Geologist from Lucknow S B Mishra’s research on fossils in an ecological park ‘Mistaken Point’ in Newfoundland, Canada has made it world heritage, the UNESCO declared in Istanbul on Sunday.
In a message to Mishra, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav stated that Mishra’s work has brought laurels to the state.
Mishra had gone to Canada as a geologist in 1967 and spotted some fossils in the Newfoundland in Canada.
He submitted a research paper highlighting the evolution of life on planet earth. On the basis of his studies, Canadian government had declared the region where fossils had been recovered an ecological park.
Speaking to TOI, Mishra said when he had started studying the single cell organism in the Newfoundland, it was totally inaccessible as the terrain on the seashore was nearly impossible to access.
But Mishra stayed there for months and completed his studies which got international acclaim.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / July 25th, 2016
A contingent of seven young Indian students who fought and beat cancer has bagged several medals in Russia in the World Children Winners Games held in Moscow between June 30 and July 2. All these participants are under 14 years of age and won 10 medals in indoor and outdoor games that were also attended by players from 14 other countries.
Yash Chandra, a 13-year-old Allahabad boy, won a silver medal in chess and a bronze medal in football. The Indian contingent won three gold, four silver and 3 bronze medals in total.
He and the other six members of the team who hail from UP, Mumbai and Hyderabad regularly visit the Tata Memorial Cancer Center for follow up check-ups. The event encourages young cancer survivors from all over the world. It is organised by the Gift of Life Foundation founded by two Russian actresses Chulpan Khamatova and Dina Korzun.
Yash was first diagnosed with cancer in his left kidney at a young age of three in 2003. He has not only survived the dreaded disease but has also become an inspiration for many who lose the fighting spirit in the life.
“I enjoyed the trip. I am so happy that I could bring medals for my country. What if these are not Olympic medals? For me and others in my team, these are nothing less than Olympics medals.” said Yash. Adding to his experience, the brave kid said, “I was very impressed by the way Russians have preserved their heritage buildings. They are so systematic.”
Manoj Kumar Srivastava, Yash’s father, said, “Events like these not only boost the morale of young cancer survivors but also spread awareness about this dreaded disease. If cancer is detected on time, these kids can also lead a normal life like my son.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Allahabad / Rajeev Mani / July 08th, 2016
IIT-Kanpur has started technical survey in five villages close to the river.
Kanpur:
As part of its endeavour to achieve ‘aviral aur nirmal’ (continuous and clean) flow of Ganga under the Namami Gange project, IIT-Kanpur has started technical survey in five villages close to the river.
The team is working on three aspects during the survey – do villagers use toilets, where is the solid waste discharged and what is the arrangement for sanitation and water supply.
The team also found out the number of domestic animals and the arrangement for their drinking water.
Prof Vinod Tare of IIT-K, who is closely associated with the Namami Gange project, said 13 prominent educational institutions have adopted 65 villages situated on the banks of Ganga. These institutions include NIT Uttarakhand, IIT-Roorkee, Aligarh Muslim University, NIT Allahabad, IIT-BHU, ISM-Dhanbad and IIT-Kharagpur.
“These 65 villages are situated on the river bank between Alaknanda to Gangasagar. Ganga travels through seven states and covers a distance of 2,500 kms before flowing into Bay of Bengal,” said Prof Tare who has been working on Ganga for the past two decades.
Abhishek Gaur, senior project associate at IIT-K and part of the team, said the survey is almost complete in Ramel Nagar, Khayora Katri, Pratappur Hari, Hindupur and Ludhawakhera villages situated close to Ganga.
Tare said preparations are on to construct a new ghat at the barrage. He said soon the work of renovation of the city ghats will begin.
In Bithoor, beautification of the ghats would be done by Kanpur Development Authority (KDA).
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / July 08th, 2016
For exemplary courage shown by a Kanpur zoo vet while capturing a leopard in Meerut last month despite being injured, the Kanpur zoo administration has nominated the veterinarian for the ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’.
The nomination letter has been sent to the Union home ministry by the zoo authorities. The zoo authorities had received a letter from home ministry asking to nominate a person having shown courage, if any. Acting on the letter, the zoo administration nominated zoo vet.
Zoo director Deepak Kumar said that veterinarian RK Singh’s name has been sent for ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’. Singh had acted courageously at a time when the leopard had attacked him and caused injury in his left hand. Still, he had managed to tranquilise it.
Last month a male leopard weighing around 60 kgs had sneaked into human habitat in Army Cantt in Meerut and created panic for three days. To capture the leopard, which had attacked many people and left them injured, a team of experts led by Singh of Kanpur zoo had been sent. The leopard was hiding behind old furniture in a 200-metre long corridor in an army establishment in Cantt area. Singh had to lay down on the floor to take aim at the leopard. It attacked the vet and injured him. The leopard was brought to Kanpur zoo for treatment.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / June 04th, 2016
A young ‘collector saheb’ sipping piping hot coffee and munching ‘laiyya-chana’ at a chaupal with wide-eyed villagers, a young woman IAS official cradling infants at an Aanganwadi centre, a district magistrate riding pillion on a motorbike to check open defecation at a Varanasi village.
Dispelling the myth that bureaucrats are only meant for office comforts, a band of young officials in Uttar Pradesh is scripting a new chapter wherein not only are the people being benefited but the state’s tainted bureaucracy is also getting a long due makeover.
Perahaps taking a leaf out of the ‘chai-pe-charcha’ campaign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to the hilt for political success in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Gonda district magistrate Ashutosh Niranjan has kicked off a ‘coffee with collector’ wherein he randomly selects a village panchayat, drives in with his officials for a cup of coffee and problems of the village are discussed and settled then and there!
The first edition of the event was held recently in the Paraspur development block at the panchayat of Mijhaura where, over steaming cups of coffee, village head Vipin Kumar Singh, the lekhpal (revenue official) and the panchayat secretary deliberated upon a host of issues ranging from roads to potable water to power supply.
It was also decided that the gram pradhans would very soon host a similar meeting over lunch with the lekhpal, panchayat secretary, beat constable and other grassroot-level workers. “The idea is to strengthen the panchayat system and setttle many issues like land disputes at the grassroot level,” Niranjan told IANS.
Varanasi district magistrate Vijay Karan Anand is setting a similar example wherein many-a-time he hitches a motorbike ride to reach far-flung locations to “catch up with reality”. Only recently, he rode pillion at 5 in the morning to physically check issues like cleanliness, the power situation and sewerage.
He found the situation in neighbourhoods like Dayanagar Malin Basti and Sigra “pathetic” and was quick to order immediate course correction. He has also been visiting villages very early in the morning to dissuade people from open defecation.
“It is amazing to see such officials; it is a reassuring feeling,” said Vivek Singh, who works with a telecom company in Varanasi.
Moradabad district magistrate Zuhair Bin Sageer has done some exemplary developmental work in the villages. Not only did he step out of the confines of his air-conditioned office but was also instrumental in creating a mobile application for monitoring work in what are designated Lohia villages, where affordable housing is being developed for the poor.
Kinjal Singh, the district magistrate of Faizabad, is still remembered for her good work during her previous stint in Lakhimpur Kheri, wherein she not only got special sheds made as dining areas for school children for their mid-day meals but also initiated a process to assimilate the marginalized Tharu tribe into the mainstream.
Pilibhit district magistrate Masoom Ali Asgar has almost cleared the high-profile political constituency of encroachments. He is also credited with beautifying the tiger reserve here.
Suhaas LY, the district magistrate of Azamgarh, the parliamentary constituency of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, has scriped a unique method of beautifying the city, its roundabouts and major roads. Through the PPP model, the young bureaucrat has ensured beautification and lighting up of all the city’s major intersections.
Lucknow district magistrate Raj Shekhar is also creating waves. From ensuring restaurants are freed of child labour to clearing a whopping 1,000 acres of encroached government land, Shekhar is also known for his modest style and easy accessibility.
“We all have been assigned a job by the government and we are just doing it to the best of our abilities,” Shekhar told IANS.
(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in)
–IANS
md/vm/tb
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / IANS / May 31st, 2016
Manzil Saini, the first SSP of Lucknow, may take charge of the office on Wednesday. (HT Photo)
Manzil Saini, a 2005 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, took charges as the first woman police chief of Lucknow on Wednesday..
Popular as “Lady Singham”, Saini had already reached the state capital after getting confirmed about her new posting on Tuesday.
Saini’s posting was confirmed after chief minister Akhilesh Yadav tweeted about her posting on Tuesday afternoon.
Later, principal secretary (Home), Debashish Panda also confirmed about Saini’s posting as new SSP Lucknow while taking to HT over phone. Saini has replaced outgoing SSP Rajesh Pandey, who has been attached with the DGP’s office. Before the coveted Lucknow posting, Saini was the district police chief of Etawah, home town of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Saini made to the country’s police force to become India’s first married woman IPS officer. She was married in 2000 and five years after she got inducted as IPS officer during her first attempt in civil services examination. She is married to Jaspal Dehal, who runs an export business in Noida and belongs to Pandoh, Himachal Pradesh and have two kids. This “special cop” is considered as sensitive and a workaholic officer.
To add to her long list of achievements, Saini topped MBA from Delhi School of Economics after completing honours in Physics from St. Stephens College, New Delhi. During her IPS training at Sardar Vallabhbai Patel National Police IPS Academy, Hyderabad, Saini excelled as an athlete.
It was Saini who busted the infamous Amit Kumar kidney racket in 2008 just after six months of her first posting in Moradabad. She again made news when she was all of a sudden transferred in the midst of 2014 Muzaffarnagar riots along with the then district magistrate, Muzaffarnagar, Surendra Singh.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home / HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / May 18th, 2016
A team of five students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have developed a workshop kit to spread awareness about sexual abuse of children. (HT photo)
A team of five students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have developed a workshop kit to spread awareness about sexual abuse of children.
Sexual abuse among children, though rampant, remains a taboo subject in India. At least 46% children are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don’t report the assaults to anyone.
Jhumkee Iyengar, who is guiding the team, said the workshop kit is self-sufficient and can be used by anyone with basic communication skills, affinity towards children and an interest in educating kids – teachers, NGO volunteers and school counsellors.
The team comprising of Apoorva Aggarwal, Mitali Bhasin, Sneha Parhi, Sachin NP and Swayamsiddha Panigrahi said it was difficult for them to read about child sexual abuse and understanding the current situation was an emotionally draining process. (HT photo)
Iyengar is a faculty in the Design Program at IIT Kanpur where she teaches post-graduate design students a course that she conceptualised and created on Human Centered Design.
“Children in the age group of 8-12 years and in a group of 30-35 can be benefitted in a single session,” Iyengar said.
“The central message to kids is that being abused is not their fault and that they should freely discuss their problems with parents or teachers. Our underlying vision is to save a child’s innocence through knowledge,” the professor added.
The team developed the kit after extensive research and field studies, which included talking to psychologists, counsellors, teachers, parents and doctors along with holding focus group interviews in Kanpur slums. The initiative was a part of a year-long project that culminated in April 2015.
The workshop includes lessons on personal safety, respecting one’s body and overcoming guilt. It has been designed in a way such that it’s playful, educative and interactive, and also helps the teacher tackle the embarrassment that’s likely to accompany the subject.
“The content has been approved by subject experts and psychologists,” Iyengar said.
“We tested the product internally and iteratively as it was being defined and refined. It was also tested by the staff of an NGO on the children they serve. Pilot testing is being done in schools and the product is being further refined,” shared Prof Iyengar.
The team comprising of Apoorva Aggarwal, Mitali Bhasin, Sneha Parhi, Sachin NP and Swayamsiddha Panigrahi said it was difficult for them to read about child sexual abuse and understanding the current situation was an emotionally draining process.
“Sexual abuse has so many wrong notions attached to it. So, spreading awareness about this issue is definitely of paramount importance. For instance, the middle, upper middle class societies are quick to dismiss child sexual abuse as a problem of the lower classes,” Bhasin said.
Aggarwal said she too had gone through one such harrowing experience when she was a child.
“As a child, there were instances when I was subjected to uncomfortable scenarios that disturbed me for weeks but I was unable to react to the situation at the time. In retrospect, my parents always did everything in my best interests but something was missing,” Aggarwal said.
“While they spared no efforts to send me to the best school of the city, my mom, dad, sister – no one – ever told me how to guard myself from the world. Somewhere they hesitated in giving me that one important life lesson,” she added.
Currently available in English, the kit can be translated into different Indian languages.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / HindustanTimes.com / Home> Lucknow / by Rajeev Mullick, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / April 07th, 2016
For more than 32 years now, a group of good samaritans religiously sit every summer at busiest crossings across the city and offer cool water to commuters sweating buckets under the searing weather.
Seventy seven-year-old Bankey Lal Maheshwari, chief of Sri Nath ji Nishulk Jal Sewa, who has been spearheading the initiative, said, “The service was first started in early 1980s, but was expanded in 1987 after a tragic train accident drove city residents to help the injured and offer them water at Raja ki Mandi railway station.”
At present, there are more than 42 such kiosks around the city, which are run by volunteers. Interestingly, Jal Sewa is not a registered body and primarily depends on people’s contribution. Besides water kiosks, Mahehwari has also installed 101 ice boxes in front of many business establishments.
“Many business houses and residents come to me and promise to provide daily requirement of water. We open kiosks at such places. Generally, it is the older people who volunteer for work. The elderly brave the heat but sit at kiosks all day to offer water to people,” Maheshwari added.
A little amount of Kewra (pandanus flower) water is mixed to give it a distinct, pleasant smell.
However, the work of providing water to people is not as straight forward as it seems. Maheshwari has to keep a tab on the inventory. “Every year, we lose around 55 drums each costing Rs 400 and 1,200 mugs priced at Rs 10 each. There is no help from the administration, but we continue to provide our services,” he added.
However, Maheshwari and his team’s effort does not go in vain – what they get in return for their endeavor is public appreciation. “What Jal Sewa is doing is great. The Jal Sewa maintains a high standard of hygiene at every kiosk,” said Sandeep Sharma, who works at Sanjay Place.
Surendra Sharma, 70, said, “Agra faces problem of water scarcity. So there could not be a better way to serve the society. Every day hundreds of people benefit from this service.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Agra / by Aditya Dev / TNN / May 03rd, 2016
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur’s (IIT-K) Sachin Np has designed Ocha 2.0, a customisable tea maker. (Handout image)
If you are still brewing tea in a kettle then it’s time for you to switch to a tea maker that will make your brewing experience tech savvy.
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur’s (IIT-K) Sachin Np has designed Ocha 2.0, a customisable tea maker which uses a mobile application to brew tea to suit the user’s taste buds and can be scheduled to keep a cup ready.
“Not everyone prefers the same tea that we get from a vending machine. Now, this is not a problem anymore. Brewing tea is now an art. In the case of Ocha 2.0, I have redefined the rules as art follows technology,” Sachin said.
His kettle is loaded with options such as customising and scheduling the tea as and when the user wants it to be ready. So, one can boil the water at the particular temperature they want and set an alarm the night before to keep the tea ready.
“It can be operated by the user in two different ways. Either with the help of the mobile application that comes along with the product or with the help of the user interface embedded onto the product. The kettle comes with a central display console comprising a display button placed right at the centre of the console that helps in selecting the various options in the menu,” he says.
It also has a control dial along with two push buttons that are embedded on its either side. The application also makes it possible to operate Ocha remotely with the help of Internet of things.
According to Sachin, brewing tea is a play between tea dust, infusion rate, the quantity of milk and the amount of sugar to give a cup of perfect tea. The existing tea makers are totally void of customisation, as even sugar and strength of tea is difficult to manipulate, he says.
“It also kills the spice up factor called aroma. Ocha 2.0 is a jack of all trades. It doesn’t miss out on any of these and is a cocktail of all the conventional brewing experiences. Opinion differs from one person to the other and so is the taste,” he says.
Sachin’s prototype of the kettle, which he developed within a year, helped him win A’ Design Award and Competition, the world’s largest design competition recognising the best designs, concepts, products and services. (Handout image)
His prototype of the kettle, which he developed within a year, helped him win A’ Design Award and Competition, the world’s largest design competition recognising the best designs, concepts, products and services.
“I believe design lies in everything that makes a user not to let think of its design. The design should be always like a fluid for a user that just flows flawlessly,” he said.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Lucknow / Rajeev Mullick, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / May 02nd, 2016
A farmer stands in his field in the village of Bangaye on the outskirts of Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh (AFP Photo)
Banda :
In Uttar Pradesh’s parched Bundelkhand region, one farmer is scripting a success story, and has set an example in a region ravaged by farmers’ suicide and drought. Locals and activists are now approaching Prem Singh to find out how his practices have transformed his farm into a lush area.
Bundelkhand, according to the estimates of NGO Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan, has seen 113 farmers’ suicides since January 2016. In the past 10 years, the region has seen drought for four times, and 70% farmers suffer from the ravages of crop failure.
Singh, 53, is among the very few farmers in a land with plummeting water tables to have an orchard, processing units and flourishing livestock across his 32-acre farm. What Singh has been practicing since 1989 was recommended by National Institute of Disaster Management in 2014, “Emphasis should be on diversification – minor crops and animal husbandry.”
Bundelkhand, which comprises 13 districts — seven in Uttar Pradesh (Jhansi, Jalaun, Lalitpur, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakut) and six in Madhya Pradesh (Datia, Tikamgarh, Chattarpur, Damoh, Sagar and Panna) — suffers from meteorological (rainfall much below average), hydrological (below average water availability) and agricultural drought.
In this scenario, Banda activist Sanjay Singh said Prem Singh’s model of diversification can be replicated by small farmers in times of drought. “He has come across as a model farmer in the current agricultural and rural scenario, and now he should make it extensive,” said Sanjay, talking to TOI.
Prem Singh has processing units and has diversified into organic farming, orchards and animal husbandry in order to sustain his farm. Today 22% of the people in his village have an orchard on their farms. “Their earnings have increased and so has their yield,” he said.
On his farm one can see full water bodies, fruit-laden trees — which have improved the risk-taking capacity of the farmer — and healthy cattle, which in turn provide manure for organic farming. The quality of the soil continues to be good as he has access to natural fertiliser.
Prem works on the land with three of his brothers, and the distinctive features of his model are crop rotation, animal husbandry, organic farming and food processing. “I have units so that dal can be used for daliya, mustard seeds for oil, fruits can be processed into pickle and murabba and milk can be processed into ghee,” said the farmer, who also authored a book on his system, titled ‘Avaratansheel kheti’.
It has been an eventful journey for him, involving learning from his mistakes. “I maintained a notebook on farming, and realized that 70% of my money was going into paying interests, chemical fertilisers, electricity bill and diesel. Then I thought of doing something that would bring me out of this vicious cycle and of the risk of crop failure.”
Right now, Prem is busy with German activist Ulrike Reinhard, who works in Panna on ways to solve the water scarcity problem of that MP region. Prem said, “This May I will be visiting Panna to meet the villagers and guide them on revitalization of natural springs.”
Reinhard said, “For villagers it is easy to take notes from one among them. He will be talking in their language.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Eram Agha / TNN / May 01st, 2016
