{"id":185724,"date":"2017-12-21T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T00:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=185724"},"modified":"2017-12-27T00:07:51","modified_gmt":"2017-12-26T18:37:51","slug":"the-khapra-beetle-using-that-russian-credit-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-khapra-beetle-using-that-russian-credit-line\/","title":{"rendered":"The Khapra Beetle &#038; Using That Russian Credit Line!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Chandre+Dharmawardana\">Chandre Dharmawardana<\/a> &#8211;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_171829\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-171829\" class=\"size-full wp-image-171829\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-171829\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Chandre Dharmawardana<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Sri Lanka&#8217;s tea industry had been hit hard in recent times from several quarters. The drought brought trouble for tea, and even more trouble for<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the paddy farmer. The knee-jerk ban of the herbicide glyphosate falsely claiming it to cause kidney miles away from the tea plantations, in the Rajarata, was another set back. Then<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>the Russians discover a Khapra Beetle in the tea, an<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>insect that<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>feeds on grain and not on tea. It is a native Indian &#8216;Kallathoni&#8217; that spread to other countries by hitching rides on exported grain. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>The Khapra Beetle.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Although the Khapra beetle is widely recognized in India, this is not the case for Sri Lanka.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>H. J. Banks, writing in 1977<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>in the <i>Journal of Stored Products Research<\/i> (volume 13, p183) includes references<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>that suggest that the country was<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>free of the insect, although<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>reports of detection of the insect exist. However, Western countries have routinely (and unfairly) classified Sri Lanka with India, to Sri Lanka&#8217;s detriment. H. J. Banks&#8217; review was in 1977, the year when the free market was launched in Sri Lanka. The relaxation of all controls in the name of the free market<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>has led to many difficulties. To cap it all, a bridge to connect Sri Lanka with India has<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>been proposed by a neo-con government without the slightest concern for the integrity of<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Sri Lanka&#8217;s biosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The key to Khapra-beetle control is ensuring its absence in grain.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>It is actually quite easy to keep grain<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>free of the Khpara beetle. Simple and inexpensive irradiation of grain is all that is needed. Such irradiation will also remove all types of weevils and<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>bugs, and save perhaps 40% of the grain crop in tropical counties from becoming unfit for use. Unfortunately, here again baseless<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>public fear has been fanned against \u201cradiation\u201d. Just as vaccination or fluoridation is feared and opposed by some,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>irradiation is rejected in many communities. Instead, Methoprene which is an insect growth regulator is used in<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>North America and must be applied at the larvae stage.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, although controls in Sri Lanka have been rapidly relaxed since 1977, that it has taken two decades to detect a Khapra beetle in a Sri Lankan export<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>is remarkable. The detection is in tea, and not in an exported grain! It has<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>not been established that the beetle was found in tea itself. There is the likelihood that the beetle joined the Cargo during the voyage and did not even originate in Sri Lanka.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Appeasing the Russians.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The government went to great lengths to appease the Europeans to win a questionable GSP-plus respite for exporting<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>apparel, processed food products, etc.,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>to Europe.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>It has been suggested<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>that the Khapar beetle is an excuse for the Russians to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>express<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>their displeasure over Sri Lanka&#8217;s continued<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>neglect of the Russian market, together with the recent ban on asbestos imports from Russia. Neither this government, nor the previous government had been a regular client of the Russia market except for controversial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=MiG+deal\">MiG deals<\/a> of the previous regime, or<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>the bizarre purchase of an old Russian ship by the present government, going against the recommendations of naval experts. Using a Russian<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>credit line is<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>essentially a form of barter. The powerful wheeler dealers in governments cannot conveniently collect secret commissions from such barters.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>They prefer shady hard-currency tenders<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>passed through Singapore or Dubai.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, if the President of Sri Lanka is serious, we can truly profit from the Russian credit line by importing much<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>that Sri Lanka needs, instead of buying armaments, planes and ships which are ultimately an enormous drain on the country.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>A large percentage of the nitrogen in the bodies of everyone living today comes from synthetic urea, essential to all agricultural sectors. Even the organic farmer secretly adds it to his plot to avoid a deficit! Today Sri Lanka is facing a grave shortage of Urea. Russia is a leader in Urea production, and<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>the Russian credit line can be used for Urea. Another essential item is phosphate mineral fertilizer. This too is produced by Russia, and furthermore, the Russian fertilizer is one of the cleanest mineral fertilizers in the world<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>as it is virtually free of cadmium and other heavy-metal contaminants. Sri Lanka<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>should regularly buy their mineral fertilizer<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>for her tea!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Soviet Union<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>used to buy wheat from the Americans, and Khrushchev was stunned to see<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>American super markets full of goods. Post Khrushchev Soviet Union, and then Russia, rejected the Marxist agricultural thoeries and embraced modern agriculture and biotechnology. Today Russia is a world<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>leader in wheat production. Given the shortfall in harvests in Sri Lanka after several years of misguided \u201cVash-Visha Naethi\u201d agriculture and the drought,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Sri Lanka has opted to buy three times the usual quota of wheat flour. It could have easily<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>used some of its Russian credit line to buy wheat, instead of buying it<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>from the NATO block.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Is Asbestos a health risk in the context of Sri Lanka?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Sri Lanka has even gone ahead and allegedly<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>lifted the ban on asbestos to appease the Russians!<\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0In Sri Lanka asbestos fiber is not used (e.g., for home insulation), as in the West.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Exposure to asbestos fibers increases the risk of asbestosis (an inflammatory condition affecting the lungs that can cause shortness of breath, coughing,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>permanent lung damage) and mesothelioma.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Only compacted asbestos composites are used in Sri Lanka, mainly as sheets for roofing, but no asbestos fiber is used. So, while asbestos is a health hazard, it is not immediately clear if it is a health risk in Sri Lanka. There is indeed an extremely low health risk (mainly to those drilling and sawing<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the sheets without protective gear). It should be noted that the particulate density in Sri Lankan house holds (even in rural settings) is usually <i>hundreds of times in excess of WHIO standards<\/i>. In fact according to a 2010 study by Nandasena et al, (BMC Public Health, volume 10, page 300) the situation is much worse. Hence<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>the health advantages of having proper roofing, reduction in ambient particulate levels in houses with asbestos roofing, reduction of vermin infestations and mold density, as compared to \u201ckajan\u201d thatched<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>or tiled roofing (without ceilings),<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>far over weighs the risk from asbestos exposure. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Blindly following western standards on asbestos usage in Sri Lanka, without taking account of local conditions, ambient particulate densities, etc<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>is completely misleading. Hence the reversal of the asbestos ban, albeit for the wrong reasons, can be welcomed by environmentalists who seek to create healthy home environments with low particulate levels until<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>home-climate control and air conditioning become common place in Sri Lanka.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The recent<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s1\">ban on glyphosate also must be lifted as there has never been any grounds for it in the first place, and secondly because of the re-extension of its use by the European Commission for another five years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Coal power stations and Russian liquified gas.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Russians are also world leaders in the production of liquified natural gas. The government is struggling over the coming energy crunch, and two<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>ministers have once again proposed<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>two new coal power plants. They surely know how the previous coal plants made many individuals extremely rich, by way of tenders, cancellation of tenders and relaunching of tenders, refitting of plants etc. The net effect is,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>we have two lame-duck coal power plants<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>located in Sampur (Samapura) and Norochchollai (Horagolla).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>I have added the more meaningful old Sinhala place names<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>in parenthesis as they make sense, not only to Sinhala speakers, but also to Tamil speakers, as I found out by asking a few individuals. The politics of coal power plants in these two places is<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>shrouded in illegalities, just as the names of these places have never been properly gazetted<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>when the old names were suppressed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The justification for coal is based on the claim that<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>there is a large cheap supply<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and that<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>a modern \u201cclean-coal\u201d technology is available. These are false claims in practice. Even in coal rich Canada we only have nominally commercial experimental<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>operations, e.g., as in the Boundary Dam coal Power Station in<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Saskatchewan.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Canada is trying, at great cost, to utilize its coal deposits. But Sri Lanka has no coal, and no track record of good pollution management given<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>its neglect of even<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>urban garbage directly visible to everyone. The coal-pollution is out of sight, out of mind, and will certainly be mismanaged\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Furthermore, we are already under a cloud of toxic rain (containing cadmium, nitrous and sulphurous toxins and particulate dust) from many poorly run coal power stations along the coast of Tamil Nadu. When coal is said to costs \u201conly\u201d about Rs 18 per unit of electricity today, they have ignored<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>the enormous health costs to the nation. The Indian tragedy is there for us to see. According to a report in the Scientific American in March 2013, as many as 115,000 people die in India each year from coal-fired power-plant pollution, costing<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>India about $4.6 billion, even though coal is the fuel of choice and Indian energy demands are skyrocketing. In addition to more than 100,000 premature deaths, the study links millions of cases of asthma and respiratory ailments to coal exposure. It counts 10,000 children under the age of 5 as fatal victims in 2012, the year prior to the study.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>But the actual costs are incalculable, since the air quality in Indian cities have<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>been nose diving, making life in many cities a nightmare.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Since Sri Lanka is a signatory to the climate accord, it cannot turn to coal. This author was one of the first to hail the Rajapaksa government&#8217;s increase in energy Tariffs in 2013 (as it made Solar energy more competitive. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.island.lk\/index.php?page_cat=article-details&amp;page=article-details&amp;code_title=78416\">See the Island<\/a>). I had strongly urged the government in 2009 to adopt solar, wind and dendro technologies aggressively, and circulated in Colombo a movie on Solar energy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Nuclear energy from thorium is a clean safe energy souce.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>But Sri Lanka has no experience with nuclear energy and the technology is available in Canada and a few other research centers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>They are all possibilities<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>for long-term strategies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If there is a need for a short-term energy strategy, then Sri Lanka may look at liquified<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>gas from Russia, using its little used credit line, and at the same time kick start the stalled but important tea sales to Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":171829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Khapra Beetle &amp; Using That Russian Credit Line! 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