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Profits mushroom for this urban farmer

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment
Kamala
Kamala

Kamala makes IRs. 30,000 a month after turning her Bengaluru house into a mushroom farm

A small house can turn into an urban farm, yielding a tidy income. That is what it did for 40-year-old Kamala, who gave up her job as a garment worker in Bengaluru and turned her house in a 1,200 sq. ft. plot into a mushroom farm.

Two decades of back-breaking work in different garment factories in the city convinced the woman, who has a pre-university education, that it was time to try something less strenuous. “The continuous hard work does not even give you enough time to visit the washroom. It started making me feel as though I was in jail,” she recalls.

She quit the garment job that was fetching her ₹8,000 a month and chanced upon an article on mushrooms in a magazine. Inspired, she went to Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), 4 km from her house on Tumakuru road on the city’s outskirts, and enrolled in a mushroom cultivation course.

“A short training session by experts was offered, after which I launched cultivation in my house about two years ago. It started with two to three kg a month. Now I grow 50 to 60 kg of oyster mushrooms a month without engaging labour, and earn a profit of about ₹30,000,” she says proudly.

What she cultivates is sold to hotels and vegetable shops regularly. Now that Ms. Kamala has mastered the basics, she has joined a training programme at IIHR on value addition: turning leftover mushrooms into sambar powder and ready-to-eat products.

Her quest now is to set up an unique hotel that is dedicated to mushroom dishes in her husband’s home town of Kushalanagar in Kodagu district. He works as a supervisor in a garment unit, and the couple have a daughter and a son.

“I know I have the potential to increase mushroom production five-fold. But I cannot raise the resources required for such an increase on my own. I am looking for government assistance in any form,” she says.

Ms. Kamala has become an example for her former colleagues in the garment industry, and some have adopted her business model. “People from farming families too can add to their incomes with mushrooms,” she says. On Thursday, she was honoured by the IIHR for her achievements at the inaugural session of its three-day national horticultural fair which attracted farmers from several States.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by B S Satish Kumar / Bengaluru – March 16th, 2018

Journalist dead

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Journalist P. Vijay Kumar died in Belagavi on Thursday. He was 86. His real name was Siddanagouda Patil but he was popular by his pen name

P. Vijaykumar. He hailed from Kanabaragi village in Belagavi district.

In the early 70s, he founded the Kannada daily Halliya Sandesha to focus on rural issues. He also edited Seva – a Kannada weekly for a few years. He served in Kannada publications – Kannada Prabha, Prajamatha and Kannadamma.

He has published over 20 books on various subjects.

He is survived by wife and two daughters.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / Belagavi – March 17th, 2018

Medicine toppers vow to serve in rural areas

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All

Two of the gold medal winners at BMCRI convocation are from north Karnataka

Two gold medal winners at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) convocation held on Thursday said they would serve in their hometowns in north Karnataka.

Dr. V.M. Priya from Kalaburagi, who was awarded four gold medals on Thursday, was interested in engineering, but took up medicine on the advice of her elders. “I not able to express my happiness at winning four gold medals. I want to do my masters in paediatrics and serve the people of Kalaburagi. I also plan to provide free medical aid in my village once a week,” she said.

She plans to attempt the civil service exams for an opportunity to serve people better.

Another medal winner Dr. Prakash also expressed interest in pursuing masters in paediatrics and serving rural areas in Bagalkot district.

Former ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar, who presided over the convocation, said that students, after getting their medical degrees, often go abroad in search of better opportunities. “But our people must benefit from your education and expertise. Young doctors need to become pro-active in improving the quality of life in the country,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / March 15th, 2018

Country’s ‘tallest’ flag unfurled in Belagavi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All
Proud moment: The 110 m tall monumental flag being inaugurated by district in-charge Ramesh Jarkiholi in Belagavi on Monday.
Proud moment: The 110 m tall monumental flag being inaugurated by district in-charge Ramesh Jarkiholi in Belagavi on Monday.

The 110 m tall flag post at Kote Kere is near the historic Belagavi fort

It was a joyous morning in Belagavi on Monday. Schoolchildren, NGO members, leaders and others gathered at the Kote Kere lake front to witness a unique celebration: the unfurling of what is claimed to be the country’s tallest national flag.

The 9,600 sq.ft flag on a 110 m flag pole was unfurled by Ramesh Jarkiholi, District in-charge Minister.

Religious leaders of Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh institutions were present. MLA Firoz Sait, who has been pushing for the project, was present along with other district officials.

Mr. Jarkiholi said the flag was a testimony to the culture of harmony and togetherness of Belagavi. “BJP is not the sole custodian of nationalism. We are all proud Indians. We respect the principles of unity and harmony enshrined in the Constitution. India is a country of many faiths and all are equal here,” he said.

Mr. Sait observed that various religious and social and cultural groups had flags of different colours, but the national flag symbolised the cultural unity of all. He described this as a historic day and said the people of Belagavi had one more reason to be proud of their city.

Deputy Commissioner S. Ziyaullah, Police Commissioner D.C. Rajappa, ZP CEO R. Ramachandran, City Corporation Commissioner Shashidhar Kurer, Maratha Light Infantry regimental centre officers, and others were present.

The 110 m tall flag post at Kote Kere is near the historic Belagavi fort in the city. It is taller than the post in Pune (107 m) and the one at the Indo-Pak border at Attari (105 m).

“The monumental flag will be flown at all times, and will be well-lit at night. It should be seen by residents of Belagavi from afar and remain visible at all times,” Mr. Sait said.

The flag is made of weatherproof Denier polyester fabric. Two shorter poles with flood lights have been erected around the flag.

Permission granted

Following a judgment of the High Court of Bilaspur in 2010, the Union Home Ministry allows the flying of national flags beyond sunset. However, these flags are considered monumental flags and special permissions are issued on a case by case basis. The Union government has issued a permission for the Belagavi monumental flag.

The Belagavi City Corporation has completed the work under the Chief Minister’s special grant. The flag post is 2 m in diameter at the base and 0.6 m at the top. It has a three horsepower motor to raise the flag to the top.

New park

A park will come up in 1.5 acres around the flag. A committee comprising citizens, district administration, revenue, police and cantonment board officials will be formed to manage the park.

Earlier, the plan was to erect the flag post on an island in the centre of the lake. However, the soil there proved unstable for such a tall structure. Hence, it was shifted to the bank, an officer said.

Five flags

Officers are keeping five flags on standby. “Khadi fabric could not be used for the flag as looms cannot produce a flag of that size and the flag code does not allow stitching of small pieces,” a city corporation engineer working on the project, told The Hindu.

Officials have got Civil Aviation Ministry’s permission to fly the flag that within 25 km of the Sambra airport. A red light is affixed on top of the post to indicate its height to pilots.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / March 13th, 2018

Here are innovators you wouldn’t want to miss in a science fair

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, Uncategorized
Ramanagara GWPTR College student Arpita B(Ext. Left) and her friends displayed their Invention Bio- Electrical Body Fat Analyser, at the three day 'Engineering Fair', at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, in Bengaluru on Thursday. DH photo
Ramanagara GWPTR College student Arpita B(Ext. Left) and her friends displayed their Invention Bio- Electrical Body Fat Analyser, at the three day ‘Engineering Fair’, at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, in Bengaluru on Thursday. DH photo

Arpita B enthusiastically clamps the sensors to the wrist. With deft plucking of the keys, she feeds her subject’s age, gender and body weight.

Then, five pairs of eyes excitedly watch the display of the gadget as it flashes some numbers. “Here’s your body fat,” 18-year-old Arpita said with a smile.

Know your body fat

The group of five girls from GWPTR College in Ramanagaram, which Arpita is part of, are proud of their invention – bio-electrical body fat analyser.

The model was one of several exhibits at the three-day engineering fair at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, which showed potential for future mass production.

The girls made this device in two months at Rs 15,500. “We’ve done successful tests on people and several doctors have verified the readings,” Arpita said.

Organised by the ministry of culture for industrial training students between the ages of 18 and 23, the fair displayed several simple innovations that had practical applicability.

Bomb-detection robot

Mohammed Nuhid’s bomb-detection robot is one such invention. The fourth-semester industrial training student from the Government ITI College came up with the solution as he was moved by the scenes of soldiers being ripped apart by IEDs and landmines.

The robot can detect metal, batteries and explosive substances from a distance, Nuhid said. The battery-operated device can crawl several miles, saving the user from harm. Nuhid put the device together in 10 days, spending Rs 4,000.

Wireless CNC tractor

The wireless CNC multi-purpose tractor was one more incredible piece of innovation that five boys from the MEI Polytechnic made for cash-strapped farmers.

“This tractor can perform multiple tasks like removing weeds, tilling land, and sowing and levelling the ground to prevent birds from eating the seeds,” said Dhanush S, who is part of the team that came up with the tractor.

“We designed this exhibit after learning about the troubles farmers go through to hire field hands. This will significantly cut down their labour cost,” Dhanush added.

The team tested the tractor, which they designed in a month and made with just Rs 17,500, at a farm in Hoskote.

Automated sericulture gadget

Three innovators proudly demonstrated the Sericulture and Automation Centre, which would allow farmers to double their silk produce while halving their workload. Works are automatically fed to the centre, where temperature and moisture are moderated. The farmer can monitor the progress on CCTVs or mobile phones.

Hemanth Kumar H A, co-inventor of the technology with fellow students of APS Polytechnic, said the model can also work well for poultry, livestock and pisciculture.

In all, the fair displayed 85 different models ranging from automated money transfers with debit/credit cards, accident safety chambers in aircraft (to ensure passengers do not die in crashes), laser-based thermocol cutters, mobile phone-based home-monitoring devices to automated helmet connector with motorbikes.

A special platform had been given to students from the Association of People with Disability.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City / DH News Service / Bengaluru – March 16th, 2018

The golden girls of Mysuru university

Education, Records, All
Proud moment:Gold medallists at the 98th convocation of the University of Mysore on Monday.M.A. SRIRAM
Proud moment:Gold medallists at the 98th convocation of the University of Mysore on Monday.M.A. SRIRAM

With 13 gold medals and four cash prizes in her kitty, C.N. Shambhavi emerged the ‘golden girl’ at the 98th annual convocation.

Having graduated in MSc. Chemistry, Shambhavi is a native of Chikkabagilu village in Mandya district. She has been a topper all throughout and even won gold medals in her undergraduation.

Round of applause

She drew a round of applause from the audience when her name was called out. Her parents were delighted to witness their daughter’s academic excellence.

Most women achievers at the convocation belonged to rural parts of Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajnagar districts, and most were willing to take up research in their chosen subjects.

Vanaja K.G. was on cloud nine having won eight gold medals and four cash prizes in M.A. Kannada. Dhanalakshmi R. and Manasa D.P. won seven gold medals and nine cash prizes each in B.A. and B.Sc. respectively.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – March 13th, 2018

To UN, on mission menstruation

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, World Opinion

MenstruationBF14mar2018

City-based 9th graders take discussion of tabooed subject to govt schools, distribute sanitary napkins

For most adolescent girls, menstruation is a hush-hush affair.

But Nina Reddy and Preethi Subbiah, 9th graders from The International School Bangalore (TISB), want to change this dismal scenario. They have started a project, Svaasthy, to spread awareness on menstruation to girls from underprivileged families. The two girls will also present their work to policy-makers at the UN headquarters in New York.

“We want to educate young girls who are unaware of menstruation because it is a taboo. One of the most integral parts of being a woman is a taboo, and we want to change that. It happens to half the world, why should we hide our feminine nature? What is there to be ashamed of? Being a woman? We think it is necessary to educate girls that menstruation is what makes us women and we need to be able to take care of our menstrual health with the right products and pride,” Reddy said.

“Young girls who cannot possibly ask women in their family about such a tabooed topic, need to know what’s going on inside of them and how to deal with it,” she added. These two girls have found a two-fold solution to the menstrual problem in Indian. “One, is to generate awareness about menstrual health and hygiene via workshops in rural areas as well as to underserved communities and second is to distribute sanitary napkins and the Menstrupedia comic as a guide to girls,” Reddy said.

The girls have been working on implementing their solution and in the last two months they have impacted the lives of 200 girls and handed out over 1,600 sanitary pads with the aid of Apollo Hospitals in three locations in Bengaluru- Government Higher School, Doddakanneli, Namma Mane Orphanage and Samarthanam High School.

They have also created a website (www.svaasthy.net).

About their next project, Subbiah said, “We plan to hold at least two workshops every month in various orphanages and government schools of Bengaluru and distribute more than 5,000 sanitary pads by the end of April, hold fundraisers like bake sales and walkathons and to decrease the overall hesitation around menstruation.”

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bengaluru> Others / by Kumaran P, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / March 14th, 2018

Centre’s help may be sought to get Kittur Rani’s sword

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

Running against time in fulfilling politically significant obligations days before announcement of the assembly elections, the government is likely to seek the Centre’s help to bring back 19th century queen Kittur Rani Chennamma’s sword, believed to be kept in the London Museum.
Lingayat community members, especially those from the politically dominant Pachamasali sect which the queen is believed to be from, have been demanding that the sword, reportedly used by Chennamma while fighting the Britishers, be brought back.

Sources said chief minister Siddaramaiah is likely to write to the ministry of external affairs about the sword after the state cabinet meeting scheduled on Wednesday. The meeting is expected to approve the report, recommending separate religion status to the Lingayat community.

The community members met Siddaramaiah at Koodalasangama in Bagalkot district on Monday, and urged him to expedite the process. “The issue will get complicated if the government fails to fulfil the procedural steps before the announcement of elections,” said Shivanand Jamdar, a former bureaucrat and general secretary of Lingayat Mahasabha Vedike.

Demanding initiation of diplomatic consultations between India and Britain in the matter, Jagadguru Jaya Mrutyunajya Swamy, pontiff of Lingayat Panchamasali Mahapeetha of Koodalasangama, said: “We’re ready to fulfil all formalities and mobilise required funds to bring back the sword.”

Earlier in 2012, the BJP government had set up a committee headed by scholar M M Kalburgi to look into the issue. But efforts came to a standstill after he was gunned down by unknown assailants in 2015.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bangalore News / by B V Shiva Shankar / TNN / March 13th, 2018

Foodpanda launches tech centre in Bengaluru, to hire 100 personnel

Business & Economy, Records, All

New Delhi:

Online food delivery marketplace Foodpanda on Tuesday announced the launch of its dedicated technology centre in Bengaluru, thus venturing into advanced technology such as machine learning and data analytics.

The state-of-the-art tech centre will be aimed to strengthen the technology infrastructure, product capabilities and end user experience for the company. A blueprint has been drawn to hire 100 team members with strong tech background in a span of six to nine months.

The tech center will be fully operational in a couple of weeks, and will be headed by Nitin Gupta, who was recently appointed as the Head of Engineering at Foodpanda.

The tech centre will extensively work on re-imagining the product, integrate functions and introduce specialised domains of machine learning and data sciences. This would be directed to develop more personalised offerings for the restaurant partners and millions of prospective customers in the country.

The tech centre is envisioned to become a hub for the best tech talent working in the food tech space in the country, and will also be used for aggressive R&D functions in the future while leveraging best practices from around the world.

“Through the technology centre in Bengaluru, we envision to bring together the best team of tech enthusiasts working on building a future ready product. Leveraging robust data sciences and machine learning, we intend to personalise offerings for all our stakeholders. Following the commitment to strengthen our delivery network, this is an instrumental step towards building a strong food tech ecosystem in the country,” said Foodpanda India CEO, Pranay Jivrajka.

With Foodpanda’s recent allocation of Rs. 400 crores for delivery logistics, the tech centre will ensure an aggressive push in the direction of building a seamless experience for all its stakeholders – partner restaurants, riders, and end consumers – and creating a significant long-term business value.

source: http://www.gadgetsnow.com / Gadgets Now / Home> News> Tech News / by ANI / March 14th, 2018

Goshanas unearthed at village near Dharwad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

GoshanasBF14mar2018

Archaeological evidences from the periods of the Shatavahanas, Rashtrakutas and Kalyana Chalukyas (9th century to 13th century AD) have been unearthed at Yadwad in the taluk.

Goshana inscriptions were found while digging the ground for the construction of a temple in a farm belonging to Vittal Dindalakoppa. Idols of Mahishasura Mardini, Saptha Mathrukas and two Shivalingas have also been unearthed.

Idols had been found here in the past also. R M Shadaksharaiah, retired professor at the archaeology department in Karnatak University, Dharwad, said, “Pots unearthed here are from thue Shatavahana period (2nd century).

Of the four Goshanas, two have been partially damaged and have Halegannada words carved on them. One of the Goshanas is a pillar-like structure with eight faces carved at its top. The objects of archaeological importance found here date back to a 1,000 years and a one-of-its-kind statue of Shivaji on horse back had been unearthed here in the past.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> States / by DH News Service, Dharwad / March 10th, 2018