Real estate and infrastructure consultant REPL today said it has bagged a contract for management of the smart city project in Kanpur.
The Kanpur Municipal Corporation has appointed Rudrabhishek Enterprise Pvt Ltd (REPL) as project management consultant to develop and implement the smart city project, the company said in a statement.
Second city in UP
REPL’s CMD Pradeep Misra said it is the company’s second smart city project in Uttar Pradesh after Varanasi. REPL is already working on the Indore smart city project.
“We are sure that we will be able to leverage our experience and learning of our other smart city consultancy works for developing smart city of Kanpur which will enhance the industrial and social growth of city,” he added.
REPL will assist Kanpur Smart City Ltd in various phases of project implementation.
Project implementation
This will include activities such as preparation of detailed project reports, coordination with various appointed consultants, project prioritisation and phasing, preparing capital investment plan, implementation roadmap, conducting feasibility studyetc.
“The retrofitting development will not only improve the core infrastructure and quality of life but also assure a sustainable and inclusive development with the integration of smart ICT solution,” REPL said.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / Press Trust of India / October 04th, 2017
Girija Devi, fondly known as Appa ji, passed away in a hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday evening. She was 88.
She worked as a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata in the 1980s and of the Banaras Hindu University during the early 1990s
She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2016
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Varanasi :
Demise of great vocalist and Thumri queen Girija Devi came as a big shocker to the music lovers of Varanasi, the birth place of the eminent singer. Girija Devi, fondly known as Appa ji, passed away in a hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday evening. She was 88.
“It is an irreparable loss to Indian music and Banaras Gharana of music. She was a guiding figure for us,” said noted Sarod player and Yash Bharati recipient Pt. Vikash Maharaj. “She was ailing for some time, and admitted to BM Birla Hospital in Kolkata in the morning. She left for the heavenly abode in the evening,” he said adding that she had been living in Kolkata with her daughter.
“No one can fill the gap. Even at 88 her scintillating voice could leave the audience spell bound. She was perhaps the last exponent of thumri, tappa, chaiti and khayal. I heard her singing in an award ceremony in New Delhi on August 27,” said Ashok Kapoor, founder of a cultural organization Kala Prakash working for the cause of Indian music.
Though settled in Kolkata, she regularly visited Varanasi. She was born in Varanasi in 1929. She took lessons in singing khayal and tappa from vocalist Sarju Prasad Misra in early childhood. She worked as a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata in the 1980s and of the Banaras Hindu University during the early 1990s. She was a prominent performer of purabi ang thumri style of Banaras gharana. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2016.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> India News / by Binay Singh / TNN / October 25th, 2017
Manav Shrotriya, Bareilly-based sound designer and sounds-effect editor
Bareilly boy Manav Shrotriya, a sound designer, visual effects producer, sound effects editor who has worked for films like Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, Mubarakan, Mom, Saat Uchakkey, Guest In London, Aksar 2, Rocky Mental, Vicky Donor, Agent Vinod and Aashiqui 2 among several others, has carved a niche for himself in the Bollywood music industry.
Manav talks about his memories of Bareilly, his experience of working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, upcoming projects and more.
‘Grown up being surrounded by music’
Manav, a resident of Prem Nagar and a pass-out from Hartmann College, says, “Since childhood, I had a liking for music; something which I have inherited from my mother, a classical tabla player and who used to sing for All India Radio. I was born and brought up in a family that was musically inclined and my interest in the field further prompted me to pursue a career in the same. I did a three-year course from School of Audio Engineering, Mumbai, and a specialisation in post-production and music production. After that, I also got a chance to work at a well-known studio in Mumbai as sound and mixing engineer. At this level, I developed a rapport with directors and producers and did my first commercial mainstream film -3G- A Killer Connection – with Neil Nitin Mukhesh.”
‘I miss roaming around cantonment’
Manav, who’s currently working as a post-production head at a studio in Mumbai, shares, “I used to perform with my band, Zero, comprising four to five friends at musical evenings at Bareilly hotels and St Methodist Church; it was a great learning experience. Back in Bareilly going for a bike ride with friends to Cantonment and Civil Lines, gorging on Civil Lines ka street food and mithai is something I really miss.”
‘Working with Nawaz was an enriching experience’
Sharing his experience of working with Nawazuddin in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, Manav, says, “It was shot in Lucknow and several small places in UP like Maliabad, which I used to visit a lot during my childhood. I could give the right kind of sound for the film to create that feel. It took us four months for its sound post-production. The experience of working with Nawaz was quite enriching.”
He adds, “I’m currently working for a Hollywood film and a Hindi-Punjabi film Raja Abroadia. I’m also in talks for a project with Disha Patani next year.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bareilly News / by Manyaekta Gugliani / BCCL / October 06th, 2017
Buddhist prayer wheels, colourful flags, scriptures and sculptures of monks will greet tourists at the new Leh airport which is being designed by one Australian and two Lucknow-based architects.
The highest commercial airport in the country, the revamped Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, will open doors to those seeking serenity in Leh, soon.
The project has been initiated by the Airports Authority of India and involves three architecture consultants—Paul Mutton from Australia-based Guida Moseley Brown Architects and Vipul and Harsh Varshney from Lucknow-based Sthapati Associates. They have already started work on the airport.
The final designs have been submitted and approved and the Lucknow-based architects recently met the aviation minister in Delhi to take him through the project.
Keeping the philosophy of ancient Buddhist wisdom intertwined with modern ethos, the design closely incorporates Buddhist design elements in the structure.
According to the artist’s impressions shared with TOI, there are Bodhisattvas, mandalas and thangkas (spiritual symbols), Buddhist-Tibetan prayer wheels and prayer flags all around the airport’s interior and exterior. It has been designed to visually stimulate the tourist.
Whether it is the Himalayas- and Buddhist stupa-inspired pitch roof or the 30-foot-high prayer wheel sculpture and colourful Leh-styled giant Buddha, all elements beckon the tourist’s curiosity even before landing on the ground.
It is not just the facade and architecture that promise to wow the tourist, technology has been incorporated in such a way that the terminal is sustainable and environment friendly.
Placed at 3,256 metres above mean sea level, the airport terminal building has been planned across 16,500 square metres. While photo-voltaic cells for roof and external lighting will reduce 60% of electrical load, cavity walls will be built for thermal insulation. Besides, recycled water will be used for landscaping, and multi-function heat pump air-cooled chillers will produce chilled water all the year long. For other sanitary requirements, hot water will be produced with the same technology.
“The desert-like terrain and the harsh cold weather were two most important factors that had to be considered while designing the airport. They presented great difficulty as well, because the ambient temperature goes down to -16 degrees Celsius and freezes water. To prevent this, we had to use 45% of glycol water mixtures in the chillers of air conditioners,” says Vipul Varshney, founder of Sthapati Associates.
The design incorporates the capacity of five aerobridges, Zen landscaping (for dry climate), intricately engraved wooden pagodas and a cluster of eight stupas at the entrance, introducing the passengers to Buddha’s land.
Recounting the experience of designing the project, Varshney says, “Because of site contours and assuring minimum carbon footprint, the whole building has been designed in different levels to minimize cutting and filling of land.
The height difference between the main approach road and the runway was almost 10 meters. This is why four levels with four lounges and two separate security check areas have been designed so that passengers don’t feel any gradient difference.”
The difficulty of approach and climatic constraints propelled the design to be simple yet colourful, using pre-manufactured material to the maximum which will be assembled at the site. The use of glass and other destructible construction materials has been minimized so that airport functioning is not hindered due to their unavailability, owing to difficulty in ferrying material from the main land. The typical vernacular artefacts and landscaping will be produced by local craftsmen.
The current terminal is capable of handling 250 peak-hour domestic passengers with annual handling of 0.2 million people. Its own recorded traffic witnessed a rise of 14.6% passengers in the past five years.
“This called for expansion and revamping of the current saturated terminal to meet increased traffic demands,” she adds.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / by Yusra Husain / TNN / October 08th, 2017
Urvashi Sahni, founder of Study Hall Educational Foundation, was awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award 2017 for her work in educating India’s most disadvantaged girls
Urvashi Sahni is an Ashoka Fellow, an honorary member of the Clinton Global Initiative and a non-resident fellow at the Centre for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution in the US.
New Delhi:
Urvashi Sahni, founder and chief executive of Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF), was awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award 2017 for her work in educating India’s most disadvantaged girls.
She won the award, beating candidates from more prominent non-profit organizations including Akshaya Patra. Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu presented the award to Sahni.
Jointly founded by Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2010, the award recognizes promising and high impact social entrepreneurs implementing practical and sustainable solutions.
Sahni was chosen from over 100 applicants. The other two finalists for the award were Safeena Husain of Educate Girls and Madhu Pandit Dasa of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
SHEF has demonstrated a business model of education for inclusion, empowerment and leadership building for India’s most disadvantaged and girls at risk. It has scaled its model across 993 government schools of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, training 24,000 teachers in the process and impacting 501,000 girls.
To ensure that women from ultra poor communities have the resources to keep their daughters in schools, Sahni has started Didi, a catering and tailoring venture that has captured the Lucknow market for corporate meals and has doubled the incomes of its women employees.
Accepting the award, Sahni said the perfect tool for changing mindset is education. “Education should be broader, deeper and wider. Until then we cannot call ourselves a fully democratic country,” she added.
Sahni is an Ashoka Fellow, an honorary member of the Clinton Global Initiative and a non-resident fellow at the Centre for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution in the US.
In an emailed response before she won the award, Sahni said in her girls education programme, the organization uses the government curriculum but makes sure that it is infused with critical feminist pedagogy or a gender-empowering methods of education. “We have also added a separate programme called ‘critical dialogues’ in the official curriculum,” she said.
Sahni said the biggest challenge to remain sustainable is building teams that believe in the idea, the mission, the underlying philosophy, the culture of the enterprise and above all a culture of entrepreneurship. “Having a secure flow of funding is important too, but in my opinion if the social entrepreneur has invested enough in building a strong team, they will ensure the flow of funding. I work very hard at building my team in the ways described above. We are a learning organisation and that is what sustains us,” she said.
To be a successful social entrepreneur, passion is more important than expertise, Sahni said. “Expertise is sterile without passion. But passion alone can only go so far and will burn itself out if it isn’t guided by expertise. Passionate social entrepreneurs, either seek out and develop the expertise they need to execute their ideas, or then find people who have the expertise. But they are very good and fast learners themselves. In our case, we are all thinking and learning all the time and working at developing the expertise we need and reaching out to other partners who have the expertise we don’t have,” she said.
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a sister organization of the World Economic Forum. The Foundation provides unique regional and global platforms to promote social entrepreneurship as a key element to advancing societies and addressing social problems innovatively and effectively. It also fosters a peer global community of social entrepreneurs.
Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, established in 2007, is the not-for-profit organization of the Jubilant Bhartia Group. It focuses on conceptualizing and implementing the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives (CSR) for the Group. The Jubilant Bhartia Foundation’s activities include various community development works, health care programs, cultural and sports events, an environmental preservation initiative, vocational training, women empowerment and educational activities.
Seema Chowdhry contributed to the story.
The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes the Hindustan Times and Mint, and Jubilant Bhartia Group are closely related. There are, however, no promoter crossholdings.
source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Companies / by Asit Ranjan Mishra / Thursday – October 05th, 2017
There was an unusual flicker emanating from the banks of Saryu river on Wednesday. Lined up coherently on the ghats of Ram ki Paidi, around 2 lakh oil lamps shimmered on the steps leading to the holy river as renditions of ‘Hey Ram’ bhajan played out from gigantic speakers.
It was with this that the state government attempted a Guinness World Record to light up 1.71 lakh diyas for at least five minutes continuously amid thundering cheers of residents and tourists present in the temple town.
Having aligned beautifully around 2 lakh diyas filled with over 10,000 litres of oil, 2 lakh cotton buds and around 25kg of camphor, the target was to break the previously held record by Dera Saccha Sauda that had lit up 1,50,009 diyas. Wednesday’s Deepotsav was claimed to be bigger and brighter.
“We were able to keep alight 1,87,213 diyas, as was counted by the team from Guinness records. The official letter after verification of the same will be handed over to us in the next five days,” said Prof Manoj Dixit, vice chancellor of Avadh Faizabad University who with the local populace and the tourism department had attempted the feat.
“The weather was favourable to us with no breeze; that helped us through and through. If all goes well, we will make this a Diwali tradition in Ayodhya now to be followed every year,” added Prof Dixit.
Around 3,000 volunteers, mostly students, helped set up the diyas neatly on the ghats, that later served as the perfect background for people’s Diwali festivities, with reflection of the many temples on the ghats showing in Saryu’s shining waters.
The occasion was followed by innumerable photographs being taken etching for people a memory of the historically unique moment.
Following this, a laser show recreating the Ramayana succinctly followed. A huge white screen showed scenes from the life of Lord Ram in laser light, leaving all enthralled.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / Yusra Husain / TNN / October 19th, 2017
Swarangi Shukla of Lucknow bagged the top slot in PCS (J) exams-2016, the result of which was announced by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) here on Friday evening. Vinod Joshi of New Delhi stood second while an IAF ex-sergeant Vinod Kumar Pandey of Pratapgarh clinched the third spot.
Talking to TOI, Swarangi Shukla credited her success to her parents. “I had not expected to top the exams as this was my first attempt,” said an elated Swarangi.
Swarangi had completed her schooling from Lucknow’s City Montessori School in science stream before joining the five-year degree course from Gujarat National Law University . “I think it is hard work and dedication which pays and not the years that one dedicates for preparing the exams,” she said.
Third ranker Vinod Kumar Pandey was motivated by Mumbai blast case proceedings in court to become civil judge (junior divi sion).Vinod had served as a sergeant in IAF for 19 years before superannuation.
“I used to closely follow the Mumbai blast case of 1993, in which public prose cutor Ujjwal Nikam made appearances.
This motivated me to study law and I started taking night class of LLB at Mumbai University ,” said Pandey, who is serving as an entertainment tax inspector at Allahabad.
Similarly , second ranker Vinod Doshi belonging to Uttarakhand is presently employed in CBI in New Delhi.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Allahabad News / by Vinod Khanal / TNN / October 14th, 2017
Varanasi man makes fourth Guinness record. TNN | Oct 19, 2017, 14:25 IST. DM Yogeshwar Ram Mishra handed over the certificate to Jagsdeesh Pillai
Varanasi :
Jagsdeesh Pillai, a former employee of Banaras Hindu University, brought a Diwali gift to the city in form of Guinness record. It is his 4th successful entry in the Guinness Book of World records for a theme based on ‘Make in India’ by creating the largest envelop with waste paper.
The district magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra released the certificate at a function held on October 19. Pillai created the envelop of 25-mt (83.80 feet) in length and 14.40-mt (47-23 feet) in width using the waste paper from industrial estate.
According to him, earlier this record was in the name of Ajmal Khan Tibbiya from College of Aligarh Muslim University in the size length 17.86 meter (58 feet) and width 13.10 meter (42 feet). He had attempt for this record for the first time on June 21, 2016 on Yoga day, but unfortunately, because of breaking some rules of Guinness authorities while attempting the record, it was disqualified that time. In his second attempt he successfully made the record.
Earier, he had made three successful records. His first record was connected with Digital India by making an animation movie within a shortest time by breaking a Canadian’s record in November 2012. His second record was on the largest photo awareness campaign “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” breaking a record of Maharashtra in November 2016. Besides, he also broke the record of China by creating the longest line of post cards to spread awareness about Indian Flag in June 2017.
Pillai is the only person who holds a Guinness World Record entry from Varanasi. “Now I am planning to make next Guinness Book of World record on the subject of ‘Namami Gange’ and ‘Swachh Bharat,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Varanasi News / TNN / October 19th, 2017
To mark the 182nd birth anniversary of the warrior queen of Jhansi Laxmi Bai, a colourful procession was taken out at her birth place in Bhadaini locality on Wednesday. A function was held at Shri Goyanka Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya by by Maharani Laxmi Bai Nyas to celebrate the occasion.
Students from different schools took out the procession and performed a ‘Parikrama’ of the birth place of Rani Lakshmi Bai. The students of of Panini Kanya Mahavidyalaya recited ‘mangalacharan’ followed by a series of cultural events.
Speaking on the occasion V Shanta Kumari of Rashtra Sevika Samiti highlighted the bravery of Rani Laxmi Bai who struck terror in hearts of the British during 1857 war of Independence, and called upon girls to take inspiration from the life of warrior queen. The Trustee Rajendra Pratap Pandey said that the government should arrange ‘Akhand Jyoti’ and build a grand memorial of the queen at her birth place.
The district gazetteers of Varanasi record that in the city of Varanasi in 1835 was born to Moropant Tambe (a Maratha scholar) and his wife Bhagirathi a girl whom they named Manu Bai, and who later came to be known as Lakshmi Bai.
In 1844, she was married to Ganga Dhar, the king of Jhansi and, on his death in 1853, she herself became the ruler of Jhansi. She was destined to become one of the most famous personages who took active part against the British in the struggle for freedom in 1857. She lived in Varanasi for four years and, after the death of Peshwa Chimmaji Appa, Moropant Tambe along with his daughter returned to Peshwa Balaji Bajirao at Bithoor in 1839.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Varanasi News / by Binay Singh / October 18th, 2017
Pankaj Gupta has recently appointed as the General Manager at Renaissance Lucknow Hotel. With his new association with Renaissance Lucknow Hotel, Gupta aspires to provide unmatched guest delight to the citizens of Lucknow and take the Hotel to new heights. BW Hotelier spoke to Gupta to know more about his plans.
WITH OVER 17 years of experience in hospitality operations, Pankaj Gupta has recently appointed as the General Manager at Renaissance Lucknow Hotel. With his new association with Renaissance Lucknow Hotel, Gupta aspires to provide unmatched guest delight to the citizens of Lucknow and take the Hotel to new heights. BW Hotelier spoke to Gupta to know more about his plans.
Expressing his views on the hospitality market of Lucknow, Gupta said, “With just 300-400 rooms in branded 4-5 star category till 2016 to almost 1200 rooms by the end of 2017 Lucknow has come up big way on the map of Indian hospitality industry. This is the only a good sign for the city since it can be looked at the destination for holding large city wide conferences, events and can cater big social events as well.”
How Renaissance Lucknow Hotel does plan to promote the Tourism? Answering to this Gupta said, “We closely work with some of the most reputed Inbound and domestic tour operators who operate regular itineraries on Heritage arc, Buddhist circuit and Golden Triangle extension. Apart from this our global loyalty program Marriott Rewards brings the well-travelled leisure travelers to Renaissance Lucknow.”
According to Gupta, brand Renaissance itself is the biggest USP of the hotel since it is the only second Renaissance hotel in India after the success of first one in Mumbai from Marriott International. “While most of the other hotels are pure business brands, Renaissance globally is known to provide experience beyond business through features like RENmeetings, Navigator, Rlive. Apart from this our guests always compliment us for our location, mesmerizing view of Gomti river front and Ambedkar Park from almost all parts of the hotel and the human touch full of compassion and hospitality that team demonstrates all the time,” he told us.
“Within such a short time of my tenure with Renaissance Lucknow I have been fortunate to welcome and host some of the most respected personalities from sports, politics and Bollywood,” Gupta added. Gupta plans to take forward the hotels’s reputation as the most premium ultra-modern hotel in city of Nawabs and to be the most preferred hotel for our niche guests who wish to explore and discover something unusual every time they go to a luxury hotel.
source: http://www.bwhotelier.businessworld.in / BW Hotelier.com / Home> News> Opinion> Interviews / by Sakshi / October 16th, 2017
