated to pay back the principal in case of eventualities. 
WAY AHEAD 
Other precautions: Even before repaying the loan, they should: 
    Keep aside funds equivalent to one month's mandatory reserve plus another two months' EMI for contingencies. 
    Enhance health cover for the family to Rs 10 lakh. 
    Cover themselves through a term plan to the extent of their outstanding home loan. 
Recommendations: For the time being, they must continue paying the existing EMI. Any increments, incentives or bonus should be utilized to pay back the home loan. 
    They must curtail the contribution to PPF/EPF to minimum/ mandatory requirements. The EMI must be enhanced to the extent of surplus. 
    Life insurance policies are causing a drain on the cash flow. Premium for the Rs 6 lakh policy is Rs 32,400 per annum and Rs 5 lakh policy is Rs 24,000.00 per annum. Either covert them into a fully paid-up policy or surrender them. Purchase pure term plans. Money saved on the premium should be utilized to enhance the EMI. 
    In case there is an income loss due to some eventualities, then either consider liquidating one of the homes or sell the jewellery. Selling jewellery, though, should be the last option. 
    (To be featured in this 
    fortnightly column, write to 
    moneymakeover@indiatimes.com)

The best of machines-with-a-mind

GEEK SPEAK

'Smart' technology has spread from mobile phones to sundry gadgets

- Norbert Rego 

Fridge that plays dietician 
I What? LG ThinQ smart refrigerator I Features: It's a dietician-in-a-fridge with a built-in screen that shows you what lies inside. You can feed in your BMI (body mass index) and target weight loss and, using a voice recognition feature, the fridge tells you whether you've made the healthiest choiceavailable. It can download recipes based on the food items that lie in it. Scan the barcode of items inside and it reminds you of expiry dates through a text message on your phone. I USP: Food lying forgotten in the vegetable case is a thing of the past. I Price: 1,55,665 (approx) 
I Available on: 
www.lg.com 

Doctor on your wrist 
I What? Basis watch I Features: This hi-tech watch tells you how your heart responds to various stimuli throughout the day, monitors your heartbeat and comes up with reasons — fitness level or erratic sleep patterns — that could be affecting your health. Sensors fitted within it track blood flow, motion, temperature, sweat levels and blood oxygen level. I USP: It catches and deciphers body signals. I Price: 9,793 (approx) I Available on: 
www.mybasis.com 

Sting operation tool 
I What? Hammacher Schlemmer HD video pen I Features: This ball-point pen's built-in camera captures high definition videos and still images with 
    the click of a button. The built-in 1.3 MP image sensor captures up to five hours of AVI video, which you can store on the pen's 8GB memory. Its colour camera lens is located above the pocket clip, and microphone on the side of the barrel under the pocket clip. The pen's lithium battery lasts for up to two hours, and is chargeable on a USB or AC adaptor. I USP: Its built-in USB 2.0 port allows you to download videos when connected to a Mac or PC running Windows 7, Vista, or XP, without having to load software. I Price:7,379 (approx) I Available on: www.hammacher.com 

GADGET OF THE WEEK 
I What? Brookstone WiFi cufflinks I Features: These are cufflinks Bond would buy. Their built-in Wi-Fi hotspot and covert data storage turn your wrist into a mobile hotspot you can use to surf the net with your smart phone or iPad. The cufflinks also double as a USB storage device and come with 2GB space. I USP: They let you create wireless hotspots. I Price: 14,764 (approx) I Available on: www.brookstone.com