Category Archives: Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Tribal girl who cleared NET has plans for IAS

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All
V.P. Srujana with her parents Veena and M.B. Prabhu at Nagaprura Tribal Rehabilitation Centre.   | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Srujana of Nagapura is the first Adivasi to clear eligibility test in Karnataka

An advasi girl from Nagapura on the outskirts of Nagarahole has become a source of inspiration for other girls from the tribal community to take up education and pursue an independent career.

Meet V.P. Srujana of Nagarahole Tribal Rehabilitation Centre at Nagapura, who created history of sorts when she became the first primitive tribal in the State to clear the National Eligibility Test (NET) for assistant professor conducted by the National Testing Agency on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

In recognition of her achievement, Ms. Srujana was felicitated at a function at the centre on Wednesday. She had appeared for the UGC-NET in October 2020, the results of which were announced last month.

Belonging to the Pani Yerava community, which is a primitive and vulnerable microscopic tribe, she is also among the handful of Adivasis who have completed their post-graduation. Ms. Srujana, daughter of Veena and M.B. Prabhu, completed her M.Com. from the University of Mysore with a first class in 2019 and appeared for NET and cleared it, qualifying for assistant professor’s post.

She is from Balekovu tribal haadi in Virajpet taluk and did her primary schooling in Nallurupala Government Primary School in Hunsur. She stayed with her grandparents as there is no school at Balekovu. Her grandfather was working in the Forest Department at Hunsur as a Group D employee and hence Ms. Srujana stayed with them and went to school.

She completed her high school and PUC from the Government Junior College for Girls, Hunsur, and graduation from the Government Women’s College, Hunsur, after which she studied M.Com. Incidentally, her mother is the first graduate among the tribes and completed her degree from the University of Mysore in 1988.

Ms. Srujana told The Hindu that she drew inspiration from her parents who were supportive and now wishes to pursue Ph.D for which she is scouting for a guide. As someone conscious of the social backwardness of the community, Ms. Srujana intends to take up a topic relevant to the tribes.

This apart, she is also taking up the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. “Now that I have completed PG and cleared NET, I will prepare for the IAS preliminary examination which will also help in appearing for the KAS examination,” said Ms. Srujana. “It is a proud privilege to say that she is our daughter,” said her elated parents who aver that she will inspire other members of the tribe to take up education.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by R Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – January 28th, 2021

‘Milking’ opportunities: Karnataka farmers collab with company to produce organic dairy products

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature

Rangegowda and Nagaveni who live in Karnataka’s Tiptur village, were farmers inundated with debt. Making matters worse, the bank wasn’t waiving their agricultural loan.

Rangegowda’s dairy farm

To stave off hunger, Rangegowda had no option but to think of selling his cows—his primary means of sustenance. Just in time, he met officers from Karnataka-based Akshayakalpa, a rural entrepreneurship initiative, and an organic milk brand. That fortuitous encounter resulted in circumstances reversing for the better.

The farmer collaborated with the company to employ scientific dairy methods such as free-stalling, making soil chemical-free, machine milking, organic fodder cultivation and antibiotic and hormone-free milk production. Together, they share the common vision of empowering smallholder subsistence dairy farmers to become entrepreneurs.

Rangegowda’s activities at the farm start at five in the morning with close observation of all cows. He grows his fodder crops free of chemicals and makes silage, a type of fodder made from green foliage crops, available at all times, that provides balanced minerals and proteins.

Subsequently, the couple opened their own organic fodder production unit that cultivates Napier grass, excellent fodder for cows. The dung is collected in a slurry pool and is used to fertilise fodder crops. Such measures have helped him optimise farm costs. He was able to pay back his loan and expand his farm by investing the profit.

Such kind of exposure has led him and his fellow dairy farmers to use apps like Stellapps, a herd management solution through which he monitors his farm production closely through a component called ‘mooON’ that assists farmers track health records, including records of vaccination, deworming, artificial insemination, pregnancy detection and more.

So far, low farm and cattle productivity and lack of scientific management of farms have led to higher costs and lower profitability for Indian farmers. “Indian dairy farmers are predominantly smallholders with an average herd size of two cattle. Delivering services to a fragmented group of many smallholder farmers is a costly affair for banks, veterinarians, feed providers and others. The lack of access to credit further restrains the farmer from expanding their farm and investing in mechanisation,” says Shashi Kumar, CEO, Akshayakalpa.

Shashi Kumar

 Through Stellapps’ mooPay FinTech solutions, farmers can avail loans easily. Easy access to credit helps them invest and start new enterprises. “It helps that funds are directed to the farmer’s bank account. This helps them to buy cattle through partner banks,” says Ranjith Mukundan, CEO and Co-founder, Stellapps. Such wealth-creating initiatives enrich villages, agitations nothwithstanding. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Bindu Gopal Rao, Express News Service / January 24th, 2021

Padma Vibushan for Dr BM Hegde, Padma Bhushan for Chandrashekhara Kambara

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

Sixty-four-year-old Jogati Manjamma, the first transwoman who was appointed as chairperson of Karnataka Janapada Academy has been awarded the Padmashri.

Poet Chandrashekar Kambara (File Photo)

Bengaluru :

Well known cardiologist and motivational speaker Belle Monappa Hegde, popularly known as BM Hegde, has been awarded the Padma Vibushan, India’s second-highest civilian award. Dr Hedge was conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2010.

Jnanapeeta awardee Chandrashekhara Kambara and folk artist Manjamamma Jogati were also among the five from Karnataka to receive the Padma awards this year.

Speaking to TNIE, Chandrasekhar Kambar said this award is for Kannada Saraswathi. “It is Kannada which got me till here. It gave me Jnanapeeta award and now Padmabhushana. I might have not got this if I had done my literary works in English.”

Sixty-four-year-old Jogati Manjamma, the first transwoman who was appointed as chairperson of Karnataka Janapada Academy has been awarded the Padmashri.

Eighty-two-year Prof Rangasami L Kashyap is an Indian applied Mathematician and a professor of Electrical Engineering. Along with his colleague, Prof Kashyap developed an important algorithm in pattern recognition. Prof Rangasami has translated four Vedas and wrote numerous books exploring the hidden meanings behind the Vedic mantras.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / January 25th, 2021

‘Write for Wikipedia with India focus’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, World Opinion
The Karavali Wikimedians User Group celebrated the 20th year of Wikipedia at a function in Mangaluru on Saturday.   | Photo Credit: H.S. Manjunath

Karavali Wikimedians User Group makes appeal to doctors to contribute articles

The Karavali Wikimedians User Group, having those who write mainly for the Kannada, the Tulu, and the Konkani editions of Wikipedia, on Saturday appealed to doctors to contribute India-specific articles on medical sector.

Addressing presspersons on the occasion of 20th anniversary of the site, secretary of the group and editor of Vishvakannada.com U.B. Pavanaja said that doctors should come forward to write on diseases, management of diseases, medicine, medical tests, and other aspects relating to the medical sector with an India-specific focus.

If they write in English, others can translate for the respective editions of Wikipedia. The doctors can also help Wikipedia writers by suggesting appropriate words in regional languages while translating technical medical words and medical terminologies.

Those doctors who can write in Kannada can also write for the Kannada edition of Wikipedia.

Mr. Pavanaja said that wikimedians have launched Special Wikipedia Awareness Scheme for The Healthcare Affiliates (SWASTHA) in the country.

He said Wikipedia which went live on January 15, 2001, has completed 20 years.

The Kannada edition of the site has completed 17 years and the Tulu edition is five-years-old. So far, 24 Indian language editions of Wikipedia have gone live.

The president of the group Vishwanatha Badikana said that the process of forming Wikipedia associations in colleges in the coastal belt has begun. The group has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Canara College in the city to promote Wikipedia activities by organising workshops, training activities to write for the site and the like.

It will also sign agreements with other colleges in the coming days. With this a hub to promote Wikipedia activities can be created.

Women’s articles

K.T. Dhanalakshmi, president, Wikiwomens Mangaluru, said that 400 articles related to women have been written in Mangaluru so far.

Kishor Kumar Rai Sheni, treasurer of the group, spoke on the growth of the Tulu edition.

The group celebrated the 20th anniversary of Wikipedia by organising a function in Tulu Bhavana. Krishnamohan, a doctor, from Moodbidri spoke on the occasion.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – January 24th, 2021

Flown by four women pilots, Air India’s longest direct route flight lands in Bengaluru

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Passengers between Bengaluru and San Francisco can now travel seamlessly between these two cities without a stop over at any other palce.

Members of the crew are Captain Zoya Aggarwal, Captain Papagari Thanmai, Captain Akansha Sonaware and Captain Shivani Manhas. (Photo | Ashish Krishna,EPS)

Bengaluru :

It marked a glorious moment for flyers when Air India’s Boeing 777-237 Long Range aircraft touched down at the Kempegowda International Airport at 3.07 am on Monday and later taxied to its bay by 3.25 am, a good 20 minutes before the scheduled arrival time.

Passengers between Bengaluru and San Francisco can now travel seamlessly between these two cities without a stop over at any other palce.

What makes flight number AI176, the longest flight ever operated by an Indian airline, so special is that it is also an all-women crew. 

The four-member team of Captain Zoya Aggarwal, Captain Papagari Thanmai, Akansha Sonaware and Shivani Manhas as well as Captain Nivedita Bhasin, Executive Director, Flight Safety Section, who accompanied were given a round of applause by passengers and visitors to the airport when they emerged out the ‘Arrivals’ gate.

__________________

The New Indian Express@NewIndianXpress

Replying to @NewIndianXpressAir India’s all-women cockpit crew’s first non-stop flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru landed at the Kempegowda International Airport. Express Photos | @ashishhpendse @XpressBengaluru

8:34 AM . Jan 11, 2021 . Twitter Web App

________________

They had broad smiles on their faces with the joy of their achievement helping them overcome the fatigue of covering a distance of 13, 933 kms between the two cities in nearly 16 hours. Airport staffers also handed them red roses.

Among the first passengers to come out of the terminal was 78-year-old Govinda Naidu and his son Ramana Anugant. “I have waited 20 years for this day. I have brought my 78-year-old father and 67-year-old mother along. They both cannot walk properly and use wheel chairs. We do not have to change over at Delhi or Mumbai. It is such a relief.” 

71-year-old Subramaniam from Malleswaram who paid 1811 dollars for a business seat said, “I got stuck in my daughter’s house in California due to the Covid epidemic for a year now. I finally decided to come home and it is such a relief to have a direct flight like this.”

Agarwal, commander of the flight said, “Today, we created world history by not only flying over the North Pole but also having all women pilots who successfully did it.”

Billing the trip as “a fantastic experience” Aggarwal said that it  challenging to fly over the North Pole. We have to be very careful when we enter the Polar Region and have received training for it. When you come out, it is completely dark.

29-year-old Captain Shivani Manas from J & K said, “I have just four years experience. I feel blessed to be given such an opportunity. This is an unforgettable day in my life.”

At 2.30 pm, the flight from Bengaluru towards San Francisco (AI 175) will depart with an all male crew commanded by CV Madhu. All the 238 seats on it have been booked.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by S Lalitha, Express News Service / January 11th, 2021

‘Soorarai Pottru’: Sky is the limit for Captain GR Gopinath

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

From being an Army man to an entrepreneur, Captain Gopinath speaks about his life and the events that inspired the latest Suriya-starrer ‘Soorarai Pottru’.

Air Deccan founder Captain GR Gopinath (L) and Kollywood actor Suriya (Photo | PTI and YouTube Screengrab)

Bengaluru :

Captain Gopinath’s phone has not stopped buzzing with congratulatory messages ever since the release of Tamil movie Soorarai Pottru, which is based on his life and stars actor Suriya in the lead role. However, he still finds fame awkward.

While Gopinath is quite happy with the way the movie has turned out, he tells CE that Girish Karnad was the first person to convince him that his journey should be made into a movie.

“After reading my book Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey, he told me, ‘Captain, you have village, army, politics, helicopter, airplane… your story is so visually fascinating. It should be made into a movie’, but I was shy. He later told my wife Bharghavi too that if I am ready to give the rights, he is ready to wear the greasepaint,” laughs Gopinath, as he recalls the conversation that took place in 2017, two years before Karnad passed away.

Even when the film’s director Sudha Kongara approached him to get the rights of his book for a movie, Gopinath was still not sure.

It was when Guneet Monga, the co-producer of the movie, who has critically acclaimed movies like Gangs of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox, Masaan, Period. End of Sentence to his credit, reached out that something changed in Gopinath.

“Guneet Monga said the story held a special place for her because the first flight she ever took was Air Deccan. Then I researched her work and felt it would be good to give the rights of the movie,” says Gopinath, who was well aware that the makers would take creative liberty.

“My concern was that the message should not be lost. While there is masala, there is also meat beneath it. I am happy the message is loud and clear in the film,” emphases the 68-year-old, who shuttles between Bengaluru and his village Gorur in Hassan district, and remains busy with “writing, and mentoring inspiring entrepreneurs”.

Gopinath was also all praises for the makers for portraying the female lead as a “strong support than a subordinate”.

He says it was important to show the female lead playing his wife’s character as someone who had her own dream. “When there is a success story, there is usually a team behind it. My wife is that support for me,” adds Gopinath, whose wife still runs her bakery, Bun World Iyenger Bakery, which currently has four branches in Bengaluru, the oldest being the one in Malleswaram that was opened 25 years ago.

Talking about the scene in which Nedumaaran Rajangam (played by Suriya) asks Bommi (the wife, played by Aparna Balamurali) for financial help, Gopinath says no such thing happened in real life. “It was like a metaphor. Though I never asked for any financial help, she was my strongest support,” says Gopinath.

Thinking of a low-cost airline at a time when flying was still a luxury, he admits, was an audacious step. “One day, I was driving to my village and I came across a computer training centre, which was a new thing. It seemed like a new country, one with hungry consumers, where people had refrigerators and other electronic items displayed in their living rooms,” he says.

“It’s not always hard work and perseverance that brings success, it’s also optimism. It is important that you wake up and believe that things will work out.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Tamil / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / November 23rd, 2020

‘Elephant Man’ Ajay Desai passes away in Belagavi

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nature, Records, All, Travel
Elephant expert Ajay Desai (right) with a forest guard.  

He was a pioneer in the study of elephant movements using radio collar and a consultant to some State governments

Field biologist and wildlife conservation expert Ajay Adrushyappa Desai passed away in Belagavi on Thursday night. He was 62.

Family sources said he suffered a heart attack in his sleep. Mr. Desai is survived by wife and two children.

Fondly known as “Elephant Man”, he spent decades in the research of species specific behaviour of Asiatic elephants. He was a consultant to World Wildlife Fund and some State governments in resolving man-animal conflicts.

Mr. Desai’s family hailed from Konnur in Bagalkot district but had settled in Belagavi decades ago. After schooling in Belagavi, he joined the Bombay Natural History as a researcher. Mr. Desai spent years studying elephant track formation and herd leadership in Mudumalai and in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Desai was a pioneer in the study of elephant movements using radio collar. His studies included problems such as elephants entering agricultural fields and pastures. Based on scientific research, he argued that deforestation and destruction of wildlife habitations were forcing elephants to come to villages and towns seeking food and water. He advocated a holistic approach towards conserving nature and wildlife, along with forest areas. He also served as chairman of the elephant expert committee of the International Union of Conservation of Nature. “He was a wildlife photographer, scholar, and a conservation activist. But more than that, he was a great human being. His passing is a great loss to the cause of wildlife conservation,” said Jaideep Siddannanavar, wildlife photographer and a long-time friend.

‘A great loss’

Mysuru Special Correspondent reports:

Conservationists and wildlife activists described Mr. Desai’s understanding of elephant behaviour and ecology as monumental.

Sanjay Gubbi, a wildlife biologist and who along with Mr. Desai, was the member of the State Board for Wildlife said he was a true conservationist by heart and stood firm for wildlife issues.

His knowledge of elephants was unfathomable and Mr. Desai’s death was a great loss to conservation, Mr. Gubbi said.

Praveen Bhargav of Wildlife First recalled working with Mr. Desai on many committees of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and how his explanation and analysis of animal behaviour in general and elephants in particular provided insight to other members of the committee to formulate policy measures.

He also gave a report to NTCA on the imperatives of further investment to reclaim the Srisailam Tiger Reserve which was recovering from naxalism.

Human-elephant conflict

He was also working on policy guidelines to mitigate human-elephant conflict under the National Elephant Action Plan (NEAP) which was to be submitted in due course and the conservation community had lost a great friend in his demise, said Mr. Bhargav.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Belagavi – November 21st, 2020

Chasing the dream

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Have a startup idea but don’t know where to begin? This city firm’s new TV show aims to provide just the platform you need.

Ranjith Royal

Bengaluru :

Whether it’s over coffee or idle chit chat at dinner, startup ideas always seem to be lurking around. However, many a times, while the pitch may sound promising, the idea does not go beyond that conversation. Here is a chance to see those ideas come to fruition.

A new platform, called India’s Biggest Start Up, which was launched on Friday by Bollywood star Sonu Sood on his social media pages, will give a chance to people to pitch their startup proposals and interact with top investors in the country. 

It will follow the lines of the popular American reality show, Shark Tank. All entries will be taken through the organiser’s website — kuberanshouse.com. The top 100 submissions will be showcased on national television. Sonu Sood, who will anchor the Hindi show, says he was thrilled with the idea when he was approached by the team around three months ago. 

The participants can submit entries in 15 categories in different sectors, like e-commerce, manufacturing, agriculture, fin-tech and biotech.  While the first 500 selections will get a fellowship certificate, the final 100 will get a chance to be trained by the judges on board and also get an investor for their project. “Many a times, the reason an idea does not work is lack of clarity or a proper pitch, which makes people lose out on a good investor.

But on this platform, you will not just get a chance to work on your idea but to interact with investors who will provide training,” says Ranjith Royal, the Bengaluru-based co-founder and COO of Kuberan’s House, which has conceived the programme.  The show will be produced by DR Talkies, which has earlier come up with Kannada reality shows like Dancing Star, Kick, and Dance Dance. 

They have already received over 1,000 entries, and are currently speaking to different business minds to bring them on board. “We are in talks with CEOs of companies like Paytm, Oyo group and Flipkart. These guys have been there long before anyone else, and are good at what they do. So participants can learn a lot from them,” says Ranjith, adding that the whole process will take 2-3 months.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / November 21st, 2020

Bridging the gap

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

How a hole in a boat led to the emergence of Bridge Man of India.

Gudaari in Odisha

Mangaluru :

For him, it was not a bridge too far. Though a mechanical engineer, he learnt — that too by chance —   that one can transform lives by building bridges. In the last three decades, he has built over 130 such structures, the latest one being built in Telangana.

Girish Bharadwaj (70), fondly called the Bridge Man, is seen as a messiah by many villages. His journey started with a hole in the bottom of a boat. For decades, the poor people of Aramburu, a remote village in Sullia taluk of Dakshina Kannada, were dependent on a country boat to cross the Payaswini river to reach the mainland for all their work.

Kanive in Kodagu, Karnataka

But whenever the only boat developed a hole in the bottom, the village used to come to a standstill until it was fixed or a new boat was built. Fed up, in 1989, the villagers decided to find a permanent solution to their perennial problem and approached Girish Bharadwaj, a young graduate in mechanical engineering who was running a fabrication unit, with a request to construct a footbridge to tide over the crisis.

Initially, Bharadwaj laughed at the villagers’ innocent belief that all engineers can build bridges. But he finally decided to give it a shot after the villagers refused to believe that a mechanical engineer can’t build bridges and also seeing their pathetic situation. With the help of engineering friends from other streams and referring to books on bridges, he designed a plan for a low-cost hanging bridge. It was a crowd-pooling project with some villagers even offering  ‘shramdaan’.

 Apart from other labour costs and sponsored construction materials, the project cost less than Rs 2 lakh. The villagers were immensely happy as the bridge ushered in a new life. Months later, the economical bridge caught the attention of a senior government official who had flown to Mangaluru from Bengaluru on some work and he called him.

After going through the bridge design, the official requested Bharadwaj to join hands with the government in providing connectivity to several isolated villages in Malnad and the coastal region.  The journey thus started took him to various parts of Karnataka and even Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha where he built more than 130 bridges in over 30 years and became popular as the Bridge Man of India. His contribution to the rural empowerment was recognised by the government and he was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 2017.

Fern Hill in Ooty, Tamil Nadu

Bharadwaj said he adopted the technology of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Japan’s Akashi Kaikyo, both suspension bridges and considered marvels of modern engineering, and simplified it to suit the local needs. His suspension bridges are cost-effective compared to conventional ones. Though they are built as a matter of temporary solution to last for 10-20 years, many of them have stood in good condition even after the estimated life. Also, the bridges saw advancements in designs over the years.

With his work, Bharadwaj has also built bridges in the hearts of several villagers as they consider him as a messiah who lifted them from their miseries. In most of the work sites, he and his team of 30-40 workers pitch camp till the work that takes 3-6 months, is completed. While a majority of bridges are government-sponsored, there are a few, constructed with funds pooled by the villagers. For such projects, he offers his services for free. In some cases, when the project could not be completed due to lack of funds, Bharadwaj has spent from his pocket to complete it.

Bharadwaj was delighted when he received an individual letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his support for Swachch Bharat in which he recognised his ‘Sethu Bandhu’ work to have empowered poor villagers and has connected them to the world of opportunities. Bharadwaj says the demand for footbridges is almost nil now as people with four-wheelers prefer big RCC structures. Now, Bharadwaj’s son Pathanjali Bharadwaj, who is an M.Tech graduate, is continuing the work.

FABRICATION WORKS
After completing his engineering from PES College, Mandya in mid 1970s, Bharadwaj had dreamt of becoming an MD of some factory. But his father who was an agriculturist, encouraged him to aspire to become an employer and provide jobs to others rather than being just an employee under someone. Thus, he set up Rational Engineering Works in Sullia which carried out general fabrication works and manufactured farm machinery

IN NUMBERS  

Bharadwaj has built 

95 bridges in seven districts of Karnataka

32   in Kerala

05 in Telangana

03 in Odisha

One more in Telangana is under progress now

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Vincent D’Souza / Express News Service / November 15th, 2020

 

New agricultural technologies on display at Krishi Mela in Bengaluru

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology
A view of the Krishi Mela in Bengaluru on Wednesday.   | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain

The three-day Krishi Mela 2020, organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bangalore (UAS-B), began here on Wednesday. This year, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mela is low-key with limited number of people physically participating and limited number of stalls.

M. Byre Gowda of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) said 17 new agricultural technologies and three new varieties of crops, including groundnut, had been released this year for the benefit of farmers.

Demonstrations and information about the new agricultural technologies and three new varieties of crops were made during the the Mela.

Inaugurating the Mela, A.K. Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension) Division, (Extension) Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, said the UAS has been continuously supporting farmers in the use of technologies.

“The Government of India and the ICAR have developed State-specific documents as to what has to be done in each State and how agriculture universities and ICAR institutes and farmers should work together so that the technologies that are required for doubling farmers’ income could directly go the farmers,” he said and added that they were working in 2,000 villages across the country to develop a model for doubling farmers’ income.

“ICAR has recently developed around 70 bio-fortified varieties which have micronutrients. Hence, there is great scope for bio-fortified research and practice in the country,” he said.

V. Venkatasubramanian of ICAR said that they were focusing on increasing the productivity of the crop and livestock, as also the cropping intensity.

“Around 33 Krishi Vigyan Kendras in Karnataka are working to strengthen the quality and quantity of the produce and continuity of the produce based in the market demand and consumer preferences. We are apprising the farmers on generating resources on their own farm to reduce the cost of cultivation,” he said. Such efforts would yield better results in the future, he said.

Awards were given to progressive farmers at taluk level, district level and State levels at the Mela. Around 25 stalls on new technologies, including drone technology for farming, drew attention of farmers.

Those who are not able to physically attend the mela can watch it online on the website, YouTube, and social media.

Around 200 farmers were allowed at a time, and all anti-COVID-19 precautions, like face masks and social distancing, were in place. Only those in the age group of 18 to 60 are being allowed to physically attend the Mela.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / November 12th, 2020