Monthly Archives: June 2016
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Meerut shooter wins silver in 8th Int’l junior shotgun cup
Meerut :
Thirteen-year-old Shapath Bharadwaj has brought laurels to the city by winning a silver medal in the 8 th International Junior Shotgun Cup held at Orimattila in Finland from May 23 to 29.
The youngest participant in the competition, Shapath, scored the highest 128 points among his teammates and ensured a silver medal to India in the double trap event held at Orimatilla on May 25. It was the second international match of the budding shooter in which he succeeded to play in the semifinals after scoring the highest 128 among his teammates.
Earlier, in the first week of May, he participated in the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup held at Suhl in Germany and impressed his coach and well-wishers by obtaining a score of 125 in his first international competition. He was the youngest participant in the World Cup and Junior Shotgun Cup.
Earlier, he was selected in the National Team of Double Trap by giving an outstanding performance in selection trials in which he scored 120 and 135. The trials were held at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges, New Delhi, wherein he ensured his place in the national team to represent India in international competitions at the age of 14.
An elated Bharadwaj told TOI, “I’m happy for what I’ve achieved for the country but there is still a long way to go.”
Shapath attributed his success to his coach Yogender Pal Singh, who himself is a double trap player of international repute, and all those who supported him throughout his preparations and at the time of need.
“This was all because of my coach and still I have to work hard to bring laurels for my country and people,” said Shapath.
Discussing Shapath’s feat, Yogender said, “Shapath’s showed promise from an early stage and considering his achievement, the boy will go a long way representing India in international events.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Meerut / Sandeep Rai / TNN / May 30th, 2016
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NBRI cures, restores Parijat to pure original glory
Lucknow:
The ancient Parijat tree in Barabanki district is now free of ailments. The treatment administered by the CSIR lab, National Botanical Research Institute, has made the tree healthy again.
On Wednesday, D K Upreti, officiating director, NBRI, handed over the report containing recommendations on how to preseve the generations-old entity to the forest department. Though NBRI had administered chemical treatment to the tree initially, it has now recommended a microbial biopesticide (Bacillus based inoculants) to be applied on the trunk and leaves of the tree thrice in a year to keep it clean of infections. NBRI also gave Bacillus packets to forest department.
“When we visited the site and studied the samples of the tree and soil we found a huge number of bacterial and fungal infections but now it has been treated and cured completely,” said NBRI’s senior principal scientist S K Tiwari.
NBRI, a CSIR laboratory, was brought on board by the forest department to study the condition of the tree after TOI highlighted how it is wilting and is in dire need of conservation. Scientists had collected samples of the tree’s healthy tissue, wood from the affected portion and soil to find the cause. The sample analysis showed the tree was infested with multiple bacteria and fungi.
The tree was put under treatment in February and administered chemical therapy twice. The tree has a small temple at its base and devotees, for years, have been offering water and sweets as prasad there. Right at the spot it had developed a large opening in its trunk.
Though the tree is being looked after by the forest department as less than an acre land on which the tree exists in forest area, the treatment by the department along with regular spraying of disinfectants proved inefficient and insufficient to preserve the tree.
Parijat (Adansonia digitata) is an exotic tree, an African specie with peculiar features. It bears only flowers and no fruits, the reason it is difficult to grow anywhere. Its white flowers turn golden after a certain period. Barabanki’s Parijat is mythically believed to have come out of the ‘samudra manthan’ (churning of ocean) and brought to earth by Arjun from the garden of Indra for his mother Kunti to offer to Lord Shiva and seek victory of Pandavas over Kauravas. A few years ago, the Centre had released two postal stamps on this tree. “Parijat is said to be ‘kalpvrikhsh’ or the wish-fulfilling tree,” said a priest at the site of the tree.
Experts from Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad too studied the cause of the tree’s decay after Barabanki district administration sought help in 2012.
The age of the tree is anybody’s guess. According to forest officers, it’s only when one cuts the trunk of the tree and counts its rings that it can be known how old it is.
Parijat is ‘top-drying’, meaning its branches dry from the top. It sheds leaves in winters and during May-June new leaves sprout, so for six months it is green and rest of the year barren.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / Neha Shukla, TNN / June 02nd, 2016
Zoo vet nominated for ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’
Kanpur:
For exemplary courage shown by a Kanpur zoo vet while capturing a leopard in Meerut last month despite being injured, the Kanpur zoo administration has nominated the veterinarian for the ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’.
The nomination letter has been sent to the Union home ministry by the zoo authorities. The zoo authorities had received a letter from home ministry asking to nominate a person having shown courage, if any. Acting on the letter, the zoo administration nominated zoo vet.
Zoo director Deepak Kumar said that veterinarian RK Singh’s name has been sent for ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak 2016’. Singh had acted courageously at a time when the leopard had attacked him and caused injury in his left hand. Still, he had managed to tranquilise it.
Last month a male leopard weighing around 60 kgs had sneaked into human habitat in Army Cantt in Meerut and created panic for three days. To capture the leopard, which had attacked many people and left them injured, a team of experts led by Singh of Kanpur zoo had been sent. The leopard was hiding behind old furniture in a 200-metre long corridor in an army establishment in Cantt area. Singh had to lay down on the floor to take aim at the leopard. It attacked the vet and injured him. The leopard was brought to Kanpur zoo for treatment.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / June 04th, 2016