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Shutdown after leak at Kakrapar atomic plant in Gujarat

March 11, 2016

Ahmedabad, Mar 11: One of the two 220 MW units of Kakrapar Atomic Power Station(KAPS) in Gujarat's Surat district was today shut down after leakage of heavy water and a temporary emergency situation was declared but there was no radioactive leak and all workers are safe.kaps1

According to officials, the leakage of heavy water that is used in cooling off the nuclear reactor core was detected around 9 am and it was fixed in some time and the temporary emergency was lifted shortly afterwards.

Surat District Collector Rajendra Kumar said there was no leakage of radiation at the plant and the situation was under control. The incident took place on a day when Japan marks the fifth anniversary of Fukushima nuclear disaster caused by a monster tsunami.

KAPS site director L K Jain in a statement said radiation levels in and outside the plant are normal.

"Unit-1 of KAPS, which was operating at its rated power, was shut down at about 9:00 Hrs today. Consequent to a small leak in Primary Heat Transport (PHT) system, the reactor was shut down as intended as per the design provisions. All safety systems are working as intended," the statement said.

"The radioactivity/radiation levels in the plant premises and outside are normal. KAPS 1 and 2 consists of two Units of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors of 220 MWe each," Jain added.

The KAPS, located on the border of Surat and Tapi districts near Vyara town of Tapi, is run by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

"The director of the plant informed me that unit-1 has been shut down following a problem in the primary heat transmission system. There was some leakage of heavy water that is used in cooling the reactor core. At present, the situation is under control," Rajendra Kumar told PTI.

According to KAPS website, the power station has two generation units of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) that were commissioned during early 90s.

"The problem was detected in the morning and it has been fixed as of now. The plant also declared temporary emergency, which has been lifted after some time.
As of now, there is no emergency and things are under control. We are told that Unit-1 will take some time to start functioning again," Kumar added.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Tapi district administration also swung into action and sought details from plant officials after learning about the leakage. Tapi District Collector B C Patni also confirmed that there was no report of radiation leakage.

"The problem occurred in Unit-1 of the plant at around 9 am. As per the reports received from the site director, all the employees are working in the plant and no internal or external radiation leak took place. The leakage of liquid has been fixed," said Patni.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

The Indian Defence Ministry, which had in its document that China intruded into the Indian territory in eastern Ladakh in early May, on August 6 took down the page which it had uploaded on its website.

According to a report by news channel NDTV, the ministry, in its document, had said the Chinese aggression has been "increasing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and more particularly in Galwan valley since May 5."

"The Chinese side has transgressed in the areas of Kungrang Nala, Gogra and north bank of Pangong Tso Lake on May 17-18," the document, titled 'Chinese Aggression on LAC' stated.

The document revealed that "... a violent face-off incident took place between the two sides on June 15, resulting in casualties on both sides."

After the clash, a second corps commander level meeting took place on June 22 to discuss the modalities of de-escalation. "While engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic level is continuing to arrive at mutually acceptable consensus, the present standoff is likely to be prolonged," it said.

A defence ministry spokesperson told the news channel that the document "did not go through him".

The opposition Congress, meanwhile, asked the government why the report was taken down with party leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that removal of the document from websites would not change facts.

"Forget standing up to China, India's PM lacks the courage even to name them. Denying China is in our territory and removing documents from websites won't change the facts," Gandhi tweeted.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Kolkata, Jan 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that Kolkata Port Trust will be renamed as Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port.

Addressing the gathering at the inauguration of 150th anniversary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust, he said: "I announce the renaming of the Kolkata Port Trust to Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port. He is a living legend who was a leader for development and fought on the forefront for the idea of One Nation, One Constitution."

"This port represents industrial, spiritual and self-sufficiency aspirations of India. Today, when the port is celebrating its 150th anniversary, it is our responsibility to make it a powerful symbol of New India," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder had set the stone for industrialization in India. "Chittaranjan Locomotive Factory, Hindustan Aircraft Factory, Damodar Valley Corporation and several others saw active participation from him," he said.

The Prime Minister also felicitated the two oldest pensioners of the Kolkata Port Trust, Nagina Bhagat and Naresh Chandra Chakraborty.

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News Network
July 16,2020

New Delhi, Jul 16: India's pharmaceutical industry will be able to produce Covid-19 vaccines not just for the country but also for the entire world, according to Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

A lot of "very important things have been done" in India and its pharma industry is doing work "to help make the coronavirus vaccine building on other great capacities that they have used for other diseases", said the Co-Chair and Trustee of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Speaking in a documentary -- Covid-19: India's War Against The Virus -- to be premiered on Discovery Plus this (Thursday) evening, Gates said India also faces a huge challenge due to the health crisis because of its gigantic size and urban centres with a lot of population density.

Commenting on the strength of India's pharma industry, he said, "India has a lot of capacity there -- with the drug and vaccine companies that are huge suppliers to the entire world. You know, more vaccines are made in India than anywhere-- starting with Serum Institute, that's the largest."

He further said, "But (there are) also Bio E, Bharat (Biotech), many others. They are doing work to help make the coronavirus vaccine, building on other great capacities that they have used for other diseases."

Stating that India joined Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is a group working on a global basis to build vaccines platforms, Gates said, "I am excited that the pharmaceutical industry there will be able to produce not just for India but also for the entire world. (This is) What we need to reduce the deaths and make sure we are immune, which is how we end the epidemic."

Gates said Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also a "partner with the government, particularly with the department of biotechnology, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the office of the principal scientific advisor provide advice and help about getting these tools going".

Commenting on the deadly virus breaching India's borders in the documentary which was shot extensively during the period of lockdown, he said, "India is still at the beginning of this, but there's a lot of very important things have been done.

“It's a huge challenge with India because you've got a gigantic country. You've got your urban centers with a lot of density-- and so that-- drives the spread. You have people moving around."

He, however, added: "Yet people are stepping up... Looking at how we reduce the spread while trying not to reduce food availability, equipment that people need."

Highlighting Gates foundation's role, he said it has "worked for the Indian government on health issues like introducing new vaccines over the last decade; and so when Covid-19 came along, we stepped in and said you know where are the gaps, we have been funding work on detection and isolation.

“We have been particularly active in UP and Bihar where we have done health delivery in the past."

The foundation is also working with the department of personnel and training to take their online training platforms and "are now using that guidance to help their frontline health workers", Gates said. 

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