Civil Servant, Former Chief Election Commissioner and Author of an International Bestseller.
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Societal Contribution
Call for more awareness of environmental pollutants
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, S. Gandhiselvan has called for greater efforts at spreading
awareness among the common population about the ill-effects caused to human health by environmental exposure to
mutagens and carcinogens.
The lack of knowledge about the impact of the environmental pollutants leads to numerous problems in several parts
of the world. The contaminants of food, water and air produce curable diseases like diarrhoea and nausea, due to
physiological changes, while contaminants such as radioactive wastes and chemicals produce incurable diseases.
“Without studying the biological property of neutron radiation it was applied in cancer therapy. The results showed
more deaths due to radiotherapy than cancer itself,” Mr. Gandhiselvan said, while delivering the keynote address at
the inaugural function of the 36th Annual Conference of Environmental Mutagen Society of India (EMSI) and the
International Symposium on Environmental Exposures to Mutagens and Carcinogens on Human Health organised by
the School of Bio Sciences and Technology (SBST) at the VIT University campus here on Friday.
The Minister said that the conference should motivate the VIT students to take the outcome of this meet to the
general public. , he said.
Navin B. Chawla, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, who released a compact disc and inaugurated the
conference requested the Union Minister and the VIT to initiate efforts towards a scientific study of the possibility of
using polythene wastes for improving the quality of roads, as disposing of the polythene wastes caused environmental
problems.
He called upon the budding scientists to come up with cost-effective solutions to the problems caused by
environmental pollution. "There is great concern today for the poor who do not have access to potable water and good
health care. I see in you not only scientists, but also leaders who will take action to solve the problems of the poor," he
said.
G. Viswanathan, Chancellor of VIT who presided said that India require seven lakh doctors and 15 lakh nurses.
Therefore there was an urgent need to expand higher education facilities in medicine and nursing in India. The
government should support higher education for the poor by providing scholarships to them.
More institutes of higher education should be started in India to cater to the needs of the high youth population in the
country, he said.
Mr. Gandhiselvan released the conference souvenir. Mr. Chawla received the first copy. V. Raju, Vice-Chancellor, VIT
welcomed the gathering. Radha Saraswathy, organising secretary, said that the symposium was being held in the
context of the fact that new genetic disorders were being detected everyday. There were already more than 1000
documented genetic disorders, calling for scientific research to tackle them. VIT Vice-Presidents Sankar
Viswanathan, G.V. Sampath and Sekar Viswanathan participated. Anilkumar Gopinathan, Director, SBST proposed a
vote of thanks.