(L to R) Farhat Basir Khan, Prof. S.P. Singh at the exhibition of Aditya Havelia (BCCL / Vishnu Jaiswal)
Lucknowites witnessed an underwater photography exhibition titled Into the Blue, by Aditya Havelia at an art gallery in Aliganj.
Giving the social message of saving our water from pollution, the eight-day exhibition attracted a lot of photography enthusiasts.
The exhibition, which had 54 pictures clicked by the photographer from the year 2010, was inaugurated by Prof SP Singh, vice-chancellor, Lucknow University. Singh said, “I really enjoyed seeing the underwater life. Aditya’s initiative to promote the cause of water pollution was also worth appreciating.”
Curated by the academician, Farhat Basir Khan, the photos displayed Aditya’s work from Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Netrani Island, Malaysia and Mauritius.
Telling us about the hard work put in to get the perfect clicks, Aditya said, “We usually don’t get a perfect guide for underwater photography, which made it a bit of a challenge for me to click these photographs.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Lucknow News> Events / by Adnaan Rizvi / TNN / April 05th, 2018
Mukesh Bhatnagar was just 10 years old when he took to gardening, guided by his father. As he grew up, his interest expanded. He experimented, learnt from his mistakes and his hard work and perseverance paid off. Today, this 60-year-old lawyer is a proud owner of a garden spread over 500 metres, comprising over 100 varieties of flowers, including many foreign varieties, as well as fruit trees including mango, orange, lichi and guava. He has become an example for others, specially farmers.
What’s more, all the fruits and flowers are organically grown. Bhatnagar has developed a nursery in his house for preparing plants and pits for organic manure and organic pesticide. Even the horticulture department has taken note of this garden. Farmers come to learn from him.
Besides, he has a kitchen garden where he grows most of the seasonal vegetables. He has become so self-sufficient that he seldom needs to purchase vegetables from the market.
Talking with TOI, Bhatanagar, said, “I have been growing flowers, vegetables and fruit since I was 10 years old. Most of the flowers are being grown in pots. Whenever I travel and go to a new place, I try to find new plants or seeds, which I bring back. As of now, I have around 100 varieties of flower plants including ranunculus, lilium, Water lily, carnation, stocks, freesia, and geranium. Besides, dahlia, pansy marigold both French and African blooms, salvia, calendula, daisy, Begonia and Rose.
“I have 36 varieties of bulbs like lilium. I grow both perennials and season flowers and also evergreens. Besides, I have a collection of snake plant, crotons, signonium, cacti, caladium and seku.”
He said gardening keeps him fit and healthy as well as acts as a stress buster. “ I am lawyer by profession and spend most of my free time in my garden. I am trying to make people aware about sowing flowers, fruits and vegetables by adopting organic methods. I recycle the waste from my garden — dry leaves, wilted flowers and decaying and withered plants — for making manure by using a decomposer. Besides, I also make bio pesticide and insecticide.”
Bhatnagar credited his father for motivating him to take up gardening. All his family members have taken to gardening as well, he said. His married daughter who has developed a garden of her own in her house consults him whenever she faces any problem. “We share pictures and videos of our garden through video conference,” he added.
Now, horticulture and agriculture departments send farmers to Bhatnagar’s garden to understand his technique and adopt organic methods of farming.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Meerut News / by Harveer Dabas / TNN / March 31st, 2018
Shikanto Mandal, 15, from Mathura, who had developed a unique machine to collect garbage, was invited by the President for dinner on Tuesday. However, it was cancelled at the last moment and the dinner was hosted by science and technology minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at the CSIR centre at Lodhi Gardens in New Delhi.
Mandal, who hails from West Bengal, had showcased his innovative machine at the Festival of Innovation being held in Delhi from March 19 to 23. Earlier speaking with TOI while on his way to New Delhi, Mandal said he had dined with then President Pranab Mukherjee during the Festival of Innovation.
The young inventor said hopes to become a successful engineer one day and fulfil all wishes of his parents and give them every comfort of life. Mandal’s parents are daily wagers. Talking with TOI, Mandal’s teacher Manoj Kumar, who helped him in his project and under whose guidance he built the machine, said he had developed the manual waste lifting and dumping machine when he was in Class IX at Jai Gurudev Balya Balak Vidyadan Higher Secondary School in 2016. He is presently studying in Class XI at KR Inter College, Mathura.
Mandal’s invention, inspired by Swacch Bharat Mission, was chosen for display at the district-level exhibition organized by the department of science and technology in 2016. His machine’s model was then showcased at a state-level exhibition held in Lucknow and later, at the national level.
His model has been patented by a Gujarat-based company, where he holds a 50% stake of the market share.
In January, Mandal was invited by film star Akshay Kumar his movie, “Padman”, screened at the Innovation conclave in which 16 innovators from across the country participated and received Rs 5 lakh each for their innovation.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Agra News / TNN / March 21st, 2018
Barber scissors hand made in Meerut with scrap metal.
For the first time, a handmade tool from micro and small and medium enterprises in India has been registered for a geographical indicator (GI) tag, an official of a body promoting this sector said on Wednesday.
The tool is a pair of scissors made of metal scrap by a community in Meerut, which is “the only scissor cluster in India” and which has been making the product for more than three centuries, Karamjeet Singh Saluja, Deputy Director- Intellectual Property Rights, Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME), IP Facilitation Centre, told reporters on the sidelines of an IPR awareness programme held here.
The programme focused on innovators, micro, small and medium enterprises and other industries. It was organised by the FISME, which promotes entrepreneurship and works to improve market access for these units. The IP Facilitation Centre, sponsored by the Development Commissioner, MSME, Union Ministry of MSME, facilitated the registering of the scissors for the GI tag. Sharif Ahmad, vice-president, Meerut Scissors Manufacturers Special Purpose Vehicle, and a seventh-generation craftsman, told The Hindu on the phone: “The GI tag will make a difference to us. No one else will be able to copy our scissors or misuse the made-in-Meerut tag our handmade scissors offer…”
The tag would enable the crafters to make scissors of standard sizes and of high quality, he said. At present, the size varies, from six inches to 14 inches, and the scissors are sold at a price ranging from Rs.20 to Rs.500.
Known for their sharpness, the scissors are used at home and by industrial garment manufacturers.
They can be repaired, unlike other scissors that are thrown out after use.
In the Uttar Pradesh Hindi, the phrase used to vouch for the quality of the scissors is Dada le, potaa barpe (a product bought by the grandfather, but which continues to be used by his grandson), Mr. Ahmad said, to underscore the scissors’ quality.
The Meerut scissors are made of carbon steel blades sourced from scrap metal found in cars, buses, trucks and railways. The handles are made of plastic, aluminium or alloys, which are sourced from old utensils. All the parts are pre-used. The first pair was made 360 years ago by Asli Akhun.
Meerut has 250 small-scale scissors-making units, employing 70,000 people directly and indirectly. Both the Central and Uttar Pradesh governments have helped the industry.
While men make scissors, women do the tasks that require handwork and pack the products.
They are sent only to the domestic markets, but the makers find it tough to meet the demand at home.
Mr. Saluja said the GI tag was given to products based on certain information submitted to the Geographical Indication Registry, Chennai: proof of origin, the GI map, the statement of case and the history of the product.
At present, the FISME, which is present in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, is working to get the GI tag for three more products.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Crafts / by Renuka Phadnis / Mangaluru – January 10th, 2018
Help Us Green has brought respectability to more than 200 informal “scavengers”-usually women from lower castes.
As one approaches Bhaunti, a small village 25 km west of the district headquarters of Kanpur, the smell of flowers becomes overpowering. It’s coming out of a building that houses Help Us Green, a company that collects as much as 800 kilograms of waste flowers every day from the 29 temples in Kanpur, recycles them and turns them into incense sticks and organic vermicompost (made from a composting process using various species of worms). The founders, Ankit Agarwal and Karan Rastogi, have successfully trademarked the term “Flowercycle” for this process.
The duo was visiting the temples on the banks of the Ganga in Bithoor, Kanpur, in 2015, when they thought of the idea of recycling floral waste. “Pollution caused by flowers, unlike industrial waste, is often overlooked in the drive to clean the holy river,” says Agarwal. And it’s not just the flowers rotting in the river but also the pesticides used on them, which can affect marine life. Shortly after, the two left their jobs to launch Help Us Green. “When we started, everyone thought we were mad,” says Rastogi. They started with an initial investment of Rs 72,000, and two months later, came out with their first product, a vermicompost they chose to call “Mitti”. The vermicompost has a mix of 17 natural ingredients, including coffee grounds discarded by the local outposts of a coffee chain.
Later, IIT Kanpur chipped in with some funds. Later, their company also started making environment-friendly incense sticks, sans coal, in Sarsol village in Kanpur. And since devotees found it difficult to throw packets of incense products embossed with images of gods in dustbins and so threw them in the river, Help Us Green started selling its products in paper infused with Tulsi seeds that could be sowed once the incense was used. In August this year, the duo floated another company, Kanpur Flower Cycle, with a new 20,000 sq. ft factory in Bhaunti. Another new product is in the pipeline: florafoam to replace thermocol. Help Us Green has brought respectability to more than 200 informal “scavengers”-usually women from lower castes. Earning a measly Rs 10 a day earlier, now they earn at least Rs 200.
source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / India Today / Home> News> Magazine> Cover Story / by Ashish Misra / January 05th, 2018
Yogi government is planning to promote UP’s religious sites for tourism in a big way.
He had formed the Brij Tirath Vikas Parishad just two months after Rampur assuming office.
Lucknow :
The UP government is planning to rejuvenate the almostbarren Govardhan Parvat, which has huge mythological significance for Hindus, by reviving flora of Dwapar Yug along its 21-km perambulation path. Indian Agriculture Research Institute has been roped in for the project in Mathura.
The Yogi Aditya Nath government is planning to promote the state’s religious sites for tourism in a big way. Yogi had formed the Brij Tirath Vikas Parishad just two months after Rampur assuming office.
The CM, who is also the chairman of the parishad, has tasked it to find five varieties of trees: kadamb, karoli, tamal, pakkad and tilkan and develop the vegetation around Govardhan Parvat to resemble what has been described in the sacred texts.
Myhtology has it that Lord Krishna picked up Govardhan hill, and held it above his head with his little finger for seven days to protect villagers from incessant rain, a result of the wrath of Indra.
“In Hindu mythology, kadamb was the favourite tree of Lord Krishna, who used to play the flute and play with his friends under its shade. We’ve sent our research team to find this tree in Rajasthan’s Karoli Dham area. The entire Govardhan project is being monitored by the CM,” said Brij Tirath Vikas Parishad CEO Nagendra Pratap.
In a recent report to the CM, the parishad said the hill’s green cover had shrunk over the years and it was necessary to preserve its sanctity as it was intrinsic to Hindu culture and mythology.
The government has sanctioned Rs 226 crore as the first instalment for the project. Forest officials blame brackish water of the Yamuna in Mathura for poor vegetation on the hill. The parishad now plans to use water harvested from neighbouring Bharatpur district in Rajasthan for irrigation around Govardhan Parvat, said Pratap.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / by Rohan Dua, TNN / January 04th, 2018
The local guava that starts fruiting here in two years has started yielding fruit in Arunachal Pradesh in only nine months, much to the amazement of the local administration, district horticulture officer and others.
“Commercial guava cultivation is new to this state and it is not a common crop for cultivation.” (HT Photo)
Believe it or not, the local guava that starts fruiting here in two years has started yielding fruit in Arunachal Pradesh in only nine months, much to the amazement of the local administration, district horticulture officer and others.
More than one lakh guava grafts of ICAR-CISH developed varieties reached Yachuli, 80 km away from Arunachal capital Itanagar, during the rainy season this year. Flowers and fruit could be seen on these plants this month, claimed Shailendra Rajan, director, Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture.
Rajan credited this to the efforts made by progressive farmer Likha Maj by supporting tribal organizations Agro Gramin Limited (AGUN) and Green Gold, Naharlagun (Arunanchal Pradesh) in collaboration with ICAR-CISH, Lucknow for establishing guava industry in the north-eastern region for the benefit of farming communities comprising mostly of tribals.
Likha Maj took the initiative to transport grafts from Lucknow during the rainy season, when it was difficult to reach there by truck due to landslides and damaged slippery roads, he said.
A team of 10 youngsters took to planting and rearing these grafts in more than 100 hectares and made all efforts for their survival under highly difficult conditions.
“Commercial guava cultivation is new to this state and it is not a common crop for cultivation,” said Rajan.
After seeing such a huge plantation, about one hundred farmers were interested and started planting guava varieties transported from Lucknow.
“Maj has not only planted guava grafts but also motivated several farmers for starting its cultivation so that a sizable production takes place and the produce can be utilized for processing as a food park is in the process of approval,” director CISH said.
ICAR-Lalit, a variety developed from Lucknow, can play an important role in this area when the processing unit is ready, as it is a prime variety being used for making pink pulp from guava further used for different products as well as export.
Thousands of hectares under Lalit have come up in AP, Maharashtra and Karnataka and other states but for the first time this effort was made in the extreme North-East conditions.
The farmers regularly exchange views with scientists using plant photos taken in the field. Smartphone has played an important role in establishing linkage between the scientists from CISH-Lucknow and tribals in a remote area of Arunachal Pradesh.
CISH Lucknow has not only provided grafts but is also helping in establishment of a modern guava nursery in Arunanchal so that problems faced in graft transportation are eliminated and the good quality grafted material is available at a reasonable cost to be distributed to different parts of the north-eastern region.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / December 28th, 2017
The Uttar Pradesh government is working on a plan to get international recognition for the fossil park at Sonbhadra, considered to be the oldest fossil finds in the world. This work will be carried out along with the development of Kapilavastu, Kushinagar and Sharavasti, areas closely connected with Lord Buddha.
Speaking in the Vidhan Parishad on Thursday, tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said a research team has been formed and a roadmap would be chalked out to promote the fossil park internationally. Members of Samajwadi Party had demanded that the government get UNESCO recognition for the site, as it had recently done for Varanasi.
“The fossil park at Sonebhadra is older than even the Yellowstone National Park in the US. Earlier, I could not have taken action as the area came under the environment department. However, recently an MoU has been signed between the departments of environment and tourism for the development of eco-tourism. We will take up the fossil park under this MoU and soon have a plan in place to ensure international recognition for the area as a heritage zone,” she said. The roughly 25 acre-fossil park in Salkhan is believed to be more than 1,400 million years old and is located 12 km from Robertsganj, the district headquarters of Sonbhadra.
The fossils were reportedly first discovered in the 1930s but the area was designated a fossil park only in 2002. Fossils of algae and stromatolites have been discovered in the area, adjacent to the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary. A similar fossil park was discovered a few years later close to the one in Salkhan, in Badagaon village under Chopan Vikas Khand. This year, said Joshi, Rs 89.60 lakh has been sanctioned for various development work to be carried in and around the fossil park. She said the Centre had sanctioned Rs 99 crore for a project to develope tourism in areas closely linked with the rise of Buddhism, namely Kapilavastu, Kushinagar and Shravasti.
Outlining works that were already going on, Joshi said the area would be developed as acircuit that would promote tourism in the entire region.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News> Civic News / TNN / December 22nd, 2017
Taking a step towards ending VIP culture and spread the message among other officials in the district, additional district magistrate (ADM) of Muzaffarnagar, Harish Chandra, is trying to set an example here.
Chandra not only commutes by bicycle from his home to office and other places for official meetings, but also completes his daily chores on it. He also never has security personnel with him.
A 1997 batch provincial civil services (PCS) official, 40-year-old Chandra had taken to riding a bicycle during his previous stint in Saharanpur as well. On seeing the ADM take a bicycle to work, the district bar association president, Thakur Anup Singh, also appealed to his associates to start using bicycles instead of travelling by cars or buses in a bid to reduce pollution. “I will soon put a proposal to bring bicycles while coming for the bar meeting,” he said.
“I use the bicycle even for my daily chores. It saves time and fuel,” said ADM Chandra.
Advocate Firoz Rana, who has a chamber only 100 yards away from the ADM office, said, “I know many my associates would like to bring the bicycle to work. I am sure in the coming days they will also use it.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Meerut News / by Mohd Dilshad / TNN / November 29th, 2017
West Bengal: Miss West Bengal ’17 votes for cleanliness in her hometown | Agra News – Times of India
Agra:
During voting for civic body elections at ward no. 74 here on Wednesday, all eyes were on Shivankita Dixit, a 23-year-old who was crowned Miss West Bengal 2017, who turned up to vote.
Dixit, a resident of Manas Nagar, has been living with her aunt in Kolkata for a year, and had participated and won the contest in that state. She then auditioned for the Miss India contest in Mumbai. She returned to her hometown to vote for the civic body elections.
Wearing tiara on her head, Dixit told TOI, “My vote was for cleanliness. I want the winning candidate to give priority to creating garbage-free localities and clean roads. A clean environment is the first step to a healthy life.”
Apart from cleanliness issue, the local businessman Sanjay Dixit daughter said, “I’m not aware of Agra city, but in my locality, the residents are conservative. They don’t allow their daughters to go out and explore the world. My vote in civic body polls is also important because the mayoral candidate which I have voted for is expected toward empowerment of girls in the city.”
Shivankita Dixit completed her graduation from Dayalbagh University and is the first beautypageant winner from Agra.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Agra News / by Arvind Chauhan / TNN / November 23rd, 2017
