In the new academic year, students of class 5 of the Upper Middle School in New Hruaikawn, Champai, Mizoram will have a new classmate. This classmate might be able to tell them tales about India’s first step into independence, and about its journey into 2018.
No, this classmate is not a well-read child prodigy. He is 73-year-old Lalringthara, the inspirational septuagenarian who wants to catch up on his studies that he left incomplete due to family restrictions.
Needless to say, Lalringthara is the oldest student in the school located on the Mizoram-Myanmar borders. But he is also the Church Chowkidar at New Hruaikawn. He recalls the circumstances that made him give up his formal education after class 2.
Speaking to The Times of India, he said that he had studied till class 2 in his native village, Khuangleng. His father had passed away when he was just two years old, so the responsibility of Lalringthara and his siblings naturally fell on their mother’s shoulders. When she remarried, their mother left him in the care of their distant relatives.
They did not support his education but made Lalringthara work in a rice field. He was thus obligated to drop out from school.
(L) Representational image of school students. Source. (R): Lalringthara. Source.
His short journey in formal education enabled him to read and write in his native language, Mizo. But Lalringthara wanted more–he wanted to learn English.
Speaking to North East Today, he said, “I have no problem in reading or writing in the Mizo language. However, my desire for education has been flamed by my passion to learn the English language. Nowadays, every literature has some English words infused in them, which often confuses me, so I decided to go back to school to improve my knowledge especially in the English language.”
This keen interest in the English language prompted him to take up schooling again. “Better late than never,” he told TOI.
The story of this determined septuagenarian spread beyond the village and reached the Indian Government. Impressed by his desire to learn, especially at his age, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Movement) has given him textbooks and a free uniform.
Although the freebies are no match for his zeal, one cannot but be impressed by him. He has shown us today that no age is too old, and that no interest is too little to get what you truly want.
(Edited by Shruti Singhal)
Featured image (L) for representational purpose: Source. (R) Lalringhtara: Source.
In the coming months, the government expects you to furnish more details about your finances and business when filing for Income Tax.
In the new forms released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes for the financial year 2017-18, you will see several new columns ranging across all categories of taxpayers—Sahaj (ITR1), Form ITR-2, Form ITR-3, Form Sugam-ITR-4, Form ITR-5, Form ITR-6, Form ITR-7, and Form ITR-V.
Why is the government asking its citizens to furnish more details?
According to this Economic Times report, information ranging from allowances of salaried persons that are not tax-exempt, to tallying direct and indirect tax sums of any engaged in any legal business venture, the IT department is looking to prevent tax evasion at multiple levels.
For representational purposes only. (Source: Flickr)
“There are more than 25 key changes in the new ITR forms. Some of these changes clearly suggest that the focus of new ITR forms is to get more information from unlisted companies, trusts and taxpayers who have opted for presumptive taxation scheme. The ITR forms will also require business entities to report GST transactions which would help the department to independently reconcile the transactions reported by them in income-tax return and GST returns,” said Naveen Wadhwa of Taxmann.com to the Economic Times.
These are some of the additional information you and your business will have to submit to the taxman:
1) Businesses will have to submit the Aadhaar numbers of their members and partners. Trusts will also have to furnish the Aadhaar numbers of related functionaries.
2) Under ITS-4, those with businesses will also have to submit their GST registration number and the turnover. By tallying direct and indirect tax figures, the IT Department seeks to check tax evasion. This is probably one of the more critical details.
3) Firms have to release details of income generated from the property.
4) Quality chartered accounts offer you the best way to save on your taxes. The government, however, wants to strengthen checks on them and you will now have to submit the registration number of the firm or chartered account auditing your books for the tax return.
5) Under the new Sahaj form, specific details pertaining to salary require disclosure. “It seeks an assessee’s salary details in separate fields, and in a breakup format such as allowances that are not exempt, the value of perquisites, profit in lieu of salary and deductions claimed under section 16. Though these details are provided in the Form 16 of a salaried employee, they now have to be mentioned on the tax return for clarity of deductions,” reports Business Standard.
According to the Economic Times, those with an income up to Rs 50,00,000 will have to reveal the following sources:
a) Income from property such as gross rent received
b) Receivable/letable value
c) Tax paid to local authorities
d) Annual value
e) Interest payable on borrowed capital
f) Income chargeable under the head house property
Additionally, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) will now fill their tax returns and furnish more details using the ITR-2 form instead of the earlier ITR-1. Among others, the taxman seeks information pertaining to one foreign bank account for refund purposes.
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Are you scheduled to fly in to or out of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport over the next two days? If yes, then here is some important information you must be aware of.
Flights to and from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai have been suspended on April 9 and 10, for six hours each day between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The routine exercise of removing rubber deposits on the runway has been scheduled in this time, a regular pre-monsoon maintenance practice.
Each year, during the monsoons, several airlines end up cancelling or re-scheduling the flights because of problems caused by water-logging and other issues.
Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, is one of the busiest airports in India and sees traffic of more than 800 flights each day. Hence, it is essential that it be ready to handle the air traffic during the monsoon season effectively.
“The maintenance work has to be carried out before the onset of monsoon season. Therefore slots (landing and take off timings) will not be available during this period.”
“All affected airlines are advised to cancel or reschedule their flights during the closure period on 9 and 10 April 2018,” said a note sent by the airport to airlines, as reported by Times of India.
Besides the Mumbai Airport, Chandigarh International Airport runway will be closed from May 12 to May 31. Calicut International Airport runway will continue to remain closed till June 15, 2018 from12 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Jaipur International Airport runway will remain closed till May 31 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and the runway at Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow will be closed till June 30 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Do ensure that you check beforehand with the corresponding airline in case you have booked tickets to fly during any of these maintenance slots.
Babita, Jyoti and Shweta, three young girls who belong to the Kurkuri and Bahadurpur villages of Phulwari Sharif Block, Patna, have a packed schedule. They are barely adults but have already taken their first steps towards becoming full-fledged entrepreneurs.
The trio cultivate large, nutritious oyster mushrooms in their homes and supply it to clients in and around Phulwari Sharif.
Oyster mushrooms contain water, and are rich in Vitamins B and C, containing important salts the human body uses. The folic acid, present in these mushrooms, helps fight anaemia, and due to their low sodium content, they are good for those who suffer from obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Growing mushrooms, these girls support their families and educate themselves! Inset Image Credit: The Asian Age.
All three girls decided to take this up to provide financial support to their families. Babita took up mushroom cultivation after passing out from Class 12, while Shweta managed to finance her own education and complete her graduation from the income she makes, thanks to mushroom farming.
Jyoti is a final year college student, and battling acute anaemia, she learned how to cultivate mushrooms.
The Aga Khan Foundation Lehar Project, aimed at empowering girls and improving their quality of life, began in Patna in 2015. Around 5,500 adolescent girls aged 14-19, were introduced to market-oriented options, like tailoring, computers, retail and hospitality sectors. Bandana Skill Development Centre collaborated and provided training to the girls, helping them develop links with the business world. Several secured jobs, several opted out, and the ones trained to cultivate mushrooms continue seasonal work, supporting their families.
Mushroom cultivation for these determined girls is prudent, as Babita points out to the Indian Express. It requires very little investment—around Rs 150 for husk, spawn and bags (to hang the husk)—and approximately 25 kg of mushrooms can be harvested in 20-25 days.
Oyster mushrooms can be grown year-round, by controlling the temperature and moisture, but the best seasons are September/October and March/April.
The girls from Patna are using mushroom cultivation to fuel other activities. Shweta convinced her in-laws to allow her to continue studying and growing mushrooms. Now pursuing her Bachelors in Library Science, she cultivates mushrooms, marketing them and selling them to villagers.
Faced with constraints, these girls in Patna are making the best of what they have, choosing to cultivate and be entrepreneurs while continuing their education. This is surely a great way for them to realise their dreams.
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The spinning-wheel will not become a power for the liberation of India in our hands unless we have made a deep study of the various sciences related to it. It will then not only make India free but point the way to the whole world.
These are the words of Mahatma Gandhi. To the uninitiated, the spinning wheel or charkha is a veritable symbol of economic self-sustenance made famous by Gandhi during the freedom struggle.
Last week, the Maharashtra government sanctioned its first Solar Charkha Common Facility Centre for the Chandrapur district. The Solar Charkha Mission under the Bhartiya Harit Khadi Gramodaya Sansthan (BHKGS) is part of a unique Government of India initiative to promote employment to poverty-saddled citizens living in rural and semi-urban areas of this country.
Through the mission, the government is looking to revive Khadi and provide the poor with various employment opportunities through solar charkhas and solar looms.
The BHKGS is registered under the Society Act-1860 and empanelled with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission or KVIC, a statutory body working under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Under the Solar Charkha initiative, the aim is to manufacture khadi organically from cotton fibre or other eco-friendly and locally available resources like banana leaves or milk. Through the manufacturing of eco-friendly khadi, the government is looking to employ over five-crore people and establish khadi clusters in approximately 500 villages.
“We are also bringing in the Solar Charkha mission, under which 500 clusters would be established in almost every parliamentary constituency, which would create employment for five crore people. Presently, the Solar Charkha scheme is in operation in Surat (Gujarat), Nawada (Bihar), and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh),” said Giriraj Singh, minister of MSMEs to Millennium Post.
Last month, ‘W,’ the women’s wear brand by TCNS Clothing had tied up with the mission for the launch of khadi items. Despite a return to indigenous khadi, questions surrounding scalability remain, with BHKGS claiming that solar power-driven charkhas and looms will help expand this employment opportunity.
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If you were to walk outside the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, you would see a serpentine queue of people, who mostly come from an underprivileged background, and have made the footpath their temporary home.
These are not homeless people, but the family members of cancer patients who have travelled from across the state and country, and wait for weeks outside the cancer hospital in a bid to help their ailing kith and kin get free treatment.
Did you know that over 11 lakh people in India are detected with cancer every year? As per the National Cancer Patient registration programme, the country records a whopping 28 lakh cancer patients including new and old cases each year.
As these numbers continue to soar, the Maharashtra government is moving one step forward to provide affordable treatment to its cancer population.
In a unique move, the state government has decided to set up free chemotherapy facilities in over ten districts, from June 2018.
These free facilities will be made available at district hospitals in Nagpur, Gadchiroli, Pune, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nashik, Wardha, Satara, Bhandara and Akola in the first phase reported the Times of India.
The staff, including physicians and nurses, which is to administer this free treatment, will also undergo a three-week training course at the Tata Hospital in Mumbai in May.
Speaking about one of the prime reasons for setting up the facility, Deepak Sawant, Maharashtra Health Minister, said, “A six-week course is administered to patients in Tata Hospital, and for this, they have to come all the way to Mumbai every week. To reduce the problems faced by them in travelling to Mumbai, the health department will make the facility available at the district-level free of cost.”
These free chemotherapy facilities will be replicated in more districts once they are rolled out successfully in the ten selected districts from June.
Buying or registering for a property is a complex task in India. It is a huge investment that requires multiple background checks and verifications. One of the steps in the verification process is to get an independent witness in the registrar office while registering an immovable property.
This process is set to change in Maharashtra as the state government is giving you the choice of linking your Aadhaar cards instead of producing an independent witness.
According to the Times of India, Maharashtra has become the first state in India to allow Aadhaar verification to register for a property. The initiative will give citizens the choice of linking Aadhaar cards instead of a witness to register for a property. The witness has to undergo the process of producing ID, address and photo proofs, affidavits etc. at the sub-registrar office.
An official at the state Inspector-General of Registration (IGR) office told TOI,
“With about 90% adults having Aadhaar cards, the process would be simpler and transparent,” adding the point that this consent-based Aadhaar verification service will also be cost-effective and auditable.
Representational image of property in Mumbai. Source.
The point that this verification process is consent-based means you now have the option of producing your Aadhaar card for registration instead of the present day regulation of getting an independent witness.
With this choice of linking your unique identification number, the process is set to become easy for citizens.
Supriya Karmarkar, the Deputy Inspector-General of Registration, spoke to the Pune Mirror about this new step.
“An amendment was made to Section 32A of the Registration Act, 1908 to introduce a new system and an Aadhaar verification will fulfil the requirement,”
Representational image of Aadhaar cards and immovable property. Sources: Flickr/ Flickr
she said, adding that “Almost every person in the state has an Aadhaar card. In case they do not, it will be mandatory to carry an independent witness.”
Identifying the owner of a property will be easier for authorities if our unique 12-digit identification number is linked to them. Additionally, the government will also be able to identify nameless properties and make land records transparent.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) stressed on the point of being able to track down the records of properties acquired through corrupt measures if linking Aadhaar to properties is made mandatory, and not just optional.
India and Nepal are on a path to increase connectivity, enhance linkages between people, and push economic growth and development. Which is why, a new electrified rail line connecting Raxaul in Bihar, to Kathmandu in Nepal should help them realise their goal.
The first phase of the India-Nepal cross-border rail link is already making progress. The stretch of railway lines from Jayanagar to Janakpur/Kurtha and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be finished in 2018, and the work on the remaining stretch of the ongoing rail link projects—Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar—will be taken up on priority.
Rail connectivity between India and Nepal, is all set to improve. Representative image only. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs, the India-Nepal Joint Working Group (JWG), has regularly been convening to discuss train services on the ongoing cross-border rail-link projects and will identify the requirements of operating train services on these cross-border rail links and go on to finalise other factors.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli are aware and appreciative of the progress being done on this project.
There are three other railway projects in the pipeline—New Jalpaiguri-Kakarbhitta, Nautanwa-Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj—and the leaders emphasised the importance of implementing the three remaining links.
The two Prime Ministers, through video conference from Hyderabad House, in Delhi, even inaugurated the Birgunj Integrated Check Post (ICP).
Birgunj is known as the Gateway to Nepal, and the ICP mentioned above will provide vital services like immigration, customs, quarantine, cold storage, banks, and security checkpoints, under a single roof.
Moving beyond rail-links, the two leaders have recognised that Nepal requires better sea connectivity, and consequently, discussed the development of inland waterways for cargo movement.
Nepal and India, work together on a number of developmental points, and this new initiative to provide better connectivity is a push for bettering the relationship between the nations.
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After Mirabai Chanu and Sanjita Chanu made India immensely proud with their gold-winning victories at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (CWG 2018), a Facebook user wrote,
“Well done, Chanu and Mirabai. Delhi may ignore Manipur (record 100 days lockdown), but the valley of Imphal always fights for the pride of India in sporting arena.”
These words were a reminder of the remarkable number of sporting champions that have emerged from Manipur despite the tiny state being frequently ravaged by conflicts and lockdowns. Among these success stories, none is more famous than Mary Kom – the five-time world boxing champion and Olympic bronze-winner – who has inspired a generation of Indian sportswomen.
However, boxing is the not only sporting arena in which the state has produced champions.
Manipur also has a formidable legacy is weightlifting — lifters, especially women, from this tiny state make their presence felt with power-packed medal-winning performances.
Much before the two Chanus came into the limelight, there was Nampeirakpam Kunjarani Devi. The first woman lifter from Manipur to gain international recognition, Kunjarani’s triple silver-winning effort in the Women’s World Weightlifting Championships at Manchester in 1989 sparked off a revolution in Indian women’s weightlifting.
In the years that followed, Kunjarani took part in seven consecutive world championships and won silver medals in six of them. Since then, she has won more than 50 international medals, including a gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth games in 2006. Unsurprisingly, her heroics have become a part of Manipur’s sporting folklore and inspired hundreds of her fellow Manipuris to take up the sport.
As such, Kunjarani, who is yet to announce her retirement, has played a key role in nurturing Manipur as a hub for women weightlifters. The immense impact of this guidance is clearly visible in the state’s humongous medal haul in the last decade.
In 2002, Sanamacha Chanu scooped up three gold medals in the women’s 53-kg at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, on par with the exploits of Kunjarani in that edition medal-wise. Four years later, Yumnam Renubala Chanu won the gold medal while Laishram Monika Devi picked up a silver at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Another Manipuri lass, Ngangbam Soniya Chanu, won silver at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. More recently, both Sanjita and Mirabai won. They are protégés of the now 50-year-old Kunjarani, who was there in Glasgow during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, egging on both Sanjitha and Mirabai as the coach of the Indian weightlifting team.
“I wanted to be like her. We all did,” Mirabai has often said while speaking about mentor Kunjarani. Interestingly, the talented young weightlifter had the honour of breaking her idol’s 12-year-old national record during the trials for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, lifting a total of 192 kg.
Today, there are so many talented weightlifters in Manipur that many of them have started wearing the colours of other states in National championships.
“Over the past few years we have given at least 20-25 No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to our weightlifters. As we had many good lifters, especially women, we couldn’t give a chance to all,” Ranjan Singh, Manipur coach told Times Of India, explaining that there are just a handful of state weightliftng teams who are competing without a Manipuri in their ranks.
However, while Kunjarani Devi may the catalyst powering Manipur’s weightlifting revolution, it isn’t the only reason why the state has earned the title of `mini powerhouse of sports in India’.
In Manipur, sports is considered a way of life and community service, not just a hobby, and begins from grassroots levels.There are over a thousand localised sports clubs across the state, most of which are funded by local communities and run by volunteers providing their services — from former sportsmen and sportswomen training youngsters to donors offering equipment, paying for meals and helping send trainees to tournaments outside the state.
These clubs form the backbone of Manipur’s strong sports culture and are the reason why the small state has produced 18 Arjuna awardees!
Former players also point out another sad but practical reason for why sports is popular in the state — unemployment. Many aspiring Manipuris come from humble backgrounds and for them, excellence in sports is a way of getting stable jobs in either the government or in the private sector. This helps them ensure a livelihood while pursuing a career in their chosen sport.
Interestingly, according to weightlifting experts, Manipuri women are able to squat more efficiently, lift heavier weights and balance better owing to their physique having a low centre of gravity. Beyond that, however, it’s all the sweat, toil and determination they put into their training.
With the Asian Games in Jakarta coming up later this year and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics not too far away, here’s hoping that Manipur’s extraordinary winning streak in weightlifting continues to flourish in the times to come.
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Changing the source of energy for an entire district is quite a task, and the Vizianagaram district is leading the way by becoming the first collectorate in Andhra Pradesh, to have made this landmark switch, and becoming completely powered by solar energy.
This is not the first time an entire village is relying on solar power. Read here, about how two villages in Andhra Pradesh relied exclusively on solar power back in 2016.
Around ₹ 93 lakhs went into making this solar dream a reality, thanks to which the collectorate will get rid of 110 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Vizianagaram is setting a great example-switching to solar power. Image Courtesy: Facebook.
“The initiative in Vizianagaram, is a benchmark for various government offices, and the collectorate is the first in the whole state, to now rely on a renewable energy source,” said the District Collector, Vivek Yadav, to the Times of India.
The project is ambitious. Around 160 KWC solar panels will be installed, generating a mammoth 19,200 units of energy, and will help the district save around ₹ 3,00,000 every month (18,900 units of consumption).
The other much more important benefit is that this move will increase reliance on a renewable source of energy which will give future generations a vital lesson to follow.
The district collectorate is setting other great examples as well. He has launched a drive urging women and child welfare authorities to put women’s and children’s health on top priority, and is laying emphasis on the need for 100% hospital deliveries.
He is determined to fight malnutrition, directing authorities to draw up a proper plan of action, to ensure malnutrition is abolished from the district, and has also directed department heads to focus on sanitation issues in the rural areas of the district, to prevent disease outbreaks.
The collector also arranged a three-day health management course for police personnel, to help them take care of their health and well-being, was conducted, and inaugurated by the Additional Superintendent of Vizianagaram, A Venkata Raman, who stated that the course would help police personnel deal with stress and mental trauma, which would help them to think clearly and act responsibly.
By switching to a renewable source of energy for the entire requirements of the collectorate, and making arrangements to ensure the proper mental health and well-being of cops, Vizianagaram is setting a stellar example for other districts, and one can only hope that they follow suit.
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In this day and age, where most people go out of their way to hold onto whatever tiny portions of land they own, over 70 dogs of Panchot village in Gujarat have almost 21 bighas of land (four bighas make an acre) for their welfare.
For those contemplating how big a deal this land holding could be, let us also tell you that this 21 bighas of land cost over Rs 73 crore!
This means that each of the 70 dogs is the unofficial owner of nothing less than a crore of land each. These dogs are indeed crorepatis!
Amazed? Well, if you were a resident of Panchot village that falls near Mehsana, Gujarat, land donated to the service of stray dogs wouldn’t be much of a shocker!
Panchot has an informal village trust christened the ‘Madh ni Pati Kutariya Trust’ which holds this land. And while the land may not technically be in the dogs’ names, all the income from the land is set aside for the dogs.
As the sowing season draws close every year, each plot of this land is auctioned. While the highest bidder gets tilling rights for a year, the money generated (close to Rs 1 lakh) goes into the maintenance and sustenance of the system.
This land did not cost all that much seven decades ago when it was donated to the dogs. But thanks to the construction of Mehsana bypass towards Radhanpur, today it has a market value of some Rs 3.5 crore per bigha.
So how did the tradition of donating land to canines start in the village?
The village, for over 70 years, has had a firm belief in the concept of ‘kutariyu’ – which translates to the setting aside of things for dogs. This practice finds its roots in a long historical tradition of ‘jivdaya’ or compassion for animals.
As part of this tradition, many well-to-do families started donating pieces of land for the welfare of animals. Many others followed suit, when additional land they owned became unaffordable to maintain.
Speaking to the Times of India, Chhaganbhai Patel, the president of the ‘Madh ni Pati Kutariya’ Trust says, “At that time land did not cost much. In a few cases, the land was donated as the owners could not even afford to pay taxes, so the donation shifted the responsibility.”
The driving forces behind the establishment of the trust was a group of four farmers, including Prabha Lallu, Chatur Viha, Amtha Kalu and Lakha Sheth. Having started the administration of the land about seven decades ago, they reveal how the land donations stopped after the village developed and land prices rose in the last few decades.
But what is interesting to note is that all of the lands that was transferred has no formal documentation. In fact till date the land records that exist still reflect the name of the original owner.
And yet, none of these landowners or their successive generations ever returned to reclaim their share, regardless of any financial crisis.
The reason behind this is shocking as well as heartwarming at the same time.
“It is considered taboo to feed off the land which has been written off for animals or social service,” Chagganbhai, whose own aunt had donated two bighas told TOI.
Dashrath Patel, Sarpanch Kantaben’s husband, whose family donated 1.5 bigha of land, said that the village is proud of the solid system it has built to serve animals.
“The culture of caring is passed from one generation to the next. I remember joining the community initiative to make sheera (a sweet dish) for the dogs about 60 years ago,” says Dashrath.
And so, the goodwill of the village doesn’t merely stop at making these stray sentries of the land.
Every day, when the clock strikes 7:30 pm, about 15 volunteers with handcarts loaded with rotlas and crushed flatbread distribute the food at 11 spots across the village where these strays gather.
In fact twice a month, on the full moon and new moon days, another special side dish gets added to the menu – laddoos.
These rotlas are prepared at a special building constructed by the trust called the ‘rotla ghar.’ Established in 2015, two women prepare over 80-odd rotlas every day inside the building with 20-30 kg flour. Neither the volunteers who feed these dogs patrolling the area nor the flour mill owner who supplies the ingredients to prepare the pearl millet flatbread charge any money.
While strays inside the village are taken good care of by the locals, even those on the outskirts or living near farms are fed by this distribution drives.
The trust, in addition to focussing on dogs, also follows charitable practices for birds and other animals.
Over 500 kilos of grains is received annually to feed birds. Many of these contributors are families of deceased members.
The village is also equipped with an air-conditioned burns ward for cows and different units for birds, monkeys and other animals run by the Abola Trust aka the Shivganga Animal Helpline.
We salute the locals at Panchot for truly making it a model village which places the need of voiceless animals first. Their work will hopefully be continued for generations.
Indian shuttle ace Kidambi Srikanth will enter hallowed territory on Thursday. He will achieve what no other Indian male shuttler has accomplished ever since the Badminton World Federation adopted a computerised ranking system—become World No. 1.
By all metrics, the 25-year-old from Ravulapalem, Andhra Pradesh, is now the world’s best. This is pure excellence.
Srikanth will slide into the top of the rankings with 76,895 points. Yesterday, he helped his country secure gold in the mixed team Badminton event at the Commonwealth Games.
Current World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen from Denmark with 77,130 points will drop 1660 points because of his inability ability to defend the Malaysian Open trophy which was held from April 4-9 last year. For obvious scheduling reasons, the tournament is postponed this time. Rankings are calculated by the points a player accumulates over the past 52 weeks and the 10 best tournaments.
“We’ve been anxiously waiting for this moment. He should have become No. 1 last year, but an injury prevented him from playing the year-end tournaments. Had he reached quarterfinals in a couple of those tournaments he could have become No. 1. Although Srikanth won’t gain any points, Axelsen losing 1660 points will be good enough for the Indian,” said Md Maqdoom Ahmed, a badminton analyst for the Sports Authority of India, to the Times of India.
The last Indian male badminton player to even enter the conversation was Prakash Padukone, who was considered World No. 1 when he won three cup tournaments in 1980.
It was in 2015 when Saina Nehwal became the first and only Indian woman to become World No. 1. Following last night’s news, Srikanth has finally come out of the shadow of PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, his more celebrated contemporaries.
Kidambi Srikanth receiving Padma Shri from President Ramnath Kovind last month. (Facebook/Srikanth Kidambi)
In the last rankings released on November 2, 2017, Srikanth was World No. 2, and had agonisingly missed out on becoming World No. 1 due to an injury. However, despite this, he had a phenomenal year and won four Super Series titles—Australia, Indonesia, Denmark and France. This achievement not only made him the first Indian to win the Indonesia Super Series Title but he also became only the fourth shuttler in the world to win four Super Series titles in a year.
Srikanth currently trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy, Hyderabad under the tutelage of another legend, Pullela Gopichand, and is supported by the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore.
Watch Kidambi Srikanth in action during the 2017 Indonesia Super Series Final:
(Source: Djarum Badminton)
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If you are upset about the additional recycling cess you are paying on plastic PET bottles in Maharashtra, we have some good news for you!
The state government, as part of its ambitious plastic ban project, has directed PET bottle manufacturers and recyclers to set up PET bottle collection machines in over 100 popular spots across Mumbai in the next 15 days.
Speaking to the Times of India, President of the PET Packaging Association for Clean Environment (PACE), Vimal Kedia, ensured that the collection facilities would be set up in the selected 100 spots in the next two weeks.
Each of these machines cost over Rs 4.5 lakh apiece, and they cost will be borne by the association, he clarified.
These locations have been marked based on their footfall.
Of the 100 spots, the most known locations include the Gateway of India, Girgaum Chowpatty, Juhu beach, ten railway stations, bus stands, malls and cinema halls.
The state government had previously asked all manufacturers of PET bottles to ensure that these bottles come back to them as ‘extended producers responsibility’ for recycling purposes. This was ensured by manufacturers pressurising retailers, who in turn pushed customers to return these bottle after use.
The setting up of these PET bottle collection machines will be one step forward to ensure that the manufacturers make it easy for the consumers to drop their empty bottles.
Customers will also get discount coupons or the refundable recycling charge they pay during the time of purchase of the bottles.
“These machines will be important points where citizens can drop of their bottles. Most of the consumers will not bother to go back to the seller to dispose of these bottles, and these collection points will be key to ensure that the bottles are collected and taken back,” Sachin Sharma of Gem Enviro Management told TOI.
On Friday, in a small mosque-cum-madrassa in Haryana, scared children were cowering as a minaret threatened to come crashing down because of a thunderstorm.
However, Ashfaq, a young boy who was all of 17, acted quickly enough to save 20 lives—except his—thus, becoming a hero in death, as reported in the Times of India.
Ashfaq harboured religious dreams of becoming a Maulvi and giving the call for prayer from the same minaret that came crashing down.
Ashfaq did not care for his own life, and decided to save those students trapped in the madrassa. Representative image only. Inset Image Credit: Times of India.
His family has been torn apart. Jaituni Begum, his grief-stricken mother, recalls how he learned 30 chapters of the Quran by the time he was 14. Din Mohammed, his father, doesn’t know what to tell Ashfaq’s three-year-old sister, who has no idea about what has happened.
On the fateful night, when the minarets began to collapse, there were 22 students in the madrassa. According to locals, the strong winds caused a heavy asbestos sheet to crash against the minarets, which proceeded to collapse on the roof of the madrassa.
It is then that the brave Ashfaq jumped into action, helping his friends evacuate. It was while pulling 21-year-old Mohammed out, that one of the minarets fell on Ashfaq, said Mohammed Sabir, a relative, to the Times of India.
The maulanas immediately rushed the injured teenager to Pinangwan’s Government Hospital, which referred him to the Mandikhera Government Hospital. From there, they proceeded to Shaheed Hasan Khan Medical College in Nalhar, and finally, due to the seriousness of Ashfaq’s injuries, doctors referred him to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
Din Mohammed recounts how, during the ambulance ride, Ashfaq made feeble requests for water. The boy seemed to know he was slipping and asked his family to give him water else he would die thirsty. After drinking a little water, Ashfaq died in the ambulance.
A prayer meeting held for Ashfaq on Sunday, in Bumbaheri village, attracted thousands of people.
Rais Khan, the Chairman of the Haryana Waqf Board, announced a Rs 2 lakh compensation for Ashfaq’s family, and Rs 10 lakh for the repair of the madrassa. Din Mohammed promptly donated the amount to the madrassa.
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Very few Indians have made the cut in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), arguably the most popular pro-wrestling franchise in the world. The Great Khali (aka Dalip Singh Rana) is the only Indian national who has made it to the franchise and achieved success.
There is also the Calgary-born Indo-Canadian Jinder Mahal (aka Yuvraj Singh Dhesi) who plies his trade in the SmackDown brand as the reigning United States champion.
In the franchise’s recent showpiece event on Sunday called Wrestlemania 34, Devi entered as a contestant in the Women’s Battle Royal. Despite not winning, Devi caught the WWE universe’s attention.
The 35-year-old woman from Haryana was awarded a WWE developmental contract in October 2017, and this was her WWE main roster debut, a major landmark.
Power move: Kavita Devi (Source: Facebook)
“While compared to some of her counterparts in the Classic, Devi is relatively inexperienced, she has the physical tools to go a long way. Devi was a part of the WWE’s historic Dubai tryout in April and caught the attention of the scouts. Behind her immense physical skills, Devi could one day become a household name in wrestling, perhaps starting with this summer’s (2017) Mae Young Classic,” the WWE had said earlier on its website in July 2017.
To the uninitiated, the Mae Young Classic is a 32-contestant tournament exclusively for women from the WWE’s developmental division NXT and the independent circuit. The outcome of these matches is predetermined based on scripted storylines. Unfortunately, Devi was eliminated in the first round.
“It was a privilege to be the first Indian woman to compete in WWE, and participating in the Mae Young Classic with some of the best female performers in the world was a great learning experience. Now I am looking forward to pursuing my dream of becoming the first WWE Women’s Champion from India,” she said.
However, in October 2017, WWE announced that Devi had signed a contract with them, and will start training at their Performance Center in January 2018
Before pursuing a career in pro-wrestling, Devi represented the country in powerlifting and won the gold medal in the 75 kg category at the 2016 South Asian Games. She cites The Great Khali as her mentor and inspiration.
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S Loganathan harbours a dream—he wants to give a platform to athletes who come from disadvantaged backgrounds so that they can perform on the international stage one day.
Through the Kavinadu Youth Sports Club, that he established in 2006 in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, Mr Loganathan has not only fulfilled this dream but also gone beyond it!
At the Kavinadu Youth Sports Club, underprivileged youth are trained in sports. Image Courtesy: Facebook.
This patient gentleman has so far trained and mentored a total of 9 international long-distance runners, who have gone on to participate in prestigious international sporting events like the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Athletics Championships, winning medals in the bargain.
However, it was a bittersweet moment for him, when his daughter, who was representing India in the women’s 10,000-metre long-distance run at the ongoing Commonwealth Games at Australia, finished 13th in the event.
Nevertheless, the man has the spirit of a real fighter, and backing his daughter 100%, believes that she has the potential to make it big in the coming events.
Some of the athletes who have trained at Mr Loganathan’s club include 12-time international medallist Santhi Soundararajan and G Lakshmanan, the latter being the first Indian to win a double gold at the Asian Athletic Championships, last year.
Mr Loganathan’s zeal to mentor athletes comes from his own experience. Speaking to the Times of India, he revealed that when he was young, he knew he had the potential to excel in sports and wanted to represent India at the Olympics.
Unfortunately, financial woes at his home forced him to drop the idea entirely but he decided to not get bogged down by the disappointing turn of events, and instead, help other athletes achieve their dreams.
The former employee of the Income Tax office in Chennai has been keeping an eye out for talented athletes who come from underprivileged backgrounds, since the 80’s. He set up the Kavinadu Youth Sports Club, in 2006 with an objective to impart more organised training.
However, the initial days were hard. He remembers how, due to the scarcity of funds, the athletes could only train on a tar road, which had a track length of just 155 metres. In fact, none of the athletes at the academy were privy to spike shoes until they participated at national level meets, where they picked up medals.
Mr Loganathan is understandably proud when he says that his athletes have won more than 1000 medals. In a country obsessed with cricket and its associated glamour, it is heartening to see someone actively push other sports, and encourage youngsters, especially the ones who come from underprivileged backgrounds.
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Fires spread quick and fast and engulf everything in sight. God forbid, if you are trapped in a burning building, you have to keep breathing selectively while hunting for an escape route. Well, not everyone gets lucky. Sometimes, you need a true hero to save the day and help those who need it.
58-year-old Jyoti Verma was making breakfast, when her neighbour Kunti Devi, walked in and informed her about the raging fire in the shoe factory adjacent to Jyoti’s building.
The factory was burning, with workers trapped inside. Representative image only. Image Courtesy: Flickr
The factory is located in Delhi’s Sultanpuri area, and Jyoti found out that many workers were trapped inside its 4-storey premises.
Without thinking twice, Verma ran out to help. Rushing to the terrace, she saw an open window on the third floor of the factory and noticed that 10 workers were screaming for help. A 15-foot gap separated the two buildings.
Initially, Jyoti threw a saree, for the workers to use to climb down and evacuate. However, the workers were scared and unable to use it.
It was then that Jyoti displayed an exemplary presence of mind. She found a small bamboo ladder, and using it as an overbridge between the factory and the building terrace, climbed on to the makeshift bathroom on the terrace.
She then proceeded to put one end of the ladder on the toilet roof, and the other end on the factory’s window, according to reports.
This way, Jyoti managed to evacuate at least 20 workers in the next 30 minutes.
It takes extreme courage to go against your own logic when you are faced with a disaster like this. A burning inferno is no place for amateurs, and even trained firefighters have lost their lives conducting rescue operations from burning buildings.
However, Jyoti displayed immense bravery and more importantly, presence of mind, and saved the workers, who had it not been for her, would have certainly lost their lives and become another statistic.
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Having trouble disposing of plastic bottles? You are not alone. Plastic bottles that are constantly thrown away by train passengers have proven to be the biggest source of environmental waste at the Aluva Railway Station in Kerala. However, the local railway authorities have found a way to deal with this problem, reports Mathrubhumi.
Aluva is a municipality, and a region in the Kochi Metropolitan Area of the Ernakulam district in Kerala and is the second busiest station in the state.
“Aluva is an important halting stop for all passenger trains passing through the region except the Rajadhani Express and a few super-fast trains. This is a convenient station to alight for passengers travelling to Kalamassery, North Paravur, Kodungallur, Perumbavoor, Moovattupuzha and Munnar. It also serves passengers to and from Kochi International Airport,” according to its Wikipedia page.
The cleaning staff at the station were instructed to collect these bottles, and create a vertical garden under the supervision of local railway authorities.
For representational purposes only. (Source: TBI)
Passengers and visitors can see the garden from the entrance itself. These vertical gardens are made of over hundreds of red and blue plastic bottles, with multiple varieties of plants grown inside them.
Earlier the Aluva station received a lot of coverage from growing moss rose (pathu mani poo in Malayalam), a flowering plant, in these bottles. However, the obvious question is how many waste plastic bottles can the garden accommodate? This is evidently a short-term solution to a much bigger one.
Last year, a group of engineers from Kerala had developed a way to tackle plastic waste by transforming it into bricks. Instead of campaigning for bans on plastic products they decided to take a different path with a practical solution—transforming plastic waste into solid paving bricks.
The station could reach out to these engineers, who can make 2,500 bricks from 5 tonnes of plastic waste generated every day in Kochi.
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With the advent of social media, it has become easier for anti-social elements to disseminate malicious and fake images or videos on social media against innocent citizens.
The target of these anti-social elements is often the dignity of ordinary citizens, especially women.
So, what can an ordinary citizen do in such scenarios?
Recently, a 20-year-old college-going woman from Aluva in Ernakulam district found out that her fiancé had called off their wedding.
Why was it called off?
Her fiancé had read a WhatsApp forward with an image of a woman and her classmate accompanied by a voice message claiming that the couple in the photo were going to elope. The voice message went onto suggest that her parents needed to be notified about their alleged plan.
This malicious WhatsApp forward not only spread through her neighbourhood but also made its way abroad where her fiancé works.
Reading this message, the fiancé decided to call off the wedding even though the two had been engaged for a couple of months.
Enraged, the woman decided to track down the rumour monger and filed a complaint with the local police. After a brief investigation, the police managed to track down a 35-year-old man from Chelakkulam village in the same district.
For representational purposes only. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The 35-year-old man had allegedly found the woman and her classmate standing at a bus stop at Aluva a week ago and decided to click their photograph, following which he also recorded a voice message. The accused claims he mistook the woman for someone else and spread the message on social media, according to NewsBytes.
We do not know whether the woman and her fiancé have reconciled following this expose. However, what the woman did was to stand up for herself, follow due process and ensure that the alleged rumour monger was nabbed, and has been charged under relevant sections of the IT Act.
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The IRCTC has decided to amend the Tatkal scheme, to prevent its misuse. Under the current system, passengers do not get a refund in case they cancel confirmed tickets, except in some special circumstances, which are as follows:
1) If the train has been delayed by more than 3 hours.
2) If the train is to run on a diverted route.
In both cases, a refund of fare and Tatkal charges on confirmed tickets booked under the scheme is added.
Here are the other steps the Railways has taken to avoid misuse of the Tatkal booking system:-
Booking a rail ticket on IRCTC? Read the rules carefully! Representative image only. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
a) From 10:00 to 12:00 hours, only two Tatkal tickets can be booked from a single user ID/per IP address.
b) Except for return journey, only one Tatkal ticket in a single session is permitted.
c) Booking tickets during first half an hour of the opening of the reservation system, will not be allowed for authorised agents. This is to prevent them from cornering tickets during the time of opening bookings. Also, agents will not be allowed to book tickets between 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., to prevent cornering of tickets.
d) Captcha has been implemented in various pages to prevent fraudulent bookings using automation software.
e) An OTP will be generated, for internet banking payment options.
f) There will be a minimum time limit before proceeding to the payment gateway, and post-payment while booking tickets online.
Tatkal bookings for AC classes open at 10:00 a.m., and for non-AC classes, at 11:00 a.m., one day in advance of the actual journey date. Tatkal tickets can be booked online through the IRCTC website, or through more than 10,000 counters at 3,465 computerised Passenger Reservation Centres.
Now, thanks to the new measures, bookings will be smooth, and passengers will get a great start to a wonderful journey.
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