• This forum contains old posts that have been closed. New threads and replies may not be made here. Please navigate to the relevant forum to create a new thread or post a reply.
  • Welcome to Tamil Brahmins forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our Free Brahmin Community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.

Eureka! Minister’s thermo-cool project to prevent water loss

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rudhran

Guest
[h=1]The idea of reducing water getting evaporated may be good… but the method tried….failed ultimately.[/h][h=1][/h][h=1]Eureka! Minister’s thermo-cool project to prevent water loss[/h]
MADURAI: From world-famous scientists to school children conducting science experiments, none would have thought of such an innovative solution to solve our water crisis as Co-operatives Minister Sellur K Raju did. When the minister and officials invited media to witness the breakthrough technique to reduce water evaporation from the Vaigai Dam, little did they know of what was in store.


Eureka.jpg


It was only after travelling 67 km from Madurai to the spot that the scribes were told the plan was to cover the entire water surface with sheets of thermocol taped together! The minister flamboyantly picked up a few sheets and tried to place them over water. Unfortunately, he did not expect the strong wind to tear his water-shield to shreds. Later, a coracle was sent to place the sheets. Again, unfortunately, the sheets returned to the banks before the men who went to place them.

More.jpg


It was sold as a unique technique to reduce evaporation from the Vaigai dam to mediapersons. Curious in view of the biggest drought in TN since 140 years, journalists travelled nearly 67 km from Madurai to the location to witness it.
Co-operatives Minister Sellur K Raju, his party cadre and officials crowded around the waterside to address the journalists. The grand plan, they said, was to use thermocol, taped together, to cover the lake’s surface and prevent water from evaporating. Simple.

Even as murmurs arose of how there wasn’t enough thermocol to cover the water surface, the beaming minister picked up a few sheets and placed it over the water. As wind would have it, Raju’s water-covers were blown away, some shredded into pieces. Undeterred, Raju pulled up his socks - in this case his dhoti - and entered the water to place the sheets back. But the thermocol sheets refused to behave and were washed ashore.

That was when someone proposed a fresh idea, to carry the sheets on a coracle deeper into the waters and place them there. But the thermocol returned to the shore faster than the coracle did. Officials and the minister then held impromptu discussions on how the sheets could be coaxed into staying over the waters.
Later, the minister explained that the government had allotted `10 lakh to experiment on methods to save water in the dam from evaporation.

Read more at: http://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...ol-project-to-prevent-water-loss-1596467.html
 
[h=1]It’s not funny trick but traditional practice, say experts[/h]Chennai: A few years back, the government of California tried a novel method to avoid drought that persisted for over four years in its major city, Los Angeles. The method which was acclaimed to be the most successful method at the time was to create an artificial thermal blanket over lake ‘Los Angeles Reservoir’.

This was done by releasing 96 million shade balls (black rubber balls) to control evaporation of water to put an end to the drought. But, when a similar method was attempted by a politician of Tamilnadu, the entire social media went crazy.
………

V N Somasundaram, a Tamil enthusiast and writer, told News Today, “Tamil emperors, mainly Cholas and Pandyas, were so strong in water management. They had a number of natural methods to control evaporation by covering lakes and tanks too.”

He said Sangam literature shows evidences of usage of several water creepers to cover surfaces of water in lakes. “The well-known neer thamarai or aagaya thamarai (water hyacinth) is used to cover the layer of water in lakes and ponds. This creeper will easily grow over the surface of water in a very short span of time, stopping evaporation. The advantage is that aagaya thamarai does not even require more water to grow,” Somasundaram said.

He said this technique has been modernised these days by using rubber or thermocol for immediate solution.

Source: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/...y-trick-but-traditional-practice-say-experts/
 
The counter point:

The idea was not outlandish, crude or Tuglakian as is made out by media.

It could have been planned properly and executed with expert inputs.

That was not done and that is the reason for the failure.

These thermocole sheets are extremely light weight and each sheet could have been attached with a anchoring piece of small weight adequate to keep the sheet floating without turning turtle or flying away. It is just basic dynamics.

If I were the CM of Tamilnadu, I would call for proposals from bidders for large scale setting up of solar panels spread above the surface of this Vaikai dam (35 hectares of free surface is not a small area that too in a single piece). Double advantage -Water evaporation stopped and solar power produced and fed into the national grid. No hassles of acquiring cultivable land, no dharna of farmers opposing it, no clogging of judicial system with suits contesting compensation amount paid for take over of private land.

Solar panels need large surface area for deployment and have to remain exposed to Sun. Sunlight is converted into electricity by the solar cells.

Bharati sang: சிங்களத்தீவினுக்கோர் பாலம் அமைப்போம், சேதுவை மேடுறுத்தி வீதி சமைப்போம்.

we can sing: அணைகளுக்கும் கால் களுக்கும் "குடைகள்" அமைப்போம், அனைத்தில்லத்தார்க்கும் மின்னொளி வழங்குவோம்.
 
Last edited:
The idea was not outlandish, crude or Tuglakian as is made out by media.

It could have been planned properly and executed with expert inputs.

That was not done and that is the reason for the failure.

True
 
Sir,

In Tamil Nadu, in every district headquarters, towns and villages, there are umpteenn number of Government buildings to function various department offices leave alone the rented buildings.

There should be a Police Station, a Fire Service Unit and Public Health Centre minimum in a village and the Taluk Head quarters will have buildings to house Sub-Magistrate Courts, Schools etc

If Solar panels are installed at the roof tops of these Government owned buildings, that will serve the purpose of our attaining self-sufficiency in power generation and can even think of distribution to other States.

The policy of the State Government is that all new Government/local body buildings shall be necessarily installed with solar roof tops besides the existing Government/local body buildings in a phased manner.

But it is not known as to whether this policy remains only in paper or is put into practice…!
 
Vaagmi said:
If I were the CM of Tamilnadu, I would call for proposals from bidders for large scale setting up of solar panels spread above the surface of this Vaikai dam (35 hectares of free surface is not a small area that too in a single piece). Double advantage -Water evaporation stopped and solar power produced and fed into the national grid. No hassles of acquiring cultivable land, no dharna of farmers opposing it, no clogging of judicial system with suits contesting compensation amount paid for take over of private land.

Solar panels need large surface area for deployment and have to remain exposed to Sun. Sunlight is converted into electricity by the solar cells.

This has already been done in Gujarat.

Refer to Canal Solar Power project here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Solar_Power_Project

Vaagmi said:
The idea was not outlandish, crude or Tuglakian as is made out by media

Whatever ..But this is a shining example of Dravidian rationalism - 10 Lakhs spent for something that lasted for 10 mins.
 
Sir,

In Tamil Nadu, in every district headquarters, towns and villages, there are umpteenn number of Government buildings to function various department offices leave alone the rented buildings.

There should be a Police Station, a Fire Service Unit and Public Health Centre minimum in a village and the Taluk Head quarters will have buildings to house Sub-Magistrate Courts, Schools etc

If Solar panels are installed at the roof tops of these Government owned buildings, that will serve the purpose of our attaining self-sufficiency in power generation and can even think of distribution to other States.

The policy of the State Government is that all new Government/local body buildings shall be necessarily installed with solar roof tops besides the existing Government/local body buildings in a phased manner.

But it is not known as to whether this policy remains only in paper or is put into practice…!

Rudranji,

A 35 hectare area plot above the surface of vaikai dam can give power to a large population. And economy of scale will be very attractive if a power project were to be implemented. I was trying to call the attention of the members to this fact. Building top solar generator is at a much smaller scale but with the net metering policy of the State Electricity Boards they too have become attractive as a consumer may earn a net income from the Electricity Board every two months instead of paying for the power as it is now.

We need real leaders. We have none now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest ads

Back
Top