Srinagar, Nov 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar, Sandeep Chaudhary on Sunday gave Rs 1 lakh from his personal savings to a 90-year-old street vendor who was robbed of all his life savings.

The gesture by the SSP to help Abdul Rehman, who sells 'channa' on the roadside in Bohri Kadal area of old Srinagar, is being appreciated by many and social media is agog with praise for the officer.

Abdul Rehman was thrashed by some robbers on Saturday and they decamped with Rs 1 lakh, his entire savings, which he had intended for his last rites.

Source: IANS

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Chennai, Nov 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) A woman officer of the Chennai police, E. Rajeswari rescued a man from underneath a tree that fell upon him at T.P. Chatram area.

The woman police officer told media that she received a call from the control room stating that a man had been killed as a tree fell upon him.

"I received a call that a tree fell on him at the cemetery in T.P. Chatram, and my team and I reached the spot immediately. On close inspection, I found that he was unconscious but alive," she said.

The man, Udhayakumar, 28, was working at the T.P. Cemetry and his friend informed the control room that he had died after the tree fell upon him.

Rajeswari told media that she pulled up the friend of Udhayakumar for not rushing the injured man to the hospital.

The inspector also said that the duo had drunk the previous night and the friend did not bother to take Udhayakumar to the hospital. The video of her carrying Udhayakumar on her shoulders went viral.

She immediately took an autorickshaw and sent Udhayakumar along with his friend to the nearby general hospital.

The injured person is out of danger and doctors said that he suffered a concussion.

Source: IANS

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Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Nov 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Ramveer Singh, an erstwhile journalist, is making headlines and this time, it is not for his write-ups.

Ramveer has taken up hydroponic farming in a big way.

Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants without soil, by using mineral nutrient solutions in an aqueous solvent.

In 2017-18, Ramveer travelled to Dubai for an agriculture-related event and witnessed hydroponics farming.

"I was inquisitive about this type of farming method. It did not require soil and could be grown with less pest infestation. Moreover, it saved almost 80 per cent of water required for growing plants," he says.

Ramveer extended his stay and learned the farming techniques from the farmers for the next couple of weeks. After returning, he decided to experiment with the farming technique at home.

He has now converted his three-storied house into a hydroponics farm that earns him lakhs.

Ramveer started using pipes and other infrastructure to set up the hydroponics systems in his balcony and open spaces. "I installed two methods for the farm using Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Deep Flow Technique (DFT).

"At present, the farm is spread across 750 sq meter space, hosting over 10,000 plants," he adds.

He grows okra, chillies, capsicum, bottle gourd, tomatoes, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, strawberry, fenugreek and green peas.

"I grow all seasonal vegetables with hydroponics. The system is designed using PVC pipes and circulates the water with the help of gravity. The arrangement ensures that about 16 nutrients such as magnesium, copper, phosphorus, nitrogen, zinc and others reach the plants by introducing them in the flowing water. The method saves 90 per cent use of water," he explains.

Ramveer believes that the hydroponic farming technique is healthier and better than organic farming.

"I feel that the vegetables grown in hydroponics farming have better absorption of nutrients. Moreover, the method has no risk of soil pollution. Farmers practising conventional farming may expose soil or plants by spraying chemicals or pesticides. Hydroponics farming is independent of harmful chemicals," he says.

Ramveer also has a farm about 40 kilometres from Bareilly, but he is no longer dependent on it.

"I do not need to travel a long distance for my weekly supply of vegetables. I harvest it fresh from my home farm and use it in the kitchen," he adds.

His impressive and unique farm has attracted the attention of passers-by as they felt awed by the concrete building covered with vegetables hanging over the sides. "Many have inquired and sought to install the system in their homes. I have helped at least 10 persons by installing the hydroponic system for them," he adds.

As for being a journalist, Ramveer continues to freelance as per his convenience.

Source: IANS

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Srinagar, Oct 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) Doing proud to the willow bat industry in J&K, Kashmir-made bats have made it to the ICC T20 World Cup.

Some players of the Oman cricket team used Kashmiri bats in their T20 World Cup fixture.

Although the local bat industry has been there for decades, this is the first time that any international player has used a Kashmir made willow bat.

Fawzal Kabeer, an MBA graduate from the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) Awantipora, in Anantnag district said the bats used by the Oman cricket team were manufactured at his factory and that he had to do a lot of hard work to realise his dream.

These bats are manufactured under the brand label GR8 Sports, the industrial unit located in Halmulla Sangam area of Anantnag.

Kabeer, who owns the GR8 Sports firm from his late father, said the manufacturing unit was founded in 1974.

"To begin with, we prepared only the raw material which was then shipped to Jalandhar, Meerut, and other places, where the bats were manufactured and sold under the brand names of the firms who manufactured the fine product.

"This was not a profitable venture, besides the local bar industry remained in oblivion that way.

"We started producing the finished bats at our unit.

"Till then the bat of Kashmir had no recognition, as we were lacking the knowledge about how to take our bat to international level. We had no expertise and technique due to which Kashmir willow bats were being sold unbranded.

"To get our brand recognised, we followed all the rules framed by the International Cricket Council and managed to find some craftsmen whom we recruited into our firm.

"In addition to this, we held discussions with professional craftsmen on how to ensure a unique style of bat making in this industry", he said.

Mohammad Naseem Khushi and Bilal Khan of Oman cricket team have played International fixtures with the bats produced by GR8 Sports.

According to Kabeer, Kashmir willow is a 'male variant' of bat wood which has the strength to bear things in a unique way unlike the English willow which is a female variant'.

There are more than 300 bat manufacturing units in south Kashmir Anantnag district. The international recognition earned by GR8 Sports is an inspiration for all of them to make World quality cricket bats that can compete with the best in the market.

Source: IANS

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BY VISHAL GULATI

Shimla, Oct 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) Women farmers of Himachal Pradesh are breaking the mindset barriers not only at home but also in society with the new confidence attained through the latest information and knowledge about natural farming, discarding the conventional practices that have effects on both -- environmental and human health.

The movement, launched in the state in 2018 to adopt natural farming under the state-run Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana, is gaining ground.

This year, October 22 is being observed as 'Mahila Kisan Diwas' or Women Farmers' Day.

Project officials told IANS on Friday that with a growing concern about the intensive usage of pesticides in farming, there is a noticeable change as more and more women, either individually or in self-help groups, are turning up as catalysts.

One such group with over 20 women farmers is in Chagaon village in Tapri block of Kinnaur district.

They have adopted the low cost, non-chemical and climate resilient Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF) technique being promoted under Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana on some portion of their farms for cultivation of apples, rajmash, garlic, maize and traditional crops like ogla phaphra and koda.

Like other womenfolk, middle-aged farmer Charna Devi from Chagaon village is happy after switching over to natural ways of farming as she believes it contributes significantly in saving humans and nature from the harmful effects of pesticides.

In an interview, Devi told IANS, "I could have never thought of going beyond Shimla. The travel not only changed my outlook towards agriculture but taught me so many other things."

She, along with others, got an opportunity to visit Kurukshetra in Haryana, some 400 km from her remote village, for exposure to natural farming.

As per official records, the women farmers are doing natural farming individually on around 12.5 bigha of land. The SPNF technique has helped them take multiple crops alongside apples, like pulses and vegetables, which not only supplement their family income but the farm health also.

"Women have an important role in agriculture. Their inclusion in natural farming as trainers and master trainers will certainly give good overall results," Project Executive Director Rajeshwar Singh Chandel told IANS.

Over 1.5 lakh farmers in the state have been trained in SPNF technique. The number of women participants in all training sessions is reasonably good. The results in the field are encouraging too, he said.

Unlike her, the journey has not been not so smooth for Jaswinder Kaur, 50, from Kanshipur village in Paonta Sahib block in Sirmaur district while adopting natural farming in family farm.

"Everyone doubted me when I talked about adopting SPNF technique at home. My husband once threw away the dung and urine of a desi' cow that I collected for natural farming. However, when I persuaded him to try it and get training, he agreed. He was happy with the results. Both of us are now doing natural farming on more than five bigha and growing 20 types of fruits and vegetables," said Kaur.

She is now a part of the women farmers group and markets the produce via social media.

Even the women groups are collectively making pickles, chutneys and garlands to supplement their livelihood from agriculture.

Officials say the knowledge imparted to the women farmers and their capacity building through trainings and exposure visits to other farms are doing more good to them than just providing them the option of healthy and sustainable agriculture for livelihood.

The knowledge has visibly instilled confidence in women farmers in totality that has led to their inclusion in decision making even at home.

An elated young woman farmer Harshita Rana Bhandari, 28, who is the Prakritik Kheti Mahila Khushhal Kisan Samiti president, said, "Our apple orchards were not giving good yield due to overuse of chemicals. Moreover, the expenditure on cultivation was rising every year. When we were specifically trained for natural farming and motivated to contribute significantly with knowledge, we adopted natural farming."

Educated up to Class 12, she is now leading the natural farming initiative by propagating it among other women in the village.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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Prayagraj, Oct 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Panchdasnaam Juna Akhara, one of the 13 ancient recognised Hindu monastic orders in the country, is all set to launch an initiative for the conservation of Yamuna river.

The Juna Akhara has decided to organise a 'Kalindi Utsav', under which wide-spread riverbank cleaning exercises and conservation awareness events would be conducted between Karela Bagh and Bade Hanuman temple in Prayagraj on November 14.

"The efforts would be gradually scaled up to a state-level mission," said Mahant Hari Giri, general secretary of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), and chief patron of Juna Akhara.

The Mahant said, "Yamuna is also a sacred river. It is worshipped as a Hindu goddess called Yamuna, also known as Yami in early texts, while in later religious scriptures, she has been called Kalindi. In Hindu scriptures, she is the daughter of Surya, the sun god, and Sanjna, the cloud goddess."

He further said, "Aimed at attracting the attention of people as well as the governments towards the need of undertaking Yamuna-specific initiatives to conserve the river, a demand for constructing public toilets on the river banks would also be raised by us. We want basic amenities to be developed first to conserve the Yamuna."

People living on the banks of the river would then be sensitised about the need to conserve the river, he said.

The next step possibly could be implementing strict measures by slapping fines on people polluting the river and its banks by dumping waste, garbage and releasing untreated sewage into it.

The Juna Akhara, the largest of all the 13 monastic orders, also plans to undertake massive tree plantation drives along the banks of Yamuna as part of its mission.

"We will involve locals residing on the river banks as well as volunteers for looking after the planted trees. Our saints and seers across the state will use their sermons and discourses to spread the message," the Mahant said.

'Deepdaan' events on the banks of Yamuna during the sacred 'Kartik' month as per the Hindu calendar would also be organised from October 21 to November 19 with cleaning the ghats as part of this initiative.

Source: IANS

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Jaipur, Oct 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) Looking at the major sports talent remaining untouched in rural areas of the country, Colonel Himmat Verma took premature retirement from the Army in August 2021 to launch an NGO 100 Medals-Targeted Foundation in Jaipur.

The officer took premature retirement after having served for 23 years in various parts of the country. The ultimate aim of his foundation is to contribute meaningfully to the nation's sports performance in Olympics and achieve a target of 100 medals in Olympics, said Lt. Col. Amitabh Sharma, PRO (Defence).

The NGO aims at identifying sporting talent amongst children from all across sections of the society. The foundation will also focus on economically weaker sections and villages where our hidden gems are located. As the Foundation grows, it shall strive to strengthen the sports infrastructure at the grassroots level to enable every child to pick and pursue a sport with passion, Sharma adds.

Col Verma told IANS, "The main challenge is to convince children to take up the talent selection test, to reach out to all nooks and corners of the country to find out the talents and convince parents to allow their children to take up sports as a career.

However, confident on countless opportunities, he said, "The opportunities are endless. Everyone has been very encouraging and appreciative the concept. Many are already willing to join and contribute to talent identification. Things must fall in its place in the first talent selection camp for people to understand the motives of the NGO, he adds.

Source: IANS

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Kochi, Oct 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) Kerala's first artificial heart implantation was successfully performed at a private hospital on a 61-year-old woman patient.

The cardiothoracic surgical team at VPS Lakeshore hospital implanted the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), an advanced and unique mechanism designed to aid patients suffering from heart failure by helping the bottom left chamber of the heart (left ventricle) pump blood out to the aorta and the rest of the body.

The patient, who has been undergoing treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) for the past six years, was admitted to the hospital with cardiogenic shock, breathing difficulty, and hypotension on September 13.

Her condition deteriorated with ongoing heart failure with fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema) and she was shifted to ventilator support.

Even though the option to bring her back to life was a heart transplant, which needs a donor heart and an unpredictable waiting period, time was running out and it was then the doctors decided to implant LVAD - an artificial heart.

With the family's consent, the doctors, on October 8 performed the nine-hour-long extremely rare surgery which saved her life.

Now the patient is safe and sound, she has started taking food orally, and is in the recovery phase undergoing rehabilitation.

As per the medical team, she can live an improved, long, and normal life with this support.

D.S. Sujith, the cardiothoracic surgeon who led the team of professionals, said, as organ donation is in a plateau phase in Kerala, ventricular assist device (artificial heart) is a boon in the present scenario as a bridge to transplant as well as destination therapy.

Source: IANS

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Tumakuru, (Karnataka) Oct 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) A Karnataka SSLC (Class 10) girl student, who had attempted to commit suicide at being denied the opportunity to appear in annual examinations, has managed to score maximum marks in the supplementary exams last month.

Greeshma, a student of Alvas school of Mudibidare, scored 599 marks out of a total of 625 marks in the examinations.

Among 53,155 students who took the exams, she scored the highest marks.

Greeshma, who had scored 95 per cent in Class 9, was not issued a hall ticket for the SSLC exams as she could not pay the fee of the school. The parents came to know about this when they had tried to enrol her for the exams. Appeals to the Deputy Director for Public Instruction (DDPI) and the Education Minister were of no avail.

A heartbroken Greeshma had attempted to commit suicide on July 17 at her residence. However, timely treatment had saved her life. The incident had made headlines as the Karnataka government was all set to hold SSLC examinations amid the challenge of the Covid pandemic in the state.

After coming to know about the incident, then Education Minister Suresh Kumar had rushed to her residence and spoken to her. He had asked Greeshma to be brave and assured of giving an opportunity for her to write the SSLC exams during supplementary examinations.

Suresh Kumar had further asked her to focus on her studies without worrying too much about what happened.

After the results, an elated Suresh Kumar congratulated her.

"Greeshma, has become a model for others. She did not get diverted from the commitment. Greeshma has achieved what she aspired for," he said.

"I had been to Greeshma's residence. I had given her courage and promised that it is my responsibility to give her the opportunity to take supplementary exams. I have also asked her to prepare for it without worrying. Even after I was dropped from the cabinet, I kept in touch with the Commissioner, SSLC Board Directors, Deputy Director of Madhugiri Academic district and Heads of Alva's institute to ensure Greeshma attended exams. After getting to know about the results and her achievement, my mind is relaxed now."

Greeshma stated that she is very happy with the results and thanked everyone who helped her to take exams. "I committed a mistake earlier. I had prepared for well the exams," she added.

Greeshma hails from Koratagere town in Tumakuru district. She is the daughter of the Narasimhamurthy and Padmavathi.

Source: IANS

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Shimla, Oct 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Himachal Pradesh government will be setting up a Central-funded Murrah buffalo farm with an outlay of Rs 506.45 lakh for genetic upgradation and dairy extension services, state Animal Husbandry Minister Virender Kanwar said on Sunday.

The breeding farm, which will produce the high quality fertile and disease-free bovine stock, will be set up by the Himachal Pradesh Livestock and Poultry Development Board in Burnoh in Una district.

The Murrah buffalo is the most preferred choice of many dairy farmers.

The Minister said the aim of the farm is to produce high yielding calves to enhance the overall milk production.

The native Murrah breed, nationally recognized as an indigenous by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources in Karnal, is of its distinct characteristics and constitutes 359,979 (55 per cent) of the total 646,565 buffalo population in the state.

The state will set up three ultra-modern sheds at an initial cost of Rs 75 lakh to rear 50 high-genetic buffaloes, comprising 30 adult and 20 heifers.

The freshly calved high pedigreed 30 adult female buffaloes in first or second lactation and 20 disease-free heifers will be purchased from government farms.

The state will high grade semen to farmers and the surplus will be supplied to neighbouring states -- Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh -- to meet the growing demand, said Kanwar.

The Murrah buffalo farm will be equipped with scientific waste management and rainwater harvesting facilities and a fodder farm.

To reduce the operational cost of farms, own forage and silage preparation from green fodder crops will be practiced, said the minister.

The fodder production will be undertaken with a cost of Rs 15 lakh to reduce the cost of rearing the animals so as to make the project economically viable and the dung is to be used as organic fertilizer manure for green fodder cultivation.

Surplus green fodder is proposed to be utilized for silage production to be used in lean periods, he added.

Source: IANS

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Kolkata, Oct 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) Just before the 'pujas', there is good news for the people of West Bengal. In an effort to promote indigenous and Geographical Identification (GI) tagged products, the first consignment of GI-tagged sweet dish 'Mihidana' sourced from Bardhaman, has been exported to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

This unique sweet dish exported by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is being displayed (also provided for tasting purposes) to consumers at Aljazira superstores in Bahrain. More consignments of the unique sweet dish would be exported to Bahrain during the forthcoming Diwali festival.

The APEDA in a tweet wrote -- In a boost to harness export potential of indigenous & #GI tagged products, a consignment consisting of unique sweet dishes from #WestBengal - #Sitabhog, #Langcha, #Chandrapuli & #Narkel Naru (#coconut #laddu with #jaggery) was exported the Kingdom of #Bahrain.

A GI tag is a sign denoting a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. GI, a form of intellectual property right (IPR), is distinct from other forms of IPR, as it ascribes the exclusivity to the community in a defined geography, rather than to an individual, as is in the case of trademarks and patents.

A GI tag can be issued for agricultural, natural or manufactured goods that have a unique quality, reputation or other characteristics attributable to its geographical origin. Darjeeling tea, Basmati rice, Kanchipuram Silk, Mysore Silk, Hyderabadi haleem, Nagaland chilli products, etc., sold with the GI tag have premium pricing.

For the last few years, APEDA has been focusing on increasing lesser-known, indigenous, and GI-tagged food products from the country. In August 2021, India Post released a special cover on West Bengal's sweetmeats 'Mihidana' and 'Sitabhog'. West Bengal's Bardhaman got the GI tag for the century-old sweetmeats in 2017.

APEDA has been carrying out promotional activities to bring unique and GI certified products to the agricultural and processed food products export map of India. APEDA undertakes market promotion activities for export of food products, market intelligence for making informed decisions, international exposure, skill development, capacity building and high-quality packaging. It also provides assistance to set up pack houses across States which would fulfil the mandatory requirement or infrastructure for export of fresh fruits and vegetables to the international market.

Source: IANS

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Srinagar, Oct 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) There was a time, when people used to stand in long queues outside the Civil Secretariats in Srinagar and Jammu cities to reach the helmsmen. The visiting hours were fixed and the lucky ones only could somehow get a chance to get heard. Many people had to return disappointed as the time used to run out. Ineffective and weak grievance redressal system in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State was one of the major reasons for disconnect between the government and the people.

For elected representatives governance was never a priority. They remained busy in raking up the issues which did not fall in their domain and harping about the validity of Kashmir's accession with India. A common man, who lives for his survival, found it very difficult to reach the men or women, whom he had voted for. Issues like proper roads, sanitation, electricity, water, education and other basic amenities were the least discussed problems.

However, after August 5, 2019 -- when the Centre announced its decision to scrap J&K's special status and divided it into two union territories -- the government emphasized on making the grievance redressal system effective in the newly carved out union territory.

Within two years change is clearly visible in 'Naya Jammu and Kashmir' as people no longer have to wait with applications in long queues outside the civil secretariats in Srinagar and Jammu, nor do they have to be lucky enough to be heard. The government has set up help lines and online grievance redressalportals for a common man to drop his complaint and check the status about the action taken either online or over the phone. The officials are just a phone call away. The system which used to remain inaccessible has become accessible.

Background

Just a few months after J&K's transition into a Union Territory, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) organized two conferences in J&K on good governance on November 15-16, 2019 and conference on Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat with focus on Jal Shakti and Disaster Management on November 30- December 1, 2019. The aim of these events was to drive home a point that the system has changed and redressing the grievances of a common man has to be a priority.

On August 16, 2020, the Government of India assigned the task of improving the grievance redressal system in Jammu and Kashmir to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The DARPG was asked to enhance the collaboration with the Jammu & Kashmir Government to revamp the "Awam-ki-Awaz" portal with mapping of last mile grievance officers for improved quality of grievance redressal and reduced timelines in effective disposal of cases (1). Since then there has been no looking back as the administration is no longer inaccessible. The online portals are working round the clock and the genuine grievances of the people are being redressed in the shortest possible time. This initiative has helped to create a transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly effective administration in line with the vision to bridge the gap between the government and the people.

Jammu & Kashmir is the first Union Territory in the country to have district-level grievance offices with the central grievance portal to ensure prompt action. The grievance office has been integrated with the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal.

New grievance redress system

On September 11, 2020, J&K Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, launched the Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS). The purpose of the new system was to create an interface with the public and focus on governance issues in J&K.

Idea behind the initiative was to tell the people that the government cares for them and it's always ready to hear and help them. The officials, who were asked to handle the system, were told in clear terms that a common man wants a sympathetic, courteous, responsive, and helpful administrative set-up. The JK-IGRAMS provides minute by minute status updates of the grievances on the portal. District Collectors and Deputy Commissioners are the primary nodes for receiving, disposing and monitoring grievances (2).

On October 22, 2020, another step was taken to make the grievance redressal system more effective, LG Manoj Sinha held the first run of "LG's Mulaqaat"- Live Public Grievance in Srinagar. It was altogether a different experience for the participants who interacted face to face with the LG and top officers through video conferencing and put across their problems. In the very first round of the live mulaqaat with people, the LG heard nineteen grievances out of which fifteen were addressed on the spot (3).

Talking to the Indian Express, Secretary, Public Grievances, J&K, Simrandeep Singh had stated that the grievance redress systems generally work only when top leadership directly monitors or takes interest.

Explaining the mechanism Singh had stated that the LG Mulaqaat is an interactive platform wherein the LG and Chief Secretary directly review the performance with all administrative secretaries, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and senior officials from various departments.

Till date LG Sinha has held seven rounds of live mulaqaats. His advisors meet the people in Srinagar, Jammu and other places every week on a rotational basis. The message is clear that people are supreme, they are the fountain head of the power and no one can ignore them. They have to be heard and accommodated.

Stay in touch with people

After the outbreak of Covid-19 second wave in the union territory in April-May this year the grievance redressal system had become a bit slow, but soon after the number of cases declined the J&K government in June this year directed the administrative secretaries to regularly hold meetings with the public.

An order issued by the General Administrative Department stated: "It has been observed that due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, the government-public interaction has been affected in recent weeks. Due to limited mobility, the general public having grievances in various departments could not visit the civil secretariat for their redressal therefore it has been decided that all Administrative Secretaries shall be available for attending public grievances on daily basis (except on days of tour) between 2.30 to 3.30 p.m. in person or on notified telephone numbers or on video conferencing facility for redressal of public grievances."

In a follow up action the J&K Government on September 30 this year directed all the Administrative Secretaries and Deputy Commissioners to submit weekly appraisal of public interactions and the grievances redressed by them during fixed daily hearings.

In a nutshell addressing the public grievances has been the priority. The initiative to reach out to the people and stay in touch with them has filled in the void which used to exist prior to August 5, 2019.

In 'Naya J&K' common man is the priority

In 'Naya J&K' addressing public grievances is not only about how many complaints have been received and how many have been disposed of, it's about talking to the people directly and reaching out to them. The deadlines have been fixed to ensure that complaints don't remain lingering.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, N?tyanand Rai, who recently visited frontier district of Kupwara in connection with the Centre's outreach programme lauded the people of Kashmir for showing interest in peace and development and assured them that the grievance of every Kashmiri would be resolved in a time bound manner (4).

To ensure that no one is left out from the ambit of grievance redressal system a portal was launched for Kashmiri migrants in August this year with the aim to address the issues and concerns related to the land and properties of the migrants. The portal www.jkmigrantrelief.nic.in deals with the subject matter of the grievances that ranges from correction of encroachments, trespassing and alienation by way of fraud or distress, etc. (5)

Downgrading J&K from a State into a Union Territory has proved to be a blessing in a disguise for a common man. His pleas are being heard and every possible effort is being made to ensure that no one misses the opportunity to become a part of development and prosperity. New Delhi seems keen on addressing all the issues which were the main causes of discontent and resentment. The mantra is simply to make a common man part of everything and develop a society which includes all.

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1646293
2. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/new-grievance-redress-system-unveiled-in-jk/article32584413.ece
3. https://www.greaterkashmir.com/srinagar/first-run-of-lgs-mulaqaat-held
4. https://kashmirobserver.net/2021/09/30/grievance-of-every-kashmiri-will-be-resolved-mos-home/
5. https://newsonair.com/2021/08/23/jammu-kashmir-first-ut-to-have-a-grievance-redressal-portal-to-aid-kashmiri-migrants/

Source: IANS

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Hyderabad, Oct 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) In another unique initiative, the Telangana government on Friday launched the drone-based afforestation project named 'Hara Bhara'.

Actor Rana Daggubati, who is the brand ambassador the project, formally launched India's first aerial seeding campaign by a Seedcopter drone at the KBR Park in Hyderabad.

The state department of information technology, electronics and communications and department of forest have partnered with Marut Drones, a Hyderabad-based drone technology startup, for this first of its kind project in India.

Under rapid reforestation by drones, 50 lakh trees will be planted in about 12,000 hectares of land in forests across all the 33 districts in the state.

Jayesh Ranjan, secretary, industries & commerce, and information technology; Lokesh Jayaswal, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (CAMPA); and Prem Kumar Vislawath, founder & chief innovator of Marut Drones, were present at the launch.

This comes close on the heels of launch of 'Medicine from the Sky' project, which was also launched by the state government on a pilot basis.

Under this programme, drones are being used to deliver medicines to remote areas.

The 'Hara Bhara' campaign is expected to accelerate the mission of Green Telangana under the 'Haritha Haram' programme.

This project uses drones to disperse seed balls over thin, barren and empty forest lands to turn them into lush green abode of trees.

The process begins with a field survey and mapping of the terrain area to understand the ecosystem and demarcate the areas needing urgent attention.

This is used to determine the number and species of trees that can be planted in the barren land based on the soil, climate, and other parameters.

The seed balls are prepared by the local women and welfare communities which are dispersed via drones in the targeted areas.

Further, the area is continuously monitored to track the growth of plants sown.

Seedcopter by Marut Drones is an aerial seeding solution for rapid and scalable reforestation. It will bring community, science and technology together for an inclusive, sustainable and long-lasting solution.

Officials have said that it will not only reverse environmental damage but also create vital employment in rural, tribal and other vulnerable communities.

Its core objective is to build strong communities for afforestation and bring awareness at a grassroots level on the effects of deforestation.

Source: IANS

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Chandigarh, Oct 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) In just six months of its launch amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the PGI's Amputee Care Clinic here has registered more than 200 amputees in the management and their rehabilitation and fitted more than 20 prostheses, a senior doctor said on Friday.

"Since inception, we have registered more than 200 amputees and for all these patients our endeavor has been to create a paradigm shift from providing survival of amputee to giving life to amputees," M.S. Dhillon, Head, Department of Orthopedics with the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) told IANS.

He said it was hugely satisfying that they could make a visible difference to their lives through a focused approach and holistic care under the initiative of Amputee Care Clinic.

Deliberating about the intent behind the initiative, Dhillon said: "With our belief that the management of these cases does not end with the amputation surgery but requires the involvement of various specialists to cater to the social, emotional, and psychological problems, a comprehensive Amputee care Clinic came into being in February 2021 by roping in specialists from the various facet of medicine."

In the past six months, the PGI Amputee Clinic has evolved into a one-of-a-kind specialised clinic involving faculty members from various departments, including orthopaedics, PMR (physical and medical rehabilitation), psychiatry, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, all working to help the patients return as a healthy individual.

Dhillon said the clinic has registered more than 200 amputees.

"Most of them had to undergo amputations due to roadside accidents or railway track injuries; however, a few had undergone amputation due to cancer or congenital deformities. As more than 85 per cent of our patients are male and the majority of them are in the peak productive years of their life (25-50 years), the loss of limb becomes not only a personal loss but also a financial loss to the family, especially when it loses the services of its sole bread-earner.

"More than 90 per cent of the patients belong to low to middle socioeconomic strata and the majority of them have no social security or insurance."

Endorsing the need for community engagement to take forward the initiative, Dhillon elaborated: "With the support of the PGI and some philanthropies, we have started to fabricate in-house prosthesis (artificial limbs), a big move forward as patients do not spend huge amounts for procurement of prosthesis from outside agencies."

With focused attention, complications related to surgery have drastically reduced (less than 10 per cent), and the majority of the patients are free of stump complications.

"This is due to a special orthopaedic team that caters to these individuals and prioritises emergency care," he said.

So far, none of the patients in the centre has rejected his or her prosthesis, which is commendable as compared to Western and European countries where the rejection rate ranges from 50-80 per cent.

Philanthropy MICRON Industries has supported this initiative by donating Rs 4.50 lakh for the care of amputees.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Thursday rescued a one-day old child lying unattended in the bushes in Narela area of Delhi.

The DCW received a call on its 181 Helpline wherein it was informed that someone has thrown a one-day old girl child in some bushes in the area.

The Commission informed Delhi Police about the same and a DCW team facilitated the rescue along with Delhi Police officials.

The child was lying unattended in the bushes and was crying profusely.

The child is currently admitted in Ambedkar Hospital, Delhi and a team of the Commission is looking after her along with some volunteers.

The Commission has sent notice to Delhi Police in this matter and has sought a detailed report.

The Commission has sought the details of the FIR and has asked for the arrest of the accused.

The Commission has also sought information whether any person(s) have come forward to adopt the child and what action Delhi Police is taking in the matter.

DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal stated, "It is very unfortunate that some one has thrown away a one-day old girl child in bushes. What is the fault of the little baby? What monster can do this to a little child?"

"This is a serious criminal offence and the accused needs to be arrested immediately. Our team is continuously attending to the child and we will try our best that the child finds a better home for her upbringing." she said.

Source: IANS

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Lucknow, Sep 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Indian Industries Association (IIA) organised a workshop for members of women self-help groups where they were provided training in making LED lights, strings of light, LED bulbs and one district-one product goods.

The participants were also given toolkits worth Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000.

IIA member Vivek Singh, who provided the training on Wednesday, said that the demand for lights and chandeliers made in the state had increased across the country and demand was coming in from countries like Nigeria, Afghanistan, Dubai.

Ashok Aggarwal, president IIA, said that due to the conducive environment in Uttar Pradesh for investments, there were several countries which had expressed interest in setting up units in the state. He said that most recently representatives from Uganda and Taiwan had approached IIA with proposals for import export, investment, technology and training.

"UP is at the fifth position in exports. Women are getting benefits directly from central and state government schemes. The state government is making them self-reliant by organising special training sessions and giving toolkits," he said.

The single-day special workshop was organised at the Indian Industries Association (IIA) campus, under which 30 women of Self Help Groups were trained to make LED lights, string lights, LED bulbs and ODOP products.

Till now, training has been given to about 6,000 women.

In different districts of Uttar Pradesh, women of self-help Groups are trained and motivated for self-employment.

Source: IANS

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Mumbai, Sep 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Setting a perfect example of religious harmony and humanity, the heart of a brain dead Hindu woman was transplanted to a Muslim man at a private hospital in Mumbai. Her kidneys, liver, pancreas and lungs were also donated to six different persons.

The woman, 41, was admitted to the Global Hospital in Parel on September 6 after suffering a brain haemorrhage. She was declared brain dead on September 12.

According to the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), her family, when counselled, granted permission to donate her liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and pancreas.

Using a green corridor, the lungs were flown to Apollo Hospital in Chennai, and one of the kidneys went to an end-stage patient at the KEM hospital in Parel. The rest of the organs were donated to patients at the Global Hospital.

Global Hospital performed the heart transplant on a 31-year-old man working as a tailor in Mumbai, using the first of its kind advanced immunodiagnostic technique.

Farid Phansopkar was suffering from DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy) with severe LV (Left ventricular) dysfunction. Phansopkar was undergoing pre-transplant and antibody screening for three months alongside antibody identification.

"A young donor, lesser ischemia time (time between the stopping of the heart at the donor's end to starting of the heart at recipient's side), advanced HLA and Flow cytometry cross matches and good nursing care resulted in excellent clinical outcomes. Farid's post-operative recovery was very smooth. Right from the immunosuppression regime, fluid balance, antibiotics and other protocols," Pravin Kulkarni, lead heart transplant surgeon at Global Hospital, said in a statement.

Phansopkar was mobilised on the fourth postoperative day and was as good to be discharged on the ninth postoperative day, which generally in case of heart transplant recipients is between 21 and 30 days post-operatively, the doctor said.

"I am extremely grateful to the donor family because without them, this would have been never possible. I earnestly urge everyone to promote organ donation to give a new lease of life to many and keep your dear ones alive in so many lives," said Jehrunisa, Phansopkar's mother.

Source: IANS

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Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh), Sep 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) The women inmates in Moradabad district jail have received orders from e-commerce giant Amazon for 10,000 Lakshmi-Ganesh idols and diyas using cow dung.

The idols being prepared range from six to sixteen inches. This is a part of an initiative of Dyvigya Care Wellness Foundation that is working towards promoting an eco-friendly environment. According to the jail authorities, both Hindu and Muslim inmates have come together to work for promoting the eco-friendly initiative.

"Opening of bank accounts for these women is in process, so that they can receive their earnings," said the official. "So far, around 2,000 idols and diyas have been made by them," said the jail superintendent.

According to jailor, Mrityunjay Kumar Pandey, the orders received from Amazon will be completed by the inmates in 20 days.

Moradabad district jail superintendent Viresh Raj Sharma said, "Currently, around 20 women inmates have been preparing the idols and diyas, but considering the appreciation and huge demand, more women inmates will be roped in to ensure that the demands are met in time. These items are made using a mixture of cow dung, fuller's earth and a few other ingredients."

He explained that the mixture is then put into moulds and left to dry. Once fully dry, the idols and diyas are painted in vibrant colours.

He further said, "Recently, there has been a huge demand for these idols from Surat. As more and more orders are coming, more inmates will be joining in to prepare these. At present, 130 women inmates are lodged in the jail and of these, 20 have been working on preparing the idols."

Source: IANS

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By Arun Lakshman

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) A theatre activist and former producer of a popular Malayalam TV channel is promoting a concept of organic farming and the rich culture associated with it through theatre, zeroing in on a supernatural being named "Kadampan Moothan" spoken about in rural areas and inspiring farmers.

Sudheer has named his mission "Organic Theatre". Talking to IANS on how he launched such a project, Sudheer said: "We are eating food but never bother to produce what we eat and then complain that the food we eat is laced with pesticides. Nothing productive will come out of this and I wanted to change this and promote the concept of organic farming among the people, especially the youngsters, and formed Wide Inspiration, Wide Aspiration( WIWA)."

He said that the idea of Organic Theatre is brushing up tradition and folk culture that has been part of the culture of Kerala but has been forgotten for years.

While researching on indigenous and organic farming practiced by several communities, he got to know about "Kadampan Moothan", who, according to villagers and farmers, was a supernatural entity whose role was to protect the farmers, inspire them in times of hardships and reversal, and also to give encouragement and persistence to farmers from being burnt out due to despair.

This inspired Sudheer who created a character, of the same name, who travels from village to village to promote organic farming with his beautiful song and makes farmers aware of their talents and their willpower.

"Kadampan Moothan renders songs on the never say die attitude of the farmer who does everything to commence farming on a land that was immersed in floods. He also sings about the hard work being put up in growing a crop and on the determination of a farmer," he said.

To popularise Organic Theatre, "Kadampan Moothan" is dressed in an interesting costume of natural products, mask, and headgear made of straw, and has now become the mascot.

Sudheer knocked several doors to promote organic farming using Organic Theatre but disappointment was the result initially. Since 2013, he has been relentlessly trying for this project and in 2014, received the support of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). He, along with a team of his WIWA, took 2 acres of land at Vellarada, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, and inspired people to take up Organic farming and promote the culture associated with the farming.

Organic Theatre and farming are now synonymous with Sudheer and he is now travelling to various areas of the state to take classes on the rich culture associated with the place where they live and how organic farming is to be done.

"Kadampan Moothan" has become popular among the people of the state, thanks to the hard work and drive of Sudheer whose main idea is folklore and culture of the area and how the cultivation of crops is being inspired by this.

Source: IANS

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Kochi, Sep 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Central government is looking forward to developing a sustainable economy through highly prospective seaweed cultivation, said a top Central government official, on Saturday.

Fisheries Union Secretary Jatindra Nath Swain said that at a time when climate change is increasingly posing a major threat to human life across the globe, cultivating seaweed, which is one of the natural methods to mitigate the global crisis, would help boost the economy and reduce the impact of climate crisis.

He said this while speaking at an interactive meeting with scientists of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), here.

"The CMFRI should set up a seed bank of seaweeds to popularise the practice among the coastal region as it would be an additional livelihood option as seaweed farming will play a major role in the socio-economic upliftment of traditional fishermen during this difficult time", said Swain.

He further pointed out that the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) has a special thrust for promotion of the seaweed farming.

And on the ambitious plan in the marine fisheries sector, he said that India is eying doubling the seafood export in the next five years.

"We are hopeful of achieving this target by exploring innovative ways to increase the production that will certainly upscale the country's per capita income. Technological development is crucial in this regard especially for areas such as seed production and other hatchery infrastructure for diversified mariculture activities," said Swain.

Source: IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Two sisters from Kerala, Teresa, 21, and Agnes, 18, won the hearts of millions of people after they recited the national anthems of 193 countries on World Peace Day on September 21.

The sisters who live in Brisbane, Australia recited the national anthems from the St. Johns Cathedral in Brisbane and entered the Australian Book of Records, and won a certificate from the Universal Record Forum.

The sisters hailing from Thycattusery in Cherthala Taluk of Alappuzha district in Kerala have been living in Australia since 2008 with their parents Joy K Mathew and mother Jaquiline Joy who is a nurse.

The girls said that their father Joy K Mathew who was involved with the Malayalam film industry has been a major inspiration for this venture.

The girls while speaking to the media said that their father took pains to find the correct verses of each country's national anthem.

Teresa while speaking to Kerala media persons said, "Our father even contacted several embassies to get the correct version of the national anthem of each country and also got in touch with teachers of various countries to help us get the correct pronunciation of the anthem".

While Teresa is a third-year criminology and psychology student at Griffith University in Queensland, Agnes is a grade 12 student at the Calamavale Community College.

Teresa and Agnes had done their schooling at Thycattuseri in Alappuzha district before shifting to Australia in 2008.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Total area under organic farming and agro-forestry increased from 23,840 hectare (ha) to 1,03,780 ha along the river Ganga, a meeting of the Empowered Task Force was informed here on Wednesday.

"Land for organic farming in Uttarakhand is 50,840 ha, Uttar Pradesh is 42,180 ha, Bihar is 16,060 ha and in Jharkhand is 4,540 ha along the Ganga," the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare informed the Taskforce.

The Ministry of Agriculture said that it is also working to ensure that shifting to organic farming also boosts farmer's income, improves water use and crop diversification.

"States are also using 'Namami Gange' brand for organic farm produce along the Ganga," it said during the meeting.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu chaired a meeting of the Empowered Task Force that included several central ministries, departments and the state governments for ensuring better coordination and convergence among agencies and programs for holistic rejuvenation of Ganga River and its basin.

The Ministries and states provided an update on the recent developments that have taken place and also mapped out their future plans.

The Ministry of Tourism noted that the 'Ganga Museum' at Haridwar is now operational while the one at Rishikesh is ready for inauguration and another Museum in Patna has been sanctioned.

The Ministry said, it is also working on developing tourists circuits along the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar.

A report on architectural, cultural and natural mapping for 38 districts has also been submitted, it added.

Among the states, Bihar has committed to promote production and marketing of organic products under their 'State Organic Mission'.

Uttar Pradesh is working on promoting organic plantation in urban areas & developing Mandis (outlets) in urban residential colonies to encourage people to buy organic products.

Similarly, Uttarakhand has started 20 big and 410 small outlets to promote organic products along Char Dham Yatra route while Jharkhand government said it has started 'Organic Farming Authority of Jharkhand' to promote organic farming in the state especially along the Ganga.

Meanwhle West Bengal told the task force that the state has started a massive plantation drive in the Sunderban area. About 15 crore trees will be planted in three districts covering 10,000 acres of land.

Tudu said, "Namami Gange is not only a programme for cleaning Ganga but to bring collective consciousness among masses. Hence, all the Central and the state ministries will have to come together under one umbrella to make Ganga 'aviral' and 'nirmal'."

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, 21 Sep (SocialNews.XYZ) The New Delhi railway station is offering airport-like facilities to the passengers.

A world-class 'Executive Lounge' by IRCTC, aiming to make the journey comfortable, can be found on the first floor of platform number 1 of the station, wherein the passengers will get all the facilities that are found in an airport.

Massage chair service, music, business centre facilities have been provided in the lounge, built at the station.

If a traveller has to do his office work and needs a computer with internet facility, then he can use the business centre of the lounge.

Apart from Wi-Fi internet connection and TV, the lounge also offer multi-cuisine buffet.

However, for all these facilities, passengers will have to pay a fixed amount.

An entry fee of Rs 150 will be charged for the first hour, while Rs 99 will be charged separately for each additional hour.

Passengers can also opt for Lounge Package 1, which costs Rs 600 for 2 hours. The package includes entry fee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and shower.

Apart from this, for additional facilities, passenger can choose Lounge Package 2.

In the lounge, IRCTC will also arrange special buffet, which has been fixed at Rs 250 to 385 per person.

The lounge will remain open 24 hours for the passengers.

Source: IANS

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Munger, Sep 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) A video of Bihar's Jamalpur railway station is going viral on the social media in which a Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan is seen helping a helpless elderly person who has been there for quite a while.

RPF jawan Anurag Kumar, in the video, is seen bathing this man with soap with his own hands and after cleaning him, he is also seen putting a vest on him.

Jamalpur RPF inspector Sujit Yadav said that this 70-year-old man has been here on the platform for over one and a half months. Nobody noticed him in the beginning as people took him for a beggar, but later constable Anurag Kumar spotted him.

The old man told the police that his name is Ramnaresh Yadav and he is a resident of Lodipur Panchayat of Sheikhpura. Police however could not trace his son or daughter. Police is still trying to trace his family members.

Anurag Kumar told IANS that it is due to humanity that he is helping the elderly person.

The old man's beard had grown so much that even barbers didn't want to go near him. After persuasion by Anurag Kumar, a barber agreed to shave off his beard. New clothes were also provided to him.

Anurag says that now other jawans have also come forward to help this old man. Passengers and people have appreciated this noble move of RPF jawan Anurag.

The video of Anurag helping the elderly person is being shared widely on the social media.

Source: IANS

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Shimla, Sep 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) The placement-linked skill training programme -- Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana -- is proving to be a boon for the poor rural youth in Himachal Pradesh as it enabled to train 5,320 people and provide employment to 3,021 in various sectors, officials said on Monday.

The scheme is nurturing skills, besides providing employment opportunities. It aims to transform the poor rural youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce.

With the successful implementation of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana, the government has fixed a target to provide training to 22,000 youths till 2023. The beneficiaries have received jobs within the state and neighbouring states too, an official statement said.

The scheme is now a demand-driven initiative that enables the youth to benefit from the national and international employment opportunities.

The youth in the age group of 15-35 years and the physically challenged, women and other weaker sections up to the age of 45 years are covered under the scheme that has an outcome led design with guaranteed placements for at least 70 per cent trained candidates.

There is a provision of free training, ranging from three to 12 months, along with hostel facilities.

One year training is provided in apparel, hospitality, beautician, sewing machine operator, baking, storage operator, spa, unarmed security guard, electrician domestic, sales associate, accounting, banking sales representative and computer hardware assistant trades.

Akshay Kumar of village Kachiyari in Kangra district availed the benefit of the scheme and improved the socio-economic conditions of his family.

Likewise, Kamlesh of Kashapat village in Rampur tehsil of Shimla district. Due to financial constraints they were not able to complete their education. Now both have become self-reliant.

There are scores of others who availed the benefit of the scheme and skilled themselves in getting employment, an official said.

In his Budget speech, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had announced that 1,000 candidates will be trained in traditional arts of metal, stone and wood craft under Mukhya Mantri Gram Kaushal Yojana and 1,000 beneficiaries will be provided job placement under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana in 2021-22.

Source: IANS

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By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, Sep 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) This week, Mumbaikars were shocked to learn of a school topper girl, who - lured by a glamour career - ran away to Telangana, but was safely rescued by Mumbai Police and brought back to her family.

She is among the one crore kids, mostly girls, who run away from home, often on flimsiest grounds, and end up in strange states, cities or in deep trouble, every year, as per NCRB data.

A lucky few catch the eyes of Samatol Foundation, Mumbai, a NGO founded in 2006 by Vijay Jadhav, which specialises in 'catching' such runaway or trafficked kids all over the country.

"In the past 15 years, we have rescued and reunited around 12,750 kids, most aged between 8-16 years, a majority being girls, but we even get 5-6 years old children or 17-20-year old teens," Jadhav told IANS.

It all started around 2006, when he espied a kid loitering on Mumbai streets, apparently lost and baffled, and took his charge.

"He was a very bright child of Muslim parents from Hyderabad who pressurised him for academic excellence, so he just hopped into a train and reached Mumbai. As he refused to speak, his family, school authorities and Hyderabad Police came here and arrested me, believing I was a kidnapper," chuckled Jadhav.

As an activist with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), Jadhav attended many of rallies and protests in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, etc., and between 1997-2000, came across hundreds of kids either lost, abandoned, runaway or trafficked and decided to do something for them, by working with YUVA, a NGO, till 2004.

"My inaugural case was a 12-year-old boy, son of a Parbhani village Sarpanch, who ran away just because his dad refused to buy him a bicycle till he turned 18..! The grateful villagers invited and felicitated me... That sowed the seeds for launching Samatol Foundation," Jadhav recalled.

Over the past 15 years, the Samatol Foundation has helped 'catch' and reunite nearly 13K kids, working 24x7, with over 5,000 volunteers keeping an eye for such children at railway stations, bus depots, near eateries, etc.

"I personally met over a 1,000-families all over India reunited with their kids... Their joy was overwhelming and they celebrated as if it was an off-season Diwali... Our efforts are worth it," he said.

Jadhav said that of the 10-million kids who 'run away' or 'disappear' annually, the maximum or more than one million, land up in Mumbai alone, a favourite destination of many.

The reasons often are as 'childish' as the children... A 14-year-old girl decamped from Jalandhar to meet her idol Salman Khan, a 16-year-old wrote her SSC exams and directly caught a train from Allahabad for Mumbai, dreaming of a heroine's role opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

A 14-year-old boy ran away from Patna to Mumbai to catch a glimpse of his heart-throb Aishwarya Rai while a Bhopal boy, disgusted by his quarreling parents, just walked out to reach Mumbai, but after three days he panicked and wanted to return home...

"Child Rights are not taught in India at school level, there is very little awareness among the people so such kids are easy prey for atrocities or human trafficking, especially the girls," rued Jadhav.

The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, has mandated a Child Welfare Police Officer in each police station and a Special Juvenile Police Unit for every district/city in India, but it is hardly implemented, he said.

Samatol Foundation now has over two dozen people on the rolls, 5,000-plus vigilantes, who immediately issue an alert when they notice a suspected runaway child, as part of its 'child friendly society' campaign.

"The commonest place we get them are railway stations or bus depots, most are hungry or dirty as they have exhausted all resources and feel abandoned... We step in through our offices in five districts and 10 major railway stations in Mumbai, to provide succour," explained Jadhav.

A memorable case of 2010 was the rescue of a Tripura IPS officer's minor son who left home to meet his cricket idol - Sachin Tendulkar, in Mumbai, and after Jadhav reunited him with his family, he was accorded a public felicitation during a major festival of the Northeast state.

The lone candle lit by Jadhav has now multiplied into many torches, several groups and organisations help Samatol Foundation, students from TISS and international universities come here to train, study or volunteer, and now there's an App to enable anybody report runaway kids from anywhere, anytime... "who will be cared of".

"Since the governments have only Juvenile Centres, we have set up a 'child-friendly-home' in Kalyan to house these kids safely till they are reunited with their families..." Jadhav smiled.

The kids usually fall in two categories - the 'fresh' runaways who are identified and sent home, and the 'veterans' who left home long ago but learn to survive in Mumbai and other big cities, working as 'chaiwala' help, delivery boys, or such odd jobs, eat and live near railway stations, etc.

"It's difficult and time-consuming to reunite them, but we try to do it... We have started 40 counselling centres with 25 such kids in each session, many are very delighted to return to the comfort and security of their home and kin after years of separation and even resume interrupted education," he said with pride.

Till date, the 'Good Samaritan' Jadhav suffered arrest and jailed twice on alleged kidnapping charges - but was 'rescued' by his own family, while Samatol Foundation has piled up laurels and a staggering 450-plus awards, but the number of runaway kids doesn't seem to ebb...

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Aerospace major Boeing has awarded a contract to India-based Dynamatic Technologies for manufacturing assemblies for its tactical fighter 'F-15EX Eagle II'.

According to the aerospace major, this is a first instance in which aerostructures for F-15EX Eagle II will be made in India.

Besides, the contract will given a boost to the 'Aatmanirbhar' programme and strengthens US-India collaboration on aerospace and defence industrialisation.

Accordingly, Dynamatic Technologies will supply the F-15EX aerostructure assembly requirements from FY22.

The company will manufacture these aerostructures from their manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

According to Boeing India President Salil Gupte: "We see tremendous potential for India to contribute to the global aerospace industry as an industrial and technology partner."

"The award of aerostructure assemblies for the latest and most advanced version of the F-15 aircraft family is a reflection of Boeing's focus on Aatmanirbhar Bharat and a testimony to the world class capability of our industrial partners in India."

Source: IANS

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Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Sep 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) At 84, Sitaram Srivastava is delighted to be enrolled in the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University to pursue a bachelor in law course.

A retired official of the Provident Fund department, it was Srivastava's desire to study law which has finally been approved by the university.

When Srivastava expressed his desire to study law, it was approved by Vice Chancellor Professor Vinay Pathak even though Srivastava had completed his BA course in 1962.

Srivastava will now be taking admission in the VSSD Degree college to pursue LLB.

"I retired in 1995 and in 1998, I lost my wife due to medical negligence. I filed a case in this regard in the Consumer Court and it took me 20 years to win the case when the Supreme Court ruled in my favour.

"From the Consumer Forum to Supreme Court, my fight for justice continued for 20 years. It finally ended in 2018 when I won the case against the hospital. It is in these 20 years, my interest in law developed and now I finally decided to pursue LLB," said Srivastava.

Prof Pathak said that he was happy to see the commitment in Sitaram Srivastava for wanting to study even at this age.

"Age is just a number. When Sitaram Srivastava told me that he wanted to pursue LLB, I immediately agreed to it, keeping in mind his eagerness, commitment and passion towards it," the vice chancellor said.

Srivastava, meanwhile, said that since he was free all day, he would like to devote his time to studies.

Source: IANS

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By Sankalp Gurjar

In the last few years, the Red Sea has emerged as a critical sub-theatre in the evolving geopolitics of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Foreign powers have established their military presence in the region and are taking a greater interest in the affairs of the maritime as well as continental space in and around the Red Sea. Russia, China, the United States (US), France, and Japan hold military facilities in the region. Even the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are active in shaping the trajectory of regional geopolitics and security.

In fact, the presence of security threats such as terrorism and maritime piracy brought foreign powers to the region. US established its expansive network of bases in the WIO and Africa including at Djibouti after launching the Global War on Terror. Maritime piracy in the Gulf of Aden around 2007-08 was threatening global shipping and Somalia was unable to contain pirates operating out of its territorial waters. Therefore, a multinational maritime security effort was launched. The navies of major powers including Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea sent their warships to the region to participate in the anti-piracy operations.

Indian Naval Presence
The Indian navy too played a key role in the counter-piracy operations. India is a resident naval power with a willingness and desire to contribute towards the maintenance of regional security in the Indian Ocean including in the sub-theater of the Northwest Indian Ocean. Over the years, India has managed to regularize its maritime presence in the Gulf of Aden and Southwest Indian Ocean. Time and again, India has extended much-needed humanitarian assistance to the littoral states in the region. India has also positioned itself as the 'preferred security partner' in the region.

Indian navy is uniquely placed in the regional geopolitics of the Northwest Indian Ocean. It enjoys close relationship with the US, Japan, and France, and consequently, the Indian navy ships can access their naval bases in Djibouti. Russia's upcoming naval base at Port Sudan also opens up opportunities for greater collaboration between Indian and Russian navies in the Red Sea and WIO.

India's deepening strategic partnership with UAE could be strengthened further in the domain of maritime security in the context of the geopolitics of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. India and Taiwan share an interest in containing Chinese power. The Taiwanese presence in Somaliland and UAE's facilities along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden including Berbera could be leveraged for keeping a close watch on the Chinese activities in the region.

The entire region lying between the Suez Canal and Japan is seeing an expanding Indian maritime footprint. The growing interest in the region is demonstrated by regularly deploying warships for conducting naval exercises with friendly countries and for carrying out defence diplomacy. As a result, the Indian navy is indicating that Western Pacific and the Red Sea are emerging as integral parts of its strategic dynamics. The naval exercises with Egyptian and Sudanese navies demonstrate the expanding strategic maritime horizons and underscore the growing salience of the Red Sea in India's security matrix.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

Source: IANS

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By Sundeep Pouranik

Jhabua (MP), Sep 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) A remote village in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh has become the first one in the state to vaccinate all its adult population against the coronavirus disease.

Narasimhunda village, which falls in Rama Block, is the first in the state to have inoculated its entire adult population with both doses of Covid vaccine.

The total population of this village is 178, out of which 110 eligible persons have been inoculated. Of these, 20 are above the age of 60, while 15 are in the age group of 45 to 59 and 67 in the age group of 18 to 44. Apart from this, four health workers and three frontline workers of the village have also received both doses of the vaccine.

Jhabua District Magistrate Somesh Mishra says that efforts are on to get 100 percent people vaccinated in the entire district. There are seven gram panchayats in the district where all the eligible population have received at least the first dose. The health department is working to ensure that all the eligible people get vaccinated in villages other than Narsinghrunda.

In the tribal-dominated areas, vaccination was not less than a challenge, as tribal community members were not ready to be convinced easily. Even in Jhabua district, there were attacks on the parties that went to administer jabs. In March-April this year, Jhabua district was second from the bottom in the state -- 51st out of 52 districts in terms of vaccination.

Immunization Officer Dr Rahul Ganawa has said that at present 73 per cent of the eligible population of the district have received the first dose of the vaccine, and efforts are on to finish the job by the end of September. The health department is getting the support of all sections of the society. Also, the search is on for those who have gone out of the district.

Source: IANS

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Srinagar, Sep 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Jammu and Kashmir Police in South Kashmir's Kulgam district carried out a rescue operation and rescued a nomadic family along with their livestock, who were stuck in the nallah Yath Yathur, the police officials said on Sunday.

"On Sunday at nearly 6 a.m., the Kulgam police received information that some nomads along with their livestock were stuck in between the nallah Yath Yathur due to abrupt increase in water level following continuous rainfall during the intervening night of September 11 and 12," the police added.

"Acting swiftly, the police party from Mirbazar police post along with an SDRF team under the supervision of Qazigund SDPO launched a rescue operation in the said area."

The police said during the rescue operation, a nomadic family comprising five members along with their livestock, including 200 sheep and their essential commodities, were shifted to a safer place.

Locals have lauded the efforts and swift action of the police for rescue and saving precious lives.

Source: IANS

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By Ganesh Bhatt

New Delhi, Sep 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) As many as 220 students have been selected in civil services in the last 10 years from the Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) established at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. They say that the RCA is like their second home.

Apart from the students successfully cracking the civil services exam, another 376 students have been selected for top government institutions serving as Provincial Civil Service (PCS), Bank Probationary Officers, Reserve Bank of India, etc.

The Jamia RCA provides free coaching to students for various government job competitive examinations. The students can take admission at the Jamia RCA only after passing an entrance exam.

In 2020, 44 RCA candidates had cleared the UPSC exam which included the third exam topper Junaid Ahmed. In the same year, Sanchita Sharma of the Jamia RCA topped the list of successful candidates who cracked the UPSC exam. She prepared for the examination at the RCA hostel for the last two years.

Since its inception in 2010, Jamia's RCA has contributed to producing more than 200 civil servants through the UPSC examination, currently serving in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), etc.

Apart from this, 245 students of the RCA have cracked Provincial civil services exam for the position of SDM and DSP, RBI (Grade-B), Assistant Commandant (CAPF), IB, Assistant Commissioner (Provident Fund) and Bank Probationary Officer, etc.

Farman Khan, an IAS officer working as an Assistant Collector in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, remembers his journey with the Jamia RCA, saying, "Jamia RCA is not a coaching academy for me but my second family."

Farman told IANS, "I have learned everything in life at the Jamia Millia Islamia. All my failures and all my success are related to Jamia. I became an IAS officer in 2019."

Similar views have also been echoed by Harish Dayama, an IPS officer posted for the security of the Punjab Chief Minister. He says, "I am very fortunate that I joined the Jamia RCA. I had emailed RCA after reading about it in an online advertisement in 2011. I got a reply to my email from the RCA. I had just gone there asking for study material. RCA officials did not give me the study material but motivated me to take admission in their coaching academy."

He said, "After that I took the RCA exam and took admission there. I could not clear the interview for the first round. After that I prepared again and got selected for the IPS in 2013. I can never forget the role of RCA in my success."

Priyanka Shukla, an IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre credits the Jamia RCA for her success. When she could not succeed in cracking the UPSC exam even after spending huge money on another coaching institute, she then turned her attention to the Jamia RCA. She successfully aced the civil services exam in 2018 after joining the RCA and secured 109th rank in the UPSC exam.

Jamia Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar congratulated all successful candidates for their stupendous feat.

Sharing another successful story, a student of Jamia RCA did his schooling from a madrasa. Today, he is running a successful startup in the field of imparting early school education. The student has been identified as Shamshad Alam, who originally hails from Chhapra in Bihar. He has also studied from the Jamia RCA and completed his graduation and postgraduation degrees from the university. But, instead of taking up a regular job, he wanted to educate people and develop new employment opportunities for them.

Shamshad said that he has started his own educational institution in Arunachal Pradesh by the name of 'Edunachal'. At present, it has three branches in different parts of Arunachal Pradesh. Training related to skill development, workshops, communication skills are being imparted in these institutions in coordination with various universities and colleges.

Source: IANS

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By Vishal Gulati

Shimla, Sep 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) The north-western Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh is going back to the roots the natural way as 13 per cent of the farmers have adapted to low-cost farming techniques in just three years, say officials.

The non-chemical climate-resilient Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF) technique is being promoted under a state-led programme to meet the objectives of the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana Project since 2018.

The SPNF technique has been conceptualized by Padma Shri recipient Subhash Palekar.

As per government records, 129,299 farmers, roughly 13 per cent of the total, have switched over to the SPNF practice, largely on a small portion of land, in the state where 10.84 per cent of land holdings are owned by semi-medium and medium farmers and just 0.30 per cent by large farmers.

Those who adopted natural farming include 12,000 apple growers. The total area under the SPNF is 7,456 hectares. However, the number of farmers who have been trained to adopt the technique is 135,172.

Experts say the SPNF technique cuts dependence on the external market and is based on indigenous cows. The farmers can prepare the sprays from the urine and dung of the cow at the farm itself and just need some local resources like plant extracts, jaggery and gram flour. It reduces the water requirement of the crops too.

The natural farming checks plant diseases and the produce is chemical free and healthy.

The farmers have reasons to practice a type of farming that involves elimination of chemical pesticides, sustaining agriculture with eco-friendly processes and restoring soil fertility and organic matter.

"With chemical sprays, the expenditure was increasing every year and the production was either stagnant or falling. Even the produce was not healthy due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. So I decided to switch over to natural farming," Surender Pirta, an apple grower in Jubbal area of Shimla district, told IANS.

Pirta said initially he was apprehensive about the success of natural farming. "But when I saw the results with the cultivation cost coming down drastically, I adopted natural farming on the entire 55 bighas of land."

He said earlier he was spending Rs 3 lakh on chemical fertilizers and pesticides in his orchard. "The cost has now come down to Rs 50,000."

His income has risen from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh with the shift from chemical to natural farming in the past two years.

Another farmer Ajay Rattan, an engineer by profession from Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district, said he was looking for a low-cost farming alternative owing to economic and health hazards.

He found the SPNF handy and productive since he adopted it three years back on the entire 25 bighas of land. Now he is annually earning Rs 5 lakh from agriculture with an outlay of Rs 3,000.

Earlier, he used to spend Rs 30,000 on the same land and his income was a meagre Rs 40,000.

"I don't have to buy any farm input from the market now. I prepare them on my farm. The natural farming has a positive impact on human health, whether farmers or the consumers, and it improves the soil health and ecosystem too," he said.

Rattan grows sugarcane, gram, wheat, peas, soyabean, moong, taro root, ginger capsicum and gourd. "I grow vegetables on five bigha and I don't have to go to the market to sell the produce grown with the natural farming technique. The buyers come to my farm and purchase directly. I have got more than 200 consumers who want to buy chemical-free vegetables only."

Many farmers have shifted to the SPNF technique after they initially tried it on a small portion of land and saw good results. The switch over from chemical farming to natural farming has not only helped many farmers get rid of the need of agro credit from sellers of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but has come as a major life saviour for others who were having serious health problems while spraying chemicals in the farm.

"I do much of the work on the apple orchard myself because of economic reasons. However, when I had health issues because of chemical sprays, it depressed me as the orchard was the only source of income for me and my daughter. It also made me think of the ill-effects of such apples on the consumers," said Satya Devi, who has been managing an apple orchard on two bighas of land all alone for many years with chemical farming.

"But when I learnt SPNF technique through the Agriculture Department and started using natural inputs like 'jeevamrit', 'ghan jeevamrit' and 'dashparni ark' made from cow dung and urine, it saved me and my livelihood."

A number of farmers, including Ajay Rattan, who are practicing SPNF after training, are keenly spreading the concept further among fellow farmers.

Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana Executive Director Rajeshwar Chandel said scientific studies show that the SPNF technique has led to cost reduction of 56.5 per cent in apples, 28.1 per cent in wheat and 45.5 per cent in fruits, pulses and vegetables.

There has been a 27.4 per cent increase in net returns in apples, 63.6 per cent in wheat and 21.5 per cent in fruits, pulses and vegetables.

The studies show up to nine crops are being grown concurrently by the farmers leading to crop intensification and crop diversity and 15 types of companion crops are being grown in apple orchards.

More so, the incidence of fungal diseases like scab in apple and yellow rust in wheat is lower with regard to the conventional practices. The farmers observed that SPNF crops have better drought resistance and better taste and flavour than chemically grown crops.

The State Project Implementation Unit is in continuous touch with the farmers who have adopted SPNF, for consolidation and solution to the issues emerging day to day. This system worked pro-actively even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The ultimate objective is to bring all the farmers into the natural farming fold as well as socio-economic benefits.

State project Director Rakesh Kanwar told IANS that the focus now is to increase the area under natural farming on a mass scale.

"Still those who have adopted have been practicing natural farming on a small portion, say one-third of the farm, and this is the major challenge. Once the farmers start getting better results with reduced direct costs, boosting yields and also incentivized by the market, this will bring behavioural change to stop the use of costly fertilizers and pesticides that is degrading the soil and leading to health hazards," he explained.

Also, he said, efforts are afoot to work out self-assessed certification by the farmers for natural produce along with developing a mechanism for farmer-consumer connect.

The NITI Aayog has already taken note of the state government's innovative ways to promote natural farming. The state is also in a leadership role for outreach of natural farming in the country.

Besides, the state is partnering and engaging global organizations, which are custodians of Sustainable Food Systems, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.

Vegetable production in Himachal Pradesh is generating revenue of Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 4,000 crore annually and has emerged as an alternative economic activity in the horticulture sector.

As per government estimates, off-season vegetables give a net return from Rs 60,000 to Rs 2 lakh per hectare whereas the traditional crops fetch from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per hectare.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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New Delhi/Raipur, Sep 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Chhattisgarh has adopted a novel way to overcome malnutrition in the Naxal-affected and tribal-dominated Kondagaon district. The administration has set up an egg production unit in the district so that children can get protein-rich food.

"Today children are getting five thousand eggs from here every day. Now a second unit will also be installed. Along with this, nutritious food is being prepared from locally available Ragi and Kodo," said Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Some 220037 eggs and 35422 kg of coarse grains have been supplied to all Anganwadis in the district.

A WhatsApp group has been created for the eggs and grains to reach the children, a picture of the children being fed is posted in the group. This is monitored by the collector himself.

Kondagaon district, 80 km away from Bastar division, has been away from the mainstream of development due to the Naxal activities and tribal majority. In such a situation, there has been malnutrition and health related problems in the villages here.

As per the state government data about 37 percent children below the age of 5 years in the district were malnourished as of February 2019. The biggest challenge for the administration during the lockdown in the pandemic period was to control malnutrition.

District Collector Pushpendra Kumar Meena informed that 'Nangat Pila' (healthy child) project was started in June 2020 under the nutrition campaign. The Department of Women and Child Development has been appointed the nodal agency for the project. Baseline screening was started in the district in July 2020 to identify malnourished children, and 12,726 such children were identified.

Under the Chief Minister's Suposhan Abhiyan, a reduction of 15.73 percent in malnutrition was recorded in the district in July 2021 as compared to February 2019. The number of malnourished children in 2019 was 19,572, which came down to 11,440 in 2021.

In the fight against malnutrition, the government has appointed 1438 'Suposhan Mitra' where each nodal officer supervises a gram panchayat. 328 such nodal officers made 418 visits to monitor the programme. Collectors review the progress of this data base through monthly review meetings. The action plan for the next month is also decided in these meetings.

Source: IANS

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Puducherry, Sep 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Puducherry Central Prison at Kalapet is witnessing some major reforms with the Inspector-General of Police, Prisons, Ravideep Singh Char taking the initiative to promote the mental and physical health, and skill development of the prison inmates.

The IG initiated the reforms in July 2021 and results have started coming out.

The prisoners to start with made 51 Vinayaka idols as part of the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations and the idols were sold off in minutes. The Puducherry Central prison officially launched the products with the slogan, "The second chance. Live life with dignity".

Ravideep Singh Char, IG prisons told IANS, "The reforms were initiated to make Puducherry central prison a model one in association with Sri Aurobindo Society. Idol making and weaving are two programmes that have been initiated along with yoga so that the prisoners have something to look forward to in life."

He said that the Vinayaka idols that were made by the prisoners were sold off like hot cakes in five minutes and more orders are coming in.

The officer said the prison was planning to operate a bakery unit, canteen, organic farming, and goshala (rearing of cows). These, according to the IG are not only to keep the prisoners engaged but also to make them develop a skill so that they can eke out a living later.

The Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is already associated with the central prison for providing psychological counselling to the prisoners to improve their mental health. Routine dental checkups of the prisoners are also being conducted, the IG said.

Noted dance trainer Aloka Nanda, who was imparting dance and music therapy training to prisoners in West Bengal prisons successfully, has commenced dance and music therapy sessions for inmates at Puducherry Central prison also.

The jail department will train those who show interest in dance and music to take them up as a vocation so that they can use this skill for a living after walking out of the prison, said the IG.

The IG also said that with the installation of CCTV cameras the inflow of contraband drugs has stopped inside the prison. He also said that 25 wardens have been recruited to take care of the staff shortage the prison was facing.

Source: IANS

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