A group of 11 youth of Sri Sri Laxmi Puja Samiti in Mohanlalpur in here claimed to make the world’s largest earthen diya, weighing around 150kg and having a capacity of 101 litre in 45 days. They dedicated it to the martyrs of the Indian army on Monday evening at Soorajkund pond in the city.
The diya was carried to the pond in a procession on Tuesday evening. Thousands of people gathered at the spot to see the huge diya.
Famous bhajan singer Nandu Misra lighted the diya amid Vedic chants. He congratulated the Puja samiti members for the feat.
General secretary of the Puja samiti Amar Deep Gupta said, “This year we thought to make a big earthen diya and afterwards decided to make the biggest one. We asked Shibban Lal Prajapati to help us. The diya was ready in 45 days. The material cost us around Rs 8,000. We have also applied for Limca Book of Record and we dedicated the diya to the Indian Army martyrs.”
Prajapati said that the diameter of the diya is 130 cm and the inner diameter in 121 cm. The height of the lamp is 48 cm.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Varanasi / Arjumand Bano / November 02nd, 2016
Sangam city had been witness to a historic occasion when the world’s first official airmail delivery took place on February 18, 1911. French pilot Henri Pequet took off on a bi-plane from Parade ground with 6,500 letters for the satellite town of Naini to raise funds for charity. The plane covered five miles in around 13 minutes to land at Naini. It was later termed as the world’s first official airmail
“The chaplain of Holy Trinity Church (presently situated on Sarojini Naidu Marg) required money to raise funds for a new hostel. In a unique coincidence, British commander Walter G Windham was in the city with airplane related machines and an imported aeroplane to participate in a cultural and handicraft exhibition on Parade Ground,” said R N Yadav, senior post master, Allahabad region.
“Later, fate brought the clergyman to Windham. He persuaded Windham to perform an aerial show to raise fund for the construction of a hostel. Windham later conceived the aerial show as as an airmail delivery event, which became historic due to its importance,” Yadav said adding that it was the world’s first officially documented airmal delivery.
“Windham felt that it could be advertisement for the exhibition as well as a demonstration of rapid and safe transportation of mails. Thus, the idea of the world’s first official airplane mail was born. Those interested in availing the service were asked to send their mail addressed and stamped to the chaplain of the Holy Trinity Church,” Yadav told TOI.
Philatelist Suryakant Awasthi said, “The clergyman had asked nominal sum of six annas per letter as a contribution for building the new hostel building. Only cards or letters weighing under one ounce in weight were accepted. A large number of people participated as the occasion was unique and letters addressed to people all over the globe were received.”
The letters include those addressed to Jawaharlal Nehru, King George V and several maharajas.
He said pilot Pequet was entrusted with the task of flying the Sommer bi-plane, which had a rotary Gnome engine of 50 horsepower. Pequet started at 5 pm and the landing took place after 13 minutes near Naini junction. When Pequet descended, there was no crowd to greet him. He merely handed over the mail bag to the only post department official present there and returned to Allahabad.
Pequet flew the plane at the speed of 60 miles per hour at a height of 120-150 feet.
The postal department, alongwith the Air Force, enacted the flying of world’s first air-mail as part of centenary celebrations on February 18, 2011, with equal number of letters but from Bamrauli airport to Naini.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Allahabad / Vinod Khanal / TNN / October 15th, 2016
Two key personalities from the city have won the first edition of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award for ‘Innovation in Governance’.
Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation managing director Kumar Keshav and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) chief operating officer Jayant Krishna were awarded for showing exemplary work in improving governance and delivering value to the citizens.
The awards were given on Saturday during the memorial summit organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, to commemorate Kalam’s 85th birth anniversary.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Lucknow / TNN / October 16th, 2016
City-based laboratories National Botanical Research Institute and Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants jointly won the CSIR Technology Award 2016 in the life sciences category on Monday awarded for development of herbal composition for management of diabetes.
A team of seven scientists — four from NBRI and three from CIMAP — developed the composition after a research of five years.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Lucknow / TNN / September 27th, 2016
Among the most famous small industries from this part of UP are Kanpur saddleries and Kannauj perfumes. To its fame, Kanpur is the only centre in the country, and even in Asia, producing harnesses and saddlery products. Saddlery goods are made in only a few countries like the US, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Australia, Argentina and Taiwan.
Harness and saddlery goods or ‘Horse riding and driving equipments’ have been manufactured under the small industries umbrella in Kanpur since more than 100 years, obtaining a Geographical Indication (GI) tag only in 2014.
“It was initially started in the 19th century by the British India Corporation (BIC) in the ‘Harness Factory’ presently known as the ‘Ordnance Equipment Factory’ at Kanpur, to cater to the needs of the British Army and Police,” said Taj Alam, Convener Harness and Saddlery Panel, Council for Leather Exports, and who had been regularly participating in SPOGA, one of the important and oldest International Trade Fair for Equestrian Sports, in Germany. Similarly, Kannauj, traditionally referred to as the Grasse of the East or Perfume capital of the World, has been a thriving centre for natural fragrances. In a major boost for the famous perfume industry of Kannauj, which obtained GI tag in 2014, the state government is working to set up an international perfume museum and park at Kannauj.
The project would provide a world-class platform to the ‘attar’ (perfume) manufacturers to showcase their age-old skills and to upgrade their skills according to the changing times. Once the project is completed it would rejuvenate Kannauj’s old glory of Kannauj as a fragrance hub, besides boosting the export of locally made perfumes.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / by Faiz Rahman Siddiqui / August 30th, 2016
A research scholar from the city-based Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) has developed a safer, more effective version of the currently available vaccine against brucellosis, a disease that inflicts 20% of livestock in India.
Brucellosis causes infertility and reproductive disorders among livestock. Pallab Chaudhury, head of the genetic engineering laboratory at IVRI, told TOI, “The disease is caused by the brucella bacteria. It occurs primarily in livestock, including cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats. Brucellosis can also be transmitted to humans through contaminated milk and unpasteurised dairy products. In humans, it causes fever, headache, joint pain and sweating.”
Chaudhury said the modified version of the vaccine is safer and provides greater immunity against the disease. “This has been proved in a laboratory model. The research scholar who developed the modified version, Jonathan Lalsiamthara, was conferred the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Agriculture last month for his work. However, we will continue to pursue research on the vaccine to establish that it can be administered to cattle and buffaloes,” he said.
“Lalsiamthara, who pursued his PhD under my guidance, generated brucella with defective lipopolysaccharide (LPS) through genetic manipulation as part of his research. The modified organism is less virulent than the original bacteria,” said Chaudhury.
Chaudhury said the vaccine available at present is not very safe and cannot be used in adult animals. “A project has been under way at the genetic engineering laboratory for developing a safer and more potent vaccine.
It has been funded by the department of biotechnology.”
Lalsiamthara’s research paper was published in a reputed international journal. He is currently pursuing his post-doctoral research at Chonbuk National University, South Korea. IVRI director R K Singh congratulated Lalsiamthara for upholding the institute’s tradition of excellence by winning the Jawaharlal Nehru award.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bareilly / Priyangi Agarwal / August 16th, 2016
On August 1, the district collectorate in Lucknow became the first solar powered collectorate in the state.
The Rs 98-lakh solar power plant is capable of supplying enough energy to power all of its 49-strong rooms.
With the solar power plant in place, the district collectorate is likely to save more than Rs 15 lakh in electricity bills. “Currently, the building consumes around 150 kilowatt of energy which costs more than Rs 70 lakh annually. Now, this bill would be reduced by almost 22% as the installed solar plant will produce around 135 kilowatt of energy,” said district magistrate of Lucknow Raj Shekhar.
Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Science, (RMLIMS), KGMU, Vikas Bhawan, Sadar tehsil office and the new proposed tehsil building of Sarojninagar would soon follow suit.The project was launched in May and completed on July 25.
According to the district administration, the solar-powered plant can produce 1.89 lakh units of electricity per year or about 500 units per day. The power plant contains 438 solar plates and four grid- connected solar inverters.
The solar grid would produce energy for the next 25 years.
The power plant also has a bi-directional meter which can return unused power to the grid.The Lucknow district collectorate building has 49 rooms, including courts, chambers, accounts and other departments. Every chamber of the magistrate is equipped with 1.5- 2.0 tonne capacity of air-conditioners, besides fans and LED lights, along with extra electronic devices.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / August 20th, 2016
Unfolding the story of socialist ideologue and freedom fighter Jai Prakash Narayan’s escape from jail during the Quit India Movement, a museum shop named ‘Chaar Anna’ and a restaurant called ‘Chawal’ will be part of the JP Museum at Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre set to come up in the city.
“The museum shop has been named ‘Chaar Anna’, narrating the incidents during the freedom struggle when JP had escaped from Hazaribagh Central Jail in 1942 during the Quit India Movement. At that time, he had only ‘Chaar Anna’ in his pocket,” said museum architect Sourabh Gupta.
“The restaurant has been named as Chawal as JP was given chawal (rice) and salt to eat in jail. The menu of the restaurant will be decided later but the idea is to add a Swadeshi touch,” he added.
Moreover, a metallic sculpture of JP will also greet visitors. Made of metal bars, it has been so designed that the space between them creates the image of JP. The bar represents a prison, the second home to JP throughout his life. This two-dimensional sculpture is a combination of reality and illusion. It is placed on the steps of the congregation, showing him as the leader of the people, officials said.
The museum will be the state’s first kinetic museum in which three-dimensional exhibits move around the visitor while an audio tour guide narrates the story. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan has given voice to the audio tour.
The museum will give the look and feel of JP’s life by using four octagonal galleries exhibiting the birth of the Lok Nayak, escape from prison, Bihar Movement and total revolution at the time of Emergency in 1975. The four galleries have been divided into time frames depicting main events of his life.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / Mohita Tewari / TNN / August 18th, 2016
Bhagwat Prasad Bhartiya will blow the simple brass bugle Pt Jawaharlal Nehru gifted him. (HT Photo)
The old man’s hands tremble when he holds the bugle with his shrivelled hands, but the musical blow continues to bear a steady air of pride.
No official function with a patriotic theme is complete in Allahabad without Bhagwat Prasad Bhartiya. Braving the vagaries of age and weather, the 90-year-old freedom fighter is once again readying to blow the simple brass instrument he received as a gift from Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. For, Monday is the country’s 70th Independence Day.
The nonagenarian was 15 years old—and extremely thrilled—when he received the bugle from the freedom-fighter stalwart who was to become independent India’s first prime minister. Nehru gave him the instrument on his birthday at the family’s famed residence Anand Bhavan on November 14, 1941.
Since then, Bhartiya has been blowing the bugle. Initially, it was to rouse freedom fighters. Post 1947, he blew it to remind his compatriots of the great sacrifices made to win freedom.
“I started visiting Anand Bhavan as a kid. Out of curiosity,” he winds back. “I would accompany my classmate, whose father was a gardener there.”
The two-storey mansion with a dome, constructed in the 1930s by Jawaharlal’s father Pt Motilal Nehru who was a lawyer and leader, was a vital centre for the fight for Independence.
“That provided me opportunities to meet national leaders and listen to their inspirational speeches,” recalls Bhartiya at his home in Ashok Nagar. “They encouraged me to take part in social activities and rallies—all aimed at winning freedom.”
(HT Photo)
Pleased with the boy’s commitment to the cause of an Independent India, Nehru, then 37, presented Bhartiya with the bugle in the presence of national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vijay Laxmi Pandit and Chunnan Guru (Chandra Mohiley).
“That was a great moment for me,” Bhartiya notes. “Nehruji chose me among other five youngsters for blowing the bugle during rallies.”
The aim was to spread anti-imperialistic messages such as ‘Bharat Bachao, Angrez Bhagao’, ‘Apne Desh Mein Apna Raaz’ and ‘Sab Ek Samaan’.
“For doing that, I was sent to Malaka jail (located in the premises where now SRN Hospital stands),” says Bhartiya. “I was kept there for a few months for participating in a mass rally taken out in Civil Lines in support of Quit India Movement of 1942.”
Since then, Bhartiya has kept blowing the bugle on momentous days in his country’s calendar: Republic Day, Independence Day and Children’s Day, besides at functions of patriotic fervour.
This year, too, will be no different even after over 75 years.
The old freedom fighter, though, is sad about one thing. Neither the district administration nor the state government has come forward to provide financial assistance the Sangam City’s only surviving freedom fighter.
“In 1978, I requested (late prime minister) Indira Gandhi for monetary help. That proved to be in vain,” Bhartiya says.
Even as recently as in February this year, he wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee for pension. The letter was forwarded to the district magistrate office through the state government and he was asked to approach the official with documents. “I have not been able to meet him,” adds Bhartiya.
His two sons work as newspaper hawkers to earn a living for the seven-member family.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / by Rajesh Srivastava, Hindustan Times,Allahabad / August 14th, 2016
Just short of her fifth birthday, Ananya is all set to get admission in Class 9 in a Lucknow school if the state education department gives its consent. (Handout image)
As her name suggests, Lucknow’s Ananya Verma is a unique child.
Just short of her fifth birthday, Ananya is all set to get admission in Class 9 in a city school if the state education department gives its consent. And it will be the first time she will ever go to a school.
The story of her two elder siblings is no different. Her brother Shailendra became the country’s youngest computer science graduate in 2007 when he was just 14 and sister Sushma holds the Limca Book of Records for becoming the youngest matriculate at seven. She enrolled in a PhD course at the age of 15 last year.
Born on December 1, 2011, Ananya can read all kinds of books, including the Ramayana and the Hanuman Chalisa, with ease.
“My elder daughter, Sushma, went to St Meera’s. This school is willing to take the child (Ananya) in Class 9. But there are certain formalities and hence she cannot be enrolled without official permission,” Ananya’s father Tej Bahadur, who works as a peon in a university, said.
“We never force her to study. When I return home from the university, she insists that I help her in her studies. Her ability to grasp new topics is commendable,” Sushma, who mostly helps her in mathematics, said.
The school has allowed Ananya to attend classes as she waits for the education department’s permission. She has been going to school regularly for the last 10-15 days and is already quite popular among students.
The management of St Meera’s School is also very happy to have Ananya.
“We spotted abundant talent in Ananya just like Sushma. We groomed Sushma after she came to our school in Class 9 when she was just 5. We will work extra with Ananya also. Her fingers are very small. She needs to be given special attention, particularly in mathematics. Our trained educators will conduct extra sessions with her,” school manager Vinod Ratra said.
He said in Sushma’s case the then district inspector of schools Vikas Srivastava gave her the permission and she could then attend school.
“We are awaiting approval from the secondary education department. Ananya is coming unofficially to the school and attending classes. But formal admission will be given once we get the approval,” Ratra added.
Tej Bahadur has no words except those of gratitude for the goddess of learning, Saraswati, who he says has blessed his children.
“I am illiterate and cannot guide my children. Whatever they have achieved is the grace of Ma Saraswati,” he said.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home / by Rajeev Mullick, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / August 09th, 2016
