Heavy rains lashing parts of Maldives island!

South-west monsoon has tentatively settled over northern parts of Maldives island group. Maldives is very near to Indian mainland and it's around 400 km south-west from Cape camorin (Kanyakumari).

As you can see from the LIVE webcam shot from "Kuredu Island Resort".

Heavy rain clouds can be seen over the horizon.

You can view LIVE webcam shot from "Kuredu Resort".. here...

Plans for dedicated weather channel get quiet burial

Government has shelved plans to launch the country&aposs first ever dedicated weather channel, a top official said.Plans to launch the weather channel, tentatively named&aposMausam&apos, were called off following differences over content sharing, the official said.Five private channels had evinced interest to partner with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to launch a weather channel, which was supposed to be on air this month.The channel was to provide information on oceanic movements, temperature and rainfall, as well as warnings about natural disasters.According to the basic plan, six-hour programming was being planned everyday for the channel which was to be upgraded as a 24-hour channel by 2010 before the Commonwealth Games.As per the plan the IMD was to provide weather related data for a fee while the private partner was to bring in funds and manage the channel on a day-to-day basis.The channel was part of the UPA Government&aposs plan to modernise and upgrade the observatory stations and communication, forecast and public information systems.

Chennai on 10-May-09: From a tourist point of view

Arrived in Chennai around midnight. Went straight to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Traffic was heavy. Everyone was honking all the time. Such a difference from back home in Malaysia. In India you are expected to honk, the other driver has no problem with that. Try that in Malaysia and more often than not the least you would get is a rude stare.

Breakfast at the hotel was good, good Indian buffet breakfast. (By the way restaurants in India are also known as hotels) So be careful what you mean when you ask for a hotel.

After breakfast, a tour of Chennai. weather was hot but bearable and windy. Cleanliness poor. Flies have a field day, they are everywhere. Never try to eat or drink out doors unless you want your food to be swarmed with flies. Air conditioned restaurants are fortunately clean, presentable and fly free.

Some photos of Chennai:

The roads of Chennai. The 3 wheeled 'auto' is very popular means of public transport. It is either 3 or 5 seated.

The famous Marina beach. You have to walk about half a km to reach the sea, or so the locals say.

A drink kiosk at the beach. Drinking bottled water is ok.

Buying sea shells and gem stones at he beach. The prices are not too bad. But you have to bargain, just like in Chow Kit or Petaling Street.

The shanty fisherman's village at Marina Beach. No electricity, water supply and sanitation. Bathe at roadside water taps.

Looks like some estates houses in Malaysia......................

Fisherwomen selling fish (what else!) by the beach. Just like the women in Kelantan. Women power or empowering women?

A mosque somewhere in Chennai. The roads are dusty and littered, littered, littered!

This is the train from Chennai to Kannur. It has about 20 coaches I think, but who really counted. It will be a 13 hour train journey from Chennai to Kannur

IMD to install automatic weather stations in schools, KV to get first

In a bid to create better awareness about various parameters of weather and the equipment used for it, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in a unique initiative will be installing Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) city schools.

Deputy Director General (surface instruments) RD Vashishta said that IMD had invested nearly Rs 20 lakh for the initiative. Our aim is to reach to as many schools as possible. We are talking to other schools as well in different parts of the city,'' he said.

The initiative will commence with Kendriya Vidyalaya Ganeshkhind followed by other schools in the city. From measurement of temperature, wind, humidity the AWS will help the children understand the concepts better.

Besides, IMD is also planning various activities for children that would help them increase their awareness level about weather. "IMD officers will also visit these schools to teach children about various weather parameters. Now, the awareness level is very low. With this initiative we hope to help children understand the concept of measurement of various parameters at a young age,' said Vashishta.

To install the equipment, a 10-meter into 10-meter area is required in the campuses. Besides LV school, the Magarpatta public school, Vidya Valley school, the Bharati Vidyapeeth school in Katraj and schools in Pimpri-Chinchwad area are also being considered by the IMD.

The IMD in their initiatives has also been working towards having AWS in every district in the state to help improve the quality of weather forecasting. The AWS is a portable weather station, which does not require an observer, and are equipped with telemeters to transmit the weather information. An AWS can collect data on rainfall, temperature, wind speed, wind direction and relative humidity and transmit the information via satellite to the ground stations.