BSIP scientists said the sweet potato fossil found in Meghalaya is the oldest in the world
Lucknow :
There’s sweet news for India. Scientists at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, claim that sweet potato plant originated in India and not the United States.
They claim to have discovered a 57 million-year-old sweet potato fossil from the East Garo hill district of Meghalaya, adding that it is older than the last recorded 40-million-old sweet potato fossil found in Colorado, US.
Their premise is based on an 18-year study conducted by a team of three scientists — BSIP’s Rakesh C Mehrotra and Gaurav Srivastava, and David L Dilcher from Indiana University, US.
The sweet potato fossil found in Meghalaya is the oldest in the world, say BSIP scientists.
The study has been published in the international scientific journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”.
The fossil of some leaves were collected by the two BSIP scientists in 1996 from Meghalaya. After the initial fossil identification study, they found that the leaves were of sweet potato. A detailed research work began in 2000.
“The discovery of a plant fossil is rare because plants’ soft structure is not easily preserved in the rocks,” said senior scientist Rakesh C Mehrotra.
He said that 17 specimens of the fossil of leaves discovered were made to study the pattern of veins in the blade of a leaf and secretory ducts (cells). The study showed that the leaves were of sweet potato and belonged to the ‘morning glory’ family, Mehrotra added. The research was conducted at three herbariums in the country — National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow; Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, and Central National Herbarium, Howrah.
Mehrotra said the sediment where the fossil was extracted was found to be 57 million years old, hence the fossil was also considered to be of the same date.
BSIP director Sunil Bajpai said it’s a landmark discovery.
“The study will help in understanding the evolutionary origins and the existing concepts of sweet potatoes. It will also help in understanding the climatic conditions and related factors that prevailed millions of years ago.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / by Mohita Tewari / TNN / May 24th, 2018
‘Atom on Wheels’, a campaign designed by an NPCIL communication expert who hails from Lucknow, won the top honours at AtomExpo Awards 2018 at a glittering ceremony here on Monday evening.
The campaign which especially targeted the rural audience for creating awareness and dispelling myths about nuclear energy, received the award in public communication category. Other two entries in the category were from Hungary and Kenya. Gautam Biswan, executive director, NPCIL received the award from the chairman of the jury.
A beaming Amritesh Srivastava, senior manager (corporate communication) who conceived the campaign, told TOI: “Atom on Wheels” is a unique tailor made public awareness campaign which is especially crafted for rural people to make them aware and educate about numerous aspect of nuclear energy and to dispel the apprehensions related to this. It was organised in 6 states of India, covering more than 6 lakh people in 1500 villages. The response was tremendous and people accepted this wholeheartedly.”
“It’s really a matter of immense pleasure and proud to win this prestigious award for our country and organisation. It’s dream come true for me to achieve this international award,” he said.
‘Atom on Wheels’, the customised AC bus has travelled 1500 villages of Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
It has creative panels, models, posters and multimedia presentations in local languages to help villagers develop a positive and rational thinking towards nuclear energy, particularly to build a constructive opinion for setting up of more and more nuclear power plants in a phase wise manner at various locations across the country.
In all, awards were given in five categories. There were participants from 22 countries and entries were judged by a 25-member jury panel, all world renowned experts from across the world.
This campaign has already got many awards at national level and Monday evening got it the ultimate international recognition at what Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev called ‘Atomic Davos’.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> India News / by Pravin Kumar / TNN / May 15th, 2018
The eastern UP’s two more handicraft goods – Soft stone undercut work and Ghazipur jute wall hanging joined the league of Geographical Indication (GI). With the addition of these two products to GI club, the Eastern UP has emerged as a hub of goods protected under Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
The GI expert and facilitator Dr. Rajni Kant of Human Welfare Association said that the GI certification was granted to soft stone undercut work (registration number 556) and Ghazipur jute wall hanging (registration number 555) on March 30. Now, the east UP has a total of 10 GI products including Banaras brocade & saree, Handmade carpet of Bhadohi, Banaras gulabi meenakari craft, Varanasi wooden lacquerware & toys, Mirzapur handmade dari, Nizamabad black pottery, Banaras metal repouse craft, and Varanasi glass beads.
He said that with the support of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Lucknow, the local artisans had applied for GI tag in July 2016. These two products were also put on display at the Deen Dayal Hastkaka Sankul for the view of French President Emanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their visit to the city on March 12. The crafts were highly appreciated by them.
The undercut stone carving at Varanasi is very unique producing different artifacts. The most noted product of this kind is an undercut elephant. Artisans carve variety of products from soap stone. Lamp stands, small bowls, jaalis, candle stands and decorative items. Similarly, the wall hanging of Ghazipur is one of the unique handicraft products transformed from the best combination of golden fiber jute yarn and fabric. Proper display of this product provides aesthetic pleasure. Jute fiber used as basic material is a natural gift of mankind, which is biodegradable, non-toxic and environment friendly.
Kant said that the soft stone undercut works produced exclusively in Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts, and jute wall hanging procuced in Ghazipur, Varanasi , Chandauli and Mirzapur districts are entitled to use GI tag after certification.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Varanasi News / by Binay Singh / TNN / April 16th, 2018
Excavation unearths 13 bodies that roughly date back to 11th century AD; discovery leads to calls for a deeper examination because people of the region in that period were known to cremate the dead.
An excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) near Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, has unearthed 13 bodies that roughly date back to 11th century AD, according to people familiar with the developments. This has sparked interest among experts and led to calls for a deeper examination because people of the region in that period were known to cremate the dead.
Historians have defined the era between the 7th century AD and the 12th century AD as the Rajput Period, and archaeologists say that this is the first time that any excavation has revealed the burial of bodies from that period in north India.
“We have found extended burial of 13 persons which include a male, a female, children and a handicapped person,” said Sanjay Manjul, director at the Institute of Archaeology, who is overseeing ASI’s Barnawa excavations.
“While twelve bodies were placed in a particular direction, with the head facing the North, one body was found placed in the opposite direction,” Manjul said.
He said that burial pots were recovered with the bodies, suggesting that people of that era may have believed in life after death.
“Since this is the first discovery of burials which seem to be from the later Rajput period, we need to further examine it scientifically and arrive at an exact time period,” he said.
Manjul feels that the discovery is significant as it will throw light on death rituals and cultural aspect of people of that era living in this area.
“Since Muslim Turks, who used to follow burial practices, arrived in India after the 12th century, it would be interesting to determine who these people were and why were they not cremated,” Manjul said, adding that burials were practised in the Harappan and Later Harappan periods, and also among certain Hindu tribes before the Raput Period.
Other archaeologists and historians feel that these burials might unravel some mysteries of the cultural aspect of life of people.
Dr Buddha Rashmi Mani, Director General, National Museum, says that though he doesn’t have first-hand experience of the excavated materials, the recovery of burial pots suggests the body doesn’t belong to members of the Muslim community.
“The Veerashaiva community in southern India practice burying the dead, so there is a possibility of existence of a similar community at the excavation site in UP,” said Mani.
“However, it is also possible that these bodies were of people who died due to some dangerous disease or some calamity and buried at one place in a group. Both possibilities require through investigation.”
Noted archaeologist KK Muhammed, who is credited for discovering Mughal emperor Akbar’s Ibadat Khana (House of Worship), from where the Mughal king propounded the religion Din-i Ilahi, said that that during wars people would bury bodies due to lack of time and resources in the war field. It’s a notion that historian Kapil Kumar agreed with, but both said that it would be too early to determine the identity of these people and the reasons for such graves, and called for a thorough examination.
According to historian Makkhan Lal, “It’s a good thing that we are paying attention to the excavation of the Rajput Period sites which has not been done so far.”
HT had reported earlier this month that the excavations at Barnawa, which started last December, also tried to determine the existence of the Lakshagriha episode mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Archaeologists had said that artefacts found there bore strong a cultural resemblance to those found at sites such as Hastinapur, Indraprastha, Kurukshetra and Mathura — places that find mention in the epic.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / by Jeevan Prakash Sharma, Hindustan Times,New Delhi / April 26th, 2018
Former Marine commando Praveen Teotia, 34, finished one of the toughest races in the world — Ironman Triathlon Championship 2018 — held in South Africa, a few days ago.
This Shaurya Chakra winner took four bullets during the operation to neutralize terrorists at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in November 2008. Hit in the lung and in an ear, he became partially hearing impaired. After being given a non-active duty job by the Navy, Teotia set about trying to prove that he was still fit for service, and began participating in marathons.
“I wanted to prove myself and the Navy that I am still a commando not only in spirit but physically as well. No Navy man from India has ever finished the Triathlon so far,” said a beaming Teotia, who landed in Mumbai on Thursday. He hails from Bulandshahr.
Last year on September 9, despite a damaged lung, he participated in the grueling 72-km-long Khardung La marathon in Ladakh, finishing well within the stipulated time and earning a medal.
TOI had carried a story on his achievement in the September 14, 2017 issue. The consequent limelight helped Teotia receive help. He got a special bicycle and he began training for Ironman Triathlon in Goa.
Achieving this feat was not an easy task. The championship requires back to back three events to be finished in 16.45 hours that include 3.8-km of swimming in the sea followed by 180.2-km of cycling followed 42.2-km of run. Despite losing precious 35 minutes due to an accident on the bicycle, Teotia still managed to finish all three events within 14 hours 19 minutes and that too with an injured knee.
Teotia had taken voluntary retirement from the Navy a month before his Khardung La marathon achievement, and now wishes to run for Ultraman event to be held in Florida in the US in February next year.
“That’s the toughest championship on Earth and involves 10 km of swimming, 421 km of cycling followed by 84.4 km of running all in a span of three days,” says Teotia who will begin training soon.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Meerut News / by Sandeep Rai / TNN / April 20th, 2018
The graves of 12,000 British subjects in the Lal Kurti cemetery in the northern Indian city offer a quiet testament to the passage of time
The headstone inscriptions on the graves at the Lal Kurti cemetery help to chart history / Image Credit : Rohit Ghosh
It is hard to locate Jai Prakash Yadav among the more than 15,000 graves in the Lal Kurti cemetery but he is there somewhere — maybe lazing under an old tree in the shade or tending to a plot.
In his sixties, Yadav is the caretaker here just as was his father and grandfather before him, a lineage that goes back more than 120 years in one of the oldest cemeteries in Kanpur, the second largest city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.
The caretaker of the cemetary, Jai Prakash Yadav / Images credit : Rohit Ghosh
“Kallu Yadav was my grandfather,” Yadav tells Weekend Review. “I do not know the exact year when he became the caretaker, but I guess he worked here for some 30 to 35 years. He died in 1920. My father, Babu Lal was appointed in his place.”
Babu Lal died in 2000 when he was 105 years old, and so Jai Prakash became the new caretaker.
It an area with a lot of history. Initially the British selected Kanpur [formerly Cawnpore] to establish a cantonment and, because of the soldiers and their families stationed there, trade and business flourished.
Administrative offices and courts also brought business, and both British and Indians alike saw opportunity and set up industries. Soon, Kanpur became the biggest city in north India by the last quarter of the 19th century.
Churches, hospitals, schools, clubs came to Kanpur — and so did cemeteries.
“The British set up four cemeteries in Kanpur,” explains Manoj Kapoor, a local historian. “One has been occupied by squatters, two have been declared protected monuments. Lal Kurti is the biggest and is still in use.”
Interestingly, since the British left in 1947, no new cemetery has been opened in the city.
Lal Kurti cemetery derives its name from its adjacent cantonment. Lal in English means red while kurti means tunic — a reference to the colour of the uniforms worn both by British and Indian troops, and so the region came to be known as Lal Kurti.
A photographic memory
“My father was dedicated to the cemetery,” explains Yadav. “He had a few workers under him and he would ensure that the cemetery was spick and span. You would not have found even a dry leaf. Above all, he had a photographic memory. You had to name a dead person and he would have taken you to his or her grave within minutes. The chances of his making a mistake were nil. And you must remember, there are 12,000 graves of British people in the cemetery.”
Today, Yadav still has to go through the old records of the cemetery if a person wishes to see the grave of his or her dead ancestor. “We have the records of all the people who were buried in the cemetery since 1924,” he says.
Babu Lal was also a gravedigger, and would dig a grave using a small trowel. It was a task that usually took him 15 days. Once one grave was ready, he would start digging a fresh one.
“It is very hard to say how many graves my father must have dug,” Yadav says. “He worked here for 80 years. He may have dug thousands. In fact, he was busy digging a grave on the day he died. He returned home from the cemetery in the evening and suddenly collapsed and died.” These days, Yadav hires four workers to dig a grave.
Historically, burials took place with much fanfare. The funeral cortege would come to a halt at the gate of the cemetery. The caretaker was in a livery, and followed by a band, he would lead the coffin and mourners to a grave. “The caretaker would keep sprinkling water in front of him as he marched up to the grave,” Yadav says.
The tales are all part of a treasure of anecdotes on the lives of common British people. “My father knew the British personally,” Yadav says. “They knew him. For example, he was very friendly with a locomotive driver whose wife is buried in the cemetery. The driver would spend his nights at his wife’s grave.”
Yadav says the British ranked the cemeteries according to their neatness, and it was because of the efforts of Babu Lal that Lal Kurti always had a high place in the rankings. Today, wild bushes have overrun the cemetery and it has a somewhat decrepit look even though it seems tombstones are immune to the passage of time and onslaught of rough weather. Their inscriptions are still legible just as they were on the day they were erected. They remain a rich source of information for anyone who is interested on the British then living in Kanpur, and it’s easy to spend hours reading the inscriptions.
Kapoor says the inscriptions help to chart history. “Supposing a tombstone reads: ‘Erected by his regiment in memory of W. J. Pearce, the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, who died at Cawnpore on June 25th, 1924, aged 22 years.’ Without any doubt, it can be concluded that Kanpur was a cantonment town in 1924 and Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry was stationed here. We will get a clearer picture of old Kanpur if we study the older tombstones.”
Lal Kurti cemetery also contains the graves of 51 soldiers from Kanpur who fought and died in the two world wars. The tombstones also indicate that many British in Kanpur died at an early age. One tombstone reads: ‘Emily, the beloved wife of Henry Tall. Who died 16th May 1883, aged 35 years. Also, her two children Elizabeth Maude and Earnest Joshua who died the same month. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.’
Another one says: ‘Sacred to the memory of George E. Crawford, son of the late Major Arthur Crawford, who died of small pox at Kanpur April 6th, 1883, aged 26 years. The monument is erected as a mark of esteem by the members of the Kanpur Volunteer Rifle Corps of which he was a Liet and Adjutant. Rest in Peace.’
As Kapoor notes: “England is a cold place. India just the opposite — hot and tropical. The English could not bear the weather and there were diseases like malaria and cholera. Medical facilities at that time were not so advanced.”
India became independent in 1947 but some British families continued living in Kanpur for a few more years. Up to the 1950s, British families kept visiting Lal Kurti cemetery and Babu Lal would be happy as he received a generous tip from the visitors. As time passed, less British came and now even fewer come to visit.
“Now it is very rare,” Yadav explains. “Once in a while, an English man or a woman visits the cemetery — maybe once in five years or so.”
All Souls’ Day is observed every year on November 2, a day when Christians remember their dead relatives, light candles and place flowers on graves.
Lal Kurti cemetery teems with people on that day and Yadav is also busy with requests to whitewash or clean graves. And on that night each year, the far end of the cemetery containing the graves of Indians glows with the light of hundreds of candles and the air is heavy with the smell of fresh flowers and incense.
Even then, the graves of 12,000 British men, women and children who are eternally sleeping at Lal Kurti cemetery, far away from their home, remain unattended.
Rohit Ghosh is a writer based in Kanpur, India.
source: http://www.gulfnews.com / Gulf News / Home> Culture> People / by Rohit Ghosh – special to Weekend Review / March 28th, 2018
In all, 12 athletes from UP had participated in the Games out of whom shooter Jitu Rai and weightlifter Punam Yadav could win gold.
Meerut’s Ravi Kumar had a bronze medal in shooting at Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.(HT Photo)
As India celebrates its third richest medal haul (66) at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, athletes from the country’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh could contribute only five medals – two gold, one silver and two bronze.
In all, 12 athletes from UP had participated in the Games out of whom shooter Jitu Rai and weightlifter Punam Yadav could win gold. Other medal winners included Seema Punia (silver in discus), Divya Kakran (bronze in wrestling) and Ravi Kumar (bronze in shooting).
Saraswati Raut (weightlifting), Vandana Kataria (women’s hockey), Ashish Kumar (gymnastics), Mohd Asab, Anuraj Singh and Seema Tomar (all shooting), and Lalit Upadhya (men’s hockey) returned home empty handed.
“The achievement for the state is remarkable in terms of medals. The number could have been higher had there been a professional setup for sports in the state. There is no dearth of talent but we need adequate facility and job security for sportspersons in UP,” former director, sports, Vijay Singh Chauhan said on Monday.
“There is no short cut for success in sports. We need to make sports compulsory in school curriculum. Promotion of sports should also be a priority for the state government if we really want more athletes win medals at events like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics,” said Chauhan, who is also known as ‘Iron Man of Asia’ for setting up a record in athletics.
He said special talent hunt in rural areas of the state should be carried out. “Sports and sportspersons should be encouraged in rural areas. Most of the games are based on strength and power. Even a small ground in every gram panchayat is sufficient for the development of sports in villages,” he said.
Former deputy director, sports, Neeru Kapoor hailed the achievements of UP athletes at Gold Coast Games and said more athletes from the state should have participated in the event.
“Being the biggest state of the country, we have a big sea of talent in sports but to motivate them we need to have more encouragement,” he said.
“The overall performance of UP athletes is encouraging but in terms of population, our contribution of medals is quite small. We should find ways to raise the medals tally at Commonwealth Games after four years in 2022,” he said.
A total of Rs 1.80 crore will be distributed by the state government among all 11 athletes. Both Punam and Jitu will be given Rs 50 lakh each as per the government policy while Seema will be given Rs 30 lakh. The two bronze medallists will get Rs 15 lakh each while all seven other participants will receive Rs 5 lakh each as participation allowance.
Meerut’s Ravi Kumar, who had won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in 10m air rifle before winning a bronze at the Gold Coast Games, said he would try to change the colour of his medal in the Asian Games.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Sports / by Sharad Deep, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / April 17th, 2018
In a study, King George’s Medical University’s (KGMU) paediatric orthopaedic department has found a biomarker (chemical) in blood which if tested within four hours of injury caused to a child, can help in early diagnosis of compartment syndrome and save the child from limb amputation.
Compartment syndrome is a condition after an injury in which internal bleeding or swelling builds up pressure that causes a dangerous condition which may lead to amputation as only treatment.
The syndrome under trauma usually develops in the forearm or leg.
In the research spanning over five years, head of peadiatric orthopaedic department, Prof Ajai Singh, found that if the biomarker — creatinine kinase — is tested to be six times higher or more in the blood after injury, compartment syndrome can be suspected.
“Compartment syndrome in trauma happens to both adults and children but in children, it is difficult to diagnose. Some of them are not able to explain the pain and others are not co-operative, which leads to loss of time, when the situation to amputate can be avoided,” said Prof Singh.
“We tested the findings of the study and progress of the results on 56 patients, and found that the biomarker was 10 times higher in these patients. So if within four hours of an injury, the test is run for the biomarker and it is found to be six times higher or more, treatment should be headed towards compartment syndrome,” he added.
Prof Singh said that test for biomarker is inexpensive and can be performed at any laboratory.
Prof Singh recently presented the study at the 20th Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association Congress 2018, at Antalya in Turkey.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India/ News> City News> Lucknow News / TNN / April 16th, 2018
A 3500-4500 years old town has been found in the village of Dwarkapur-Agiyabeer near Uttar Pradesh’s Basti in an excavation by Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology Department Team of BHU.
During the excavation, the archaeologists discovered remains of weapons made out of bones, sculptures made of mud, floor tiles and utensils.
The digging of the site, which is now believed to be a settlement of fishermen, started in 1999.
Director Dr Ashok Kumar Singh told that evidence of two cultures has been found- Iron-Stone Age and Copper-Stone Age. Equipment made out of iron, spears, parts of swords, axes were also excavated from the site.
Excavators also found beads which are likely to have been used for beautification.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Lucknow News / by Navbharat Times / April 16th, 2018
The award covers the period between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017
Lucknow :
Lucknow Metro’s underground project has bagged the prestigious international Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) health and safety awards, 2018. The project will be awarded with the highly acclaimed ‘RoSPA Silver Award’ for the health and safety performance for the period between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). This is a British charity organisation that aims for promotion of safety and prevention of accidents in project execution the world over.
For Lucknow Metro Rail Project, Gulermak-Tata Projects Limited (TPL) Joint Venture (JV) are the contractors who have been entrusted with the civil work of the 3.67-km long Charbagh to Hazratganj underground stretch. The contractors have been declared winner of this coveted award, announced the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC).
Officials said that this award is a very important achievement for the team of Lucknow Metro since it was selected among some very prominent international projects. This award highlights LMRC’s continuous commitment in achieving highest standards of health and safety in the project execution for the Lucknow Metro Rail Project. The award will be presented in a ceremony on July 5, 2018 at Birmingham, United Kingdom.
RoSPA Silver Award winners indicate that the company has achieved a high level of performance by adopting good management systems which are delivering consistent improvement and are working towards the level of excellence.
In the recent past, LMRC has also won several prestigious national and international awards, including the Best Urban Mass Transit Project in 2017 by the ministry of housing & urban affairs, government of India, the best metro project for ‘Excellence in Innovative Designs’ in 2016, the ESQR Quality Choice Prize in 2016 in Berlin (Germany) under the Gold Category, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial Award on Innovation in Governance in 2016, the ‘International Quality Summit (IQS) Award 2016’ under Gold Category by Business Initiative Directions (BID) Group One – in Madrid, Spain and the Dun & Bradstreet Infra Award, 2017 in Mumbai etc.
The contract for Charbagh – Hazratganj underground stretch of Lucknow Metro Project was awarded in April, 2016. The scope of work includes 3.67 km of tunneling with Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and construction of three underground stations at Hussainganj, Sachivalaya and Hazratganj. The project is progressing at a very fast pace with about 75% of work having been completed.
“This has been a significant technical and managerial achievement for the team of Lucknow Metro since the work involved construction/tunneling through some of the most congested areas and highly dilapidated buildings of the city requiring extensive instrumentation, monitoring and traffic management”, said officials.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News / by Priyanka Singh / TNN / April 11th, 2018
