32. Nominated as ISA D14 DVP in Nov.2005 ( In those days ISA meant Instrument Society of America ). At that time as there was an enquiry & investigation against that time the sitting DVP ( District Vice President), surprisingly on November 1st, a leader from HO at Raleigh USA called me over phone and queried whether I can take over that position with immediate effect ? As that is the highest leadership level in the District, without any hesitation I accepted that offer with glee. In ISA history I am the only leader who held that position for 3 years and two months;in those days DVP position was for 2 year term but since I inherited someone else's balance period also, mine became longest. Now ISA name has been changed to International Society of Automation and DVP term has been reduced to one year period only. Being a DVP of a district I was on the ISA Board in the year 2008. Here it is important to mention my personal secretary Ms Ragini Sawant 's name. As my Reliance official work pressure was high and camping most of the time at Bechtel London, she used to respond for major queries from the various sections in D14 as well as HQ. As a daily routine she used to keep me updated and seek clarifications when responding to ISA HQ. Year 2005-08
33. Famous GRP piping for JERP sea water service In spite of M/S Bechtel expressing reservations considering their bitter experience in some earlier job, Reliance overruled them and opted to go in for GRP pipe material instead of CS pipe with internal coating. There was a party manufacturing GRP pipes at Goa and we committed a turn key contract on them. Considering the logistics difficulty and transportation cost, we decided to opt for different pipe diameters so that pipes can be sleeved and brought in Indian roads. But there was one basic lacuna- the trenching and ground bed preparation was in Reliance construction scope ! Added to misery, due to lack of awareness, the construction management - M/S AG Dawda, GR Singh & Subhash Chandra opened the front in several places simultaneously. Their main aim was fast expediting the progress. As the contractor's supervision did not have any expertise they did not bother to inspect the ground bed preparation before taking over for the pipe laying. All these factors resulted in non alignment and in spite of repeated repairs, the lines could not pass the designed hydrotest pressure ! When things became desperate, management took the decision , as long as there is no visible leak anywhere we should not continue attempting to complete the hydrotest and instructed us to commission the services. This happened in 2007; luckily the lines are intact and systems are in operation. The hydrotest of lines was never complete! Year 2007
34. Angiography & Angioplasty attempt ! In November end 2007, due to work stress I had a high fever while camping at Jamnagar. That night two of my colleagues ( M/S E James & YS Yanamandra ) took care of me, Next morning my Bechtel colleague Mr Michael Alaka physically lifted me and took me in his jeep to the company's clinic in the township. There Dr Rajesh organised to conduct some blood tests and asked me to go to the city hospitals for 2D echo, ECG and Stress test etc. On seeing the failure in the stress test, he asked me to rush back to Mumbai and call on Dr Mashtu at Reliance HN hospital. Dr Mashru is one of the famous cardiologists in Mumbai and Sh A G Dawda also asked me to rush. That was on 3rd Dec. The next afternoon I called Dr Mashru and he asked me to get admitted . Not realizing the seriousness of involved issues I took permission to come the next morning. Surprisingly my first son Raja & his wife Kavita landed at my home to celebrate my 60th birthday which fell on Dec. 5th 2007! As I was not realizing my condition, we went shopping and a visit to Mahalakshmi temple before going to HN Hospital. On reaching there the doctor scolded me and I was taken to the operation theatre for an angiography test. It was found that I had one block in the right artery of my heart and it has to be removed by inserting a stent through angioplasty. We had Yes/No deliberations among family members as my brother at Chennai was saying that the hospital might convert it to bypass surgery. Finally I took the call to say YES and I was taken inside. While entering I met Dr Mahalakshmi at the theatre entrance and queried her- how much time will it take? She responded saying half to three quarters of an hour. But in the theatre everything went odd- First they attempted for an hour or so and took an interruption. Then another doctor joined Dr Mashru and they both attempted. After a certain period I lost my patience and shouted at them to stop it. After some more trials they stopped the action and I was shifted to ICU for overnight monitoring. The next morning was 5th Dec. & my 60th birthday, my sister-in-law Ms Savitri came with a bouquet of flowers and wished me asking- am I here to wish the patient or the birthday boy? Surprisingly when Dr Mashru came for his morning rounds I asked- what went wrong yesterday and why it took so much time even when the task was incomplete? His response can never be forgotten. He answered point blank- you being an instrument engineer by qualification and profession, can the sum of the flow through many of the small orifices be equivalent to flow through a large orifice? When I responded to him saying NO, he said that is your heart condition. Though we could not get rid of that block in the main artery, looking at God's gift of several veins growth helping your living, take care and live a normal life. Ensure taking the prescribed medicines for a lifetime and carrying out walking exercise daily without fail. Do not take stress tests anytime and undergo only periodic 2D echo for monitoring. I am happy to share this experience since it is already 16 years since then. Year 2007 Contd...
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