Category Archives: Green Products

Nawabi history to unfold on water screen at Husainabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, , ,

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

Lucknow :

Husainabad picture gallery pond is soon to become venue in the evening for a water screen show with fountains and laser lights depicting the history of the city since Nawab Asaf ud Daula’s arrival at Lucknow in 1775. As part of the beautification work around the Husainabad area, a water screen has been proposed with laser light multimedia projection against the backdrop of the red stoned picture gallery.

Blending technology with history, the multimedia projection will narrate story of the Nawabi era up to the British period and finally the modern Lucknow. Using laser lights projected on an aqua curtain comprising jets of water, the multimedia film would be of around 20 minutes.

“Lucknow will have a water screen show similar to what they have at Akshardham temples in Delhi and Gujarat and while mythological stories are there, the subject of the film here will be historic,” said Tracy, the consulting architect of the project.

With no visible structure in the background, the water screen creates a 3D effect with complete transparency, a fine spray of water jet allowing laser lights to form a graphic image. Apart from the water screen, a musical fountain with 72 effects of light and sound will also be beautifying the picture gallery pond.

Built by the third King of Awadh, Mohammad Ali Shah in 1839, the pond has been renovated with sandstones on the steps and both the zanana (for women) and mardana (for men) hamaam khana (enclosure for bathing and changing clothes) on either side of the pond have been restored to their original form with bricks.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / Yusra Husain / TNN / May 03rd, 2016

Despite drought, this man provides water for free

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, , ,

Kalaburgi(Gulburga), KARNATAKA  :

 

Kalaburgi:

When the entire state is reeling under acute water shortage, a man from this village provides drinking water to his fellow villagers for free.

Asad Ali Ansari, in Nandur(K) village on the outskirts of Kalaburgi city is the man who has shown his richness of heart through his act.
AsadAliMPOs02may2016In the village, water sources have been drying up. Following water crisis, Asad came forward to help the villagers by providing them four tankers of water every day.

Asad’s initiative was inaugurated by the Zilla panchayat CEO Anirudh Sravan few days ago.

Sravan hailing Asad for his kindness, said that people should come forward voluntarily to share water in situations like this.

Gram panchayats too must provide work to farmers by resuming works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Works such as rejuvenation of water bodies, removal of silt from tanks, etc. will help recharge the groundwater table, he said.

source: http://www.newskarnataka.com / NewsKarnataka.com / Home> Cities> kalaburgi / May 02nd, 2016

Latur’s Good Samaritan: This man gives away 10,000 litres of water daily to help his neighbours

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Videos, , , , , ,

Latur (Marathwada region) , MAHARASHTRA :

In the drought-struck land of Latur, Sheikh Mateen Musa has been distributing over 10,000 litres of water from his borewell everyday among his neighbours for the past three months. And he has been doing so free of charge.

Sheikh Mateen Musa. Source: Video screengrab
Sheikh Mateen Musa. Source: Video screengrab

What would you do if your house was the only one with running water, while your neighbours’ taps went dry?

As you ponder over that, let us tell you the story of Latur’s Mateen Bhai.

The severe water shortage raging through Latur and elsewhere in Maharashtra has been all over the news. In this crisis, instead of locking up his borewell, Sheikh Mateen Musa has been distributing over 10,000 litres of water among his neighbours everyday.

And he has been doing that for free for the past three months.

His story was brought to light by Facebook page Voice Of Ram. In a video uploaded in this page, those witness to Mateen Bhai’s benevolent actions have no end to his praises.

“Mateen sir is not the name of a man, he is the name of action,” says one of his neighbours. ” If anyone can teach how to serve humankind, it is Mateen Bhai.”

“We ask them to take money in exchange of the water, but he sternly refuses,” says another woman about Mateen Bhai. “He tells us to take as much water as we need for free.”

A mathematics teacher in a local school, Mateen Bhai seems quite oblivious to the fame he has been garnering for his good works. In fact, he believes he has been doing nothing outstanding but just giving away what belongs to others in the first place.

“The water in my borewell may be the water others are destined to have, so they are only taking away what belongs to them,” says Mateen Bhai. “It is nothing mine to give.”

When asked what he would do if his borewell ran out of water, Mateen Bhai laughingly says, “When that happens, even I will pick up a pot and go around looking for water like others.”

https://www.facebook.com/VoiceOfRamDotOrg/videos/1274945099201465/

It is people like Mateen Bhai who remind the rest of the world that charity begins at home, and that humanity is bound by no race and religion.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> News> FYI / by Shreya Biswas / New Delhi – April 27th, 2016

Muslims offer special prayers for rain

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Uncategorized, , , ,

Mangaluru, KARNATAKA :

PrayersMPOs02may2016

Mangaluru:

The State which is going through a rough time with extreme drought,witnessed a group of Muslims offering special prayers for rain and progress.

South Karnataka Salafi movement organised special prayers at Nehru Maidan. Even women were a part of Namaz-e-Istesqa.

The Khatheeb of Nandavar Salafi mosque, Ahmed Ali Khasimi led the prayers and explained about the importance of water in daily life.

Many devotees were seen expressing their grief for the sins committed and also praying for rain.

Namaz-e-Istesqa is a way to humble oneself before god almighty and look for forgiveness so that rains descend on the city.

source: http://www.newskarnataka.com / NewsKarnataka.com / Home> Cities / May 01st, 2016

Special prayer for rain

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, , ,

Virudhunagar, TAMIL NADU :

Common GOOD:Muslims taking part in a special prayer held for rain in Monni Street in Virudhunagar on Saturday
Common GOOD:Muslims taking part in a special prayer held for rain in Monni Street in Virudhunagar on Saturday

Muslims of Virudhunagar participated in a special prayer for rain in Monni Street on Saturday.

The prayer, which lasted for about half an hour from 7.15 a.m., was held on the street as the usual venue for such prayers, a school playground, happened to be part of a polling booth.

According to the organisers, it was a different prayer as participants held their palms facing the ground, instead of skywards. All the participants had their shirts inside out.

The prayer was led by Riyaz Ahmed, district president of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Virudhunagar – May 01st, 2016

Students devise ways to conserve energy

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Green Products, Science & Technology

Thiruvananthapura, KERALA :

ConserveEnergyKERALA22apr2016

Innovative ideas developed by students for energy conservation were on display at the Kerala State Student Energy Congress 2016.

Thirty-seven teams from various districts participated in the event organised as part of the ‘Smart Energy Programme’ of the Energy Management Centre (EMC) on the centre’s premises. Hundred-odd upper primary and high school students from all over the State attended the one-day congress held as part of the EMC’s energy conservation programme.

Aparna V.S. and Kavitha K.M., students of Holy Angels School, Thiruvananthapuram, came up with an idea of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy at a low cost.

They turned a bicycle into an exercise bike which can pump water and generate electricity. Arathy Ramesh and Sreekutty Udayakumar from the Aluva educational district bagged the first prize in high school section. Ayisha and Alsa Bin Shahul Hameed from Kozhikode got the first prize in upper primary section.

S. Somanath, Director, Liquid Propulsion System Centre, gave away the prizes at a function presided over by K.M. Dharesan Unnithan, Director of EMC.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / A Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – April 21st, 2016

Sri Mahaveera Ahimsa Award Conferred on Dr. Khader

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Science & Technology, , , ,

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

Sri 108 Munishree Pavanakeerthi Bhattaraka Muni Maharaj is seen conferring ‘Sri Mahaveera Ahimsa Award’ on noted Homoeopath Dr. Khader during the 2615th Janma Jayanti celebrations of 1008 Bhagawan Sri Mahaveera Theerthankara organised under the aegis of Sri Mahaveera Seva Samsthan at Sri M.L.Vardhamanaiah Smaraka Bhavan on Chadragupta Road last evening as Padmashree Jaina Mahila Samaja President Sheela Anantharaj, Sri Mahaveera Bhavan Construction Committee President M.A. Sudhirkumar, Sri Digambara Jain Samaj President S.N. Prakash Babu, M.L. Jain Boarding Home Secretary Madan Kumar, Sri Mahaveera Seva Samsthan Vice-President M.R. Sunil Kumar, Ajit and others look on.
Sri 108 Munishree Pavanakeerthi Bhattaraka Muni Maharaj is seen conferring ‘Sri Mahaveera Ahimsa Award’ on noted Homoeopath Dr. Khader during the 2615th Janma Jayanti celebrations of 1008 Bhagawan Sri Mahaveera Theerthankara organised under the aegis of Sri Mahaveera Seva Samsthan at Sri M.L.Vardhamanaiah Smaraka Bhavan on Chadragupta Road last evening as Padmashree Jaina Mahila Samaja President Sheela Anantharaj, Sri Mahaveera Bhavan Construction Committee President M.A. Sudhirkumar, Sri Digambara Jain Samaj President S.N. Prakash Babu, M.L. Jain Boarding Home Secretary Madan Kumar, Sri Mahaveera Seva Samsthan Vice-President M.R. Sunil Kumar, Ajit and others look on.

Mysuru :

“Born as a human being, one should practice the habit of letting other living beings also live in peace,” said city’s noted Homoeopath Dr. Khader, who has been touring rural areas propagating the message of non-violence for the past 10 years after turning a vegetarian at the age of 15.

He was speaking after being conferred with ‘Sri Mahaveera Ahimsa Award by Sri 108 Munishree Pavanakeerthi Bhattaraka Muni Maharaj at a function organised by Sri Mahaveera Seva Samsthan as part of 2615th Jayanti Mahotsava of 1008 Bhagawan Sri Mahaveera Theerthankara at Sri M.L.Vardhamanaiah Smaraka Bhavan on Chadragupta Road in city last evening.

Regretting that 30 to 40 percent of those manufacturing biscuits and chocolates use fat extracted from animals, he added that consumption of bakery items also lead to sugar-related and respiratory ailments, which need to be curbed at once by using vegetarian products.

Former Mayor and Ekalavya Awardee (for Kho-Kho) N.Prakash was also felicitated on the occasion by the Seva Samsthan.

source:  http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 20th, 2016

Rare plant specimens are now just a click away

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Green Products, ,

Coimbatore,  TAMIL NADU / KERALA :

Coimbatore:

More than 6,000 specimens at the 105-year-old herbarium in the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) can now be accessed by the click of a mouse, as the institute plans to digitise it.

The digitisation will help preserve the fragile specimens, prone to damage due to constant physical handling.

The Fischer Herbarium, which was started in the year 1911 on the Forest Campus in R S Puram, was created as a repository to house the many collections made by British forest officer Cecil Ernest Claude Fischer. He had an extensive collection of specimens from the Nilgiris, Palanis, Coimbatore forest divisions, Seshachalam Hills and Ganjam District of Andhra Pradesh. The herbarium also houses century old collections by forest officers,T F Bourdillon and M Rama Rao from the Travancore presidency. The herbarium was brought under IFGTB’s control in 1988.

The herbarium, considered a national repository by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), contains 2,954 species, 254 families of plants and 1,257 genera, some of them as rare as the one by forest officer J R Drummond in 1879.

“The herbarium is visited by a lot of taxonomists and botanists. So, when they discover a unique species but have heard of similar looking species being present in a herbarium in another part of the country or world, they often have to physically visit the herbarium to cross check the facts,” said IFGTB director R S Prashanth. “But now they can cross-check with the image and data available online,” he said.

The digital herbarium, which can be accessed through the website www.frcherbarium.org, currently contains 6,231 of the total 23,000 specimens available with the IFGTB. “This digitisation was done by former librarian at the Kerala Forest and Research Institute K H Hussain,” said the head of the biodiversity division at IFGTB C Kunhikannan about the project which cost Rs 6 lakh.

“The website has uploaded the herbarium’s sheets and allows people to zoom into the image to take a closer look at the specimen and the officer’s own writings,” said Hussain. “We will be shortly applying for more funds to digitize the rest of the herbarium’s data,” said the director. The institute, however, admitted that they were yet to review all the data on the website and eliminate spelling errors that might have occurred since the data entry personnel were not taxonomists.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / April 13th, 2016

Around the country in a solar car

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, ,

COIMBATORE, 16/02/2012: Syed Sajjad Ahmed (left), a businessman dealing with electrical accessories in Bangalore, with his relative on a solar car in Coimbatore on February 16, 2012 as part of his tour of South India for 1,000 km to generate awareness among the people on pollution and corruption. Photo: M. Periasamy / The Hindu
COIMBATORE, 16/02/2012: Syed Sajjad Ahmed (left), a businessman dealing with electrical accessories in Bangalore, with his relative on a solar car in Coimbatore on February 16, 2012 as part of his tour of South India for 1,000 km to generate awareness among the people on pollution and corruption. Photo: M. Periasamy / The Hindu

Syed Sajjan Ahmed travels 3,000 km in self-built four-wheeler.

Bengaluru , KARNATAKA :

Sixty-three-year-old Syed Sajjan Ahmed arrived in Bangalore in a self-developed solar electric-powered car to cover 3,000 km from Bangalore to Delhi to participate in the first India International Science Festival (IISF).

It took Syed 30 days to cover the arduous journey, which included crossing the Vindhyas. Born in Kolar, 70 km from Bangalore, the standard XII dropout began his career as a fruit vendor and went on to set up a shop for electronics repair.

His work included assembly of electronic goods, starting off with transistors, tape recorders and television sets and antennae. Later, he moved on to computers, before attempting to realise his childhood dream to do something for society.

“I had to leave school when I was 15 to start earning for my family. But the fire to create something that would be of use to humanity kept burning within me,” he says.

The break came in 2002. “I told myself that I am 50 now, and I must do something before I become too old and infirm.”

Ahmed started by modifying a two-wheeler to run on electric power, and then a three-wheeler, and later a four-wheeler.

He bagged the Karnataka government’s award for environment protection, instituted in honour of former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in 2006, for his innovation. Ahmed says that the modified car is equipped with a set of five solar panels, each with a capacity of 100 watts.

The power generated by the panels propels the machine through a bank of six batteries, each with a capacity of 12 volts and 100 amps. He takes pride that his small car withstood the test of the 3,000-km trek. “There were times when we thought we would not be able to take the steep climbs on the ghat roads. But, it crossed all the hurdles without much trouble,” he adds.

Ahmed says he has travelled 1.1 lakh km in his four-wheeler across the country so far. He is accompanied by a cousin, Salim Pasha, who travels in a regular car alongside. Both started their journey to Delhi from Raj Bhavan in Bangalore on November 1.

Ahmed, who says his vehicle costs around one lakh rupees at present, would further be driving from Delhi to Dr. Kalam’s hometown of Rameshwaram. “I wanted to make this journey an adventure; I have driven this vehicle for 10 years and hope to keep it going,” he says. He will then return to Bangalore via Kanyakumari.

“Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is my inspiration. Through my journey, I want to inspire and educate the public, especially students, about Dr Kalam’s Vision 2020 for uplifting the country,” he adds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / IANS / December 08th, 2015