Category Archives: Green Initiatives / Environment

India’s first Elephant ambulance bringing Mia and Sita, the female jumbos rescued from Tamil Nadu circus,to Mathura.

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Travel

Agra :

After spending decades in the circus, Mia and Sita were rescued by wildlife SOS under their circus elephant rescue mission, coordinated by union government, on Sunday. The two female jumbos are currently traveling in India’s first modern custom designed elephant ambulance and will be sent to Elephant Conservation & Care Center in Mathura.

The female elephants, “Mia” and “Sita” are the 6th and 7th circus elephants to be rescued in the year since the Centre has teamed up with animal rescue organization Wildlife SOS to rescue captive elephants being illegally used for circus performances, as part of its project to check maltreatment of wild animals. Wildlife SOS was instrumental in the release of Raju, the elephant who cried after being released from a life of chains after 50 years, and has collaborated with the government against the practice of using bears for dance performances. The organization is partner with the government to save 67 captive elephants from across the country, starting with 17 in the first phase that started in November, 2014.

This rescue also marks the inaugural trip of the Wildlife SOS’s new elephant ambulance – the first modern elephant ambulance in India with automatic electric hydraulic ramp, showers, dual power supply, dedicated room for the veterinary team with washing and treatment preparation area. This vehicle was designed to make transporting rescued elephants safer and more comfortable for the elephants.

Geeta Seshamani, Co-founder of Wildlife SOS, said, “With the addition of Mia and Sita to the herd, we have now rescued more than 10% of all the elephants that remained in India’s circuses when our circus elephant campaign began about one year ago. We are proud of this progress, but are committed to see this campaign through to the end, when we can say that no more elephants are suffering in India’s circuses.”

Earlier rescue operations required Wildlife SOS to hire trucks that were not specially equipped to deal with elephant rescues which made transport unsafe, challenging and inefficient.

Shreekant Upadhyay, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, UPFD said, “I am very happy that Wildlife SOS’s dedicated team is travelling across India to Tamil Nadu to save these elephants. Our Forest department congratulates Wildlife SOS with the success of this operation. ”

Initiatives to protect the elephant are not recent. In 1992, the ministry of environment and forests launched Project Elephant, designed to help elephants both wild and captive. In 1998, the central ministry banned the use of wild animals like tigers, bears, leopards, lions and monkeys in circuses. The elephant joined that list recently. The Animal Welfare Board of India has issued show-cause notices to circuses found lacking in animal welfare and documented maltreatment of elephants.

Both Mia and Sita, in their 50s will reach to elephant care and conservation centre Mathura on Wednesday. While Mia, the more spirited of the two, is developing a cataract in her eyes. She has significant, painful inflammation in both hind feet, as well as abscesses in her toenails – all of which contribute to making her gait severely abnormal.

Sita, the one who is more mild and mannered is also no less in need of veterinary intervention. Her right front leg never healed properly from an old fracture and is fused so she cannot bend it. Her left front leg is hyper extended, putting pressure on her foot, which has led to nail cracks and abscesses. Because of these problems, she has likely not been able to lie down and rest properly in more than a year.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Environment> Flora & Fauna / by Ishita Mishra, TNN / November 23rd, 2015

Aligarh dairy farm: A Colonial-era legacy lost in time

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Aligarh :

In a quaint corner of the nondescript Aligarh village Cherat, time seems to have stopped several decades ago. A pile of rust iron, an old Ambassador, a dust-laden Royal Enfield, a few worn-out offices where locks are still hanging but the doors have given way — are all that is left of the iconic Aligarh Dairy Farm, set up in 1899 by the legendary Swedish dairy expert Edward Keventer.

The once sprawling farm seems like a ghost town now. It has rugged towers watching over a deserted stretch which is being gobbled up slowly by overgrowth of foliage. There are dilapidated quarters with no population and even a railway track which hasn’t seen a train in decades.

Keventer, who was appointed by the British government in 1890 to ensure good health of their soldiers in India, came to India the same year, strengthened his knowledge on dairy products and developed a unique and efficient dairy purification technique that marked the beginning of the Keventer saga. By 1899, he had established a strong network of dairy farms and plants, promoting modern dairy technology. He set the Aligarh Dairy Farm in the same year.

His business flourished and expanded rapidly across Karachi, Rangoon, Calcutta, Lucknow and Delhi, reaching its peak between 1908 and 1920. His dairy products became so popular that British King George V conferred on him a Royal charter for supply of fresh dairy and farm products.

Aligarh farm began to lose sheen soon after Keventer’s death in 1937 and the departure of the British from the country in 1947 further pushed it into oblivion.

In 1948, the Uttar Pradesh government took over this farm and renamed it Central Dairy Farm. It worked well until 1998 when it ran into losses and went out of business. Piling up liabilities as well as a host of court cases made it financially unviable, said officials.

Chief veterinary officer RK Yadav told TOI, “In 1948, the entire farm was given to the UP government. It was well-maintained and functioning. The ghee, butter, cream and pork was supplied to different states as well as the Army till 1998. After that, the farm stopped functioning because it came into losses and many court cases were filed against it. There are about 150 court cases against Central Dairy Farm at present.”

In another corner of the sprawling 1,700-acre Colonial-era farm, the state government runs a pig breeding centre, currently under the animal husbandry department.

As spiders listlessly make life-size cobwebs around the century-old farm’s rusted gate, its fate remains equally uncertain in the government files gathering dust in the faraway state capital.

“There are many court cases, and then there are different departments in the administration vying to get this farm. Some want to convert it into a green belt. Whatever the government decides will shape the future of this farm,” farm in-charge Abhinesh Pal Singh told TOI from Lucknow.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Cit> Agra / by Eram Agha, TNN / September 09th, 2015

Kukrail gets ‘parijat vatika’

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel

Lucknow :

Apart from a ‘gulab vatika’ (rose garden) and ‘aushadhi vatika’ (medicinal garden), Kukrail now boasts of a ‘parijat vatika’.

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated the Van Mahotsava on Wednesday and 21 parijat (Adansonia digitata) trees were planted at the spot. All trees were more than eight feet in height and the one planted by the CM was about 17 feet high.

“Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) had planted a parijat tree at Lohia park. Now, I can see a depression in the earth around the tree which shows that people have started paying obeisance to the tree. We are planting it on a large scale so that more people may know of the mythologically significant but long-forgotten tree varieties,” said the CM.

At least 21 parijat trees were also planted in Jhansi on the same day.

The Ramayana and Mahabharata mention around 156 tree varieties and some of the prominent ones have been selected by the forest department for plantation across the state depending on soil and weather conditions.

Parijat is an exotic tree and remains green for almost six months. It is said to be one of the gems from the ‘samudra-manthan’. Believed to have been brought to earth by the Pandavas, it is also called ‘kalp vriksha’ as it helped them win the battle of Mahabharata.

Similarly, Kadamb (Anthocephalus cadamba) is mentioned in the Mahabharata as a tree dear to Lord Krishna who played the flute under a ‘kadamb’ tree on the banks of the Yamuna.

Apart from parijat and kadamb, trees like ‘Sita ashok’, ‘tamaal’, ‘maulshree’, ‘tulsi’, ‘harsingar’, banyan and peepal that are mentioned in folklore will be planted extensively at religious ‘parikramas’ and on government land. The chosen tree varieties have huge environmental and medicinal significance as well.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / July 02nd, 2015

Pruning is prudent: This mango orchard is richer than all others

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All

Lucknow :

It is believed that good things are difficult to get.

Perhaps that’s why every mango grower lives with the fact that his mango orchard will follow the accepted alternate bearing pattern. This pattern, common to mango and several other fruit crops, means that the yield of fruit will not be the same year after year. A heavy yield one year could be followed by a dismal one another year and vice versa.

However, if you pass through Kunwarpur village on Sitapur Road, there will be one mango orchard outshining all others. Here, unlike others, each tree is laden with the king of fruits, waiting to be plucked. This delighting yield is no freak of nature but a result of a well-researched technique and years of hard work.

City-based mango grower Kunwar Raghavendra Singh introduced the canopy management technique in his orchard over a decade ago.

Under this, trees are pruned regularly to turn the upper part of the tree to look like an inverted umbrella, instead of a canopy. Using this technique, Raghavendra has turned his barren land into a 100% productive mango orchard, producing varieties of mangoes including dussehri, langda and chausa.

Even when the weather was playing havoc with all kinds of crops and subsequently with the fate of farmers, Raghavendra was not worried.

His more than 3,500 mango trees were safe from the untimely rain and thunderstorms. “The most harmful factor for any mango tree is the canopy shape. It can have good flowering but not good fruiting. Apart from the fact that it hardly bears any fruit, this form limits the penetration of sunlight in the tree. This affects photosynthesis and the health of the tree,” says Raghavendra. The central shoots are the fastest growing in any tree and draw most of the nutrition and hormones. When the central shoots are removed, the nutrition flows side ways to lateral branches. This results in better size of the fruit, he explains.

Efforts must also be made to see that trees are gradually brought down to a maximum height of 22 feet-a manageable height which makes spraying pesticides easier, he adds.

Ready to extend a helping hand to other mango growers and also to the state horticulture department, Raghavendra claims that unlike a dense mango orchard, an open one reduces the cost of management and results in optimum flowering and fructification even in inclement weather.

The inverted umbrella structure allows free movement of air thus facilitating cross pollination. After untimely rain, the free movement of air helps evaporate moisture, the most devastating factor in the growth and spread of fungal infections.

Dr Mansoor Hasan, a city-based cardiologist, has also implemented this technique in his orchard in Manikpur, near Unchahar since 2011, with the help of his son Aly Hasan.

Happy with his produce, Dr Hasan says, “I have observed that fruits of a well-managed tree are also bigger in size and qualitatively better as compared to a taller tree. Even trees which were not giving any fruit for past many years have gradually started bearing fruit once they were pruned,” he adds.

In the case of mango trees, it seems, bigger is not better.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Uzma Talha, TNN / June 28th, 2015

VAT waived for solar devices in U.P.

Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology
U.P. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav takes a look at solar water pumping solutions at the North India Solar Summit on Friday. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
U.P. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav takes a look at solar water pumping solutions at the North India Solar Summit on Friday. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced on Friday the waiver of value-added tax on solar energy equipment, and said the State was working on setting up solar power plants and parks here.

“Our State has a vast potential and if facilities are given here, entrepreneurs could make India a developed nation. ‘Make in India’ could not succeed without ‘Make in UP,’” he said.

At the North India Solar Summit, organised by the Indian Industries Association, he said the State had announced its solar policy and the government was working on having solar power plants and solar parks in the State.

He said light and fans would be run on solar power in the under-execution Loha housing scheme. Solar power would soon be supplied to a village with no charge collected from consumers. The State was working to ensure power supply for 16 to 18 hours in rural areas and 22 to 24 hours in urban areas.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Other States / PTI / Lucknow – April 25th, 2015

AU scientists develop herbal oil for fungal infections

Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Allahabad :

High humidity has led to spurt in cases of fungal infection. The easy remedy to the problem comes in form of oil extracted from various herbs. A team of scientists of Allahabad University has extracted three types of oil. Their study has been published in various international journals and further research is being conducted in collaboration with an institute in Germany.

Detailing about various sorts of fungal infections and remedies to combat them, head of the department of botany, Allahabad University, Anupam Dikshit, said: “We have extracted oil from various plants which are effective against fungus and viruses. Both bacteria and fungus are capable of harming the fibre of your clothes but fungal infection is far more deadly.” He added that fungus needs certain medium for growth and cotton clothes and leather items provide best of conditions. Cotton and leather contain cellulose, which is made of polysaccharides and on the contrary, synthetic clothes are much safer from these infections.

This work of Dikshit has given two patents to his name, one a joint US-India-German patent and another one an Indian. Apart from this the work has been published in several international journals.

Dikshit said that the best climatic conditions for fungus are the temperature ranging between 30-35 degree Celsius and 55% or above humidity.

He suggested that one should be more careful in respect to white or light clothings as the fungal growth in the vegetative stage misses the naked eyes. And by the time you recognize the dark or black colour of the second stage of fungal growth, it had already done substantial damage to the fibre.

Similarly, about the leather items, he explained that the green spot on the leather, which again is an organic material, is fungus named penicillium. The best remedy is to polish them in every two days as the essential oil controls the fungal spores from germinating at the first stage, itself.

About the remedial measures, Dikshit informed that essential oil, present in ammi commonly known ajwaien, fennel or Sauf and cumin seeds or zeera, are the best remedy.

So, the next time you spot a white or coloured patch on your dress better get it treated as this could be fungal infection already in the process of harming the fibers of the clothes.

Tips to protect clothes from fungus

* Take your outside, sunshine and fresh air will kill the mildew

* Leave a light bulb turned on in areas where the fungus is most likely to breed

* Remove clothes from plastic dry cleaning bags immediately

* Check your clothes for spots/stains every time you hang them up

* Keep about an inch between your clothes and don’t cram them in

Keep closet door open to help with air flow

* Never hang clothes in your closet, unless they are completely dry

* Stuff your shoes and handbags that you don’t wear daily with a little tissue

* Opt for paint, not wall paper on your closet walls

Tips to protect leather from fungus

* Allow air circulation around stored items

* Apply a wax dressing to leather

* Take your leather items out occasionally and place them in the sunlight

* Store leather goods for extended periods

* Clean your leather regularly

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Rajeev Mani, TNN / June 28th, 2015

Lucknow zoo renamed after the last Nawab

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, Travel

In a “historic” decision, the Samajwadi Party government has renamed the Lucknow Prani Udyan, popularly known as Lucknow zoo, as “Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan, Lucknow,” making it the first official move-since Independence – to name a monument after a Nawab of Oudh, or Avadh (roughly corresponding with Central Uttar Pradesh ). Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was the last Nawab of Oudh before the province was annexed by the British under the policy of Doctrine of Lapse in 1856. He was banished to Matia Burj in Bengal.

Bird sanctuary too renamed

Another first was the decision to rename the Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary in Unnao district after revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad. The bird sanctuary will now be known as “ Shaheed Chandra Shekhar Azad Pakshi Vihar, Nawabganj.”

Though Chandra Shekhar Azad was born in Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh (July 23, 1906), his father, Sitaram Tiwari, belonged to Badarka village in Unnao district. It was on account of his parental ties with Unnao district that the bird sanctuary has been named after him.

These decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday.

The Lucknow Zoo was established in 1921 and was named after England’s Prince of Wales as “Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens.” It was renamed as Lucknow Prani Udyan on June 4, 2001.

The State Cabinet further approved the cancellation of the agreement for handing over the power distribution in Kanpur city to Messrs. Torrent Power Limited, Ahmedabad. An official spokesman said the deal was called off through mutual understanding.

Laptops for bright students

The proposal to distribute laptops to meritorious students of high school and Intermediate examinations conducted by UP Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, Central Board of Secondary Education and the Indian Council of Secondary Education in the year 2015 was also approved by the Cabinet.

Another important Cabinet decision pertained to the demolition of three temporary structures on the service road near bungalow Number 13 in Mall Avenue (former Chief Minister Mayawati’s official bungalow).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Other States / by Atiq Khan / Lucknow – June 24th, 2015

Meet the Boston woman who builds toilets in UP

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, World Opinion

New Delhi :

India draws epithets mostly of two kinds from foreigners. Indophiles call it ‘exotic’ for its rich multi-culturalism, mysticism, spirituality and other cliched reasons. Yet, others scathingly dub it as a ‘dump’ for its egregious lack of sanitation, infrastructure and development. Some go as far as calling India a ‘shithole’ ‘drowning in its own excreta’.

Having grown up in both under-privileged and privileged classes in the States, Marta says her idea about the difference in the two classes shaped her view of the world.
Having grown up in both under-privileged and privileged classes in the States, Marta says her idea about the difference in the two classes shaped her view of the world.

But an American Ph.D student Marta Vanduzer-Snow (34) moved to rural India three years ago thinking that India needed a different approach altogether—”To be an invisible human who makes a difference on the ground.”

The result—Marta, a Rutgers University scholar who grew up in Boston, got 82 low-cost evapotranspiration toilets in homes and 1 in a primary school and 10 feet wide 122 meters permeable roads constructed, all at half or one-third the cost of similar governmental projects in the villages of Rai Bareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Each government toilet, built under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that aims to eliminate open defecation by Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th anniversary in October 2019, costs about Rs.17000, but the evapotranspiration toilet that Marta has brought to the villages costs only Rs. 9109. As against government’s Rs. 4 lakh per 100 meter of interlocking road, Marta’s 100 meter permeable road costs only Rs. 2 lakh.

A co-author of books and research papers with various academics, Marta has developed a theory for three-pronged strategy on development that integrates infrastructure, health and education. “I wanted a small scale model based on my theory that I could execute. So I did some research and found that Amethi and Rai Bareily had quite a few active self-help groups. I decided to learn, practice and contribute.”

An Amartya Sen development economics fan, Marta who spends her own personal resources on all these projects, has also set up 27 solar power plants, including two street lights and a mobile charger. One of the only villages in Rae Bareli boasts of being the beneficiary of night light set up by the do-gooder scholar. Marta also got French drains built, with rainwater harvesting techniques and has been working on myco-filtration systems for potable water.

MartaLUCKNOW02jun21

Along with her programme coordinator Pawan Singh in some villages, she has also run literacy programs, written text books on English and organic farming, set up libraries and oversaw a pilot stage of four classrooms. The Rutgers scholar also run telehealth, ‘Mera Doctor’ a medical facility that offers 24×7 doctor-on-call service for free for a year to two villages.

Having grown up in both under-privileged and privileged classes in the States, Marta says her idea about the difference in the two classes shaped her view of the world. “The sharp difference was basically due to access or lack of access to opportunity,” she believes. The travels through Africa, Middle East, Asia and half a year she spent in Nepal running community service programs after high school confirmed her understanding of the difference in social classes. “But human life is about hope and how we look at future and what is possible for us. That is why I am doing what I am. ”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / June 20th, 2015

Allahabad:New technique to consume less wood for cremation

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment
Allahabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) plans to cut down the use of wood for the last rites for making the cremation ghats eco-friendly.
Allahabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) plans to cut down the use of wood for the last rites for making the cremation ghats eco-friendly.

Allahabad :

Allahabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) plans to cut down the use of wood for the last rites for making the cremation ghats eco-friendly.

For this, AMC has hired a New Delhi based agency. Giving details about the plan, environmental engineer, AMC, Sanjeev Pradhan, said, “We have made a plan for the modernization of the cremation ghats at Phaphamau, Daraganj and Rasoolabad. The new technique, developed by the agency, utilizes only 40 per cent of the woods used for performing last rites. The less consumption of the wood will also help in reducing the air pollution.”

He further added that for performing last rites, a platform will be constructed at the cremation ghats of Phaphamau, Daraganj and Rasoolabad. The bodies will be kept on these constructed platforms and then wood will be used in accordance with the technique.

A DPR (detailed project report) has been prepared and an estimate of about Rs 5.25 crore has also been made for the modernization of the cremation ghats. The modernization of cremation ghats has also received a shot in the arm as the State government has released an amount of Rs 1860.82 lakh for the development of cremation ghats in the entire state and AMC is also expected to be given some amount out of this fund.

The above amount is the first installment of the total amount of about Rs 3,721.65 lakh that has been sanctioned by the state government for the modernization of the cremation ghats.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Ashraf Jamal, TNN / March 20th, 2015

Now, parval leaves to control diabetes

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

Allahabad :

If you are a diabetic and costly medicines are burning a hole in your pocket, don’t worry as leaves of “Trichosanthes dioica” or parwal can rescue you. Researches at the department of chemistry, Allahabad University, have shown that the extract prepared by the leaves of parwal brings down the blood glucose level (BGL) by over 32%.

The findings, titled ‘Glycemic properties of trichosanthes dioica leaves’ have been published in an international journal named as Pharmaceutical Biology, published in England. The study has been done by a team of chemists led by Geeta Watal and her team comprising Prashant Kumar Rai, Dolly Jaiswal, Rakesh Kumar Singh and Rajesh Kumar Gupta.

Rai said that variable doses of 250, 500 and 750 mg kg, per body weight of the extract, were administered on normal and sub and mild-diabetic rats, which brought down the blood glucose level (BGL) by 32.9%. “The aim of the study was to screen the glycemic attributes of an aqueous extract of leaves of parwal. This evidence indicates that extract of “Trichosanthes dioica” leaves has good hypoglycemic potential along with a high anti-diabetic profile,” he added.

Even as India has the dubious distinction of being termed the ‘diabetes capital of the world’, a number of Indian medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years in the traditional system of medicine for treating various diseases, Rai added.

Detailing on research, Rai said that 7 kgs of fresh leaves of trichosanthes dioica were collected and shade-dried. The dried leaves were crushed and extracted. The extract was administered in rats which showed a regular fall of 32.9%.

With its origin in the Indian subcontinent, parwal is a nutritive cucurbit vegetable. It is rich in protein and vitamin A. Direct intake of seeds of the plant was also found to be effective in the serum lipid profile of normal and mild-diabetic human subjects and rabbits. Seeds of the plant also possess anti-fungal and anti-bacterial qualities. The leaves and shoots are being used in Ayurvedic system of medicine since ancient times.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Rajeev Mani, TNN / March 07th, 2015