All posts by mpositiveone@gmail.com

Two Brothers Wanting Power For Their Farms Invented A Bamboo Windmill That Is 10 Times Cheaper!

January 17, 2015Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Science & Technologympositiveone@gmail.com

Brothers Mohammad Methar Hussain and Mushtaq Ahmad wanted power for irrigation and they developed a low cost windmill made out of bamboo, which is more than 10 times cheaper than the regular ones available in the market. Now, there are more than 25 such windmills running in Gujarat. Read to know more about their journey and how they did it.

Mohammad Methar Hussain and his brother Mushtaq Ahmad from Darrang district in Assam grew paddy in the winter season (also known as bodo paddy). Irrigation involved a lot of manual effort and using diesel sets for pumping water was a huge drain on the resources. To tackle this issue, Mehtra thought that if they could run a large wheel on wind power, and connect the wheel to the hand pump, that would serve their purpose quite efficiently.

So, both of them started working on making a windmill unit from locally sourced materials such as bamboo wood, strips of old tyres, pieces of iron, etc. With the help of a carpenter, the first prototype was ready in four days. Since the supporting framework was composed of bamboo, the final product costed Rs. 4500, vis-a-vis the commercially available wind mills which cost over Rs. 60,000.

Innovation Diffusion : Assam —> Gujarat

India is the third largest salt producing country in the world with an average annual production of about 157 lakh tonnes. The Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) supplies 21% of the total salt production of India.

Salt workers, known as Agarias, are some of the poorest people in the state. Agarias mostly used counterpoise, a method that requires two people, one for lowering the counterpoise and other for straining the water. Some of them started using diesel pumps, but the exorbitant machine and fuel costs made a huge dent in their already diminishing returns from salt farming.

With the mission to improve lives of salt farmers, Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network – West (GIAN W) along with National Innovation Foundation (NIF-India) took the lead in diffusing the innovation in salt farming areas.

Based on the feedback received from salt farmers, GIAN W improved the design and developed a multi-dimensional model which was installed at LRK in 2008. Understanding the diverse needs of farmers to increase the efficiency of windmills, GIAN W joined hands with Alstom foundation for design modification and improvement.

As of 2012, 25 of these windmills have been installed in Kathivadar and Kadiali villages in Amreli district.

Low cost windmill has solved irrigation problems for the village

Benefits of the Windmill Pump

Thanks to the windmill pump, now salt farmers don’t have to slog for hours with the water pump. The windmill pump saves about Rs.50,000 worth of diesel in six months. It has decreased salt farmers’ reliance on manual labour resulting in savings of about Rs. 28,000 per season per person. Farmers can now easily recover their investments within the harvesting season.

The innovation would also result in the reduction of five tonnes of carbon emissions for every 100 tonnes of salt produced. As per NIF, on an average, every windmill-powered hand pump should generate five Carbon Emission Reductions (CERs) certificates worth Rs.3750.

Every rupee saved and milligram of carbon emission reduced is a glaring testimony of how rural innovations impact the community, society and the world at large.

In the next phase, GIAN W plans to erect more windmills in other parts of Gujarat. The salt farmers of Gujarat are indebted to Mehtar and Mustaq for making their lives more efficient and their occupation, profitable.

For any enquiries related to the machine, please get in touch with NIF-India at bd@nifindia.org.

source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India / Home> Innovation> Gujarat / by Rahul Anand / July 24th, 2014

Sanskrit, Arabic fetes to felicitate scholars

January 17, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Educationmpositiveone@gmail.com

The Samskritolsavam and the Arabic Sahityolsavam, being organised as part of the 55th State School Arts Festival in Kozhikode, will also consist of seminars and other events.

The Samskritolsavam is mainly held at the S.K. Pottekkat Hall in Puthiyara while a few competitions are being held at a classroom of the Model Higher Secondary School at Mananchira too.

A seminar will be held as part of the fete at Town Hall (renamed as Vidyavachaspathi V. Panoli Nagar) on January 19.

Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb will inaugurate it at 9.30 a.m. and Mayor A.K. Premajam will preside.

Procession

Director of Public Instruction K. Gopalakrishna Bhat will deliver the introductory address on the occasion. Vineetha Prabhakaran, daughter of V. Panoli, will be the torch-bearer in the procession that begins from the latter’s house at Thiruthiyad at 7.30 a.m.

It will be flagged off by former Vice Chancellor of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit J. Prasad.

M.K. Raghavan, MP, will release a souvenir of the Samskritolsavam while Vice Chancellor of the Sanskrit university M.C. Dileep Kumar will be the chief guest. MLA A. Pradeepkumar will honour writer and Aksharaslokam exponent P. Chandrasekharan; the former Principal of Ayurveda College, Kottakkal, A.P. Haridasan; and the former Head of the Department of Sanskrit, University of Calicut, C. Rajendran on the occasion.

The Sanskrit seminar will be on the topic ‘Adhunikakaale Samskritanatakani Aswanadam Cha.’ M.K. Suresh Babu and C.K. Jayanthi from the Koyilandy and Tirur centres of the Sanskrit university will be the presenter and moderator respectively.

The Arabic Sahityolsavam will be held at the C.H. Hall on Red Cross Road while a few competitions will be organised at a classroom of the Model Higher Secondary School, Mananchira.

The Arabic seminar will be held at C.H. Hall at 10.30 a.m. Minister for Social Justice and Panchayats M.K. Muneer will inaugurate the programme. The seminar will be on the topic ‘Arabic and Information Technology.’ Deputy Mayor P.T. Abdul Latheef will preside over the programme.

Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb will honour the Arabic scholars at 12 noon while Mr. Bhat will preside.

MP to release Samskritolsavam souvenir
Rabb will honour scholar

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Staff Reporter / Kozhikode – January 15th, 2015

Urdu Wikipedia India community meet held at Thiruvananthapuram

January 17, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issuesmpositiveone@gmail.com

by TCN News

New Delhi:

The ‘Urdu Wikipedia India’ user community organised an ‘Urdu Wiki’ meet up at Thiruvananthapuram in association with the Wikipedia India Chapter and the Centre for Internet Society Access to Knowledge (CIS A2K), Bangalore, also working for the Wikipedia movement in India.

The ‘Urdu Wikipedia India’ is part of the Wikipedia movement in India and working for the Indic language Urdu. Wikipedia is the world’s largest crowd-sourced online free encyclopedia spreading the free knowledge to the society.

“The objectives of this meet up was to share views and preferences on the most effective ways to pursue our shared vision of creating and sharing free knowledge in India and in the Indian languages, particularly in Urdu Wikipedia in the state of Kerala; and to attempt to prepare a road map for a future where the Wikipedia resources are better utilized, its volunteers are better served and progress on its mission is more steadily attained,” Habeebur Rahman Bijli, coordinator, Urdu Study Centre of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL, government of India) said in a release here.

The Urdu Wiki meet up, held at the initiative of Dr Ataulla Khan Cenjary, HoD, was organized under the auspices of Bijli, who is also the chairman of South Indian Muslim Educational and Charitable Trust.

As part of the tour to Kerala on free software movement in India, Nisar Ahmed Syed, academician social scientist and Wikipedian from Pune, introduced Urdu Wikipedia to Urdu speaking people of Kerala.

Bijli presided over the programme. The Wikipedia Urdu users from Kerala have planned to volunteer for the Wikipedia movement in India. Dr Cenjary, in his introductory speech, emphasized on the importance of language and life skills.

Nisar Ahmed introduced Wikipedia movement in India and importance of free knowledge sharing. He explained about the Urdu Wikipedia, its history and platform. He then conducted a demonstrative workshop to explain the methods of editing in Urdu Wikipedia. He further emphasized the importance of importing Indian culture, languages and heritage to the future generations.

Janardhanan Nair (former Foreign Languages translator at ISRO, Trivandrum), Appukuttan Nair, (retired principal, Trivandrum), Prof Mubarak, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, Parveer Grewal, Wikipedian, Patiala Punjab were among those who participated, the release said.

Many members joined the Urdu Wikipedia India user group, and ‘Urdu Wikipedia Ambassadors’ were selected to bring Urdu Wikipedia to the Urdu speaking areas. The meet up resolved to “Bring Urdu Wikipedia from budding stage to a blooming stage.”

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Indian Muslim / by TCN News / December 30th, 2014

Mughal era museum near Taj soon

January 15, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel & Tourism, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Agra:

A museum dedicated to the Mughal era will come up in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore, and the construction work is likely to begin next year.

The proposed museum will be built near Shilpagram parking on the East Gate side of the monument. The land currently belongs to the state electricity department.

According to information, the project’s funding will be partly taken from the corpus granted by the World Bank under the pro-poor tourism development program. The program is aimed at improving infrastructure for tourists in order to generate revenue and employment in the state. The World Bank (WB) has reportedly loaned out Rs 1,800 crore to the country for the development of the Agra-Braj corridor. Rs 10 crore, amount needed for the building of the museum, will be taken from that amount.

Director general (DG) tourism Amrit Abhijat said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) would most likely be signed by the WB, the Central government and the UP government by September 2015. Construction work will start within a year after that. The state cabinet has reportedly given its approval fro the project in principle.

“The museum will have Mughal-era artefacts, armours, textiles and arms on display. The WB wants it to be developed on the lines of international museums. A detail project report (DPR) is under process,” Abhijat said, adding that foreign expertise will be sought to develop the museum.

The DG informed that besides the museum, there is also a plan to create an art gallery to promote trademark products of the city. Stone works, carpets and sweets, especially petha, will be on display at the gallery. There will also be a section from where tourists can buy finished products.

The centre will be built on the lines of Swiss museums, wherein they showcase the intricacies of cheese manufacturing. Similarly, tourists visiting the centre can learn about how carpets have been woven since the time of the Mughals. Petha production will be explained too.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Aditya Dev, TNN / January 13th, 2015

A pension scheme of grace

January 15, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leadersmpositiveone@gmail.com

P.T.A. Rahim, MLA, handing over papers of the pension benefits to Iyyamkunnath Devi during a function at the GHSS Peringolam in Kozhikode.

After 30 years of service as a noon-meal worker at the Government Higher Secondary School at Peringolam in Kozhikode, Iyyamkunnath Devi called it a day a few months ago.

Being a daily-wage worker at the mercy of the school management, she couldn’t have expected any retirement benefits from the government as she leaves. Calmly, the elderly widow, in her late 60s, went home to spend rest of her life with her only son’s widow and children.

Ms. Devi’s empty-handed retreat from the school at the end of a prolonged spell of service, however, had left a lingering soreness with her co-workers, teachers and the students, whom she had been feeding all these years. Led by a teacher-in-charge of the noon meal committee P. Bavakutty, they sat one day to discuss the possibility of offering “some help” to Ms. Devi, whom they fondly called Deviyedathi .

Under the initiative of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) they decided to collect an amount to be given to the retiring member. Teachers, students, and the public, all responded overwhelmingly to the call. A sum of Rs.1, 25,000 was raised at the end, with which a pension scheme was opened forDeviyedathi. “We had never imagined that people would respond in such an overwhelming manner to this,” said Mr. Bavakutty.

From the amount, Rs.1 lakh was deposited in a pension scheme in her name with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) while the rest, (Rs.25,000) was given to her as a gratuity during a public function organised at the school recently. “A pension scheme for a daily-wage worker under the initiative of a school PTA would probably be the first of its kind anywhere in the State,” said Sasidharan Pullangotte, the PTA president.

“We believe that the Rs.750, though small, that would reach her as pension every month, would at least make a small difference to Deviyedathi’s life,” said the PTA president.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Jabir Mushthari / Kozhikode – January 13th, 2015

Hazarduari gets ‘Adarsh’ tag from ASI

January 13, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Travel & Tourism, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Kolkata :

Hazarduari Palace in Murshidabad has been declared an Adarsh Monument by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) along with three others in eastern India.

The other three monuments are Vaishali-Kolhua in Bihar, Rang Ghar in Assam’s Sibsagar and the Konark Sun Temple in Odisha. These will be in the focus of international tourism promotion plan developed by the central government.

ASI has selected only 25 out of 3,680 protected monuments under the Adarsh Samarak Yojona. The list was made on the basis of the number of tourists these monuments attract annually. The list includes some of the biggest crowd-pullers like Taj Mahal, Khajuraho, Qutab complex and Red Fort.

All of them can be of great interest to international tourists, believes the ministry of culture. “Keeping that in mind, we are developing amenities of international standards, including washrooms, drinking water, signs, cafeterias, audio-visual centres, Wi-Fi connectivity, interpretation centres and encroachment-free areas,” said ASI regional director (eastern region) P K Mishra.

But more than anything else, security will be enhanced. The Centre is thinking of introducing the ‘tourism police’ force that is quite common across the world.

Hazarduari Palace, earlier known as Bara Kothi, is located on the campus of Kila Nizamat in Murshidabad, on the banks of the Bhagirathi. It was built in the early 19th century by Duncan MacLeod under the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1824-1838). In 1985, the palace was handed over to ASI. Kila Nizamat or Nizamat Kila was the old fort of Murshidabad which was demolished to build this grand palace.

Built in the 13th century, the Konark Sun Temple is shaped like a chariot of the Sun God with 12 pairs of ornamented wheels dragged by seven horses.

Rong Ghor, meaning ‘House of Entertainment’, is a two-storied building that used to serve as the royal sports pavilion. Ahom kings and nobles used to watch buffalo fights and other sports at Rupahi Pathar in Rangpur, particularly during the Rangali Bihu. Said to be one of the oldest surviving amphitheaters in Asia, the building was constructed during the reign of Swargadeo Pramatta Singha in 1744-1750.

Kolhua in Vaishali is where the Buddha is said to have preached his last sermon. To commemorate the event, emperor Ashoka erected one of his famous lion pillars here in the third century BC. A hundred years after the Buddha’s death, Vaishali hosted the second great Buddhist council. Two stupas were erected to commemorate it.

Jainism, too, has its origins in Vaishali. In 527 BC, Lord Mahavir was born on the outskirts of the city and lived in Vaishali till he was 22. Vaishali remains an important pilgrimage centre for both Buddhists and Jains.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay, TNN / January 11th, 2015

One boiled egg can lift 200 Kg Royal Enfield Bullet !

January 13, 2015Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Thousands of people thronged Sawday Road, Mandi Mohalla in city during the recent Eid Meelad celebrations to witness a Royal Enfield Bullet bike weighing 200 kg being hung from a boiled egg. The owner of the bike and the man behind this creativity is Inayath Ulla Shariff, a two-wheeler mechanic by profession. Curious people were seen clicking pictures of the bike in their cellphones. Inayath Ulla has been repairing and tuning two- wheelers such as Lambretta, Java, Royal Enfield Bullet, Yamaha RX 100, Yezdi, Road King, Vespa and Bajaj Chetak for the last 25 years. He started his career as a mechanic when he was just 15-years-old. Now he is 40. Inayath Ulla, who owns a two-wheeler garage by name ‘Track Point’ on Sawday Road in Mandi Mohalla, is the son of Late Mahmood Shariff, a Milkman and Late Chhoti Jaan. Star of Mysore caught up with Inayath Ulla Shariff for a tete-a-tete. Excerpts…

Inayath Ulla Shariff poses alongside his 200 kg Royal Enfield bike, hung from a boiled egg, at his garage 'Track Point' on Sawday Road in city. [Pic. by Golden Babu] — Inayath Ulla Shariff poses alongside his 200 kg Royal Enfield bike, hung from a boiled egg, at his garage ‘Track Point’ on Sawday Road in city. [Pic. by Golden Babu]

by Arafat Ahmed Aizaz

SOM: How did you get an idea of hanging such a heavy bike from a single boiled egg?

Inayath Ulla: I have been a mechanic for the last 25 years. During the past Eid Meelad processions, I had seen people hanging bikes from a bottle-gourd, ridge-gourd, brinjal and other vegetables. So, I too thought of hanging a heavy bike (Royal Enfield bullet) from an egg as nobody had tried it.

SOM: How can a single boiled egg hold such a heavy bike? Have you done any gimmick?

Inayath Ulla: No gimmick at all. It is all about balancing. Myself, along with six others, lifted the bike and hung it from the egg with the help of ropes and two 7mm rods. It took an hour to hang and balance the bike. One should have the skill to balance through ropes and know how to do the centring properly.

Even if a single person does not balance properly or shakes the bike while hanging, then the bike will fall down.

SOM: You have inserted two 7mm rods into the egg to lift the bike with the help of ropes. How did you insert the rods? Didn’t the egg break while inserting the rods?

Inayath Ulla: First I boiled the egg. After boiling it, I did not remove its shell. I slowly made two small holes in the egg with the help of a drilling machine. Then gradually I increased the sizes of the two holes by inserting pencil into the holes and rotating the pencil clockwise. Later, I inserted the two rods. So the egg did not break.

SOM: Doesn’t the bike fall when the egg gets shaken by the wind?

Inayath Ulla: The bike does not fall due to wind. Even the egg does not break into two parts during the wind. But the bike will fall only if someone shakes or pushes the bike manually. You should ensure that nobody touches the bike when it is hanging.

SOM: You have been an expert in repairing bikes and earned a name for yourself. Do you want your children also to become famous mechanics like you?

Inayath Ulla: I have two children. One is studying in 8th standard and the other in 2nd PUC. I don’t want them to be mechanics. I want them to study well and become Officers. I am working very hard to provide them good education. I do not want them to suffer as I did.

[Inayath Ulla is married to Reshma Banu and resides in Hanumanthanagar in city. To meet Inayath Ulla, one can visit his shop on Sawday Road in Mandi Mohalla in city or call:97430-28265].

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Wednesday , January 07th, 2015

Moon Star team wins Meelad Cricket Tournament

January 12, 2015Sportsmpositiveone@gmail.com

Corporator Suhail Baig is seen handing over the trophy to the captain of Moon Star Team as others look on

Mysuru :

Moon Star Cricket team won the Meelad Cricket Tournament, organised by Syed Farooq, beating BCT team by 20 runs during the final held at the Torch Light Parade Grounds in Bannimantap on Jan. 3

Having sent in to bat first, Moon Star Team scored 69 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 10 overs.

In reply, BCT managed to score just 49 runs in ten overs losing six wickets.

Mohseen was adjudged ‘Man of the Match’ for scoring 25 runs and taking two wickets in the match.

While, Imran Pasha was adjudged ‘Man of the Series’ for scoring a total of 60 runs and scalping eight wickets in the tournament.

Corporator Suhail Baig han-ded over the winner’s trophy to Moon Star Team Captain Mohameed Zameer during the prize distribution function held on Jan.4.

Bandipalya Asif, Akram Khan, Ajmal Pasha, Fairoz Pasha and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / January 06th, 2015